Mekong Travel - Newsletter

May 2003

Important Travel Information

Vietnam SARS-free
The World Health Organization (WHO) declared Vietnam to be SARS-free as of Monday, 28 April. This is a significant turning point for all of us in the industry. The events of the last month and a half have showed the terrible effects of fear and panic on tourism; but the coming months and years will show the triumph of information and the enduring human will to travel.
Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar -- all four of our destination countries are SARS-free.

Celebrity visit

Beckham to go on promotion tour in Asia HANOI:
Already a superstar in football-mad Asia, David Beckham will have a further opportunity to cement his iconic status next month on a whistle-stop promotional tour through the region. The England skipper will put his skills on display, albeit from the sidelines, at a series of football festivals in Japan, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam over a five-day period in the last week of June. “I'm really looking forward to my Asia visit,” said the Manchester United midfielder. “I had such a wonderful time during the World Cup last year. It'll be great to be back again.” Castrol, which is sponsoring the tour, said the exact dates for Beckham's Asian swing have yet to be finalised. A spokesman for British company in Vietnam's southern business capital of Ho Chi Minh City also declined to reveal how much the 28-year-old – reputed to be the highest paid player in Europe – would receive for the jaunt.
(Star Publications (Malaysia) Bhd)

Environment

Vietnam: Road-building threatens Phong Nha Nature Reserve
The Vietnamese government is currently negotiating with a range of bilateral and multilateral "aid" agencies to raise funds for its five million hectare reforestation programme. So far, little of the estimated US$4.5 billion needed has been formally committed, but in December, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) announced a US$287,000 project "to promote the programme in Vietnam". On 7 December, Nguyen Van Dang, Vietnam's Rural Development Minister and Fernanda Guerrieri, FAO's representative in Vietnam, signed the agreement for the FAO project.
The five million hectare reforestation programme aims to boost Vietnam's tree cover to 14 million hectares --the area of forest indicated on French maps of 1945 (see WRM bulletin 38). However, much of this tree cover, which the government and the international "aid" institutions invariably describe as "forest", is in fact monoculture plantation. Under the five million hectare plan, the government proposes planting one million hectares of fast-growing tree plantations for the pulp and paper industry. This year 250,000 hectares of plantations were established under the programme, according to a recent announcement from the government. And next year the government plans to plant 120,000 hectares with fast-growing trees to serve the paper, mining and chipboard industries.
At the same time as advertising increased "forest" cover however, the government continues to destroy Vietnam's remaining areas of forest. In Quang Binh province, for example, a road is currently being constructed which for 12 kilometres runs through the core zone of the Phong Nha Nature Reserve --an area under consideration by UNESCO for potential World Heritage Status. According to Flora and Fauna International in Vietnam, no adequate environmental impact assessment has been carried out, although the proposed road cuts through the habitat of several rare species including Ha Tinh Langurs, Black Langurs, Red-Shanked Douc Langurs and Siki Gibbons. Phong Nha is also renowned for its spectacular limestone rock formations. In 1924, a British explorer named Barton investigated the Phong Nha caves on a 15 day expedition, and described the caves as among the longest and most beautiful in the world.
A military enterprise, the Truong Son Construction Company, is in charge of building the road and is employing soldiers as a workforce. In places the proposed road would be 12 metres above the current ground level, and much of the material required to build the road would be taken from areas blasted to clear the route of the road. As well as disturbing wildlife, the extensive blasting would seriously damage the fragile cave systems in the Nature Reserve.
Another controversial road, the 1,690 kilometre-long Ho Chi Minh Highway, is also under construction in Vietnam (see WRM bulletin 35). On its currently proposed route from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City, the highway will pass close to Phong Nha. Earlier this year Ha Dinh Duc, an eminent Vietnamese biologist, expressed his concern that blasting associated with the construction of the Ho Chi Minh Highway could damage Phong Nha's caves. In reply, Ha Dinh Can of Vietnam's Transport Ministry, told the San Jose Mercury News: "No blasting. There's nothing to worry about. The caves will not collapse. We're even forcing the construction companies to quarry their road stone more than 60 kilometres away from the limestone ranges."
Such precautions simply do not apply to the road through Phong Nha --the Truong Son Construction Company estimates that 4.5 tonnes of explosives will be needed for every kilometre of the road through the limestone area.
Flora and Fauna International (FFI) argue that the Phong Nha road is contrary to Vietnam's law on Special Use Forest (Nature Reserve). FFI is working with other conservation groups in Vietnam, including World Wide Fund for Nature, Birdlife International, Frontier and the Frankfurt Zoological Society, to petition the government to halt construction immediately until a thorough and independent EIA is carried out.
According to James Hardcastle, of FFI Indochina Programme, "The road construction has been bypassed in the general debate and petition against the Ho Chi Minh Highway. FFI feel that action should be taken immediately to also review the feasibility and environmental impacts of this smaller road

