Typhoon Noru hit central Vietnam on Tuesday night

B: Typhoon Noru hit the central coast of Vietnam Tuesday night bringing torrential rains and strong winds to Da Nang, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, Quang Tri, Thua Thien-Hue and Binh Dinh. 

A: At 2 a.m. Wednesday, residents of Da Nang and Quang Nam began reporting "terrifying" winds, as metal roofs were blown off despite being secured earlier.

B: Power was knocked out in parts of Da Nang and Thua Thien-Hue. Power outages also affected half a million households in Quang Ngai and  Quang Nam, including parts of tourist town Hoi An, which was deserted on Wednesday morning. High tides and strong waves flooded several coastal roads in Da Nang.

A: The storm had weakened into a tropical depression and low pressure zone as it moves over Thailand.

B: Residents and authorities have already begun to clean up the damage caused by the storm and are bracing for heavy rains forecast for late Wednesday and early Thursday.

B: Once again, thank you, Mr. Bidhan Chandra Sanyal Dhaka, for your sympathy and for regularly sending us feedback. 

Mu Cang Chai terraced rice field draws a large number of tourists

A: This week, Jayanta Chakrabarty of India sent us a reception report on our broadcast of September 21, 2022. He wrote: " I listened on the shortwave with good reception quality. The presentation of program was superb with friendly style and easy to understand language.”

B: He continued: “ As an admirer of the beautiful country of Vietnam I feel elated that the country's economy is recovering at a fast pace and is presently placed in a favorable position. According to a report by the Asian Development Bank, Vietnam is projected to grow at the strongest rate in Southeast Asia at 6.5% in 2022 and 6.7% in 2023, despite the COVID situation and global supply chain disruption. Vietnam is proud to accelerate its manufacturing and services sectors.”

A: Chakrabarty said it was good to hear that the COVID-19 pandemic is stabilizing in Vietnam with the Ministry of Health reporting a decrease in new cases by 900. This reflects the high efficiency of the public healthcare system in Vietnam he said, wishing all at the Voice of Vietnam good health and happiness.

B: Thank you, Mr. Chakrabarty, for your regular reception reports which are very useful to us. We’ll send you our verification cards.

A: Next, we’d like to thank you all for responding to our survey which was designed to improve our service for listeners around the world. We hope to continue to receive your support and feedback on our broadcasts and website at vovworld.vn.

B: This week, VOVWorld received nearly 400 emails and letters from listeners in 34 countries and territories. 

A: As autumn arrives, many have asked about fall destinations and typical autumn dishes of Vietnam.

B: Well, at this time of the year, many people rush to the northern mountain region of Vietnam to admire terraced fields which boast an imposing beauty during harvest season. 

A: A highlight among the many beautiful terraced fields in the north is the Mu Cang Chai terraced fields in Yen Bai province, which have been classified as a special national heritage site.

Mu Cang Chai, a rural district lined with mesmerizing rice terraces, is around seven hours' drive to the northwest of Hanoi.

B: Mu Cang Chai, a rural district lined with mesmerizing rice terraces, is around seven hours' drive to the northwest of Hanoi. The town sits 1,000 m above sea level at the foot of Hoang Lien Son Mountain Range. Its rice terrace fields stretch across 2,200 ha of the mountainside.

A: In 2017, the terraced fields were named among the 19 most picturesque peaks on earth by US travel site Insider. Mu Cang Chai was also listed among the best places to enjoy autumn in Asia by Singaporean travel site Tripzilla in 2018, and among the most colorful destinations by US Magazine Condé Nast Traveler in 2019. Global travel site Big 7 Travel listed Mu Cang Chai among its 50 most beautiful global destinations.

B: Most recently, Ho Chi Minh City has been listed among seven destinations that are trending this autumn by Conde Nast Traveler magazine in the US.

Ho Chi Minh City (Photo: VNA)

A: The magazine wrote: “Generally warm year-round, autumn marks the end of the rainy season as temperatures cool, making it a good time to visit HCM City’s landmarks like the Cu Chi Tunnels, the Notre Dame Cathedral, and Ben Thanh Market.” 

B: The magazine quoted Christie Hudson, head of US public relations for Expedia travel platform, as saying that HCM City is very affordable in the fall months, so your travel dollars go a long way.

A: As for autumn dishes, it will take days to list the many dishes that you should sample in autumn in Vietnam. Among the most typical is Hanoi’s young green rice or com.

Making Cốm - young green rice- in Me Tri village, Hanoi

B: “Cốm” (green sticky rice or green rice flakes) is a delicacy that is made only in autumn and cherished by all Vietnamese.

A: Served with red persimmons or ripe bananas, “Cốm” is truly delicious. Vong village, on the outskirts of Hanoi, is said to produce the best “Cốm” in northern Vietnam. When autumn comes, Hanoians everywhere always feel nostalgic for the special taste of “Cốm” which is a gift from the soil made by hard-working peasants, emitting a simple and fresh fragrance.

B: Every autumn, when the cool north-westerly winds bring a cold dew, the sticky rice ears bend themselves into arches waiting for ripe grains because these rice grains are at their fullest and the rice-milk is already concentrated in the grains, so local farmers know it is time to make “Cốm” – a specialty made from young green sticky rice.

(Photo: halotravel.com )

A: “Cốm” is often eaten by hand, directly from the lotus leaves, a pinch at a time. When eating “Cốm”, you must enjoy slowly and chew very deliberately in order to appreciate all the scents, tastes, and plasticity of the young rice which is sweet, nutty and buttery.

B: Visitors to Hanoi during the “Cốm” season are invited to go to Vong village where they have a chance to listen to the special rhythmic pounding of wooden pestles against mortars filled with young rice and see women shifting and winnowing the pounded young rice.

A: Next, we’d like to welcome back Timm Breyel of Malaysia to VOV. It has been such a long time since we last heard from you Breyel. 

B: In his recent correspondence to VOV, Breyel wrote: “Hello and greetings from Malaysia! You may be interested to learn that The Voice of Vietnam was heard on the shortwave frequency of 9840 kHz, under good conditions in the Kuala Lumpur area. An English language broadcast of news, current event reports and Vietnamese pop music was observed from 10.00 till 10.30 UTC, on August 16, 2022.”

A: It’s great to hear from you again and thank you so much for your report. We look forward to more feedback from you in the near future. 

B: We’d like to acknowledge the many listeners who sent us letters and emails or posted comments on our Facebook fanpage, VOV5 English Service.

A: And that concludes today’s program. 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.vn. You’re invited to visit us online at vovworld.vn, where you can hear both live and recorded programs.

B: Check out our VOV Media App, available on both the IOS and Android platforms, 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!