Seeking paint that looks like wood stained

By Pham Linh  &nbspMarch 15, 2019 | 09:10 pm GMT+7 The skyline becomes a tapestry of reddish orange blooms in the central province of Quang Ngai Province, come spring. Hills, mountains, streams, houses, streets – Quang Ngai adorns itself with kapok flowers during the spring season, making it a delight to visit at this time of the year. Along the roads in the mountainous districts of Son Ha and Son Tay in Quang Ngai Province, 145km south of Da Nang City, many kapok trees bloom, having shed almost all their leaves lighting up the skies with fiery red flowers. Many of these trees are several decades old and have a wide canopy. Locals will tell you that while it looks like good timber, the wood is actually soft. "Even if you sell it, no one would buy, so let it bloom and be beautiful," said one resident. The Asian tropical tree is also known as red silk-cotton or just silk-cotton. Its bark, root and flowers are used in oriental medicine. A small tree grows by Rin … [Read more...] about Kapok trees paint the town red on central coast

The "Duck Stop" is located near the Phong Nha - Ke Bang Cave in Quang Binh Province. It has become a very popular destination of late. Western tourists enjoy a duck massage. Photo courtesy of Bianca Yorke - Davies The Duck Stop Farm is a brainchild of 20-year-old Tran Van Quynh. The owner of the 120 ducks has also named the farm "Duck Heaven".  Quynh guides visitors for the first attempt at getting the duck massage, on how to hold a handful of seeds in their cupped palms and allow the ducks to munch them. The experience is similar to the famous fish massage in Thailand where people put their legs in water tanks full of small fish that nibble at the skin. Robyn, a tourist from Poland, said she’d never laughed so much. "I never thought I would be chased by hundreds of ducks. It felt great to have them massage me," she said. Tourists also have the opportunity to become a "leader" of hundreds of ducks. The "Duck Leader" section is introduced soon after tourists … [Read more...] about If it looks like a duck…and massages like a duck…

Following the chaos that occurred outside the My Dinh Stadium the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) might switch to selling tickets online if Vietnam enter the semi-finals. Despite the cold and rainy weather on Sunday, fans queue up patiently outside the stadium. Some had even arrived the day before. A barrier was installed by security officials two hours before the counters opened at 8 a.m. But the barrier collapsed as thousands of people jostled and shoved. Luckily there were no injuries. This woman waited in the line since 7 p.m. the day before. She scaled the fence but couldn’t get down because there was no space left on the ground to put her feet. A person could buy up to four tickets. After one hour, all 9,000 tickets were sold out. The VFF said 1,000 organizations and associations had demanded some 60,000 tickets while the stadium’s capacity is only 40,000. The tickets are priced at VND150,000, 200,000, 300,000, 400,000 ($6.46, 8.62, 13, 17). The match is … [Read more...] about AFF Cup: This is what anticipation looks like in football-crazy Vietnam

A Formula One race in Vietnam could be on the calendar by 2020, according to the sport's former commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone. "I think you’re going to get a race in Vietnam," the 87-year-old told reporters invited to his private offices in central London to talk about various issues ahead of the new season starting next month. The billionaire Briton, who was moved aside into an undefined 'emeritus' role in January last year after U.S.-based Liberty Media took over, said a street race in Hanoi looked likely. Ecclestone, who remains employed by Formula One on a multi-million pound salary, said the Vietnamese government was willing to pay a significant amount to promote the Southeast Asian country by hosting a grand prix. "They haven’t made a contract yet as far as I know. But if they have, it’s at least two years away isn’t it?," he said. The Malaysian Grand Prix dropped off the calendar after last year's race but Formula One bosses have talked about … [Read more...] about Vietnam Formula 1 race looks likely, says Ecclestone

By Phong Vinh  &nbspFebruary 18, 2018 | 11:09 am GMT+7 These two-decade old snaps offer a rare look into the past. Kyle Michael Nunas, the now Canadian General Consul in Ho Chi Minh City, was one of a few people who had the chance to travel and capture Vietnam in the late 1990s, when the country just started to open to the outside world after a long period of isolation. With a Minolta XD-11 camera in his hands, the diplomat captured various tourist attractions in their far-off pristine days. Nunas first flew to Saigon, then officially named Ho Chi Minh City, in January 1997. The photo was taken in front of the Hotel Continenal Saigon in the city center, when Honda Cubs were trendy and traffic jams were a strange concept. The Municipal Theater, or Saigon Opera House, before a major renovation in 1998. A wet market in the late 1990s, when bicycles were a popular affordable vehicle. Another take of traffic in Saigon in 1997, a decade before the government … [Read more...] about Vietnam looks like an entire different kingdom in these 1990s photos