B: Another Indian listener Bhaikan Hazarika expressed her pleasure at listening to VOV’s Weekend Music Show. She wrote: “I heard some modern melodies of Hanoi from the album Hanoi’s 36 Old streets. The romantic song about Hanoi sung by a female singer was so sweet. The Hanoi Hip Hop track was so cool, too. I enjoyed the program very much.”

A: Satoshi Nishito of Japan listened to VOV’s English program on August 16. The Saturday report was a interesting surprise for him. It talked about the “Vietnamese people travel Vietnam” tourism promotion. He liked listening to the song “Modern melody in Hanoi”. Nishito says from now on he will listen to VOV in both Japanese and English.

B: Music has no borders. We’re so happy you share our musical taste. We hope music will help you to appreciate Vietnam’s culture. Besides music and culture, VOV’s listeners are most interested in the news and current affairs from Vietnam. They regularly share their comments on political issues. Jayanta Chakrabarty wrote: “In a recent press release in India, Vietnam urged India and Japan to act as responsible partners to balance China’s illegal expansion policy in the East Sea. We in India welcome this view. Vietnam is one of India’s most reliable friends and well-wishers”.

Children of the third generation was born with deformity due to the consequences of Agent Orange/ Dioxin

B: Edward Kusalik of Canada commented on a news story about Vietnamese victims of Agent Orange/ Dioxin. “I was surprised by the story about US troops spraying toxic chemicals including a defoliant called Agent Orange on Vietnam. When I was a child on our family farm in Ontario from 1966-1968 that same chemical was used in cleaning drainage ditches. It was terrible. It killed not just the foliage but everything. We were told it was safe but we never went near the ditches. Only after rains did the chemical seemed to lose its strength. But it moved into the water system. Where did it end up? Well, into the River Thames and Lake Erie! The chemical was never used again for cleaning the bushes from drainage ditches.”

A: We’re glad that you closely follow events in Vietnam and share related information with VOV. We’re happy to receive more feedback from listeners in other countries. Now let me introduce some beautiful beaches in Vietnam to answer the question “how many ocean beaches are there in Vietnam?”

Long Beach on Phu Quoc island

B: With over 3,400 km of coastline, Vietnam has hundreds of ocean beaches. As you travel from north to south, the sea water becomes clearer because the beaches are more open to the Pacific Ocean. There are also hundreds of beaches on Vietnam’s islands.   

A: We have previously talked about some of Vietnam’s most beautiful and world-famous beaches. Nha Trang, a delightful south coast city, has long been recognised as Vietnam’s premier beach.

B: Phu Quoc island in Kien Giang province has two famous beaches. Long Beach stretches 20 km on the west side of the island with soft yellow sand and swaying coconut palms. Star Beach, another romantic beach on Phu Quoc, has dazzling white sands and mesmerizing, often calm, waters.

A: My Khe in Da Nang has seven kilometres of powder-soft sand, backed by casuarinas, and is very good for swimming. Hamlets dot the beach and fishing boats are sometimes moored off it.

My Khe Beach in Da Nang city

B: In Hue, Da Nang, and Hoi An city, there are clean, white sand beaches – the most famous are Cua Dai, Cam An, and Non Nuoc. In the northern region, Quang Ninh province has many small but beautiful beaches. Cat ba island in Ha Long bay, has noteworthy beaches. Kayaking across tranquil waters and swimming among twinkling phosphorescent plankton are both possible there.

A: Those are a few of the most beautiful beaches in Vietnam. If you want to know more about any of them, send us your questions or go to our website to browse. VOV has described a number of beaches in the Discovery Vietnam and Sunday Show segments.

Ha Long Bay in Quang Ninh province

B: Last but not least on our show today, we’ll share a letter from Steward Lessel of Japan, a Dx’er and advocate of shortwave radio. He offered 4 proposals for preserving shortwave stations worldwide.

A: First, to cover the expense of operating transmitters, ask private citizens to make donations. Lessel is curtain many Dxers would be more than happy to help out. Second, restrict broadcasts to the part of the day when listeners are most likely to tune in.

B: Third, have an emergency standby frequency to alert the public to natural disasters and other major events. Fourth, consider solar energy for an alternative power source.

A: We think your recommendations are practical and feasible. VOV has already customized its broadcast schedule for different regions of the world and different groups of listeners, taking into consideration transmitters, relays, time zones, listening habit, and listeners’ interests. We invite our listeners to discuss this issue and send us your recommendations. 

B: That’s it for today’s Letter Box on VOV. We’ll verify your reception reports and we hope you receive our QSL cards soon. We welcome your letters 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. You’re invited to visit us online at www.vovworld.vn, where you can hear both live and recorded programs. Good bye until next time.