#Vietnam - 50,000 pilgrims visit Huong Pagoda on festival’s opening day

More than 50,000 pilgrims were at the Huong Son complex in Hanoi Sunday, overwhelming roads and cable cars. 

Tens of thousands of devout Vietnamese flocked to the Huong Son complex on Sunday, the first day of the Huong Pagoda festival.

The Huong Pagoda, in Huong Son Commune, Hanoi's rural district of My Duc, is a collection of many temples and pagodas built amidst mountains and forests.

Every year, on the sixth day of the first lunar month, February 10 this year, the three-month Huong Pagoda festival opens. 

The festival, one of the grandest religious festivals in the country, attracts hundreds of thousands of Buddhists in the early days of the Lunar New Year.

From early Sunday morning, the entrance to Thien Tru Pagoda, one of the main pagodas in the religious complex, was overflowing with people. This year, in an effort to ensure security and manage the place better, the organizing committee has not allowed business booths in the temple, caves, on narrow roads and at the Nam Thien Mon Gate.

"This year, the festival’s opening day is still a public holiday, and the weather is warm, so the number of pilgrims has increased dramatically compared to other years," said Nguyen Van Hoat, chairman of My Duc district people's committee.

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The entrance to Thien Tru Pagoda was obstructed as many pilgrims climbed over the fence to get in.

According to the festival organizing committee, more than 125,000 visitors visited the complex from February 7 to 9. On Sunday morning, more than 50,000 pilgrims thronged the sacred complex.

 Pilgrims prayed and made offerings at the pagoda’s altars, invoking divine blessings, peace and luck for the New Lunar Year.

 Thousands waited patiently in line for hours in front of the cable car station to catch a car to reach the Huong Tich cave.

 In 2018, the Huong Pagoda festival welcomed 1.4 million pilgrims, ticket sales feteched VND 112 billion ($4.8 million). This year, 1.5 million tickets have been printed.

 

The Huong Tich Cave, the heart of the Huong Son landscape, had no empty space Sunday morning. On the entrance to the cave, on a high cliff to the left, five words, "Nam Thien De Nhat Dong" (The best cave in the South sky) are carved. These were the words given in 1770 by Trinh Sam, a Lord from the Trinh family which ruled the country at the time.

The Huong Pagoda festival lasts from the sixth day of the first lunar month to the last day of the third lunar month, that is, from February 10 to May 4 this year. This is the longest Lunar New Year festival in the country.

Source - VNExpress

#Bangkok a top Tet holiday choice for Vietnamese travelers

The Thai capital is the hottest destination this year for Vietnamese choosing to travel during the Tet holiday.

Agoda, a leading global online accommodation reservations provider, has used new bookings data to assess 10 most popular Tet, Lunar New Year, holiday destinations for Vietnamese this year.

Traditionally, Tet is a time when Vietnamese people return home all over the country and the world to join their family for important Lunar New Year rituals, and to visit relatives and friends as part of the festival tradition.

However, the long holiday is tempting increasing numbers of Vietnamese citizens to travel within and outside the country.

This year, Bangkok has overtaken many of famous Vietnamese tourist hotspots like Da Lat, Nha Trang and Phu Quoc. Singapore came sixth on the list, while Kuala Lumpur took the ninth position.

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 Around one million Vietnamese tourists touched down in Thailand in 2018, putting Vietnam among the kingdom's top 10 tourism markets, according to a recent report by the Tourism Authority of Thailand.

Citizens of ASEAN member nations can travel within the region without applying for visa and stay as a tourist for a maximum of 30 days.

Bangkok’s high popularity among Vietnamese holiday goers is reflected in the fact that 30 airlines have direct routes connecting Hanoi and Saigon with the capital of Thailand.

The Year of the Pig begins on February 5 and the Vietnamese government has approved a nine-day (February 2-10) break for the holiday.

Rising overseas travel is a result of economic development and an expanding middle class, said Nguyen Cong Hoan, vice general director of Hanoi Redtour.

"A more affluent younger generation now wants to see the world. They are willing to spend more money on experiencing new destinations," he said.

According to Mastercard, Vietnam has the second fastest growing outbound market in the Asia Pacific region after Myanmar, with projected annual growth of 9.5 percent between 2016 and 2021.

Mastercard has forecast that some 7.5 million Vietnamese travelers will venture outside the country in 2021.

Source - VN Express