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Metro
05-07-2025
- Metro
I veered inland in Vietnam and saw a side few tourists see
A week ago, when I thought of Vietnam, my mind went to rattling gunfire and backpackers who landed there on their way to Thailand. But today, Vietnam is more about looking forward than looking back. As a relatively 'young' person who didn't live through the first televised war, I enthusiastically signed up for the chance to see the modern side of Vietnam on the 50th anniversary of its independence. Also, because I've always wanted to use the term 'back in 'Nam' for myself, and because I was doing it on Vietnam Airlines' dime. Or Dong, rather. When booking a flight, I usually hit Economy faster than Liz Truss. It's all I've known. I take pride in being able to eat without much use of my elbows, and in being so quiet that I'd get a 5-star review if Plane Neighbours were an app (the best time to recline your seat is after the person BEHIND you does). Fuel your wanderlust with our curated newsletter of travel deals, guides and inspiration. Sign up here. I've learnt to thrive in squalor. But now that I've flown business class for the first time, it's hard to go back. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video I ate myself into a 15-step food coma and, for once, had the wiggle room to deal with the cheeseboard-induced night terrors. It's converted me. I would genuinely pay for the experience of being able to sit in luxury and think, where emails can't find me, without any need to step off the plane in a foreign land. But we did, in fact, land as intended in Southeast Asia. There's more to Vietnam than travelling its coastal cities, which is the most popular route taken to see the sprawling country from the capital Hanoi in the north, to the most populous Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), formerly known as Saigon, in the south. Inland destinations, rather unfairly, get bumped off the itinerary, as many Westerners take the night buses that follow the coastline and offer no option for detours. The French developed the city of Da Lat (baking! architecture! looking particularly cool smoking!) and there's a European sheen to this place with remarkably few European faces. As well as being the flower capital of Vietnam, Da Lat is a big driver of the country's bloom into the world's second-largest coffee exporter, only behind Brazil. To prove their caffeine supremacy, I'm taken to a farm and rewarded with a cup of weasel moka coffee, made from beans that get their rich flavour from being sh*t out by a weasel-looking thing, which is actually called 'a civet'. It's one of the most expensive coffees in the world at around £950 per kilo, with only Indian elephant coffee costing double that. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video My impression was that it tasted quite thin and subtle, at first. But then it hit me like a truck. I knocked back a cup black, then quickly recycled the beans with another pour over to brew a second cup. When I tell you I felt high five minutes later, it's not an exaggeration. I was gurning. Heart pumping to a Berlin techno BPM that my brain couldn't dance to. In fairness, my serving did come with a 'drink slowly' advisory that I was wrong to ignore. I was paranoid that my weasel had ingested herbs it shouldn't have because my head was absolutely spinning. I had to do a 'guys, anyone else feeling it as much as I am' chat. In short: Approach with caution. Outside the farm, Da Lat is surrounded by rolling hills and rich agriculture, while still being a lively city with a bustling night market. There's no better place to enjoy the hilltop views than Cloud9, which feels like Vietnamese Hobbiton if the halflings were influencers. Rather than mucking in on the hard ground, you are glamping above the clouds here with front row seats to Vietnam's natural green splendour. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Vietnam's providence is as impressive as its landscapes, but it's the country's concrete jungles that draw most visitors. Ho Chi Minh City's (HCMC) central infrastructure is constantly shifting, month by month, to the point that it's effectively a living city, growing in real-time. It feels like everything is forever under construction as the financial capital strives to be bigger and better than it's ever been. With no real train or subway network, something as simple as crossing the road, weaving between 9.7 million scooters, can feel like the last level of Frogger. I don't have much advice, but I will say: Try to lock eyes with drivers, raising an arm helps and, most importantly, never step backwards. The city certainly doesn't, continuing to make new strides onwards. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Over the last 10 years, tourist numbers in Vietnam have more than doubled, rising from 7.9 million in 2015 to 17.5 million in 2024 following a significant recovery period after the pandemic. Tan Son Nhat Airport has built and opened a new domestic Terminal 3 to deal with the surge in visitors. A new international airport, Long Thanh, is currently under construction. It's Vietnam's biggest ever infrastructure project, and will serve as one of the largest transport hubs in the world when it's completed around 2035. This is a place that has pulled itself from deep poverty in the early 1980s to become one of the fastest-growing economies in the world. HCMC is known as the cradle of street food, which is as good a reason to visit as any. Most popular are its Banh Mi (a life-changing sandwich on pillow soft bread, ft pork floss), Pho (which is not a soup in the same way that Frankenstein is not the monster. Pho is the noodle and doesn't have to sit in a brothy dish at all), and speciality coffees within its vibrant cafe culture (try Egg Coffee and Salt Coffee and thank me later). I've never felt heavier rain than in HCMC in June. The kind of hot wet where, in the end, you don't know what's rain and what's sweat. But there was a beauty in the neon signs refracting off the splashes and seeing a near-megacity retreat inside cafes for a short caffeine fix. The climate