B: Koji Nakayama of Japan sent us a card of white lucky storks with a message: “Thank you for the radio program that you always provide us with. I enjoyed listening to your radio program this year, and have been pleased that I got a lot of information on your country. Your radio includes informative and interesting topics, and therefore I’d like to keep listening to your radio program next year. I also appreciate the beautiful QSL cards that you kindly sent to me. I wish you a Happy New Year.”

A: Peter Ng of Malaysia sent us a card with a picture of a chicken flock since 2017 is the year of the Rooster. Each year is related to an animal sign according to a 12-year cycle. The Rooster is tenth in the Chinese zodiac.

B: Congratulations to people born in the year of the Rooster. Roosters are said to be very observant, hardworking, resourceful, courageous, and talented. You’ll definitely have a successful year ahead.  

A: Richard Chen of Trinidad and Tobago sent us a greeting card which said: “May every happiness be yours, may every wish come true, may every joy of Christmas Day remain all year with you. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!”

B: Thank you all, dear listeners.  We wish you and your family a Happy New Year. Thank you for listening to VOV. Our station will continue to offer Dx’ers around the world informative and interesting programs.

A: I’m reading a reception report from Richard Nowak, who said he was listening to VOV’s program when he was in Brooklyn for a meeting. He kept up his daily habit of listening to VOV. The show on 7315 khz on December 7 was received on a 1941 Hallicrafters SX-28 hooked up to an indoor active loop antenna. Reception was great with SINPO rating all 5s.

B: Richard commented: “The Society edition was a very interesting program. It mentioned that 7 million people have disabilities and the government is helping them to find jobs. I enjoyed this segment. The Business report discussed supplying food to 70 stores ahead of the Tet holiday. A lovely slow pop song about the beauty of Hanoi finished the show. I enjoyed tonight’s show. It was informative and educational. Thank you for the show and your support of shortwave.”

A: Thank you, Richard, for tuning in to our program regularly even when you were on a business trip. The enthusiasm of Dx’ers, like you, will continue to keep us broadcasting on shortwave. I’ve got an email from Mark Forsyth, Chief Editor, NZ DX Times, the monthly magazine of the New Zealand Radio DX League.

B: Mark told us that he has been a DX’er for about 40 years. He wrote to us from Malaysia where he is living now: “My main love is medium wave. But living in Malaysia means there is so much interference that I cannot hear a lot of MW before 11pm local time, when the neighbors go to bed and turn off their television. Once that happens I can hear quite a bit.”

A: Yeah, urban radio frequency interference is a common problem for shortwave and medium wave broadcasts. You can also listen to VOV’s programs on our website at www.vovworld.vn. Mark said he and his wife lived in Tay Ho, Hanoi, for two years. It was the most amazing place to live. But his job was not good so they left. “If I had the opportunity, I’d go back to Hanoi. I absolutely love it.” Mark said.

B: We’re very glad to have correspondence with you and we’ll be very glad to welcome you back to VOV one day. Kalab Abbas of Pakistan was interested in a feature about the Ba Na Hills in Vietnam’s central Da Nang province. Kalab was impressed with the Ba Hills, which rise 1,480 m above sea level. Kalab asks about Vietnam’s geography.

A: Vietnam has an S-shape stretches from north to south over a distance of 1,650 kilometers and is only about 50 kilometers wide at its narrowest point in Quang Binh province. Vietnam has a coastline of over 3,260 kilometers, excluding islands.

B: Vietnam is a country of tropical lowlands, mountains, and densely forested highlands. It is divided into the highlands and the Red River Delta in the north; and the Truong Son Range and Central Highlands, the coastal lowlands, and the Mekong River Delta in the south.

A: Low land covers about 20% of the country. The Red River and the Mekong are the most significant rivers; both have numerous tributaries, and the latter is certainly among the great rivers of the world.

B: The Hoang Lien Son range in the north and Truong Son range in the central highlands contain many beautiful tourist attractions. The top mountain attractions are Fansipan mountain in Lao Cai province, Hong Linh mountain in Ha Tinh province, Bach Ma mountain in Thua-Thien Hue province, Langbiang mountain in Lam Dong province, and Chua Chan Mountain in Dong Nai province.

A: Fansipan mountain in the Hoang Lien Son Range stands 3,140m above sea level. The highest mountain in Indochina, it has been called “the roof of Indochina”. It usually takes two or three days to hike to the top of Fansipan and return.

B: Conquering Fansipan is a popular challenge for adventurous travelers. Since they built a cable car system on Fansipan, a growing number of tourists have been coming to Lao Cai to experience the thrill of standing on Fansipan’s summit.

A: This week we acknowledge letters from Fumito Hokamura of Japan, Rambabu Kumar of India, Juan Carlos Gil of Spain, Jorge Robert Verdecia Ramirez of Cuba, and Amir Jameel of Pakistan. We’ll verify your reception reports and hope you’ll receive our QSL cards soon.

B: We welcome your feedback at English Section, VOVworld, Voice of Vietnam, 45 Ba Trieu Street, Hanoi, Vietnam. Our email address is englishsection@vov.org.vn. Thank you for listening to VOV on shortwave and for visiting our website. Good bye until next time.