VietNam Life Style

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Vietnamese in Thailand foster ties

by Ngoc Tien

Creating goodwill: Free Vietnamese language classes have become increasingly popular, especially in northeastern provinces such as Mukdahan and Nong Khai. — VNA/VNS Photo Ngoc Tien .

The Vietnamese community in Thailand tries to pass on its traditional values to a younger generation born and raised in a foreign country, and the first step is to make sure they learn the Vietnamese language.

Free Vietnamese language classes have become increasingly popular here, especially in northeastern provinces such as Mukdahan and Nong Khai. These classes are held by the Vietnamese Association in Thailand's Ubon Ratchathani Province. The class is held in the home of an overseas Vietnamese here. Most of the students were school children, along with a few adults who haven't had the chance to speak their mother tongue since they've been in Thailand.

According to Nguyen Quoc Quyen, chairman of the Vietnamese Association in Ubon Ratchathani, in addition to the four classes that the association has set up around the province, there are basic Vietnamese classes at Thai colleges and universities, held to promote trade, investment, tourism and cultural exchanges between the two countries.

"Organising one of these classes in Bangkok met with considerable difficulty, including problems finding a venue in such a crowded city, a knotty commute and the scattering of the Vietnamese population," said Thai Van Hung, deputy chairman of the Vietnamese Association in Bangkok. The first Vietnamese class in Bangkok began three months ago and currently has 20 students.

"None of our students know any Vietnamese, so we are basically teaching foreigners," said Ninh Van Thong, a volunteer teacher at the class held on Sukhumvit Road in Samut Prakan, on the outskirst of Bangkok. "Adding to the difficulty is that we only have two hours a week," said Thong.

In addition to the language classes, on Viet Nam's Tet (Lunar New Year) holidays or National Day, the Vietnamese community in Thailand often holds get-togethers so families can cook traditional Vietnamese foods, speak Vietnamese, sing Vietnamese songs, place offerings on ancestral altars and hang up pictures of President Ho Chi Minh.

"On the Tet holiday, my family make banh chung (glutinous rice square cake), spring rolls and many other traditional dishes," said Hoang Van Toan, a Vietnamese in Bangkok.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Thailand Ngo Duc Thang has praised the effort of the Vietnamese community to preserve and promote traditional values, and he praised thecommunity for its patriotism and for creating healthy relationships among families. — VNS

Resorts close to fully booked for Tet

HCM CITY — Hotels in tourist destinations like Vung Tau, Nha Trang, and Phan Thiet are nearly fully booked for the Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday week.

Le Thanh Lam, deputy director of the Bien Dong tourism area in Vung Tau, said all 27 rooms at his resort were booked from February 4 to 8 at tariffs prices ranging from VND700,000 (US$35) to VND1.5 million ($75).

Other hotels in Vung Tau like the 118-room Palace and 72-room Buu Dien are also fully booked for February 4-7.

According to the Ba Ria-Vung Tau Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, 70 per cent of rooms at private guesthouses in Vung Tau have been booked in advance.

Nguyen Van Khoa, chairman of the Binh Thuan Province Tourism Association, said luxury resorts in Mui Ne-Ham Tien are 80-90 per cent full during the week, and fully booked from February 4 to 6.

In Nha Trang, hotels are full up on February 4 and 5. Some luxury hotels like Yasaka-Sai Gon-Nha Trang hotel and Novotel only have rooms for February 3.

In Phan Thiet and Hon Rom-Mui Ne, hotels are charging double the normal tariffs for rooms.

Price gouging

Guesthouses and mini hotels have increased rates from an average of VND180,000 ($9) to VND350,000 ($17.5) for a single room and from VND280,000 ($14) to VND550,000 ($27.5) for a double room.

Thanh Dat hotel in Nha Trang is charging VND1.4 million ($70) for a room compared to a mere VND300,000 ($15) on normal days.

Thien An hotel said there are no more double rooms available between February 3 and 6 while a room for four has jumped from VND350,000 ($17.5) to VND800,000 ($40).

To avoid gouging by hotels during Tet, Tran Ba Viet, deputy chairman of the Thang Tam Ward People's Committee in Vung Tau, said authorities would inspect hotels and food establishments to ensure they do not gouge customers.

The Ba Ria-Vung Tau People's Committee said it had ordered local authorities to strengthen inspections.

Khoa of the Binh Thuan Tourism Association said members of his association had promised not to increase room and other tariffs.

Apart from prices, food hygiene and safety is also a major concern.

However, resorts and restaurants in Mui Ne have signed contracts with seafood processors to alleviate visitors' fears during Tet.

