(VOVWORLD) - Budapest, the capital of Hungary, seamlessly combines its past and present, exemplified by Buda and Pest, the two distinctive halves of the city separated by the Danube River. While Buda offers a tranquil and somewhat stately atmosphere due to green spaces and ancient attractions, its sibling Pest has rapidly become a tourist favorite as the home to buzzing restaurants, cafes, and an endless stream of unique bars and pubs. If you ever wander Pest streets at night and see long queues of well-dressed young people in front of a run-down, dimly-lit building, chances are you may have stumbled upon a ruin pub.

(VOVWORLD) - Iran is famous the world over for its intricate and striking textiles, specifically the handwoven Persian carpet. Carpet weaving is an essential part of Persian culture and Iranian art, and in 2010 was inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. What makes Persian rugs so popular all over the world? We hope our guest today, Iranian Ambassador to Vietnam Ali Akbar Nazari, will tell us.

(VOVWORLD) - Bhutan is an amazing place in terms of human development, where they do not use GDP as a marker of economic development, but Gross National Happiness as a marker of real development. They do not differentiate between rich and poor. Ngawang Tenzin, a reporter with the Bhutan Broadcasting Service, is back on Cultural Rendezvous this week to explain Bhutan’s “secret” to a happy life.

(VOVWORLD) - Bhutan has, for centuries, viewed happiness as a core responsibility of government. The Gross National Happiness (GNH) Index was formally adopted as a development indicator in Bhutan’s 2008 Constitution and up until last year, Bhutan’s tourism slogan was “Happiness is a Place”. In this week’s Cultural Rendezvous, Ngawang Tenzin, a reporter of Bhutan Broadcasting Service, will help you know more about the GNH index and its implication in Bhutan.

(VOVWORLD) - Have you ever watched or played Floorball? It’s something like indoor hockey and was invented in Sweden. It was introduced to Southeast Asia nearly 10 years ago but has attracted the attention of few people in Vietnam, although floorball is one of the official sports being played at the ongoing SEA Games in Cambodia. For Singapore, it has been a "gold mine" for medals. Christofer Fredriksson, Cultural Promotion Officer with the Swedish Embassy in Vietnam, will tell us something about the sport and what the Embassy is doing to make the sport better-known in Vietnam.

(VOVWORLD) - After a five-year hiatus, Europe Village 2023 has returned to continue its mission of showcasing European cultures and reaffirming the EU's motto: united in diversity, says EU Ambassador to Vietnam Giorgio Aliberti. The pedestrian areas around Hoan Kiem Lake have been turned into a miniature Europe, complete with European music.

(VOVWORLD) - “Songkran Festival”, “Songkran Day”, and “Thai Water Splashing Festival” are different names for Thailand’s most famous festival. It celebrates the Thai New Year and is the biggest and most important festival of the year for Thai people. Today we’ll talk about the Songkran Festival and "Nam Ob Thai”, the scented water associated with this occasion. This edition of Cultural Rendezvous is hosted by Bao Tram and Ngoc Diep, VOV’s correspondent in Thailand.

(VOVWORLD) - What do you know about the culture of Hungary, a landlocked country in central Europe? A generation of Vietnamese studied and worked in Hungary and knew the country quite well. But it was a long time ago. To make Hungary more familiar to Vietnamese people, especially the youths, Hungary Day 2023 was held in Hanoi last weekend.

(VOVWORLD) -Amed is an underrated and hidden gem on the east coast of Bali, Indonesia. It’s an area developing for tourism while holding on to tradition. It is slowly becoming known as a destination for backpackers, free diving, scuba diving, and yoga. James Demin, who just spent a week-long holiday in Amed, Bali, will share some of the best things to do in this paradise including his free diving course.

(VOVWORLD) - Poland’s “Wet Monday”, locally known as Śmigus Dyngus, takes place annually after Easter Sunday when people get water thrown on them. This year it falls on April 10. Traditionally boys soak girls on this special day, which is called one of the craziest Polish traditions. The girls often shriek in protest at being doused, but each wants to be splashed because it’s an acknowledgement of her attractiveness. I talked to Mateusz Dołhan, a Polish student, and Thanh Tra, a Vietnamese student studying in Poland, to learn more about this tradition.