Canadian scrawls essay on conical hats

Pointed prose: Steve Tait poses next to his unique contest entry, which was written on Vietnamese conical hats.

HA NOI — Canadian Steven Tait created quite a stir when he was the only foreigner to enter a writing contest on the history and culture of Ha Noi, and to top it off his entry was written in his own hand on five conical hats.

"My country is 857 years younger than Ha Noi," said Tait, a Canadian, working and volunteering in the field of information technology. "I admire the capital and I feel very lucky to have lived and worked here.

"Because the city has existed for 1,000 years, I thought it a good reason to participate in the contest."

The contest was a joint effort by the Ha Noi People's Committee and the Ha Noi Moi (New Ha Noi) newspaper.

In order to answer 12 questions asked of contestants, Steve tapped all available sources, including the internet. He even called on his friends and colleagues, since some questions were rather difficult.

The more he studied about Viet Nam, the more interested he became, he said.

"I thought I would have to do something extraordinary with my entry, so it would express my admiration for the capital."

After many nights of pondering, Tait said it came in an epiphany how his work should be presented: on the non la (palm-leave conical hat) which is probably as old as Viet Nam itself.

"Conical hats and long traditional dresses are the specific characteristics we attribute to Vietnamese people. I feel inspired whenever I see a Vietnamese young lady wearing them."

Tait spent five hours a day writing his entry, a struggle because his knowledge of the Vietnamese language is minimal.

"I found it difficult to write on the hats because they are round and it required care and patience."

He also enclosed several images of Ha Noi to illustrate the text and make it more attractive.

One of Tait's colleagues, Nguyen Thi Phuong, said she was impressed with his work and the conical hat idea.

"Steve Tait is a foreigner, but he is very hard-working and always wants to learn more about Vietnamese people and culture. He always asks for help whenever there is something he doesn't know," Phuong said.

It is reported that this year's contest attracted over three million entries, aged between seven and, believe it or not, 100 years old.

Tait said he joined just for fun, so he was surprised when he heard his contribution had been singled out for special praise.

He said he also wanted to join the Viet Nam Idol singing contest.

"Let me check my schedule," he joked. —VNS

Bull-racing festival a huge hit in An Giang Province

AN GIANG — Thousands of people attended the annual Bay Nui (Seven Mountains) Bull-Racing Festival in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta province of An Giang on Tuesday.

This year's festival attracted more than 70 pairs of oxen from the districts of Tri Ton, Tinh Bien, Chau Thanh, Chau Phu and Thoai Son, Hon Dat and Kien Luong districts of Kien Giang Province, and Kirivong District in Cambodia's Takeo Province.

The three-day festival is a traditional ritual in which the Khmer ethnic minority celebrates the Dolta Ceremony to commemorate the merits of their ancestors and wish for happiness and peace for their souls.

Pop singers star in musical series ‘For Love' on VTV3

HCM CITY — The information and entertainment channel of Viet Nam Television (VTV3) last night aired the first part of a 36-part musical film TV series Cho Mot Tinh Yeu (For Love).

The film is produced by BHD Co, a private Vietnamese media company, and directed by Nguyen Tranh and Le Hoa.

Cho Mot Tinh Yeu is considered the first-ever Viet Nam TV series to feature such a high number of singers, including My Tam, Quang Dung, Tuan Hung, Tien Dat, Minh Thuan, and Minh Tu.

This is the first time singer My Tam has played a role in a film. She is also the music director for the film.

The film will be broadcast on VTV3 at 9pm every Thursday and Friday.

VNAT launches tourism television channel

HA NOI — The National Administration of Tourism and the Viet Nam Cable Television (VCTV) plan to launch the Tourism Television Channel to introduce Viet Nam tourism to the international community and raise awareness about the developing tourism industry.

The channel will be part of VCTV's cable television system and will broadcast nationally from 6am to midnight everyday on VCTV-TH channel beginning tomorrow.

Hang Da Market hosts Ha Noi photo exhibition

HA NOI — Visitors have been flocking to see old photos of Ha Noi dating from 1831-1954 that are on show at Hang Da Market's Commercial Centre in the city.

Entitled Memories of Old Ha Noi, there are thousands of photos of Ha Noi on show that reflect the fashion and lifestyles of a bygone era.

The photographs were collected by Doan Bac and Doan Thinh to celebrate the city's millennium.

