Monthly Archives: May 2010

Leveraging the Green Factor to your Bottom Line

Going “green” is big business today. Not only is going “green” an environmentally responsible approach for businesses of all sizes to take and one that is the current rage, but going “green” can leverage profit dollars to your bottom-line too.

First, what exactly do we mean by having your business go “green”? When we talk about “green”, we mean making a concerted effort to save our natural resources concerted action. Actions such as:

1. Saving on paper supplies – consider going digital for all of your internal office correspondence thereby saving on office supply costs and saving trees at the same time.

2. Lowing office energy consumption – lower your thermostat in the winter and raise it in the summer. Consider using an electronic programmable thermostat to lower your energy consumption when people are not in your office in the evenings and weekends.

3. Recycling drink bottles – get your employees to sort their lunch trash and recycle bottles and cans. Encourage the use of environmentally friendly alternatives to Styrofoam cups.

4. Using recycled paper – whenever possible use recycled paper in your print marketing materials saving trees and forests.

5. Using biodegradable alternatives – replace plastic packaging and plastic shipping materials with new biodegradable “plastic-like” alternatives. Many of these new alternatives do not cost more and warrant your consideration.

Posted in Green Travel | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

A Challenge to Travelers: Go Green

While environmentalists have been promoting a “green vision” for almost 35 years now, it seems like the general public has just realized that each and every one of us has a negative, and lasting, impact on the environment. It’s about time.


From a traveler’s perspective this realization is important because travel can have significant impact on the environment: air travel consumes tremendous amounts of fuel, hotels are wasteful of water, people move without consideration through untouched natural habitat, simply for entertainment value.


Fortunately, if travelers are willing to make concrete and relatively easy changes to their everyday travel behaviors, the overall positive benefits can be enormous.


When you get down to it, being aware of the environment helps protect everyone’s favorite travel destination: the earth.


Travelers already know they carry a considerable amount of sway with service providers: hotels, attractions, tour operators are all keenly interested in the opinions of their clientele. Take advantage of this. Travel businesses are particularly responsive to customers who present concerns; that means when you speak to a hotel manager about the environment, you are sure to get their attention.


What can you do? Well, to start, simply consider how much water a regular hotel consumes in a single day, and take that concern to your hotel operator. Your voice carries a tremendous amount of weight, so be proactive and let them know that you want them to lower water and energy usage and reduce solid waste.

Posted in Green Travel | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Mekong Travel

Mekong Travel at www.mekongtours.biz

The Mekong Delta is the bottom half of Vietnam’s two rice baskets, the other being the Red River Delta in the North . This vast delta is formed by the deposition of the multiple tentacles and tributaries of the mighty Mekong River which has its origin in the Tibetan highland plateau 2,800 miles away. From its source, the river makes its way through China, Myanmar (Burma), Laos, Cambodia and South Vietnam before flowing out into the South China Sea. The Mekong’s Vietnamese name, Cuu Long, means Nine Dragons for the nine mouths that terminate the flow of this great river as it is absorbed by the sea.
The people of south Vietnam are often very proud of the richness and vastness of this land. When referring to the rice fields in this area, they often say, “co bay thang canh”, meaning the land is so large that the cranes can stretch their wings as they fly. Today, the region is one of Vietnam’s highest producer of rice crops, vegetables and fruits.

Life On The Mekong

Posted in Green Travel | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Mekong Travel, Mekong Delta Travel, Vietnam Mekong Travel

The people of south Vietnam are often very proud of the richness and vastness of this land. When referring to the rice fields in this area, they often say, “co bay thang canh”, meaning the land is so large that the cranes can stretch their wings as they fly. Today, the region is one of Vietnam’s highest producer of rice crops, vegetables and fruits.

Life On The Mekong

The Mekong Delta was an ancient Khmer territory. The area was mostly marshland and forest. When the Nguyen Lords took control of this region, a series of canals were built and a system of transportation was implemented in the maze of water ways in the area.
The Mekong Delta is divided into 9 provinces: Long An, Tien Giang, Ben Tre, Dong Thap, An Giang, Vinh Long, Kien Giang, Hau Giang and Minh Hai. The people in this region are made up of Vietnamese and some people of Khmer, Chinese and Cham origin. This accounts for the variety of religions that add to the cultural diversity of this area. Among the religions practiced here are: Buddhism, Catholicism, Cao Dai ( Cao Dai temple – Cu Chi tunnel tour ), Hoa Hao and Islam.
The southwest region of Vietnam is known for the vast rice fields and the huge plantations that make up the core of this region’s economy. The region is also known for the many miles of waterways criss-crossing the land making this area both fertile and unique.

Posted in Green Travel | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment