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Ha Noi shops among Asia’s best
The capital city of Ha Noi has been named one of the 13 best cities for shopping in Asia by Smart Travel Asia, the online travel magazine for Asia.
Up from eighth place last year, Ha Noi in 2009 ranked sixth among the list of 10, the magazine said.
According Smart Travel Asia, Ha Noi is a beautiful city which sells a variety of silk products.
Hang Gai Street (near to Hoan Kiem Lake), known for its silk products has gained the nickname "silk street". This street also sold many traditional products, it said.
"When visiting Hang Gai Street, foreign tourists can find Vietnamese silk products. This is an ideal place to find the best silk gifts for themselves or friends and family," said Truong Hong Khoa, owner of the Silk Viet shop on Hang Gai Street.
The streets around the Hoan Kiem Lake are good shopping addresses for tourists, with many places selling souvenirs, decorative products and silverware.
The streets are also home to a variety of exhibitions and galleries.
"When shopping in other Asian countries, you can buy everything under one roof. However, in Ha Noi, each street sells specific goods. If you want to buy a variety of gifts, you have to visit different streets. That’s one of Ha Noi’s most distinctive features," Khoa said.
Khoa added that he was delighted to hear of the poll, as it would increase foreign awareness of the capital’s unique character.
"It will make things easier for tourists to find what they’re looking for when shopping in Ha Noi," he added.
This year, the 10 positions were shared by 13 cities, four of which are Chinese.
The number one in the Best City for Shopping in Asia category was a fight between Hong Kong and Singapore. In the end, Hong Kong pulled away to rank first with a convincing 28 per cent of the vote, closely followed by Singapore with 26 per cent.
Bangkok dropped one position following the ructions in Thailand to rank third this year.
Kuala Lumpur ranked fourth, with Dubai at fifth.
Bali (Indonesia) and Shanghai (China) polled joint seventh position. Manila was eighth and Tokyo and Beijing in ninth. The tenth position was shared by Seoul and Shenzhen (China).
The vote, organised online from May to July 2009, listened to readers’ ideas in fields of destinations, aviation services, hotels and resorts.
Two other Vietnamese cities, Hoi An Town and HCM City, were chosen among the most favourite destinations for tourists.
Hoi An Town shared the fifth spot with Bangkok among the 10 best travel destinations and HCM City polled in at 10th together with Seoul and Taipei among the 10 best cities for business.
vietnamnews
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