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As part of activities to celebrate 50 years of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Japan, BRG Group, non-profit organisation Be-Japon, and the Japanese Embassy in Vietnam will co-host a special cultural exchange event in the form of a kimono-ao dai fashion show, staged by fashion designer Kobayashi Eiko at InterContinental Hanoi Westlake. “Japan and Vietnam not only have a special political trust relationship but also have generational exchanges between the two countries, in which the exchange of the young generation from the two countries is increasing. I think that the understanding and empathy between people and people are the foundation for Japan-Vietnam exchanges that are developing strongly and rapidly like currently,” says Yamada Takio, Japanese Ambassador to Vietnam. “I hope that the fashion show will create audiences the opportunities to explore the similarities in traditional costumes and aesthetic conceptions of the two countries, as well as feel the potential t...

Better suited to families with teens (those still willing to holiday with the old folks), Vietnam makes an excellent budget destination. Hanoi is a lot of fun to explore, even for younger kids, with attractions like the Temple of Literature, water puppet dances or just wandering and nibbling on street food. Photo: Getty Images Ho Chi Minh City offers another level of culture and history; the Mekong Delta is a riot of colours and sounds with its floating markets; Nha Trang is blessed with sandy beaches and calm waves for island hopping, scuba diving, boarding and waterskiing. While Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and the other major centres are intriguing enough, it’s Vietnam’s striking landscape that most impresses. Rugged mountains hug the west, bordering Cambodia and Laos; to the east lies the South China Sea – or the East Sea, as the Vietnamese call it. To the north and south, the land fantails out into the splendid deltas of the Red River and the Mekong, and it’s in these re...

Photo: Tienphong.vn Around the end of December to March, the vast rubber forests in Huong Khe district, Ha Tinh province undergo many changes. Photo: Tienphong.vn To come here, visitors can travel on Ho Chi Minh Road, National Highway 15. They will have the opportunity to see the image of beautiful and dreamy rubber leaves. Photo: Tienphong.vn Huong Khe district is considered as the rubber-growing capital of Ha Tinh province with more than 6,400 hectares. Rubber here grows thick and large. When the season changes, the leaves turn yellow and red. Photo: Tienphong.vn The rubber tree is native to the Amazon forest, in South America. In the Maina dialect, “ouchouk” is the name for the rubber tree, which also means tears of the tree. Following in the footsteps of the French, rubber trees came to Vietnam in the late 19th century and quickly became the main industrial tree. Because of the large area, the green leaves on the branches do not immedi...