The exhibition runs until next Thursday. — VNS

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Distinguished Ngo Bao Chau shares his feelings about books

Ngo Bao Chau

Photo: Tuoi Tre

Ngo Bao Chau, the winner of the world’s top mathematics prize Fields Medal two months ago, talks about his special friends -- books.

Because of my work, I move a lot. Each time, it takes a few months before the new house becomes familiar. And I’ve noticed, time and time again, the special moment when a new house suddenly becomes a home: it’s when I unpack my books from the boxes and I arrange them on the shelves. As the books are being lifted out of the boxes to fill the shelves, I feel my past also leaping out and filling up the present.

I have quite a lot of books. Some I’ve read once, some many times, and some only a few pages. But I always know when a book goes missing. And it bothers me when someone borrows my books and forgets to return them, even though I must admit that I myself sometimes commit the same offense.

Among my books, the ones that I hold closest to my heart are the old books that have been bent out of shape by time. Like the one that I carried with me to India. Its pages were soaked and curled up by moisture, and forever lost their original shape. Or the one I left for a month atop the wooden desk on the fourth floor of my parents’ house in Hanoi (that house is always filled with sunshine). The color on the cover of that book has faded. Watching books fade with the passing of time gives me the same feeling as watching my parents, relatives, and friends growing older with each passing day.

I never write or highlight the pages of my books, just as I never want to paint my friends’ faces with dirt.
Time and space put limits on our life in the sense that each of us can only live one life and be in one place at a particular time.

But pages of books serve as windows that open us to new lives and outer worlds. And just like windows, they also let the sun shine through and into our own lives.

Thus, we read not only to satisfy our desire to know about the universe and life but we also read to nurture our desire for knowledge. When we find the answer to a question through a book, it will naturally generate two other questions and such questions will lead us to new books.

Of course, we can’t find all answers in books because real life is so much larger than books. There are things that books can’t teach us because there are things we can’t fully understand until we’ve crashed and burnt with them. And there are also things that are better communicated through speaking than writing.

But on the other hand, we can learn from books more than we think because there is so much that we cannot express in spoken words. Human relationships hinge on certain rules: we should not make life harder for others by imposing on them our own torments as our daily life is already tiring.

When we speak, we are imposing because the act of speaking demands immediate attention of the listener at that very moment. When we write, however, we let our readers choose their own time to communicate with us. Expressed at wrong times, the most heartfelt message can become inappropriate and lost. Books, however, give us the great advantage of being always stable over time.

Books are special friends who always come to us with an open heart. When we move, these friends accompany us. Forever they wait for us, on the shelves.

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Hue student promotes vegetarianism to save environment

Thu Trang (L) joins friends of the Hue’s environmental club GREACT Hue to plant trees at Hue University of Agriculture and Forestry

Photo: Nguyen Dong

“Go vegetarian for the environment” campaign kicked off last Wednesday in Hanoi and is set to launch in the rest of the country on October 10, to highlight how meat production contributes to global warming.

The campaign is spearheaded by Do Thi Thu Trang, a graduate student of environmental science at Hue University of Agriculture and Forestry in the central province of Thua Thien Hue, and sponsored by Live & Learn Vietnam, an environmental education-focused NGO involved in community development.

Tuoi Tre spoke to Do Thi Thu Trang who is also the president of Hue’s environmental club GREACT Hue.

What inspired you to launch this campaign?

When I was a sophomore at Hanoi National University, I wanted to conduct research on vegetarianism and the environment but could not for a number of reasons.

Later I attended the 2010 Vietnam Youth & Sustainable Development Summit organized by Live & Learn Vietnam and learnt about many youth-initiated activities around the world. I became motivated to do something meaningful. I did some research and presented my ideas to other summit participants. I was happy that many people liked my idea and wanted to join.

What difficulties did you encounter in realizing this campaign?

As I began, I realized that although the concept of “climate change” is very popular, many still do not understand its causes and effects. Many still think of melting glaciers as something that happens somewhere faraway. Some people believe that a vegetarian diet does not provide enough energy and nutrients. Above all, people’s eating habits are hard to change, but we’ll do our best to make a difference.

How do you carry out this campaign?

We use relevant websites such as vegvietnam.com and Facebook to get our message out. We set up booths at environment-related festivals and events to inform people about the campaign. Also, as part of the campaign, we encourage participants eating vegetarian food alone, in group, with friends, colleagues or family and whether at home or at vegetarian restaurants to illustrate their experience with a story, message or photo. We reward good stories or photos.

