LIFESTYLE

Nguyen Thi Hon used to live in Buu Dong hamlet, Long Dien Dong commune, Dong Hai district, Bac Lieu province. Talking to Sai Gon Giai Phong reporters, the 82-year-old mother Nguyen Thi Hen said their family was so poor that Hon, the youngest of 10 siblings, had to leave home to find labor work in Can Tho city. Relatives came to visit her 2 months later but the employer said she had already left elsewhere. Hon was not heard from afterwards. The family assumed she was dead and set up altar to commemorate her. Subsequently, Hon told SGGP the story from her perspective. 22 years ago while working in Can Tho city, she met an acquaintance who offered her work at their hometown in Bac Lieu. However, she was drugged along the way, and woke up in China surrounded by strangers. She was then sold to be the wife to a man in Guangxi, China. There, she was beaten and neglected by the husband due to infertility, and finally ran away after 8 years of suffering. She went from places to places in China … [Read more...] about Bac Lieu: Allegedly dead woman finally returned after 22 years

Village 6 of Phuoc Loc commune, nestled at the foot of Ngoc Linh mountain, is known as the independent, bee-keeping town. Life of the people here have long revolved around the forest. Unlike the general case among highland villages, they have never turned to the government for financial support, said Mr. Luu Huyen Thoai, Chairman of People's Committee of Phuoc Loc village.  Currently only 35 families live here in wooden cottages bundled up amidst the trees. Vegetables and forest plants thrives on this piece of land blessed by nature with a temperate climate. Despite only living off of the forest’s resources, village 6’s dwellers are relatively more well-off than those in neighboring villages.  “My people have been living comfortably all thanks to our tradition of bee keeping”, said one of the village elders, Ho Van Dong. Elder Dong let us in on the very unique and easy method people use to harvest honey from the bees. Villagers start to prepare bee … [Read more...] about Synthetic bee hives: One for them, one for man

The search amidst the woods Jolting up and down on a rickety motor scooter covered in red dust, we followed Dang Ngoc Thanh (26 years old, from Tan Hung town, the southern province of Binh Phuoc) and his team of cicada hunters into local fruit gardens, carrying some tools. The rain had just let up, so we were struggling to keep our scooters balanced while dashing through the slippery muddy trails. Letting out a relieved sigh after making a hard turn, Thanh turned to face us: “Insects hunters would be flocking when summer breaks so we gotta take off early for those “loots”, but we’ll have to travel to remote spots or very damp gardens”. It took us a long while combatting the mud under our wheels, but we finally made it to an old cashew range with no other humans in sight, and began our hunt for cicadas at nightfall. Thanh and four others split into two groups, plastic bags in hands and flashlights attached to their heads. Bit-by-bit, the constantly … [Read more...] about The quest for cicada pupae

Obviously, many films lately from Hong Kong (China), Taiwan (China), Korea, Japan, and Vietnam have demonstrated the success of chefs thanks to their hard-working spirit. This has greatly inspired the public, changing their attitude towards the job that is traditionally regarded as a low-income one mostly for females. According to Nguyen Truong Giang, a cook specialized in Vietnamese dishes and owner of a restaurant in To Hien Thanh Street of District 10 in Ho Chi Minh City, being a cook or a chef is truly a challenging job which requires much passion. Giang shared “Despite graduating from a culinary school, I still had to begin my career with very simple tasks like preparing vegetables, fish, or chicken, washing dishes, before I was allowed to cook my first dish. No matter how strenuous it was, I found great satisfaction in pursuing my dream job.” Another cook named Hoang Truong Dung commented that being a cook means always being under high pressure, especially in holiday … [Read more...] about Culinary career attracts young Vietnamese

The Hanoitimes - The National Reunification Day holiday waves a magic wand in Hanoi, allowing beautiful peace to reign supreme. National Reunification Day celebrated overseas Hanoi colorful during the national reunification day A quieter Hanoi on the first day of Lunar New Year On the occasion of the National Reunification Day holiday, Hanoi’s noisy life has been replaced with tranquility. Trading activities reduced to minimum. Immigrants returned to their home in outer provinces.   Chua Boc street. Photo: Kinhtedothi.vn The photos capture peaceful moments on Hanoi streets on April 29 during the National Reunification Day holidays. Chua Boc street, which is usually bustling and crowded, remained quiet on the morning of National Reunification Day. On the corner of streets in Hanoi, there are no noisy scenes of usual city life, but you can also see a few people ride motorbike around Hoan Kiem Lake, Trang Thi street. A quiet section on the street of Dien Bien … [Read more...] about Hanoi quiet during National Reunification Day holiday