A: First on our show today, we’d like to welcome Gary Edward Embry of the US to VOV. Mr. Embry listened to our broadcast on May 29 from 00:09 to 00:27 UTC on the frequency of 7315 and reported a strong signal. In a letter to us, he wrote: “I’m a retired radio broadcast studio engineer. If you need any help with studio or transmitter operation, I’m available.”

 B: Thank you, Mr. Embry, for tuning in to our broadcast and offering us your assistance. We plan to build several studios especially reserved for our English service and would probably ask for your advice. We’ll confirm your reception reports and send you a frequency list and a program schedule. We look forward to hearing more from you.

A:  We’d also like to welcome Paraian Dorel of Romania to VOV. Listening to our broadcast from 16:10 to 16:27 on August 25 on the frequency of 7280, he wrote: “I’d like to send you my first reception report from Romania. I think your programs are very interesting and I’m happy that I can listen to your radio station.”

B: Thank you, Mr. Dorel, for your feedback on our broadcasts. Because you are new to us, we’d like to give you a brief introduction of our station, the Voice of Vietnam or VOV. We are going to celebrate our 72^nd birthday next Thursday. The Voice of Vietnam (VOV), one of the cradles of Vietnam’s revolutionary press. VOV was the first media agency in Vietnam to create a multimedia model spanning radio, TV, print, and online.

A: The radio station has 6 radio channels. Since 2013, these channels have been specialized: VOV1 covers news and current affairs, VOV2 culture, life, and education, VOV3 for music, news, and entertainment, VOV4 ethnic affairs, VOV5 provides world service, and VOV Traffic covers traffic issues. In 2015, we inaugurated the first around-the-clock English channel in Vietnam: VOV 24/7.

B: Since 1999, all radio programs have been uploaded to the internet on our various websites. Fan pages have been created to reach the wider public and find news sources on social media.

A: Since 1998, 10 overseas bureaus have been established in Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, China, Japan, France, Russia, Czech Republic, Egypt, and the US. The Voice of Vietnam plans to open further bureaus in Australia and Indonesia.

VOV's 247 English program was launched in 2015

A: This year, we launched the VOV Media app for both Androi and IOs. The app lets you access the latest news and radio and television programs from the Voice of Vietnam. We look forward to your contributions to help improve our services, to maintain shortwave broadcasts to reach our listeners around the world and to keep pace with the rapid technological development to provide our listeners with good-quality services. 

A: Next is a letter from Robert Gauvin of Canada. He wrote: “I write to you from the capital of Canada. Although it is summer in Ottawa, temperatures have not been incredibly hot. We also set records for rainfall in June and July. I realize that Ottawa does not get as warm in summer as Vietnam, but I am not a huge fan of very hot and humid weather. Therefore, I’m not sure I could live in Vietnam in the summer. A very good friend of mine visited Vietnam with his wife a decade ago. They very much fell in love with the natural scenery of Vietnam, but at times had trouble with the heat.”

A: Hot and humid is the typical summer weather in Vietnam. But it varies between Vietnam’s three regions, north, central and south. In summer months, from June to August, hot days dominate northern Vietnam. There are occasional showers. The temperatures range from 27 to 39 degrees Celsius. High temperature s combined with high humidity produce occasional rains each month. Hanoi and northern Vietnam in general are currently experiencing their hottest month. It’s even hotter than the south. At this time, beaches and mountains are attractive destinations for both local and foreign tourists.

Hanoi in summer

B: The south is now in the midst of its wet season with daily downpours expected. The temperatures range from 24 to 34 degrees Celsius and humidity averages about 83%. The pouring rains which never last all day leave tourists chances to go out sight-seeing, though they might dampen excursions once in a while. Though the temperature can get quite high, it cools down quickly thanks to frequent rains. Tourists are still advised to use sun cream and wear long clothes to protect their skin from the sunshine. An umbrella or raincoat should always be taken along in case of a sudden downpour. 

A: If you visit Ho Chi Minh City these days, it would be a great pity not to taste some fruit specialties of the tropics like durian, dragon fruit, rambutan, and magosteen. Tourists can purchase various kinds of fresh fruit from street vendors or at big open-air markets at a reasonable price. Foreigners should drop by Nguyen Canh Chan Street to taste the mixed fresh fruit desserts so popular with Saigon’s young people. A serving of mixed fruit is just .70 USD.

B: The central region’s climate is the mildest and least humid. Temperatures there fluctuate between 26 and 32 degrees Celsius. July and August are the hottest months of the year. There are scattered showers during these months before the rainy season begins in September. A raincoat, umbrella, some sun cream and cotton clothes are good friends of tourists at this time. Occasional torrential downpours which cause streets to flood could disrupt outdoor activities. Despite unpredictable weather, the central region with its many natural and cultural heritages is Vietnam’s most popular tourist destination.

A: So, Mr. Guavin, and other listeners, we hope to see you soon in Vietnam.

B: We’d like to acknowledge reports from Soutik Hati, Ratan Kumar Paul, and Sandhya Rani of India, Richard Nowak of the US, Andrew Kuznetsov of Latvia, Roger Roussel of Canada. Abdur Razzak of Bangladesh, Koichi Ikeda of Japan, and Dmitry Puzanov of Kazakhstan. We greatly appreciate your feedback and comments on the technical aspects of our programming. We’ll confirm your reports with QSL cards soon.

A: We welcome your feedback at: English section, Overseas Service, Radio the Voice of Vietnam, 45 Ba Trieu Street, Hanoi, Vietnam. Or you can email us at: englishsection@vov.org.vn. You’re invited to visit us online at www.vovworld.vn, where you can hear both live and recorded programs. Check out our VOV Media App available on the IOS or Android platform to hear our live broadcasts. We look forward to your feedback on the mobile version of vovworld.vn. Once again, thank you all. Good bye until next time.