B: Ratan Kumar Paul of India listened to our program on May 24th on the frequency of 7220khz. He rated SINPO all 4s. Ratan told us: “I’m enjoying your program regularly. Your programs are very good and informative. I never miss listening to your prgrams.”
A: Thank you very much for listening to VOV programs and sending us feedback. We’ll verify your reception reports and send you confirmation soon. Paul wants to know about TV game shows in Vietnam and when they first appeared.
B: Many people still remember the first Vietnamese game shows in the 1990s: SV96 (the first season of the Vietnamese Students Show in 1996, the Inter-provinces game, From Eye Sign to Heart, Culture Rendezvous, and the Way to Olympia Peak.
A: SV96 was a great success. It attracted students nationwide with a TV Game show format that combined knowledge, creativity, and physical challenges. Its final show was seen by tens of thousands of viewers.
B: Vietnam now has hundreds of TVgame shows. Some 40 game shows are broadcast on Vietnam National Television (VTV) and Ho Chi Minh City Television (HTV), and many more are broadcast on Ha Noi TV and other local stations, usually in prime time between 8 and 10pm.
A: A few game shows were created specifically for a Vietnamese audience, such as Do Re Mi – a program for children, and The Way to Olympia Peak for high school students. Most shows borrow the format of a popular foreign show: The Voice, Vietnam’s Got Talent, Sasuke, Who wants to be a millionaire?, Arena 100, the Face, Vietnam’s Next Top Model, and Dad! Where are we going?
 "The Way to Olympia Peak" game show for high school students (Source: Thanhnien,vn) |
B: Game shows now really dominate prime time on television and attract a large audience of all ages.
A: I’m reading an email from Christer Brunström of Sweden telling us that he listened to our program on June 15th on 9730 khz with a SINPO rating of 35434. He commented: “It was good to note that you have now increased your Saturday music show to 12 minutes. Vietnam has a lot to be proud of when it comes to music. Last night's music show provided some very good entertainment here in far-away Sweden.”
B: Here’s a letter from Robert Vigne of the US, who listened to VOV’s program on 7315 khz on May 26. He reported that the signal was very strong in Ocean Springs, Mississippi. There was a little fading of signal.
A: Robert told us: “When I first found the broadcast at 1:43 UTC I heard a VOV ID. I enjoyed listening to the march style music that was played during the program. There were a few audio cut outs during the program.”
B: Richard Nowak of the US told us that he enjoyed the show on June 17 on 7315khz, listening with an Icom IC-R75 hooked up to an outdoor active loop antenna. SINPO was 54444. He said: “The Sunday Show was excellent and discussed touring near and in Hanoi in an electric car. The tour starts 2 minutes from Hanoi’s Old Quarter. It’s an 18 kilometer tour to visit 21 tourist destinations around the lake. The tour includes Hanoi specialties and crafts.” Richard said he enjoyed the show covering important Vietnamese news and world events.
An electric car carries tourists to Dong Xuan market (Photo: vietnamonline.com)
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A: Another American listener Gabriel Blaj said: “I'm happy to share with you that I received your station and heard your program at 7430 kHz, AM modulation, on Thursday, June 13. My receiver was a Airspy HF+ with 10m wire antenna, located in California.
B: Thank you very much, listeners, for your feedback. Your technical notes will be forwarded to our technicians monitoring VOV’s overseas broadcasts. We’ll be sure to send you all verification cards.
A: This week, some listeners asked us about Vietnam’s national fruit or most popular fruits. Being geographically located in the tropical zone, Vietnam is a paradise when it comes to fruits. When you come to Vietnam you’ll be amazed at how many exotic fruits are sold at unbelieveble low prices in street stalls and markets all year round.
B: The southern region is Vietnam’s fruit hub, thanks to the long hours of sunshine and high average temperature and humidity year round. The most popular fruits in the southern region are mangos, mangosteens, durians, dragon fruits, curstard apples, and coconuts.
A: In northern Vietnam and the central highlands, where the temperature is cooler and there are four seasons, farmers grow temperate fruits such as apples, strawberries, cherries, grapes, peaches, pears, and avocados. When summer comes, the northern region harvests more tropical fruits such as plums, jackfruits, lychees, longans, mangos, guavas, papayas, and rambutans.
B: The colorful fruits create an eye-catching rainbow of purple, red, yellow, and orange.
 The southern region is Vietnam’s fruit hub (Photo: baomoi.com) |
A: No fruit has been designated Vietnam’s national fruit. We usually associate fruits with their region of origin. For example, lychees from Bac Giang province, longans from Hung Yen province, Hoa Loc mangos, dragon fruits from Tien Giang and Kien Giang province, durians from Vinh Long, and Lo Ren starapples from Tien Giang province.
B: Vietnam exports six types of fruit: dragon fruits, longans, rambutans, “thieu” lychees, starapples, and mangos. China is Vietnam’s biggest fruit and vegetable importer. Other major markets are the Republic of Korea, the Netherlands, Australia, Japan, the United Arab Emirates, and the US. In February, the US began allowing imports of fresh mangos from Vietnam. Vietnam expects to ship around 3,000 tons of fresh mangos to the US, approximately one percent of the US’s total mango imports.
A: Dragon fruits dominate Vietnam’s fruit exports. According to the Customs Department of Vietnam, dragon fruits account for 32 per cent of the total export value of Vietnamese vegetables and fruits. The export value of dragon fruits was nearly four times that of the two fruit exports ranked behind it – longans and mangos.
B: We’d like to thank you all for sending feedback on our shortwave broadcasts and internet content. We promise to send you verification cards to confirm your reports.
A: We welcome your feedback at: English Service, VOVworld, the Voice of Vietnam, 45 Ba Trieu street, Hanoi, Vietnam. Or you can email us at englishsection@vov.org.vn. You’re invited to visit us online at vovworld.vn, where you can hear both live and recorded programs. Check out our VOV Media App available on both the IOS and Android platform to hear our live broadcasts. We look forward to your feedback on the mobile version of vovworld.vn. Once again, thank you all for listening. Goodbye until next time.