A: Yoshihiro said he knows that Vietnamese people attach great importance to the family bond. He heard that 3 or 4 generations live together in a house. He lives with his wife and their son. Although he is an oldest son, he doesn’t live with his parents. Yoshihiro says he doesn’t mind if his family lives with his parents but his parent don’t want it because they prefer to live in a separate home.

B: He added: “One day, my parents will need care and assistance. The care of old people is a serious problem in Japan. No one is willing to take care of elderly parents now. I hope Vietnam will preserve its custom of a large family.”

A: Thank you for sharing with us information about your family and the social trend in Japan. A majority of families in Vietnam contain 2 or more generations. In rural areas we often have 3 or 4 generations living together in one house. Traditionally, a happy family is one with many children and grandchildren living harmoniously under the same roof. We believe children should live with their parents to fulfill their filial duty to them.

B: Recently, more and more young people want to live in their own house when they get married or establish a stable income, particularly in urban areas, where small houses which are unable to shelter multiple generations.

A: A related issue is elder care centers. To allow one’s parent to live in a care center for the elderly is frowned on by society and many people dismiss the option of sending their parents there. In most cases where people send their parents to a care center it’s because they have a mental illness. Healthy old people would rather live in their own house or with their children than go to a care center.

B: Now, here are some letters from other listeners. Fumito Hokamura tuned in on July 3 to listen to the Letter Box. He thanked us for mentioning his letter in that program and for confirming his reception report. Fumito said Japan has a lot of beautiful mountains and lakes, but global warming has affected many scenic features like snow-capped mountain. Fumito said he loves to climb snowy mountains. He wants to know about Vietnam’s mountains.

A: Vietnam is a tropical country in the centre of Southeast Asia so we don’t have any snow-covered mountains. Three quarters of Vietnam's territory consists of mountains or hills. Vietnam has four distinctive mountain zones with its own unique characters. The first zone is the North-eastern corner of Vietnam. The second zone is the North-western mountain range running from the Vietnam-China border to Thanh Hoa, Nghe An and Ha Tinh province on the central coast.

B: The third is the North Truong Son range, a long low mountain range running from the western part of Thanh Hoa province to the Hai Van Pass near Da Nang city. The last is the South Truong Son mountain range covering the western side of Vietnam’s southern central provinces. Mount Fansipan in the Northwestern zone offers the most fantastic and challenging trekking tour in Vietnam.

Adventurers trek on steep mountain slopes

A: The trek begins at an elevation of 2,040m above sea level and follows a trail through a rain forest to a 2,200m peak. Then the trek gets tougher as the trail winds up steep mountain slopes through a bamboo forest. The vegetation changes dramatically as the trail reaches higher elevations. At the end of the first day, trekkers arrive at a camp-site at 2,900m.

B: On the second day, the trek continues through bamboo forests and flat grass lands for an hour and then climbs a very steep slope for an hour and a half to reach the summit, the roof of Indochina at an elevation of 3,140m. On a nice day, a great view of a superb region extends below you all the way to China.

The adventurers bust of happiness on the summit of the "roof of Indochina"

A: You’re listening to VOV’s Letter Box. We’ve been talking about Vietnam’s mountains and climbing Mount Fansipan. I hope one day that Fumito, who is interested in mountain climbing can come to Vietnam to conquer this summit. Here I have a letter from Edward Taylor who lives in the mountains on the Oregon-California border. He received our broadcast on 6175 khz and the signal strength was acceptable. Edward wrote: “I live in the mountains, so that is a fair signal strength. I’m wondering if you could incorporate in your program an aspect of Ancient Vietnamese culture, which dates back way before China was organized. I sure would like to hear more on your ancient temples and accomplishments in technology.”

B: Your request touches upon a very long history. Through unearthed artifacts, historians have proved many of their assumptions about ancient lives, architecture, clothes, marriage and funeral customs, and religions in what is now Vietnam. We’ll add your request to our list of listener interests to be covered in future programs.

A: Philipp Sonderegger of Austria says he follows VOV’s news on shortwave. He also tried the RSS feed but it seemed to be broken. Actually, we have not activated the RSS feed so you can not use it to fetch news or features such as “In pictures” and “Colorful Vietnam, Vietnam’s 54 ethnic groups.”

B: We now have a Facebook fanpage for faster and more playful communication with our listeners. Please join us on Facebook at VOV5 English Section. Beware that there are several Facebook accounts illegally using VOV5’s name and links to our articles. Our official Facebook home page says “Government organization; The English-language voice of the Vietnamese Party, Government, and people; Broadcasting the aspirations and image of Vietnam to friends around the world”.

A: From Finland, Alpo Heinonen, emailed us on July 21 to say: “It was really a pleasure to follow your good programs again here in Northern Finland, near Santa Claus village. I am a 53-year-old gardener and have listened to shortwave and medium-wave stations since 1978. I have reported to VOV a few times in the past and now decided to send another report. It would be very nice to receive your QSL card and if possible some other material introducing your station and the country of Vietnam: photos, newspapers, and magazines. Best greetings from summertime Finland.”

B: Thank you all for spending time with us and for your detailed feedback. We’ll confirm your reports with QSL cards soon. Before we go, let us remind you once again of our address:

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 at www.vovworld.vn, where you can hear both live and recorded programs. And join us on Facebook at VOV5 English Section. Tata J