Sep
18
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Con Son – Kiep Bac Autumn Festival to start
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Con Son – Kiep Bac Autumn Festival 2012 will take place on September 30th or August 15th according to the Lunar Calendar) in Hai Duong province.
Addrerssing a press conference on Saturday, a representative of Hai Duong Provincial People’s Committee said the festival includes many interesting ceremonial, cultural and sports activities in commemoration of the 712th death anniversary of national hero General Tran Hung Dao.
Also on the occasion, the province will also organize a ceremony to receive the certificate recognizing Con Son-Kiep Bac as the special national relic.
Con Son – Kiep Bac complex streches on the total area of 8, 03 hectares in Chi Linh provincial capital.
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Sep
18
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Oliver Stone rolls into town with Savages
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A favored expression for Saigonese when asked how they are is ‘so-so’ and that short and sweet reply is how you could sum up Oliver Stone’s return to his early preference of narratives and crime in Savages.
Stone is one of the greatest directors of all time and he is not scared to sink his teeth into controversial subject matter famously in JFK and his Vietnam trilogy Platoon, Born of Fourth of July and Heaven and Earth.
The legendary director/producer, though, has got a little lost over the years since his late eighties/early nineties heydays.
In case you are interested in why he is so fascinated with Vietnam, well he actually taught English at the Free Pacific Institute in Saigon in 1965 before serving in the U.S. army in 1967-68 during the American War.
Now Savages has been slammed by U.S. critics, but it is hard to criticize a man who still comes up with beautiful cinema, in small parts, amid all the mayhem and so-so performances from the main protagonists Chon (Taylor Kitsch), Ben (Aaron Taylor- Johnson) and Orphelia or ‘O’ (Blake Lively).
It does have the energy that Stone’s recent films Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, W and World Trade Center lacked.
It is a very violent and powerful movie but some question the why. The movie is a bit of a puzzle, in one sense we are not made to feel any warmth to the main characters, who fi nd themselves in a place out of their depth but human instinct is intrigued by this prospect. Just look at how popular Locked Up Abroad is on the National Geographic Channel.
Savages has been compared to Al Pacino’s epic Scarface, which Stone wrote, in that Ben and Chon come from nothing to have more money than they can imagine as narcotic entrepreneurs, and their lives spiral out of control.
Ben is a peaceful and charitable marijuana producer and best friend Chon, a former Navy SEAL, not only run a lucrative, homegrown industry - raising some of the best marijuana ever developed due to chance, but they also share the same girlfriend O.
Life is sweet in sunny California… but wait for it…until it all goes wrong with the arrival of the ruthless Mexican Baja Cartel whose goons decide to move in and demand that the trio become partners with them.The cartel, headed by Elena (Salma Hayek) and her enforcer Lado (Benicio Del Toro), underestimate the unbreakable bond of the three friends.
Ben and Chon - with the reluctant assistance of a dirty DEA agent Dennis (John Travolta) - wage a seemingly unwinnable war against the cartel. And so begins a series of increasingly vicious ploys and maneuvers in a high stakes, savage battle of wills after the cartel kidnap O.
Travolta and Hayek steal the show and although the critics have not been impressed, go see for yourselves folks.
Next up is Aussie comedy-drama The Wedding Party, directed by Amanda Jane, which deals with the most farcical wedding party in history apparently.
Steve (John Lawson) is broke and needs cash fast and agrees to marry Russian girl Ana (Isabel Lucas) who will give him tons of cash to do the deed so she can get residency in Australia.
He doesn’t tell a soul, but a nosey family member catches on to Steve’s secret and spills the beans resulting in laughs, mayhem and a fun movie. What is he going to tell the girl he really loves?
It was fi lmed in 2010, but it has fi nally arrived in Saigon. Enjoy folks.
Also out in this week’s triple header is Finding Nemo 3D directed by Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich.
The animation feature sees a timid clownfish set out on the journey of a lifetime to bring home his son who was captured in the Great Barrier Reef and taken to Sydney.
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Sep
18
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Cast adrift on Ly Son Island
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VietNamNet Bridge – Ly Son Island, 30km off the coast of the central province of Quang Ngai, is a tranquil destination that can be explored in two days, as Dang Thi Mai Thi and her group recently discovered.
Departed souls: Officials take part in a ceremony to honour the souls of sailors who died during long voyages to the Hoang Sa (Paracel) Islands in the Nguyen dynasty in the 17th century.
The group began their trip in Da Nang City on a package tour from Da Nang Beach Travel. A van took them very early in the morning to Quang Ngai's Sa Ky port, 16km east of downtown Quang Ngai City and a three-hour drive along National Highway 1.
They got on board a 150-seat boat for the hourlong trip to Ly Son Island, which cost VND110,000 (US$5).
"We had to rush a bit in the morning because there is only one ship to Ly Son every day. Tourists have to come to Sa Ky port on time if they don't want to miss the ship," Thi said.
