 Foreign tourists to Hanoi take photos with Vietnamese women in traditional ao dai. (photo: Duc Anh/VOV) |
B: Now let’s check the emails. “Greetings from the International DX Radio Listeners Club, West Bengal in India.” Hello Mr. Najimuddin. We’re glad to receive your feedback on various topics we’ve mentioned on our programs.
A: Mr. Najimuddin said: “I’ve been listening to shortwave radio for a long time. I follow your web site and your social networks. I am a fan of VOV because "VOV" is my third eye to see and feel Vietnam, its history, arts, cultures, people, places, and travel destinations. Voice of Vietnam is my one and only source of information about Vietnam.”
B: He continued: “One day I will visit Vietnam, that's why I collect information about this great country. VOV's radio program and website are updated, which give me a true picture of Vietnam, as well as Asia, and its perspective on international aspects and events.”
A: Thank you very much for your compliment. We hope to see you in Vietnam one day. We’ll put in our calendar the 30th Anniversary of your Radio Listeners Club on January 2nd, 2025. As you told us that in this program, you’ll organize a "Listeners Conference" and” DX Exhibition" in West Bengal, we’d like to send some promotional items from VOV.
 A group of women wear ao dai to celebrate Vietnamese Women's Day on October 20th. (photo: Duc Anh/VOV) |
B: Here I have an email from Vicentiu Daniel Gheorghe, the Founder and President of Romanian VOV Club. He wrote: “I am writing to express my sincere gratitude for sending me the verification card. Receiving it brought me great joy, and I truly appreciate the time and effort you took to send it to me. As a dedicated listener of VOV5, it is always a pleasure to tune into your insightful and engaging programs. Your service provides a wonderful connection to Vietnam, and I value the opportunity to learn more about your country through your broadcasts.”
A: Thank you for regularly visiting our website and sharing stories about Vietnam on your Facebook Fanpage. We’re grateful for having a dedicated listener like you.
B: Omar Faruk of Bangladesh listened to VOVWorld’s program on October 12th on the frequency of 7220 kHz. Using a Grundig YB400 receiver, he rated SIO at 444 with good signal and clear sound quality.
A: Faruk said: “I like your news very much, as well as the Vietnamese music and others stories. I will send you reception reports regularly and hope I will get your verification cards and stickers.”
B: Of course, we will verify listeners’ reception reports with VOV’s confirmation cards. Listener Stefan Lipsius in Kassel, Germany, appreciated VOV for its informative and interesting programs. He said he likes the news bulletins of Vietnamese and world events at the beginning of the program.
A: French listener Maguy Roy said: “Congratulations on the 70th anniversary of the Liberation of the Capital! The celebration of these important events will strengthen national solidarity, help people remember the meaningful historical days, and the development of history, politics, economy, society over the past 70 years, while still preserving traditional customs and unique cultural identity.”
 Farmers in Vong village harvest green rice to make Com. (photo: qdnd.vn) |
B: Roy told us that he read a story of the Com – green or young sticky rice – Festival of the Tay ethnic group and asked us to differentiate young sticky rice and sticky rice.
A: Rice has been grown in Vietnam for thousands of years. Sticky rice is a type of rice whose grains stick together slightly when cooked. Com is made from sticky rice when the rice fields turn a little bit yellow. To check the readiness of the grains, the farmers pick and bite on some of the raw grains. If it tastes as sweet as milk, then it is suitable to make com. When sticky rice grows further, normal harvesting begins when the grain turns yellow, and the plants start to droop.
B: The autumn rice crop from August to October gives more delicious com than other crops, said Nguyen Duc Tien of Vong village in Cau Giay district, where farmers make the most famous com in Hanoi.
“We harvest nicely green rice grains. Grains that are too old won't have a nice green coloring. Grains that are too young will fall apart when pounded.”
 Farmers use machines to roast rice and remove the husk. (photo: qdnd.vn) |
A: The young rice is steamed or roasted and allowed to cool before being pounded in a mortar to remove the husk.
Ngo Thi Thu, a Vong villager, said: “We slowly roast the young rice until the husks crackle slightly. If we roast overtime the green rice will be dry and hard and not chewy.”
B: After roasting, the grains are winnowed and pounded many times to remove the husk. In the past people pounded manually. Now they have machines. Com is mentioned in many poems and songs to praise the taste and aroma of Hanoi’s specialty and the values of rice.
 Com is grasped in fresh leaves to keep its flavor. (photo: qdnd.vn) |
A: Listener Sun PholfromPhnom Penh said: “I am looking forward to listening to the new column ‘VietnamRising Era’. Hopefully there will be in-depth articles on Vietnam’s socio-economic development and achievements toward its goals.”
B: Listener José Luis Corcuera Gil of Spain reported that VOV’s transmission was very good. He listened to our program with pleasure. “I’m sorry for the sad news about typhoon Yagi. But I’m sure that the hardworking Vietnamese people will overcome all the damage. The most painful thing is the loss of life, but the spirit of solidarity of the Vietnamese people will always be promoted in adversity".
A: Thank you very much for sharing your sympathy. Various activities are being carried out to help the victims, who themselves are also trying hard to keep on going.
 Son Doong is listed in the top 10 most amazing caves in the world. (Photo: Oxalis Adventure) |
B: Listener Paul Gager of Austria expressed his impression on the photos of Son Doong Cave in Vietnam’s Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park in Quang Binh province. He wants to know more about this wonder.
A:Son Doong is considered to be the largest cave in the world, based on volume and also the biggest cave in Vietnam, found by Ho Khanh – a Phong Nhalocal man in 1990. In 2009, Son Doong Cave was officially surveyed and measured by the The British -Vietnam Cave Expedition Team, who then announced it as the world's largest natural cave with a volume of 38.5 million cubic meters.
B: Son Doong Cave has been featured on many global TV channels and promoted by travel bloggers.
A: You may recognize Alan Walker's song “Alone Pt.II”. The music video for "Alone, Pt. II" will leave viewers utterly enchanted and left in awe, as a major part of it was filmed in the world’s largest cave, Son Doong.The MV reached 400 million views early this month after nearly 4 years of release on Youtube.
 A screenshot from Alan Walker's MV “Alone Pt.II” filming in Son Doong Cave |
B: If you’re interested in Son Doong Cave but don’t have enough time or money to sign up for the tour, you can take a virtual tour launched in early 2021 on the Google Arts & Culture page. Interactive features allow you to experience a collection of photos and videos of Son Doong Cave in a novel way. This was a project on which the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism collaborated with Google to promote Vietnamese tourism internationally.
B: Time is up for VOV’s program today. We welcome your feedback at English Service, VOVWORLD, the Voice of Vietnam, 45 Ba Trieu street, Hanoi, Vietnam.
A: You can email us at englishsection@vov.vn. You’re invited to visit us online at vovworld.vn, where you can hear both live and recorded programs. Once again, thank you all for listening. Goodbye!