The Thay Thim
cultural-tourism festival 2012 will be held at Thay Thim Palace from
Saturday until Tuesday in La Gi Town, Binh Thuan Province.
Chau
Thanh Long, vice chairman of La Gi Town, said: “The festival is not
only a cultural event but also a historical activity to pay tribute to
ancestors. This year, the festival has new features from the rituals to
the activities.”
The rituals include offering ceremonies to
goddesses, ancestors and whales as well as ceremonies to pray for a good
harvest, good health and happiness for residents.
The festival
days were filled with traditional artistic performances such as dragon
dances, drum roll and sports activities including hill trekking, human
chess and tug-of-war.
For the first time the festival will feature a legend about Thay Thim by cai luong (Southern opera) drama performed by popular artists from HCMC.
The
organizers also introduced a book about Thay Thim Palace by Le Cong Si
which aims to mark the 15th anniversary of the palace being recognized
as a national historical-cultural relic. They expect to attract over
200,000 visitors.
The Keo Pagoda in Duy Nhat
commune, Vu Thu district, in northern Thai Binh province, has been
recognised as a special national relic for its unique historical,
cultural, architectural and artistic values.
The province held a ceremony on October 24 to receive the title and officially open the 2012 Keo Pagoda Autumn Festival.
After
the first ceremonies, the delegates, along with many Buddhist monks,
nuns, followers and tourists, offered incense in commemoration of
Buddhist monk Duong Khong Lo and those who took part in the pagoda
construction, from the 17 th century.
Speaking at the ceremony, a
senior official from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism
underlined the unique values of the pagoda and urged Thai Binh province
to preserve and promote these values so that it is worthy of becoming
one of the nation’s special cultural heritages.
Just over 130 km
away from the capital Hanoi, Keo Pagoda, which was built in 1632, is an
ancient building but has 102 rooms, more than any other pagoda in
Vietnam.
There are two passages which separate the pagoda from
the temple. They are designed with curved roofs that join together at
the 11.5m-high iron and wood bell tower.
The tower has three storeys, each of which possesses its own tiled roof and bronze bell.
The
108,000 m2 pagoda is home to a wealth of ancient artefacts, which range
from intricately engraved wooden dragons to a collection of over 100
statues.
It has also preserved many valuable antiques, such as a
pair of candlesticks from the Mac Dynasty, pottery and altars from the
Le Dynasty and several imperial boats.
The Keo Pagoda Autumn
Festival is held annually from the 13 th to 15 th of the ninth lunar
month, in honour of monk Duong Khong Lo, who is said to have cured King
Le Thanh Tong of illness.
In addition to the traditional
religious rituals that commemorate the Buddhist monk, the festival also
hosts a variety of cultural activities that reflect the lifestyle of the
Red River Delta’s agricultural communities.
VietNamNet Bridge – Foreign travelers have been heading for Vietnam, the
oriental “millennium destination” with “hidden charm” to discover. However, many
of them have shrunk back because of the stories about the problems travelers may
meet in the country.
Vietnam has been determined to attract more foreign travelers to Vietnam, trying
to show to them the images of a peaceful, beautiful Vietnam and Vietnamese
hospitality.
Competent agencies have filed the documents to international organizations for
the recognition of its relics and landscapes as the world’s natural wonders and
cultural heritages. Ancient relics have been rebuilt or upgraded; imposing
inauguration ceremonies have been organized.
The pieces of news about the events have continually appeared on local
newspapers, showing the evidence about a renovating Vietnam.
However, while the government and competent agencies try to show the brilliant
images of Vietnam, a lot of Vietnamese people show the dark part of the travel
market.
Foreign travelers got their bags snatched. Foreign travelers were overcharged
when taking taxis, got sexually abused, had money robbed. Especially, a foreign
traveler had all of his money stolen, and he had to sell pictures to earn some
money.
Lately, on October 17, 2012, Charlotte, a French woman, when walking on Tran Phu
Street in the sea city of Nha Trang, had her camera snatched. At that time,
Ruben Engelhardt, a member of the travelers’ team, tried to prevent the
snatching, but he was attacked by the other gangs.
Finally, Charlotte had to give all the money she had in her pocket to the gang
team to beg them to stop fighting the friend. After that the man was taken to a
hospital for the injury treatment.
The noteworthy thing is that the Tho Loc ward’s police station said it did not
receive any report about the attack from the foreign travelers.
It was true that the foreign travelers did not report the attack to the local
authorities. Under the current regulations, travelers, even though suffering
injuries, would have to come to police stations to report about the cases first
before they can go to hospitals for treatments.
Here, at the police stations, they would provide all the details relating to the
cases. This is really a difficult task for them, because there may be no one who
can understand him if he speaks foreign languages.
After that, they would have to report the cases in written documents and show
evidence and witnesses. Only when the criminals are arrested and exhibits are
presented, would the competent agencies be able to begin considering the cases
and making decisions.
As such, travelers have to undergo so many procedures to protect their benefits.
This explains why they would rather not to ask for the intervention of the
police.
Quang Ninh province has become “famous” in recent years, not only because it has
the natural wonder Ha Long Bay, but also because of the troubles occurring in
the locality.
Five travelers were lost in a case of a tourist boat sinking in early October,
after 12 travelers died in a similar case in February 2011. Meanwhile, the local
authorities have “thrown more oil into the fire” when announcing the two-fold
increase in the transport service fees.
Vietnamese people have a saying: “the fly that spoils the broth.”, i.e. just
some problems occurring in some places may spoil the images of Vietnam’s
tourism. Therefore, Vietnamese people have called for eliminate the “flies” to
keep the Vietnam’s tourism environment clean.
In the latest news, the foreign travelers to Vietnam in June, July and August
dropped by 15 percent in comparison with the same period of the last year.
Nguyen Duy Nghia
The National Professional Cai
Luong (reformed theatre) Festival 2012 featuring 22 stage troupes from
across the country, opened in Bien Hoa city, Dong Nai province, on
October 20.
The artists will perform 26 new pieces that have been composed since 2009, focusing on issues in contemporary life.
Speaking
at the opening ceremony, Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism
Vuong Duy Bien said the event provides an opportunity for Cai Luong
artists to exchange experiences and be inspired to create more high
quality works for the public.
The festival also honours
individuals and collectives that have made positive contributions to the
development of the art form, he added.
The event, held jointly
by the Department of Performing Arts, the Vietnam Association of Stage
Artists and the Dong Nai provincial Department of Culture, Sports and
Tourism, will conclude with an awards ceremony on November 4.
The stage troupes will then travel to give performances in Long Khanh town, Bien Hoa city and other districts of the city.
