B: Well, you’re welcome to visit us, Mr. Hokamura. Vietnam ranked 12th in welcoming Japanese visitors in 2010. Vietnam is mapping out a strategy to attract more Japanese visitors. Its travel sector has participated in annual tourism fairs in Japan, organized tours to approach Japanese media agencies and enterprises, and held festivals to promote its culture, food and tourist attractions.

A: Although Vietnam is not an ideal place to shop for international luxury goods, it offers tourists exotic Vietnamese hand-made products at reasonable prices. Foreign tourists prefer silk and brocade clothes and accessories made by ethnic people, and decorative items made of natural materials such as bamboo, leaves, and water hyacinth, and pottery products. Vietnam’s cultural and natural heritages and food also attract tourists.

B: Throughout Vietnam, tourists can enjoy UNESCO-recognized world heritages. In the north, we have the Ha Long Bay natural heritage site; the Dong Van stone plateau, one of 77 geological parks in the world and the second in Southeast Asia; 82 stone steles recording doctoral laureates at the Temple of Literature, Vietnam’s First National University and a World Documentary Heritage; Thang Long Royal Citadel, a cultural heritage site; the Giong festival; and the Quan Ho, Ca Tru, and Xoan folk singing genres, all Intangible Cultural Heritages of Humanity. 

A: In the central and southern region, there are Hue, the former capital city; Hoi An ancient town; My Son sanctuary; the natural heritage site of Phong Nha – Ke Bang; the citadel of the Ho dynasty; Hue Royal Court music performances, and the Central Highland Gongs Cultural Space.

B: Vietnamese cuisine varies from region to region. Within this short Letter Box segment, we are unable to give you all the details, we hope you’ll follow our weekly land, culture, society, and rural developments, and our Sunday show for more information with which to plan your next visit to Vietnam.

A: 47-year-old Yoshihiro Kusanagi, personnel manager of a Japanese company, said he took a 5-day summer vacation with his family to the mountain resort of Norikura. The temperature there was a comfortable 20 DC in August, whereas Tokyo is always over 30 DC in July and August. Mr. Kusanagi said he remembers Tokyo being not as hot in his childhood.

B: His observation was shared by Fumito Hokamura, who said this summer in Japan was longer than usual. Here in Vietnam, we’re also experiencing longer and hotter summers year after year. We agree that the high temperatures are due to shrinking green space in urban areas. Hanoi used to have more trees and larger lakes just ten years ago. Due to rapid urbanization and construction of residential buildings and industrial zones, green spaces and lakes have shrunk, causing higher urban temperature.

A: It’s difficult but not impossible to solve this side effect of urbanization though corporate effort and the determination of leaders, urban planners, and the public. Now let’s read a letter from Mr. Horsefield of England. “Listening conditions were not too good on August 21. But I could hear the news well enough and learned a lot as usual from your news segment. All the information was very interesting, especially the financial news. The price of fuel is rising. Most of that is taxed by the government. There must be a way to make it come down a bit.”

B: Mr. Horsefield went on to say: “I liked your closing song with a nice female vocalist. It was nice to listen to your reception on August 21 at 19UTC on my Eton radio handheld and the sets telescopic antenna on the frequency of 9730 khz. SINPO rating was 54443. There was atmospheric and hissing noise but I could still hear what was being said.”

A: We’re glad to hear you enjoyed the program regardless of some signal distortion. You said it’s nice to hear about Vietnamese culture and politics in the UK, but following the informative news came a feature which was above your understanding. After the news was our Current Affairs editorial. On July 17 and August 21, we commented on measures to strengthen administrative staffs and on Party building work. Maybe these issues are less familiar to you than international news. Our aim is to bring our listeners an inside view of Vietnam’s political scene. If you are not yet clear on the issues, you’re invited to listen to the program again or read the hard copy on our website at www.vovworld.vn.

B: A DX’er from Russia, Andy Martynyuk, wrote: “I love to learn what is happening in different parts of the world. I’m fond of getting to know other cultures and traditions and eager to practice English. That’s why I enjoy listening to programs from all over the world. I’m very glad that I could pick up and listen to your station. The stories were about events in Iraq and economic issues.”     

A: Thanks Andy for your notes on our signal on the frequency of 9730 khz on July 24^th with a SINPO rating of 54554. We’ll send you our QSL card to confirm your report. Andy asked about the number of VOV’s worldwide listeners since our station began operating until now. For the history of the Voice of Vietnam in general and VOV’s Overseas Service in particular, please visit our website. The English section of VOV’s Overseas Service was on air for the first time on September 7^th, 1945, broadcasting President Ho Chi Minh’s reading of the Vietnamese Declaration of Independence.

B: Over the past 67 years, we have attracted an increasing number of listeners from over 30 countries on all continents. We regularly welcome new listeners of various ages including students, businesspeople, state employees, and retired people. Many of them have visited Vietnam after listening to VOV’s programs. This has been today’s Letter Box segment. We welcome your comments at:

English program,

Overseas Service,

Radio Voice of Vietnam

45 Ba Trieu street-Hanoi-Vietnam

Or you can email us at: englishsection@vov.org.vn