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From the beginning of the 19th century and on, indian merchants from Bombay, Karachi and Calcutta, settled down in the north and south of Vietnam. Around 1930 there were a thousand of them in Indochina. They formed a large group of well-to-do businessmen, specialized in the sale of fabrics and the change of money. They were to be found in the large markets, buying and selling cotton, silk, and jewelry. Their stores were located in the streets of all the major cities. In Hanoi they lived grouped around “Rue De la Soie” Silk Street where they bought silk from Chinese merchants and shipped this to India and Singapore. This group was rich and big enough to build mosques. English subjects from South India and Bombay built the mosque Al Nuhr in Hanoi around 1900 along with other mosques in the South. Today the mosque is frequented by a varied group of Muslims, most of them expatriates connected to embassies from Malaysia, Libya, Egypt, Lebanon, Indonesia India, Algeria, Yemen, Iraq, Vietnam, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.

Many domestic airlines have begun to offer attractive promotions to lure customers for the coming summer season.

During the promotional period, passengers will be able to buy tickets from VND1, 024,000 (US$49) to VND10, 425,000 ($499) on all international routes run by Vietnam Airlines.

Many tourism projects and resorts along Saigon River are expected to be carried out in the coming time.

Addressing a meeting on March 23rd, Mr. Nguyen Trung Tin, Vice-Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee, said at least 5 large tourism projects are expected to be carried out soon.

This year's HCM City Tourism Day 2011 will highlight special aspects of five popular destinations – HCM City, Da Lat, Binh Thuan, Phu Quoc and Hai Phong, organisers of the annual event said yesterday.

La Quoc Khanh, deputy director of the city's Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said at a press briefing that a photographic exhibition will present markets in Sai Gon market, flowers in Da Lat, beaches in Mui Ne, Phu Quoc island, and the red flamboyance of poinciana flowers in Hai Phong.

Every afternoon, hundreds of people rush to the field along the National Highway 22 in Hoc Mon district, HCM City, to fly kites.

The 2010 Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI) was released on March 16 by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

Accordingly, Da Nang held its position as the best performer for the third year in a row, followed by Lao Cai and Dong Thap, while Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City ranked 43 and 23, respectively.

Working groups organised by the Vietnamese Embassy in Japan made a field trip to Sendai and Fukushima cities on March 15 to rescue Vietnamese citizens from the areas that were hard hit by the March 11 quake and tsunami.

Bermuda’s cruise ship Diamond Princess, docked at the SP-PSA port in Tan Thanh district, Ba Ria - Vung Tau province on March 13 carrying nearly 3,000 tourists and over 1,000 crewmembers.

This is the largest number of foreign cruise passengers to the province so far.

A lot of big hotels in HCM City have been introducing their services, programs and events on their websites in order to help tour organizers consider designing MICE (meeting, incentive, convention, event) tours on demand.

Notwithstanding much higher prices than usual, most hotel rooms in Ho Chi Minh City were overbooked on the night of Valentine’s Day.

In recent years, going to a “love hotel”, or a "nhà nghỉ", on Valentine night has become a trend among young people in Vietnam. Because of the lack of private places for young people to share a bit of time to themselves, these rooms have become an ideal place for memorable moments.