The Bien Dong tourism area in Vung Tau has signed contracts with supermarkets to ensure safe foods and vegetable. — VNS

Monday, January 31, 2011

Things thou shalt do this Tet

Li xi envelopes

Tet is a great time to be together and wish for good things to come. There are some things many Vietnamese believe should be done during the Tet holiday.

You should hand out gifts to people. They can be a bottle of wine, cakes, jam but it doesn’t matter how big the present is. A flower or just a smile is enough.

You should give children li xi or lucky money put inside red envelopes (red symbolizes luck). This tradition is called li xi or happy new age. You can also give sealed red envelopes to your loved ones or friends.

The cash inside is not important. It could be as low as VND500. But the paper notes should be new, clean and straight.

You should buy or stock water or Tet because water is associated with the proverb “tien vo nhu nuoc” (money gushes in like water).

Many believe sprinkling lime powder around the house could expel evil. Well you could if you can endure the smell.

You should return all things borrowed, and pay debts before the lunar New Year Eve. Otherwise, it is believed that you the borrower would have debts for that whole year.

You should gather together for a family union right before the New Year Eve.

Be on time if you are chosen as the first footer (xong dat). The first person stepping across the houses’ thresholds is thought to the tone for his/her family in the coming year.

The first footer often stays for five or ten minutes outside the house. When the clock signals 12, you then enter the house deliver new year greetings.

You should say “Chuc Mung Nam Moi” or happy new year whenever you meet anyone, even strangers.

You should wear colorful clothes. Avoid black or white clothes (they are for funerals). Red and yellow are favorites.

Tet celebrations on offshore oil rig

With the eagerly-awaited Tet just a step away, young engineers and workers on an offshore oil rig in Ba Ria-Vung Tau are preparing bánh chưng (the square glutinous rice cake), apricots, jams, flowers, and some traditional New Year-themed decorations for the upcoming Tet.

Hoang Long oil company Tuesday paid a visit to the oil-rig staff of CTK3, bringing them a special gift – an apricot tree that created much excitement and joy among nearly 100 engineers and workers at the oil rig.

Bui Khac Phong, an engineer, carefully put the tree in a plastic pot and gave it the pride of place next to the bust of President Ho Chi Minh in the meeting room.

Pham Ngoc Dao, engineer and representative of Hoang Long company, told Tuoi Tre that these modest gifts from the mainland prove a huge source of encouragement to the oil-rig staff.

He added that for married people, gifts from their family also help ease their homesickness and give them a much-needed morale boost.

Phung Quang Huy, an 30-year-old engineer who has lived and worked in the CTK3 for 7 years, told Tuoi Tre that Lunar New Year’s Eves offshore are unforgettable moments in his life.

“Back home, my family often prepare offerings, especially mâm ngũ quả (the five-fruit tray), to worship our ancestors on Lunar New Year’s Eve, which is a time for family members to get together, exchange best wishes and welcome in the New Year with a feast,” he said.

A hundred and twenty kilometers from the nearest shore, on what all the offshore oil rig staff consider as their second home, Huy and other workers would get together in the meeting hall and eat bánh chưng and bánh tét (the cylindrical glutinous rice cake) and sing and dance to celebrate Tet.

They also decorate the oil rig with flowers, ornamental trees, and some other adornments.

“Over here we celebrate Tet in the same way we do in the mainland,” Phong said.

To get over homesickness, some of them phone home to talk with their families and send them their Tet greetings.

Meanwhile for Tran Trong Hiep, who has worked in the oil rig for 14 years, much as they look forward to celebrating the upcoming Tet, they do not allow themselves to neglect their duties.

Hue artists get ready for the Year of the Cat

Cat scratch fever: A cat brings luck to families that want children (painting by Dang Mau Tuu).

Blue rider: A painting by Dang Mau Tuu tells the story of the battle between a tiger and a cat.

THUA THIEN HUE — As a custom among artists living in Hue to celebrate Tet, artists are making cat drawings for an annual exhibition to celebrate the upcoming Year of the Cat.

The exhibition shows paintings of creatures that symbolise each 12-year cycle, including dragons, rats, horses, dogs, tigers and goats.

While veteran artists depict the cat successfully fighting a rat, young artists prefer to show the cat's speed and dynamism.

In the Eastern viewpoint, the cat and rat are considered natural enemies.

In Tran Van Mang's painting, the cat sits in a corner of a kitchen spying on some rats, and in Vinh Phoi's painting a cat is shown killing a rat.

On the other hand, young artist Vo Xuan Huy uses an abstract style to express a young cat that symbolises the beginning of the new year.

Artist Dang Mau Tuu in his works tells of a legendary tale of a tiger and a cat, in which the cat teaches the tiger many things, except for climbing trees.

However, after being trained, the tiger uses his new skills to attack the cat but fails when the cat climbs up an areca tree.