How do you rate the feasibility of the campaign?

This is a 5-month campaign. The purpose is to help people understand, adopt and maintain monthly vegetarian habits. We also want them to continue once the campaign is over. I believe that the campaign will reach a lot of people.

Currently many international campaigns are addressing climate change such as United Nations Environment Program’s Billion Tree campaign, Global Campaign for Climate Action’s TckTckTck project and the 350 campaign to keep carbon dioxide emission under safe limits.

2010 is the United Nation International Year of Youth and I think Vietnamese youth are ready to join young people of the world in their global efforts to prevent climate change.

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Opening of Hanoi Museum celebrates capital’s birthday

Inside view of the Hanoi Museum

Photo: Tuoi Tre

Hanoi Museum – with an impressive collection of 50,000 artistic and historical artifacts tracing the history of the country and its capital through several stages of its cultural development – opened Wednesday morning to coincide with 1,000th Thang Long-Hanoi anniversary.

Speaking at the ceremony, National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Phu Trong who cut the inaugural ribbon, referred to Hanoi as the cradle of Vietnamese culture with a history of thousand of years, beginning with Loa Thanh-Co Loa citadel 2,300 years ago.

“We must have a large museum to store and preserve both tangible and intangible cultural heritages of Thang Long–Hanoi and pass them on to the next Vietnamese generations,” he said.

“Failing to do so would be a disgrace.”

Occupying an area of 54,000 square meters, the 30.7 meter-high structure housing the museum was built in the shape of an inverted pyramid with total capital of over VND2,300 billion (US$118 million).

It is comprised of a two-storey basement and an additional four floors above-ground. A spiral walkway along the walls allows visitors a wider view of the facilities as they travel between floors.

Among its prized artifacts are a 2,000 years old bronze collection and a ceramic collection dating from the 11th-19th centuries including porcelain vases, candelabra, and flower pots.

Attesting to Vietnam’s ongoing diversity, cultural relics of various ethnic groups such as the Cham, Mong and Dao also are on display at the museum.

In addition to exhibits, the museum houses research facilities, restoration facilities, a library and functional rooms for meetings and workshops. The outside area is dedicated to an outdoor exhibition of Hanoian ornamental animals and plants.

The large cultural project with unique architecture, designed by Germany’s GMP International GmbH-Inros Lackner and the Vinaconex Corporation, is the largest and most modern of its kind in Vietnam.

Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee Pham Quang Nghi, Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee Nguyen The Thao, Construction Minister Nguyen Hong Quan, Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister Hoang Tuan Anh, UNESCO representatives and several local officials and international guests attended the museum’s opening ceremony.

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Kites dance in a peaceful sky

Colours overhead: Participants fly kites during the festival. — VNS Photo Truong Vi

HA NOI — Thousands of visitors flocked to My Dinh Stadium to watch as kites soared across the capital's skyline at the Ha Noi Kite Festival.

The event, which helped to celebrate the capital's millennium anniversary, wrapped up yesterday.

More than 124 kite flyers from the country's three regions, Vietnamese from abroad and foreigners participated in the event, said screenwriter Ngo Hong Tien from the Ha Noi Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

"The participants didn't compete with each other, they weren't trying to fly their kites higher than others. At this festival, they perform together to show off their kites' beauty," he said. "That's the reason why the festival was named Ha Noi-Peaceful Sky."

The participants were divided into different groups. The group of northern participants flew traditional kites from the region and played flutes which mimicked the sound of the kite's flying. Participants from the central region performed with kites that were shaped like butterflies, dragons, birds and phoenixes. The southerners flew sophisticated kites that required dozens of people to pilot them.

Participants from foreign countries gathered in a group to fly modern kites. American and Singaporean artists flew kites that could perform acrobatics and fight with other kites. The kites were controlled with four strings and must be piloted by an experienced kite flyer, said Scott Weider from the US, who has flown kites for 20 years.

Weider and three Singaporeans co-operated in harmony as they flew kites together for the first time at the festival.

With respect to Viet Nam and the US's past conflicts, Weider said that he relished in the opportunity to visit and participate in the peaceful festival in Viet Nam.

Under the artist's skilful hands, four kites flew through the sky as if they were dancing to music and at other times looked as if they were fighting each other.

Nguyen Thanh Huyen, 20, and her friends had queued in front of the stadium since the early morning to attend the performance.

