VietExplorer2025

The annual Hue balloon fest themed ‘The Beauty of Hue Citadel,’ which takes place at Ham Nghi Yard inside the Hue Citadel from April 13 to 20, is part of the Hue Festival 2023. Twelve big-sized hot-air balloons will ascend into the skies over the city during this year’s festival. Domestic and international tourists can opt for either tethered balloon rides or free-floating ones to explore the beauty of Hue City.   A free-floating balloon ride is priced at VND4 million (US$171) for 40-60 minutes. Notably, the rides starts at 6:00 am every day, with up to three passengers and a pilot on board a balloon, allowing visitors to admire the scenery of the city at dawn. A tethered balloon ride costs VND200,000 ($8.5) per passenger for five minutes. The activity, in which balloons will float at an altitude of 20-30 meters, is open from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm daily. The festival will also feature an electronic dance music show, with the participation of multiple famous rappers a...

Fletcher spent nine days discovering the cuisine across Vietnam with a local expert named Thanh Huynh. The five experiences she included in her list are: Hopping on a Vespa On the first night in Ho Chi Minh City, Fletcher was on the back of a Vespa scooter to head into the city center and try many delicious dishes at traditional markets. She also tasted a Chinese roasted duck and a French baguette. Tourists eat coconut candies and fruits and enjoy ‘don ca tai tu,’ a traditional musical art of southern Vietnam, on Phung Islet, Ben Tre Province. Photo : Minh Huyen / Tuoi Tre Going deep into the Mekong Delta Arriving in Ben Tre Province, southern Vietnam, Fletcher hopped on a small-boat tour in the Mekong Delta, including a stop at an artisan workshop and lunch with a local farming family. Truoi Lake in Thua Thien-Hue Province, central Vietnam. Photo : Bao Khanh / Tuoi Tre Taking slow train to Hue A rail journey to Thua Thien-Hue Province in central Vi...

The boarding house has become an address of love and nurtures the kindness and dreams of many poor students. House of kindness Only 10 minutes after school finishes, students ride their bicycles to return to the boarding house. Despite being busy as a bee, both Hai and her husband try to observe students living in their boarding house and care about their studying. “We are happy to see them going to school regularly and studying hard. “Their families believe in us and say that their children have made progress. “Money is not a matter to help them pursue their learning journey.” The help to the disadvantaged and the community by the family of Hai is well known in Nui Thanh Town of the namesake district. Local authorities and associations often visit and support the boarding house. Hai decided to use her money to build the boarding house for poor students after she and her husband did charity in remote areas and saw the difficult life of residents there. Meanwhile, her house i...

Songrit Pongern is a Thai journalist and cultural researcher who has visited Vietnam many times. In his perception, Vietnam has a unique indigenous diversity reflected in the beliefs, lifestyles of the people, methods of production, especially in agriculture. According to Songrit, the diversity in Vietnamese culture is also reflected in the richness of regional customs, traditions and art forms. It is proved by the fact that Vietnam has dozens of cultural features recognized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Some can be listed such as Hue Royal Court Music, Central Highlands Gongs, Bac Ninh quan ho folk singing, ca tru, xoan singing in Phu Tho, don ca tai tu singing in the Mekong Delta or vi dam folk singing in Nghe Tinh area. Having been to Lac village in Mai Chau , Hoa Binh during his first visit to Vietnam more than 30 years ago, Songrit is still impressed with the beautiful scenery, ...

From the beginning of Wednesday’s match, Tam showed her dominance over Fernandez. Tam did not allow her opponent to approach while launching single and continuous attacks.  With abundant physical strength and good stature, Tam confused the European No. 9 and took the lead in the showdown. In the first two rounds, Tam scored with straight punches and accurate hooks into Fernandez’s face, abdomen, and ribs to claim the absolute victory. In the third round, Fernandez tried to regain the balance but ended up being squeezed out by the Vietnamese boxer.  At one point, Fernandez even failed to keep her composure and had an unsportsmanlike conduct against Tam, for which she was given a warning. In the end, Tam won 5-0 with the absolute points of 30 in all five rounds. This screenshot shows Vietnamese boxer Nguyen Thi Tam declared the winner in her 50kg quarterfinal fight against Spanish rival Laura Fuertes Fernandez at the 2023 IBA Women’s World Boxing Championshi...

About 40 US artists will participate in the exhibition which has been designed in two spaces. The first space, themed “Finding Parkinsons” will display artworks by painter David Thomas who was born in Portland, Maine, in 1946. He joined the US Army in 1968 and was subsequently sent to Vietnam to serve as a combat engineer/artist for one year from April 11, 1969, to April 10, 1970. After leaving the US Army, Thomas then joined the Vietnam Veterans Against the War to protest US involvement in Vietnam, with many of his artworks focusing on the anti-war movement. In 2000, he was awarded the “Vietnam Art Medal” by the Vietnamese Government in recognition of his contributions to the arts. The second space will bring together artworks of 37 members of the Boston Printmakers. Originally founded in 1947, the mission of the Boston Printmakers is to promote public knowledge of printmaking, encourage and support artists working in printmaking, as well as promoting both excellence and inn...