Festivals

First 'Moken' festival planned for Feb 04.
The 'Moken' Sea gypsy people of Myanmar, look set to get 'official' recognition of their culture.
The Myanmar government is planning the first annual Moken festival. Foreign visitors are welcome to come witness free-diving competitions, rowing races, traditional dancing and singing. There are expected to be three to four hundred Moken people gathered for the festival, located at Ma Jon Gallet; the Moken village on Palau Bada island.
This promises to be the largest congregation, of this shy and reclusive race of people, witnessed in recent times. Dates are yet to be confirmed, but initial plans are for mid-February 04.
Our scheduled Adventure cruises and Sea Kayaking Safaris in the Mergui Archipelago, which fall over the dates of this festival, will pay special focus to the festivities. Further news will be given, as soon as we receive exact dates and schedule of events for the festival from the organizers.

Jade Discovery

Myanmar - Discovery of Massive Jade Dyke.
It is possibly the biggest rock of jade in the world. Measuring 70 feet in length, standing 20 feet high and with a girth of 16 feet!
The jade, known in the industry in its raw state as a 'dyke', was discovered 40 feet below ground, covered by black Serpentine, in Kachin State in the country's far north. It is estimated to weigh more than two thousand tons. The earth beneath Phakant, the area in which the jade has been found, is one renowned for its jade resources.
The dyke has a white underside and is a stunning palette of green and purple crystal. Gemstone experts and media representatives traveled to Phakant within hours of the discovery being made known. The people of the Pa-O National Organization, who made the find, use high-tech mining techniques to sink shafts; one other plot in the area is mined to a depth of (300) feet and sunk beneath a diverted waterway.
In English, the word "jade" does not really carry any significant meaning. But when one looks at the meaning of the word in Chinese, then it is here that we can see the beginnings of just how important jade is to the Chinese culture. The word for jade in the Mandarin Chinese language is Yu. "The character for jade resembles a capital with a line across the middle: the top represents the heavens, the bottom the earth, and the center section, mankind". In Chinese, the word Yu is used to call something precious, just as in English one may use gold or silver.
Proceedings below can be watched via closed circuit TV on the surface. To access the latest grand find, miners traverse a 50-feet underground passage, before descending to the rock itself. The jade is expected to become available to the international gemstone market at some time in the future. For retrieval, it will be cut into smaller pieces and appear at a future gem emporium in Yangon. The jade's monetary value has not yet been determined, but it is believed to be of high quality. Further information about this story, including pictures and a map of the location can be found at the following web site address http://www.myanmar.com/Jade/Jade.html

Resorts

The Mergui Archipelagos' first Resort!
SEAL have just received permission from the Myanmar government for a land-lease on Wa Ale Island. They are now in the process of planning and constructing a beautiful little resort on Wa Ale.
Consisting of twelve wooden open-sided thatched sala's, a reception center, swimming pool, dinning sala, relaxation sala, spa/yoga center and jetty. The site they have for the project is slightly to the west of their present Sea Kayaking Safari campsite. There are three beautiful beaches all within a three-minute walk. It's heavily forested with giant fig trees and other old hard woods in abundance. The resort will be built around these old trees, with jungle pathways through the forest, connecting to the different areas. The site area is really big, all sala's will have great privacy, be totally unobtrusive and very low key, but definitely classy!
The concept is to keep everything really natural and in balance with nature. They are planning to have it open by January 04. It is intended be one of the most beautiful, back to nature, tropical resorts in the world. More news on this to follow shortly.

Hotels & Restaurants

.MYANMAR
· Special Offer: The Strand. Yangon's most historic hotel, The Strand, has introduced an attractive low-season offer. Book two nights in a Strand Superior Suite and get a free upgrade to a Deluxe Suite (upon availability). In addition, the hotel is pleased to offer personalized butler service and a complimentary Myanmar Set Dinner, as well as breakfast. This offer is valid from 1 April to 30 September.

CAMBODIA
· Special Offer: Intercontinental Hotel. We are pleased to offer extremely attractive low season rates for the Intercontinental Hotel, one of Phnom Penh's leading deluxe hotels. Please contact your reservations office for details of this special package.

LAOS
· Hotel Spotlight: Villa Santi Hotel and Resort. Luang Prabang is a town gleaming with golden temples and moving to the pace of a different era. Located in the center of this UNESCO World Heritage site is the Villa Santi Hotel, a hotel that provides luxurious accommodation to match the beauty and charm found outside. Formerly a royal residence, the Villa Santi is built in the French colonial style and has been fully renovated and beautifully appointed with traditional Lao crafts. Fifteen minutes outside the city, the newly constructed Villa Santi Resort offers the same standard of tasteful accommodation in a serene countryside setting. With free shuttle service, the monuments of Luang Prabang are easily accessible to visitors of the resort.

New Tours

Thailand
An Adventure Cruise in the Andaman Islands, India
Geographic isolation, mysterious stone age cultures, uncharted waters and a rich maritime history give the Andaman's an exotic charm and appeal all of their own.
The Andaman & Nicobar Islands are a group of picturesque Islands, big and small, inhabited and uninhabited. Comprising 572 islands, islets and rocks, lying in the southeastern part of the Bay of Bengal. They lie along an arc, in a long and narrow broken chain, running approximately North-South, stretching nearly eight hundred kilometers. Belonging to India, but geographically related to Myanmar and Indonesia.
The Andaman Islands lay shrouded in mystery for centuries, due to their inaccessibility and hostile tribes. The islands shimmer like emeralds in the Bay of Bengal. Their dense forest's, innumerable exotic flowers and birds, crystal clear waters and abundant marine life, exude a charm unique to this forgotten Indian island paradise.
White beaches on the edge of a meandering coastline have palm trees that sway to the rhythm of the Sea. The beat's of tribal drums haunt the stillness of the islands forested interiors. Where Shompen, Onge, Sentenelese, Jarawa and Great Andamanese tribes live unaware and undisturbed by the worrying modern developments of time. Large areas of the Andaman's have been set aside as restricted zones. Leaving these stone-age people in peace and their unique cultures intact.
Historically The Andaman and Nicobar Islands have great maritime importance. During the British Rajh, political leaders considered dangerous to the interests of the empire, plus other criminal elements were deported from the Indian mainland to the Cellular Jail; the Indian Bastille of Port Blair. Thus these islands came to be known as the Black Water Prison.
SEAL invites you to come discover the Andaman Islands with us. We are offering an exciting eight-day exploration. Starting with a two-day discovery tour of the richly historical Port Blair, taking in its culture monuments and highlights. Then board our yacht Gaea for a six-day Adventure cruise, exploring the remote outlying islands of the archipelago, their forests, beach's and pristine coral reefs.
Using our extensive experience and knowledge of the Andaman's, we offer an itinerary of continual delights. Giving a historical and cultural insight of the islands, swimming elephants, an active volcano island, rewarding jungle walks and of course world-class fishing, snorkeling and diving! Contact us for details.

