B: I’ve got interesting news from Walt Davidson of the UK. He said since the changeover to the winter broadcast, he has been listening most days to our 18:00 UTC broadcast via Moosbrunn, Austria on 5955 khz. This gives strong and clear reception in central England. Recently, he’s found an even better way to listen to VOV’s programs.

A: Mr. Davison told us: “I can listen to your programs via the Hotbird communications satellite, using my digital television set and satellite dish. This gives excellent, clear reception. The satellite broadcasts are not advertised on the VOV website but I discovered them in the satellite frequency list on www.lyngsat.com. The 18:00 UTC English program is followed by your broadcasts in Vietnamese, French, Russian, and German. On the same satellite, I can also enjoy watching two television programs from Vietnam VTV4 and NetViet television.”

B: Mr. Davidson’s report is as followed: “VOV via Hotbird 13D Satellite, 13 degree East; frequency of 10815 khz Horizontal polarization, transponder 115/ channel 17350; time 18:00 – 18:30 UTC. Signal was clear, steady through the broadcast. The equipment is a Humax Foxsat-HD digital satellite receiver.” It’s interesting that you found VOV’s radio programs on the satellite. Very few of our listeners tune in to our shortwave programs on a digital television set. You’re the first listener to send a report on our satellite broadcast and I think we’ll have to modify our QSL card form to verify it.

(photo: vnpti.vn)

A: The radio programs you listened to are broadcast on Vinasat1, Vietnam’s first telecommunications satellite, providing radio, television and telephone services. Vinasat1, with a capacity equivalent to 120 television channels, broadcasts all Vietnamese and radio channels. Vinasat-1, put in orbit in 2012, has removed our dependence on ground networks and allowed 100 percent of Vietnam’s rural communities to be equipped with telephones and televisions.

B: Regarding the content of VOV’s English program, Mr. Davidson wrote: “In the program on January 9, 2015, I was especially interested in your Current Affairs about social security achievements in Vietnam, and also the item about support for the dairy farming industry near Ho Chi Minh city. These are topics which are currently of great importance also here in the UK. It’s very interesting to compare the different approach to these matters in our two countries.”

A: Thank you very much for your interest in VOV’s program and in Vietnam. We appreciate your listening to VOV’s programs via all communication forms - shortwave, satellite, and internet – and sending us your remarks.

DX'ing corner of Eduard Dermengi of Romania. His radio is transceiver Kenwood TS 570 and Diamond CP 6 anternna

B: I’m reading an email from Kelly Spout, who lives in Hughesville, Pennsylvania, in the US. Kelly said he and his wife, Betty, are totally blind. He is a shortwave listener, an amateur radio operator, and a musician. Kelly wrote: “I’m a musician and I play the keyboard. I play the music by ear and would be interested in learning about songs from your country. I’m also interested in learning about different food dishes and the lifestyles of your country.”

A: Vietnamese music is diverse, reflecting a national history of over 1000 years and 54 ethnic groups. VOV plays a Vietnamese song at the end of each program and in the Saturday music segment. In the Culture segment and the Sunday show, we always take an in-depth look at Vietnamese musical genres and trends, musicians, and singers. Our website at www.vovworld.vn has a Vietnamese music section with the latest pop songs in Vietnam.

B: In Vietnam we also have some visually impaired musicians. One of the most famous and beloved is guitarist Van Vuong. In 2012, 73-year-old Vuong was given the “For the love of Hanoi” award for his hundreds of compositions about the capital city. (Let’s enjoy one of his performances.)

A: You’re listening to a piece performed by blind guitarist Van Vuong. VOV’s Letter Box will continue now with more letters from listeners. Lars Wieden of Sweden told us that he received a beautiful QSL card showing cliffs, water, and small boats in reply to his reception report on October 30^th, 2014.

B: Mr. Wieden wrote: “I’ve not heard so much from Vietnam since the war in the 60s and 70s - the terrible war against the US. Many people were killed. Now you’re a free country. How have you developed? It must have been very hard work to build up Vietnam. I will listen to VOV from now on. Are there many tourists visiting Vietnam now? Is it cheap to travel in Vietnam? Perhaps I will come to your country and get my own view of the country.”

Noi Bai international airport

A: You’re welcome to visit Vietnam some day to see with your own eyes present-day Vietnam. Last year Vietnam received nearly 8 million foreign tourists, an increase of 4% over 2013.  Thousands of tourists from around the world have chosen Vietnam for their first holiday of 2015. Ho Chi Minh City held a ceremony at Tan Son Nhat International Airport on Friday to welcome the 1,000^th foreign tourist of the New Year.

B: During the first three days of the year, about 9,000 of the total 35,000 visitors from Russia, Germany, Australia, France, Sweden, the US, Britain, and Finland visited beaches in Binh Thuan province. Mui Ne beach was named by Canadian Travellers, a travel guide magazine in Canada, one of the 11 most beautiful beaches in Asia. Mui Ne was second on the list, after pristine Ko Lipe beach in Thailand.

Mui Ne beach

A: The environmental news website Mother Nature Network recently selected its 30 most beautiful destinations on Earth. The terraced paddy fields in Vietnam’s northern mountain Sapa district was one.

B: The Huffington Post in the US called Son Doong Cave in Vietnam’s central Quang Binh province one of the most attractive destinations for global tourists in the next 20 years. The cave was put on a par with 14 other destinations, including Nepal’s Mount Everest, the US’s Grand Canyon Escalade, Dubai’s underwater city, and Cambodia’s Koh Rong Island.

Son Doong Cave

A: The international rankings are based on the reviews of people who have visited the sites. The acclamation reflects Vietnam’s political and social stability, economic development, tourist attractions and convenient services. We hope that our examples of Vietnamese tourism will inspire Mr. Wieden to visit Vietnam soon.

B: 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. Keep tuning in to our English program on the Internet at vovworld.vn.  Good bye. See you next time.