(VOVworld) - Have you looked at the weather forecast for Hanoi this week? It’s going to rain until next Thursday.

B: Yes, I’ve checked the weather forecast for the next 10 days. It started with a downpour overnight and early this morning and will rain continuously for several days. Hopefully we’ll have sunshine again later next week.
A: Normally we have spring drizzles at this time of the year. But this year it really pours. It may be the consequence of climate change, I guess. The rainy season in northern Vietnam begins in June and July and August are the peak months of storms and heavy rains. 

People take a walk around Hoan Kiem lake in a rainy day

B: Well the rain may cause a lot of inconvenience, but day to day life continues. Every motorbike driver has one or two raincoats or ponchos. The motorbike is the main means of transportation in Vietnam, but we don’t seek shelter when it suddenly starts to rain. We just put on our raincoats and carry on.

A: The Vietnamese way of life is very much an outdoor one. On rainy days, sidewalk shops and street-side stands are open as they normally are. Foreign tourists should buy themselves an umbrella or raincoat and head off on a stroll around town to experience the local rainy-day life.

People prefer to take photos of Hoan Kiem lake in the rain

B:  We are used to the rain because in Vietnam about one third of the year consists of rainy days. Now let’s read some letters from our listeners around the world. My favorite thing to do on rainy days is to read letters from listeners, who tell us many interesting things.

A: Timm Breyel of Malaysia emailed us to say it’s always nice to tune in to VOV. He finds the cultural programs featuring Vietnamese music, history, and festivals informative and interesting. Timm told us about a Vietnamese friend of his family. “His name is Giap. We befriended him many years ago when he worked at a restaurant in Kuala Lumpur. After many years, Giap returned home to Vietnam. Since then, we have kept in contact with him. So what does VOV has to do with our dear friend who is more like a son? Very simply, your station provides a ready source of news and cultural topics which make for good conversation with him.”

B: It’s interesting to hear that you have a close relationship with a Vietnamese person and that you find our programs interesting and relevant. Timm continues: “It is strange I should have ever met such a fine young man, especially when I consider that over 40 years ago I could have quite easily ended up in Vietnam during America’s military involvement. Fortunately I did not and fate allowed me to meet this wonderful person, who may not be representative of all Vietnamese, but who certainly has created a favorable impression and the desire to one day visit Vietnam.” 

The Turtoise Temple in the middle of Hoan Kiem lake is covered by rain

A: We’ll be happy to welcome you to our office during your future visit to Vietnam. Until then we hope you and your wife will continue to listen to VOV to prepare your plan of places to go in Vietnam. Last week we continued to receive entries for our contest “What do you know about Vietnam?’ Some entries are more than 10 pages long and full of detailed information. Some entries are nicely presented as books reviewing Vietnam’s socio-economic and diplomatic achievements, cultural and tourism events, and VOV’s milestones over the past 5 years. Not content to simply share their knowledge of Vietnam, they have added a personal touch to their entries to make them outstanding.  

B: Our listeners seem very excited about the contest and the prizes of expense-paid trips to Vietnam. Soutik Hati of India said he will participate and he would be ecstatic to win a prize. S.B Sharma, President of the SBS World Listeners’ Club in India, has already sent us his entry, which is detailed, precise, and impressive. He has helped to publicize our contest to other shortwave listeners’ clubs in his country like the Priydarshani Listeners’ Club.

A: Thank you for spreading the word about our contest. We expect many more entries from listeners worldwide in the next 3 months. American listener Richard Nowak sent us a report on our March 9 program at 6175 khz. He used a Grundig Satellite 750 hooked up to a 135-foot Hy Power Off Center Fed wire antenna strung across the front yard of his house in Port Pierce, Florida. He tuned in to hear the news of Vietnam and major world events including the Ukraine crisis, the general election in Pakistan, the joint naval exercises  of the Republic of Korea and the US, and the first anniversary of the lost Malaysian flight MH370.

B: Richard was interested in the Current Affairs segment about Vietnam’s health insurance for all people and the Colorful Vietnam story about the wedding customs of Vietnam’s Giay ethnic minority. He noted that reception was good and everything was plainly audible with just a little less than the best quality. Slight noise and interference, and minor fading was experienced but the overall quality was good with SINPO rated all 4s.

A: Thank you for your detailed report. We’ll definitely send you a QSL card to confirm it. I’m reading a letter from Joseph Pecenka of Indiana in the US, who tuned in to the frequency of 6175 khz and reported some interference from Radio Havana Cuba. Joseph wrote: “I recently realized that it has been some time since my last report. Today reception was really good with weak interference from Radio Havana. As it is usually much stronger, today all of the reports were clearly heard. Discovery Vietnam about a spring fair of ethnic people in northern provinces was very good and interesting. I really enjoyed the song at the end of the broadcast.”

B: From Cheshire, England, Ian Stagg told us that it’s good to hear news items from Vietnam. His favorite programs are ones about culture, tradition, and Vietnam’s natural beauty. The Sunday Show, he says, is well worth listening to. The music is also very pleasant. Ian shared with VOV an image of his area, the Harecastle Tunnel on the Trent and Mersey Canal at Kidsgrove in Staffordshire. Ian wrote: “The inland waterway system was once very important for moving goods around. There they moved salt to the Liverpool area and brought in coal. The main use now is as a recreation source.”

A: One fantastic thing about reading listeners’ letters is that each letter tells us something about the culture and history of a faraway place. It’s always a nice surprise. This week we got several letters from Japanese listeners Masaru Sekimoto and Fumito Hokamura, who listen to VOV and send us reports almost every day. Masaru said he listens to VOV for the news and to learn English. He wants to know if VOV provides printed versions of each program.  

B: We don’t print news releases or send copies to our listeners, but you can read our news and stories online at our website vovworld.vn. Before we go, we’d like to inform you of frequency changes for our summer broadcasts. Starting March 30 VOV’s English programs beaming to England and France at 17:00 and 17:30 UTC will be on 9625 khz. Our broadcast to Eastern America and the Caribbean at 01:00 UTC and 02:30 UTC will be on 12005 khz. We’ll remind you individually by email or post mail.

A: 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. Tune in to our English program on the Internet at vovworld.vn.  Good bye. See you next time.