Vietnamese booth at Mexican festival

 

 

During last week’s La Nao Festival in Acapunco City in Mexico a booth displayed Vietnamese cultural products, fine arts works, lacquer paintings and images of the nation and people, reports VietnamPlus.

Thousands of visitors came to the Vietnamese product area and were interests in goods such as ao dai (Vietnamese long dress), conical hats, lacquer art as well as images depicting Halong Bay and the country’s achievements in the mission of renovation and development.

Many tourists also lingered to ask more about the nation’s history, custom, weather and specialties in each region.

Luis Walton Aburto, major of Acapunco City, stressed that Vietnam is one of only a few countries who have taken part in the festival every year since 2007. This year saw one million visitors.

The Fair of Colors, Sound and Flavors also featured two booths of fine arts products and traditional cloths from the nation last week. The association of Vietnamese students in Mexico dressed themselves in traditional costumes to parade from Zocalo Square to the Revolution Monument and joined many cultural exchange activities to promote Vietnamese culture to international friends.

Source: SGT

 

Vietnamese landscapes as water-colours

Some beautiful images of Vietnam and its people have been taken by Chinese photographer Don Hong-Oai.

Don Hong-Oai, born in 1929 in Guangdong Province, moved to Vietnam when he was seven years old.

When he was young, he lived in former Saigon and worked at a photography studio. He used to travel across Vietnam taking photos. He experienced the wars against the French and US and moved to California in the US in 1979. Don has returned to China and Vietnam to take new photographs.

Don used a very special technique that appears to combine Western photography and Oriental water-colour painting art in his photos. His photos are black and white and include Chinese painting details such as birds, boats and mountains.

Don Hong-Oai had won many photographic competitions in Asia, including those held by Kodak and Nikon. He is considered among some of the most famous artists in this special photography genre.

His works have been displayed in several countries. Don passed away in June 2004.

Water-colour originated from China, and involved Chinese ink used for drawing on paper or silk. This art developed along with Chinese calligraphy. The major topics of the paintings are trees, flowers and people.

Some of his photos about Vietnam:

A small boat

 

On the river

 

On the way to the market

 

 
A fisherman and his net

 Sand and wind

 

Upstream

 

After praying

 

Fields

 

Birds

 

Herdsmen

 

Grazing buffalo

 

A little ferry boat

 

Storks

What is Adventure Travel?

Adventure travel often conjures up images of mountain climbing, whitewater rafting, scuba diving and four wheel driving. While these are certainly activities associated with adventure travel, adventure travel may involve something as sedate as a wine tasting Motorcycling tour in Ho Chi Minh trail, Viet nam. Adventure travel is simply to go above and beyond one’s normal known area, seeking out experiences which are unfamiliar. The travel destination may be as close as a few kilometers from your home, or it can be thousands of kilometers away in an exotic location in Africa or Asia .

 Maybe it has to do with the stressful and fast-paced lives we are leading, that adventure travel has become one of the fasting growing segments of the travel industry. More and more travelers are abandoning the usual beach resorts, and are actively seeking new experiences in their travels. These trips often bring significant personal discovery, development of new skills and knowledge and cross-cultural experiences.

Adventure travel is not for everyone. It is for an individual with the thirst for new experience, one who dares to forsake the well-trodden path. Health and age may restrict the traveler to less-strenuous activities, but that does not stop the traveler from other forms of adventure travel.

It is undeniable that some adventure travel activities carry additional risk. Trekking across the desert is definitely more dangerous than planting your self under an umbrella at the beach. As in most travel situations, having adequate planning and practicing common sense will go a long way in minimizing risk.

An adventure travel need not be expensive. In most cases, you would not be staying in five star hotels, eating in fancy restaurants and taking limousine rides. Instead, you would probably be staying in guesthouses, eating at local food stalls and taking public transport. These usually more than help to hold the line on the total cost.

If you need more reasons to start your adventure travel, here are some motivating quotations I have collected.

“I see my path, but I don’t know where it leads. Not knowing where I’m going is what inspires me to travel it.” – Rosalia de Castro

“The traveler was active; he went strenuously in search of people, of adventure, of experience. The tourist is passive; he expects interesting things to happen to him.” – Daniel J. Boorstin

 “All adventures, especially into new territory, are scary” – Sally Ride

“It is in the compelling zest of high adventure and of victory, and in creative action, that man finds his supreme joys.” – Antoine de Saint-Exupery.
Now, are you willing to join in adventure tour?