"I'm very eager to see it," she said, "we all love to fly kites and have done so since childhood."

Huyen said she likes sport kites that are flown by kite flyers from the HCM City-based Blue Sky Club.

"It's wonderful, the kites look like dancers and athletes in the sky," she said.

Vice director of Ha Noi's Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Nguyen Khac Loi said this is an opportunity to introduce the refined hobby Vietnamese to the international community.

"Kites come from different regions and they represent those cultures," he said. — VNS

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Culture Vulture

Ly Quy Trung, owner of Pho 24, a successful southern restaurant chain model which has enjoyed success in both Ha Noi and abroad took part in the 11th European Foodservice Summit in Zurich, Switzerland, last month. It was the first time that Vietnamese cuisine had appeared at the event. Pho was also the only food on display to represent Asia at the summit.

Trung was interviewed by Thuy Pham.

Could you tell us about the event and how you became one of the 14 speakers there?

The event is held annually. The 11th European Foodservice Summit aimed to orientate and predict restaurant business development across the world. About 250 owners and general directors of restaurants along with members of the press attended the event. With the exception of speakers, all attendees had to pay a fee.

I was invited as one of the main speakers. I was the first Asian to ever speak at the event. The organisers had travelled to Viet Nam before to meet and interview me. After two interviews I received an official invitation. I know that they also surveyed a number of other regional countries.

Asia now has many big names in the restaurant industry but I don't think that interested the organisers. Restaurant chains that took part in the event were not big names but special, with unique methods and techniques that could be copied in most modern countries. I think that was why Pho 24 was chosen to take part in the event.

Vietnamese cuisine is an emerging market. Other cuisine like Chinese, Japanese and Thai are already well established and Vietnamese cuisine could be next.

Why is it ‘could be' not ‘sure'?

At present, more interest is starting to be shown in Vietnamese food. I say that for three reasons. Firstly, Vietnamese dishes are rich and nutritious. Secondly, we are in the Asia region which is a trendy part of the world. Finally, Viet Nam attracts a lot of attention in general, not just in cuisine.

However, we need the right strategy and investment in order for Vietnamese cuisine to become fully recognised. For example, cuisine should be developed as a national brand. Support from the State is also necessary in the fields of information, tax and licensing.

I know that many Vietnamese want to develop their restaurant chains abroad. I'm ready to share my experience with others. We need to be unified in our push for recognition. It would take a long time to do it all as individuals. Support from the State would increase progress.

Could you tell us something about your success with the development of Pho 24?

Fast-food chains like KFC appeared in Viet Nam in 1993. It now has 70 restaurants and Lotteria has 59. Since 2003, Pho 24 has opened 60 restaurants including 17 abroad. Pho 24 is growing rapidly.

Pho 24 is the first Vietnamese restaurant chain to operate to international standards. It means that the cooking procedures are standardised on paper. Normally, traditional pho restaurants depend on the individual chef's tastes.

The success of Pho 24 proves that popular Vietnamese dishes can be a success in restaurants around the world.

Many people are afraid of that traditional pho will lose its uniqueness through modernisation and the need to conform to international standards. What do you think?

I don't think so. Our food is prepared in line with these standards but the taste is still one hundred per cent Vietnamese.

Pho 24 restaurants are equipped with air-conditioning but we still use chopsticks. Pho 24 is cooked with traditional steps but in a more hygienic way. Pho eaters have more choices. Overseas Vietnamese like to enjoy traditional dishes that remind them of home.

Pho is very popular. Does that present any negative points?

The biggest challenge is that everybody can cook pho and think theirs is the best. But to make the good taste of pho is not simple. When I opened Pho 24 in Ha Noi, many people don't believe pho Sai Gon would be accepted in Ha Noi.

Hanoians came to Pho 24 out of curiosity. At that time, pho Ha Noi was sold for just a few thousand dong while Pho 24 cost at least 24,000 dong. Some people liked it and some people didn't. I understand that Hanoians want to try something from the south but I didn't know how to get them to keep coming back.

Hygiene and good service are strong points of Pho 24. Pho 24 is not as sweet as pho Sai Gon and does not have as much monosodium glutamate as pho Ha Noi.

Pho 24 restaurants in Ha Noi are much more crowded than in HCM City. If Pho 24 was cooked in the style of Ha Noi, it would not be successful. Delicious is an abstract concept. It depends on habits which can change. — VNS

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