in south Vietnam is split simply into two seasons: wet (May-early November) and dry (November-early May) with average temperatures 25C-35C year-round, although the inflated RealFeel temperatures tickling 40C should be factored in. It's one of the few places you step out the door sporting shorts, sandals, packed raincoat and a wide-brimmed hat that can serve both scenarios. I've also never sat on such low furniture as I did in HCMC, which sometimes can feel like being pranked. More Trending The public parks are packed full of residents, old and younger, during morning commute times with group exercise the probable key to their collective sprightliness and pleasantness. Resting on haunches should be the new downward-facing dog. The HCMC experience is a London sized-equivalent rat race that feels more like a communal group jog and without the individual arrogances and overriding disdain for anyone caught still on the left-hand side of an escalator. HCMC still caters for war tourism, of course, with nearby Cu Chi Tunnels (an absolute must) where you can learn first-hand how the Viet Cong won the civil war with Home Alone tactics, and will entertain nightlife debauchery on its Bui Vien Walking Street (an amusement park for sex pests) but its greatest trick is adapting to become a very capitalist communist country open to the rest of the world queueing up to see its victory lap. You can book a Vietnam Airlines return trip from Heathrow to Ho Chi Minh City from £740 in Economy, with a Business Classic upgrade costing northwards of £3,400. Once flights are booked to transport you over 6,000 miles, the cost of living in Vietnam is low. I can personally recommend the following hotels for accommodation: Golden Imperial Hotel (Da Lat) – for two people from £70 per night Cloud9 Glamping and Cafe (Da Lat) – from £25 per adult per night Pullman Hotel (Saigon) – for two people from £115 per night Core beers are often under £1.50 out and about, costing the same as most soft drinks. You can expect to pay on average £1.28 for a street food dish or a staple dish at a local restaurant and an average £4.95 for a meal at a mid-range or tourist-orientated restaurant. An eight-course tasting menu from Michelin star restaurant Anan Saigon was a reasonable £70pp for a luxury blow out experience. The roads are an aforementioned nightmare so if there's not a large enough party to warrant hiring a coach and driver, night buses are popular as a flying alternative to get you from north to south. The Grab app is Vietnam's Uber equivalent and very low costing for shorter trips. While the usual name debit and credit cards are often accepted inside stores, cash is still king here but easily attainable from ATMs. To roughly convert Vietnamese Dong prices to British Pound Sterling, remove the last three 000s and divide by 35. Dress modestly and if visiting a sacred area, like a temple, cover your bare shoulders and expect to remove your shoes if stepping inside. MORE: I tried a 'hybrid holiday' and discovered the secret to work-life balance MORE: I hate the beach, but a £13 trip to one of the UK's 'worst seaside towns' changed my mind MORE: Police draft in real life Robocops that can diffuse bombs and free hostages
Business Upturn
23-05-2025
- Business
- Business Upturn
Vietnam Airlines and FPT Strengthen Comprehensive Strategic Partnership to Advance Digital Aviation
Hanoi, Vietnam: Vietnam Airlines has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with global technology corporation FPT to strengthen comprehensive strategic cooperation. The partnership aims to accelerate end-to-end digital transformation, enhance operational capabilities, and improve customer experience. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: The Memorandum of Understanding signing ceremony took place in Hanoi, Vietnam Under the agreement, Vietnam Airlines and FPT will collaborate to co-design and implement a broad spectrum of advanced technology solutions, including Generative AI, Cloud Computing, Big Data, Blockchain, IoT, and enterprise-grade digital platforms, all tailored to enhance operations and redefine the passenger journey across all touchpoints. As the national flag carrier launches a next-generation e-commerce platform project, a strategic first step in its comprehensive digitalization journey, the new system is expected to deliver a more personalized and smarter customer experience, while expanding its service ecosystem and driving ancillary revenue growth. The collaboration involves the implementation of AI solutions in customer engagement, content automation and personalization, the development of a Customer Data Platform (CDP), chatbots, voicebots, comprehensive CRM and ERP systems, internal self-service platforms, and mobile e-commerce applications. It also includes deploying flexible, scalable cloud infrastructure and data centers tailored to evolving business needs. Both parties will co-invest in development initiatives, co-own intellectual property, and share revenue from new technology solutions for aviation operations, with the potential to scale across regional and global markets. In addition to digital transformation initiatives, the partnership will enhance customer experience by integrating Vietnam Airlines' loyalty system with FPT's ecosystem, allowing customers to redeem mileage points for products and services across FPT's education and retail networks. Mr. Dang Ngoc Hoa, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Vietnam Airlines, said: 'Digital transformation is the key driver enabling Vietnam Airlines to strengthen its competitiveness and ascend to a leadership position in the region. Our strategic partnership with FPT, one of Vietnam's most trusted and pioneering technology partners, will accelerate our comprehensive digitization, particularly in developing a modern, intelligent, and customer-centric e-commerce ecosystem. This partnership represents a decisive step toward achieving our vision of becoming the premier digital airline in the Asia-Pacific by 2030. It will also play a pivotal role in advancing Vietnam's goals of Resolution No. 57, which positions science, technology, and