Vietnam wants your tourism dollars and is going after them with a bit of Vegas-style. Las Vegas architectural firm, Steelman Partners is behind the plans for the $4.2 billion Ho Tram Strip, which will be Vietnam's largest single tourism venture. The resort will be built on the white sand beaches of Ba Ria - Vung Tau Province, in southern Vietnam. Phase 1 of the project calls for a five-star hotel resort with 1,100 rooms, a championship golf course designed by Greg Norman, and Vietnam's first Las Vegas-style casino. The second phase will include an additional resort, another casino and more restaurants and nightclubs. When the Ho Tram Strip is complete there will be five resorts and a conference center. The first phase is scheduled to open in late 2010 and the entire complex is scheduled to be completed in under 10 years.

The claim that Kai Vodka is the first lychee vodka might be a bit of a stretch, but the new line from Hawaii businessman and restaurateur Marcus Bender is the first one that is rice-based. Kai Vodka is made in Vietnam and comes in both standard and lychee flavors. The rice-based beverage is not sake because although both are rice based, sake is brewed, while vodka is distilled. According to an article in the Honolulu Star Bulletin, Kai vodkas is made from Yellow Blossom Rice which is grown only in the Red River Delta of northern Vietnam. It is pot-distilled and transferred to a column-still where it is redistilled twice. The 750 milliliter bottle is under $30 and the brand is making its debut in Hawaii in June before extending out to the rest of the United States.

The Banyan Tree group has just pledged about $200 million dollars to a new luxury resort project in Vietnam. Located in Thua Thien-Hue province, the complex will cover 500 acres, will feature 6 separate resort-hotels and offer more than 2,400 rooms. The area of the country that the complex will be in has some of the country's most beautiful beaches and a high-capacity seaport that can accommodate large ships, potentially attracting cruises to the area, as well.