Dive cruises to the Andaman Islands, India
Considered a rustic backwater, the Andaman's have disappeared into obscurity, long forgotten and definitely far off the beaten track of the average tourist or traveler.
The Andaman Islands do not have a commercial fishing industry; the only fishing we see are small sailing out-riggers or purse-net beach-based fishing operations, by the local villagers.
Geographically the Andaman Islands are the tip of a sub-aquatic mountain range, with waters dropping steeply to great depths on both the east and west coasts of the main Andaman Island chain. With waters deeper than two kilometers, the ocean is guaranteed to be crystal clear, swept with a rich oceanic current, providing abundant food to support a rich and diverse marine eco-system. This, combined with the lack of commercial fishing, ensures that the Andaman Islands offer some of the very best diving in the Indian Ocean.
Our partners have been running dive trips in the Andaman Islands since the late 1980's but due to local administrative bureaucracy, have had to curtail their diving operations in the Andaman's for the past five years. A change of heart by the Andaman Administration now means that they are welcomed back again, to resume the very successful diving cruises to the very best dive sites that we know of. If you are interested in joining us, please get in touch.

Travel

Schedule Changes.
Due to decreased demand over this low season, some regional airlines have reduced the frequency of flights. Your reservations officer will contact you directly if your itinerary is affected. However, for your reference, we have provided a summary of the flight schedule changes to date. Please note that these continue to be subject to change.
Vietnam Airlines has reduced the number of domestic flights Hanoi - Hue and Danang - Saigon to
once daily, and between Hanoi-Saigon to five times daily. In addition, they have reduced frequency on some international flights between Saigon and Bangkok, Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, from 2 to 1 times daily.
Thai Airways has not reduced frequencies, but may change the type of aircraft to meet passenger demand on its flights between Bangkok and Hanoi, Vientiane or Phnom Penh.
Silk Air has reduced its flights between Singapore and Yangon from nine to seven per week from 3-31 May, and between Singapore and Phnom Penh from eleven to seven times per week.
Bangkok Airways has announced the suspension of the Luang Prabang - Danang and Danang - Siem Reap sectors on its Mekong World Heritage Route, effective 5 April to 30 September. Indochina Services is pleased to offer alternative itineraries to tour operators who have booked the route during this period. For more details on these itineraries please contact your sales manager directly.

· Itinerary Spotlight: Overland from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap. We would like to inform our customers that the road from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap has improved, and we recommend the following itinerary component to any tour operators interested in providing a different experience to their clients: Travel from Phnom Penh, stopping to explore the pre-Angkorian temple complex of Sambor Pre Kup. Overnight in Kampong Thom before continuing onwards to Siem Reap.

Social

Mekong Club

Address: P O BOX 820, HP9 2JG, England
Tel: +(44) (0)973 231 446,
http://www.mekongclub.net

The Mekong Club is an informal, non-political, non-commercial association, primarily concerned with promotion of the cultures of the "Mekong Region" (i.e. Viet Nam, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and adjacent regions) in the UK. The Club will act as a forum for exchange of information and experience by:

The promotion of social and cultural events, tutorial groups and other meetings
Maintenance of a world wide web page and an address list for circulars on 'events and ideas'.

Membership is open to all, but it is envisaged that the club will be of particular interest to:

Expatriates from the Mekong Region living in the UK, with particular encouragement given to 2nd and 3rd generation family members.
British (and other European) citizens wishing to maintain in contact with people and issues in the Mekong Region.
Visitors from the Region needing temporary support whilst in the UK.
Citizens in the Mekong Region, wishing to develop contacts in the UK.

The Club will be organised by a chairperson, secretariat and webmaster, with a single, annual business meeting combined with a social event. The secretariat will be responsible for financial stewardship, with a "minimal" fund consisting of contributions for individual events and newsletters. An annual membership fee of £5 is envisaged per adult. For further details, please write or telephone the above number.

Mekong Club Application:

I/We …………………………….. would like to join the Mekong Club

My/Our address is: .......................................................................................................

.........................................................................................................................................

Please find enclosed the payment for membership of £5 and my/our voluntary contribution of £… Total: £…. (Cash or cheque payable to Mekong Club)

Posting Address: P.O. BOX 820, HP9 2JG.