Tuu's message is that keeping one's own identity will help people stand firm in case of calamity.

He said the massage is significant in the context of globalisation.

Tuu, who is also chairman of Thua Thien-Hue Province's Association of Art and Culture, said the exhibit offered the community a chance to think about the possibilities of the upcoming year.

The first exhibition of this kind was held in Hue in 1999, he said. Late artist Buu Chi was one of the most popular artists of this genre, and the community applauded his work for its creativity and philosophical expression. — VNS

Border soldiers, families receive Tet gifts

HCM CITY — Border guards stationed in Ca Mau and Gia Lai provinces have received gifts of food and medical assistance for Tet under a programme undertaken by several HCM City organisations.

Mua Xuan Bien Gioi (Spring Comes Early on the Border) offered gifts worth VND400 million (US$19,000) to thousands of soldiers as well as poor people living in remote communes like Ia Pnon, Ia Nan, and Pleiku.

Medical volunteers provided soldiers and villagers with health checks, treatment, and drugs.

Nguyen Minh Tong, head of Border Station 723 in Ia Pon, said his men and officers are from various parts of the country and will not be able to return home for the Lunar New Year.

"We appreciate the support and love offered by organisations and individuals around the country, who bring our soldiers a taste of Tet," he said.

"Your love makes us warm and happy."

There was a show in which performers from traditional art troupes danced and sang folk songs in praise of the country, people, and soldiers.

Elsewhere, members of the HCM City Women's Association visited and gave away books, magazines, blankets, and traditional jams and candy to women and children living in remote areas of Dong Thap, An Giang, and Long An provinces.

They also sent gifts and money to poor families in Phu Yen and Binh Dinh provinces who suffered during the recent floods.

This week more than 200 HCM City university students travelled to rural districts like Nha Be and Can Gio and neighbouring provinces under a volunteering programme organised by the City's Youth Association.

Sinh Vien Don Tet Xa Nha (Migrant Students Welcome Tet 2011) encourages young people in the City to call on and help students living in poor and remote areas and heroic mothers celebrate Tet.

"We wanted to share and celebrate Tet with our friends from other provinces who have to welcome the New Year without their families," Tran Duy Phuoc, a third-year student at the Law University, said.

"We can bring them a happier spring." — VNS

Lotus receives designation as national flower in referendum

HA NOI — The lotus has been named as Viet Nam's national flower, after receiving 80 per cent of votes during a referendum at the Spring Flowers and Drinks Festival, held at the Culture and Art Centre, Ha Noi, on Saturday.

Last April, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism established the criteria for the national flower: it must have originated in Viet Nam or have been planted for a long time in the country and must be found in many localities.

The ministry also asked that the flower be one featured widely in arts and favoured by many people.

During an online poll, conducted since 2006, 60 per cent of voters favoured the lotus, followed by the ochna blossom and peach blossom, the ministry said.

New logo, slogan to give ‘orientation' to tourism

HA NOI — The Viet Nam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) yesterday awarded first prize to Cowan Viet Nam Company for creating the slogan Viet Nam – a Different Orient.

It will become the official logo for the National Tourism Promotion Programme for 2011-15.

The new logo is meant to reflect Viet Nam's uniqueness, independence, and vision.

Second prize went to the slogan The Country of Smiles, while third prize was awarded to Viet Nam – the Pride of Asia.

The competition ran for four months. Organisers received 413 entries from 223 design firms, both domestic and international.

The contest was jointly held by the VNAT and the Viettime Media Company.

The tourism authority hopes the logo will attract 10-15 per cent more international visitors, while boosting domestic holiday makers by 15-18 per cent from 2010-20.

Fathers have fun with their kids in new TV game show

HCM CITY — A new game show for children Ti Hon Tranh Tai (Kids Compete) will begin airing on television on February 5.

Produced by HCM City Television (HTV) and Dong Tay Promotion Company the show is based on Fremantle Media's game show Baby Races. The programme will be hosted by young actor Dinh Toan.

Children from six months to six years old are eligible to can take part in the show with their fathers.

The format of the game involves three teams with 4 members each – three children and a father – who will play games like trolley racing, milk-feeding, crawling, and diaper-changing and football.

At the end of the show, the winners and runner-ups will receive gold, silver and bronze medals as well as vouchers for buying toys.

The show will be aired at 7pm every Saturday on HTV7. — VNS

VietNam Life Style

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Vietnamese in Thailand foster ties

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Resorts close to fully booked for Tet

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Monday, January 31, 2011

Things thou shalt do this Tet

Li xi envelopes

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Tet celebrations on offshore oil rig

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Hue artists get ready for the Year of the Cat

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Border soldiers, families receive Tet gifts

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