innovation as the cornerstone of national development in the new era.' Dr. Truong Gia Binh, FPT Founder and Chairman, said: 'Vietnam is pursuing ambitious goals in this transformative era of national progress. The government has taken bold, decisive actions to drive the country's and businesses' growth. With this partnership and the successes we have already achieved together, FPT and Vietnam Airlines will further accelerate innovation and technology adoption, in alignment with the objectives of the government's Resolution No. 57. Leveraging extensive working experience with global aviation leaders, we are set to harness cutting-edge technologies, particularly AI, to comprehensively empower Vietnam Airlines' digital transformation to become a leading digital airline in the region and globally.' Echoing this sentiment, Mr. Vu Anh Tu, FPT Chief Technology Officer, further outlined five strategic initiatives to position Vietnam Airlines as the leading digital airline in the region. These focus on establishing an AI Innovation Lab, building a technology platform to deliver new, personalized customer experiences, modernizing cloud infrastructure, developing AI agents, and providing AI training for Vietnam Airlines' employees. FPT and Vietnam Airlines share a long-standing partnership rooted in digital innovation, dating back to the 1990s, with the first Strategic Partnership Agreement signed in 2013. Over more than three decades, FPT has been a trusted technology partner throughout all stages of Vietnam Airlines' development, contributing significantly to the airline's evolution in IT systems, telecommunications infrastructure, and passenger transportation. Notably, FPT has supported Vietnam Airlines in organizing internal Digital Transformation Days and successfully hosting the 2023 IATA World Safety and Operations Conference—the first event of its kind held in Vietnam. Through this collaboration, Vietnam Airlines reaffirms its commitment to sustainable development driven by innovation, while actively advancing the implementation of Vietnam's Resolution No. 57 on science, technology, and innovation, which are the key pillars of the country's growth in the coming period. FPT has established itself as a trusted technology partner in the global aviation landscape. The tech firm boasts an extensive network of partnerships with leading airlines across Europe, the U.S., and APAC, serving a portfolio of over 100 clients, including airlines, airports, cargo operators, and aircraft manufacturers. FPT is notably a strategic partner of aerospace leader Airbus and its Skywise platform and has recently joined forces with the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) to explore next-gen aviation technologies. About Vietnam Airlines Vietnam Airlines, a member of Skyteam Alliance, is the flag carrier of Vietnam, connecting the world's most thriving destinations with nearly 100 routes to 22 domestic and 31 international destinations in 18 countries. The carrier is recognized as one of the region's leading airlines thanks to its modern fleet and its commitment towards innovation, digitalization and development — earning it international acclaim as validated by numerous prestigious awards including Top 20 World's Best Airline by Airline Ratings (2023), Global 5 Star Airline by APEX (2023); Skytrax's 4 Star Airline for many years and numerous awards by the World Travel Awards. About FPT FPT Corporation (FPT) is a globally leading technology and IT services provider headquartered in Vietnam and operates in three core sectors: Technology, Telecommunications, and Education. Over more than three decades, FPT has consistently delivered impactful solutions to millions of individuals and tens of thousands of organizations worldwide. Committed to elevating Vietnam's position on the global tech map and delivering world-class solutions for global enterprises, the Corporation focuses on five strategic areas: Artificial Intelligence, Automotive, Semiconductor, Digital Transformation, and Green Transformation. In 2024, FPT reported a total revenue of USD 2.47 billion and a workforce of over 54,000 employees across its core businesses. For more information about FPT's global IT services, please visit View source version on Disclaimer: The above press release comes to you under an arrangement with Business Wire. Business Upturn takes no editorial responsibility for the same.
Business Times
24-04-2025
- Business
- Business Times
Vietnam Airlines signs funding deal with Vietcombank for 50 narrow-body planes
[HANOI] Flag-carrier Vietnam Airlines said on Thursday (Apr 24) it had signed a memorandum of understanding with the country's top lender Vietcombank for funding to purchase 50 narrow-body planes. The plane purchases are part of Vietnam Airlines' fleet development strategy for the next decade, it said. 'The investment is aimed at expanding the short and medium-haul network in key markets such as South-east Asia, Northeast Asia and domestic markets, where demand for transportation is growing rapidly and competition is increasingly fierce,' Vietnam Airlines said. It did not specify which planes it would purchase nor the funding size. Vietcombank had earlier arranged funding for Vietnam Airlines to purchase wide-body planes such as Airbus A350, Boeing 787 and narrow-body Airbus A321 planes, according to the statement. The funding deal comes after Vietnamese and US officials have said repeatedly that purchases of US planes would be crucial to reduce Vietnam's large trade surplus with the United States, which the Trump administration has said was a key factor in 'reciprocal' tariffs of 46 per cent initially imposed on the country. Boeing has, however, struggled to deliver planes to Vietnam and other countries. Earlier in April, Vietnam Airlines announced a separate non-binding deal with Citibank worth more than US$560 million aimed at 'strengthening the airline's operational capacity and expanding its international route network in the years ahead'. Embraer, the Brazilian planemaker is in talks for the possible sale of 10 E190 narrow-body jets to Vietnam Airlines, one Brazilian official said last month. REUTERS
