Low-cost airline AirAsia has announced the opening of the direct air route from Danang to Bangkok, Thailand to facilitate passengers’ travel demand as from June 9. The daily flights will depart from Danang at 12pm and arrive in Bangkok at 13:20pm. Meanwhile, flights from Bangkok will depart at 10:10am and arrive in Danang at 11:30am. Mr Santisuk Klongchaiya, Director of Commercial Affairs for Thai AirAsia emphasized that Danang is Vietnam’s third largest city after Hanoi and HCM City, noting that it is also one of the nation’s economic and tourism hubs which attracts many international and Thai tourists. The city is known for many world cultural heritage sites such as Hoi An, Hue and My Son relics. Ms Pornpun Ratanapitakul, regional Marketing Manager at Air Asia underscored the importance of the new route in boosting travel demands to discover cultural characteristics of the city. Marking the occasion, Air Asia has offered a...

  Bling bling: Nhiêu Tâm Street in HCM City’s District 5 is home to many old jewellery and gem shops. — VNS Photo Anh Vũ District 5 in HCM City will honour its venerable goldsmithing tradition by converting Nhiêu Tâm and Nghĩa Thục streets into a so-called jewellery street. When it is inaugurated on April 27 visitors will not only be able to buy jewels and gemstones there but also learn about the process of making them. The area has for long been a place for selling jewellery-making equipment and tools. According to the District 5 People’s Committee, as long ago as in the late 1980s some households on Nhiêu Tâm Street had started making and selling silver and gold jewels and gems. The craft quickly grew and spread to adjacent streets like Nghĩa Thục and Bùi Hữu Nghĩa. Nguyễn Võ Xuân Kỳ, chief of the committee office, told Người Lao Động (Labourer) newspaper that besides the commercial benefits the jewellery street...

HCM City Department of Transport plans to launch a public bicycle hire service in the city centre. This will be among seven measures that the department will carry out this year to raise the quality of public transport, particularly bus services.   A bus stop in HCM City With the bicycle sharing service, people can move between bus stations more conveniently, helping to cut their waiting time or travel on short distances in inner-city areas. The department is working with consulting companies for the management method of the service. An electronic lock may be used for the bicycle management with the user’s information saved. People can borrow bicycles for an hour free of charge and then can return them at different bus stops. The municipal Department of Transport will also pilot arranging separate lanes for bus on some streets, including Dien Bien Phu and Vo Thi Sau. The city has considered using small buses for the connection with metro and bus rapid transit routes. Bus...