Beautiful Vietnam

Phan Dinh Phung Street in Hanoi has been revived with beautiful mural paintings featuring the beauty of the capital city.  The mural project has been carried out on a section of wall on the street by a group of artists who were former students of Phan Dinh Phung High School on the occasion of marking the 45th school birthday on October 14.   To date, many works have been finished, while some have been still underway.  The pictures from left to right depict Hanoi’s landscape and historical sites from the past to the presence.  One Pillar Pagoda in the past and present  A corner of Dong Xuan Market   Hanoi Old Quarter   Long Bien Bridge  Phan Dinh Phung Street  A flower vendor, the common image on Hanoi streets  The paintings attract the attention of many young people  A foreign visitor Earlier, under a community art exchange project funded by the Korea Foundation, UN-Habitat, and the Hoan Kiem … [Read more...] about Murals liven up Hanoi street

Duong Lam Village in Son Tay Town in Hanoi’s outskirts, the first-recognised old village in Vietnam, is home to many houses dating back up to 400 years.  The house owned by Nguyen Van Hung, 51, is among those which is nearly 400 years old. Hung’s family is the 12th generation living in the house.  The house with the gate built from laterite is divided into five compartments. Three are used for ancestor worship.  The main doors can be easily dismantled, which is convenient for holding parties.  Despite hot weather, it is quite cool inside the house as it has many doors and many parts of it are built from wood.  Nguyen Van Hung, the house owner  There are many valuables, including a bronze tray of more than 300 years old used by the wealthy in the past.  The closet and a set of table and chairs were made hundreds of years ago   The cupboard  The kitchen  The jar used to hold rainwater   Some pillars … [Read more...] about Duong Lam’s old village houses

H'mong ethnic people in Son La Province still make their special shan tuyet green tea following traditional methods. Mua A Pao collecting tea buds The tea buds and leaves come from wild perennial tea trees located in the mountains 1,500 metres above sea level. Mua A Pao from Chung Trinh Village said they had to pick the tea buds from early morning until 10 am and then from 3 pm onward. "It's best to pick the buds when the weather is cool and there is a mist. Buds picked under the scorching sun do not taste good and will have black marks if they are picked under a rain," he said. According to Pao, temperature is very important when the buds are dried on hot cast iron pan. They must heat up the pan first then use a strong fire to dry the buds. It takes up to one hour to dry a 2kg batch of green tea before the buds are squeezed by hand to release their aroma. This is a delicate process as the buds can be bruised and lose their colour. After being squeezed, the buds are dried in a … [Read more...] about H’mong green tea in Son La Province

Hon Gai International Harbour on Ha Long Bay in the northern province of Quang Ninh is scheduled to put into operation next month. The harbour which can receive the world’s largest cruise vessels has a total investment of nearly VND1 trillion (USD45.54 million). Of the sum, VND300 billion is from the state budget, while the remainder is sourced from Sun Group.  The harbour can receive the world’s largest cruise vessels has a total investment of nearly The harbour is 1.2 kilometres long, with the passenger welcoming area of 130 metres long. This will serve the world’s largest cruise 330 metres long and can transport 6,500 passengers. The terminal has three floors covering a combined area of 13,500 square metres. Vu Van Khanh, Director of Quang Ninh Province’s Department of Transport, most of the project has been finished for the operation in November. Around 100 luxury cruises dock in Ha Long Bay every year on average, bringing some 200,000 … [Read more...] about Ha Long Bay harbour to become operational next month

Vietnam has been ranked 14th among the best countries for expats after InterNations drew on its 3.2 million members and surveyed over 18,000 expats from 178 nationalities living in 187 countries or territories. The best countries for expats were ranked by InterNations as part of its annual Expat Insider Survey. According to the latest report on atlasandboots.com, there are an estimated 57 million expatriates across the globe, with the term “expat” no longer limited to corporate employees relocating from a company’s headquarters. Instead, more and more expats are moving overseas in search of a dream. Some have remote jobs and are now working from a location they love. InterNations’ latest survey looks at how expats’ motivations for moving are changing where they go. InterNations used its members’ answers to rank 68 destinations on how expat residents feel towards their home away from home. The survey uses 48 individual factors that … [Read more...] about InterNations: Vietnam 14th best country for expats