"We were lucky because the trip would have been cancelled if the weather was not mild. A strong wind would prevent us from cruising safely," she said.
One nautical mile away, five mountains form Ly Son Island, of which four are dormant volcanoes.
As soon as the ship docked at Ly Son port, the group was taken to Dai Duong Hotel.
June is the hottest time on the island, so visitors often plan to go in July or August – the best time for fishing – to sample the local seafood at its peak.
Thi's group landed on the island at noon, in the heat of the midday sun. They slaked their thirst with sugar-cane juice in a stall near the port before checking into their hotel.
A passenger boat docks at Ly Son Island daily. The 150-seat vessel departs
from Sa Ky port in Quang Ngai Province and arrives at Ly Son district in an hour.
"The province is well-known for its sugar-cane. The juice is so sweet and cool and very cheap. A big glass costs just VND5,000 (two US cents) and the juice actually refreshed me," the 23-year-old said.
The first site the group visited was Hang Pagoda, which was built in the middle of a mountain that was once a volcano. The local people said the pagoda was an ancient Cham structure.
On the top of Thoi Loi Mountain, one of the four volcanoes, local people built a reservoir in a 1sq.km crater to deal with the lack of fresh water in the dry season on the Islands.
"I felt a bit of fear when I stood on the rough rocks in the former volcano crater. The local people constructed concrete paths around the reservoir for tourists," said Nguyen Thi Le Chi.
Lunch included garlic salad (garlic grows abundantly on the island) and several varieties of sea snail and squid.
The 9.7sq.km island has 3,000 inhabitants, most of whom make their living from farming garlic and spring onion, and fishing.
The stems and roots of the garlic plant are mixed with pea nuts, herbs and vinegar and served with rice pancakes and fish sauce.
"You should not avoid garlic because of its strong smell. The chefs here create great dishes from it," said visitor Nguyen Xuan Ha. "Also, garlic salad helps prevent colds."
Visitors are offered a cup of garlic-soaked wine – a traditional cure for high cholesterol level.
There was not much traffic on the island, so the group decided to explore it by motorbike.
They visited An Hai communal house, and Duc and Am Linh pagodas in the afternoon.
Culinary delight: Ly Son Island, 30km off the coast of Quang Ngai Province, has 3,000 inhabitants,
most of whom make their living from farming garlic and spring onion.
An Hai communal house was built during the reign of King Minh Mang in 1820. It's the oldest building still preserved on the island, with engraved timber girders and beams.
Am Linh Pagoda was a worshipping place for seamen in the Hoang Sa (Paracel) Islands in the Nguyen dynasty, around the 17th century.
The pagoda was built to worship the soul of sailors who died during long voyages to Hoang Sa and Truong Sa (Spratly) islands.
A museum on the islands displays over 200 ancient documents and 100 exhibits which prove that Hoang Sa and Truong Sa islands belong to Viet Nam.
In the evening, the group boarded bamboo coracles to go on a diving trip with local fishermen.
"There is not any beach on the islands, but we were advised to snorkel to explore the coral reefs around the islands," said Nguyen Thanh Ha, a tour group member.
"There are many snails and fishes living in the coral reefs. The water here is so clear and safe for diving."
At night, an outdoor party with a campfire was held at a fisherman's house, where islanders flocked to share drinks with visitors.
"We had a big party with fresh seafood. We danced and sang with local people. Of course, they expressed their hospitality by giving us garlic wine until we got drunk," Ha said.
As the ship leaves early in the morning, travellers must wake up early to get on board in time.
Ha and his friends rushed out to the local market, where they bought dried garlic and spring onion, squid and shrimp as gifts to take home.
The group then went shopping in downtown Quang Ngai and had a lunch of goby – a small fish caught in the Tra River – in a restaurant on the river bank.
"It was a short trip, but we had an interesting experience exploring the island. I hope to stay longer next time," Thi said.
Da Nang Beach Travel offers a package tour from Da Nang to Ly Son Islands and back. The tour lasts one night and two days and costs VND870,000 each passenger for a 10-member group.
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After Tram Gian temple, another national relic is harmed
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18/09/2012 09:24:25
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Sea Festival 2013 to be held in June
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18/09/2012 09:22:04
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US$524mil museum and the shortage of funds for heritage preservation
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18/09/2012 09:20:34
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First News withdraws comic books ‘Why’
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18/09/2012 09:17:50
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Vietnam, Japan hold friendship music concert
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18/09/2012 09:02:22
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The craft of jewellery making in Chau Khe
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18/09/2012 08:58:37
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Japanese, Taiwanese artists join city’s dan tranh gig
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18/09/2012 08:53:54
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Conde Nast Traveller votes the Nam Hai as Best Overseas Spa Hotel
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18/09/2012 08:47:09
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Con Son Kiep Bac Autumn Festival 2012 to open in late September
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18/09/2012 08:46:09
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