A: A flow of letters and emails poured into our office this week, bringing with them reception reports and beautiful New Year’s Greeting cards. In VOV’s English section, the festive atmosphere of the New Year Festival is reflected in colorful greeting cards from around the world. We feel like we are enjoying a multi-national celebration with images of Stockholm, the Big Ben Clock Tower in London, and lovely Christmas and New Year cards from listeners in Trinidad and Tobago, the UK, Germany, the US, Japan, and the Philippines.
B: Thank you all for your sentiments and wishes for the VOV staff. Vietnam will celebrate the Lunar New Year festival next week and your wishes have made us very happy. You inspire us to produce more interesting programs.
A: Now, let’s read the letters. Rolf Ahman of Sweden asks us to resend our QSL card for his reception report of April 21, 2012, on 9730 khz at 20:30 to 21 UTC. Rolf wrote: “The area where I received Voice of Vietnam is a suburban area in the heart of Sweden, called Galo, where some radio listeners gathered for a weekend of listening away from the city noise. Reception was achieved by means of a communications transceiver, Icom-7000, and a 300 meters wire directed 260 degrees. The reception conditions were good with SINPO rating 43333. I use an Iriver MP3 player for recording.”
B: It’s really interesting to hear about another venue for Dx-ing hobbyists. I guess it’s a quiet and peaceful place without the interference of electronic and other high-tech devices. Rolf went on to say: “I’m 61 years old. Dx-ing has been a hobby of mine since 1964. I live in Alvsjo, a suburb 10 km south of our capital Stockholm. Alvsjo is known for its large fair area and its female football team. I’m an engineer working at the telecommunications company Ericsson AB. My hobbies, other than DX-ing, are genealogy, reading books, and jogging.
A: You said that genealogy is a very popular hobby in Sweden, but in Vietnam it’s unfamiliar. I really want to know more about it and your specific study of human clans, animals, plants, and languages. I hope you’ll tell us more in the next letter. Rolf, a QSL to verify your reception report has been sent, and you should get it soon. Next, here is a letter from Peter Erick Boeck of Germany, who heard VOV’s program in Lombok, Indonesia. He reported listening to VOV on December 20, 2012, on 12020 khz. He rated SINPO at 55444.
B: The clear reception quality enabled Peter to jot down a detailed content report of the program’s content. We definitely will verify it with a QSL card. Peter wrote: “I’m happy to spend some weeks with my friends in Indonesia again. I’m here for a rest and to recharge my personal batteries in order to return to work next year fresh and relaxed.”
A: I hope you had a wonderful vacation in Indonesia. Have you considered having a holiday in Vietnam some day? Many of our listeners have visited Vietnam and came to our office in Hanoi. Jim Savari wrote in a letter on January 13 that he would like to visit Vietnam very much. He wants VOV to send him specific instructions on visiting Vietnam.
B: We’ll send you some brochures of some Vietnamese tourist agencies. There are various attractive tours to Vietnam to suit different tastes. You can visit the capital city of Hanoi to explore its 1,000-year history, culture, and architecture that exist in parallel with modern features. If you prefer adventure tours, you should go to Vietnam’s northern mountain regions or the Central Highlands. The central coast offers relaxed activities at eco-resorts, beaches, and many UNESCO-recognized cultural heritage sites. And the southern region is famous for tours of the Mekong River delta to see floating markets, mangrove forests, and bird and stork sanctuaries.
A: Jim Savari, we regularly air features on scenic spots and tourist attractions around Vietnam. If you’re interested, check out our website at www.vovworld.vn.
B: From India, our regular listener Ms. Karobi Hazarika asked “How many types of snakes, poisonous and non-poisonous, are found in Vietnam? Are there any snake markets in Vietnam?”
A: Oh my God! I’m scared of snakes. Please go on with the topic, but I can’t contribute any ideas.
B: Ok. I’ll just give some general information about snake in Vietnam, because I’m not an expert on reptiles. Do you know that US soldiers in the American War used to say that there are 100 types of snakes in Vietnam—99 are poisonous, and the other one can crush you to death. The real numbers are nearly 200 species, 30 of which are poisonous, including the famous King Cobra. The most common species are the green or glass non-venomous snake that people can easily find in the countryside and rice fields. There are some highly poisonous species such as the red tail grass snake, the white head grass snake, and many more which live in forests across Vietnam.
A: I want to assure those who are afraid of snakes like I am that I’ve never encountered a snake in the city. I hope I’ll never meet one if I travel to the countryside.
B: Yes, the danger is low except when you explore marshes or forests. My advice is that if you see a snake, keep a respectful distance. If it has a triangular head, as many poisonous snakes do, carefully leave the area. The second question is about snake markets in Vietnam. Snakes are sold in certain specific markets. Snakes are food in Vietnam, but, not as popular as chicken or pork. Le Mat, a snake village on the outskirts of Hanoi, offers snake dishes. The menu consists of 7 or 8 dishes made from various parts of the snake, including the blood and the heart. Chi/Phuong, are you okey? You’re trembling.
A: I’m not ok. Can we end this topic here, please.
B: Alright. Take a deep breath. We’ll continue with letters from other listeners. Christer Brunstrom of Sweden listened to the program on January 26th on 5955 khz at 18:00 UTC. The SINPO rating was all 4s. He liked the feature on a craft village that makes Chung cake, a special cake for Vietnam’s Lunar New Year festival. Over the past week, several listeners said they enjoyed our Culture segment on Vietnam’s preservation of Ho dynasty relics, a world heritage site. Others said it was great to hear our Society segment about charity activities in Ho Chi Minh city to help the less fortunate enjoying a happy Tet.
A: You’re listening to VOV’s Letter Box, acknowledging listeners’ comments and questions. We promise to confirm all the reception reports we got this week. We welcome your feedback at:
English section, Overseas Service, Radio Voice of Vietnam, 45 Ba Trieu Street, Hanoi, Vietnam. Or you can email us at: englishsection@vov.org.vn. If you miss any of our programs, you can always catch up by visiting our website at www.vovworld.vn, where you can hear both live and recorded programs. Good bye until next time.