Hoi An cooking ‘a top experience'

Cooking in the old town of Hoi An is one of the top 10 special travel experiences in the world, according to a poll on Lonely Planet.

The travel guide says: "On the banks of the Hoi An River, the Red Bridge Restaurant and Cooking School is one of many restaurants offering courses to meet the growing demand for tutorials in quality Vietnamese cuisine.

"One-day and half-day cooking tours will match your culinary skills, from non-existent to cordon bleu. Classes usually last about three hours, include four dishes, and cost around US$40 per person. Take a camera so you can remember each dish you master."

Mid-Autumn festival at Ethnology Museum

Traditional folk culture from Hoi An City in the central province of Quang Nam will spice up the annual Mid-Autumn festival held at the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology this weekend.

The festival has a different theme each year. This year, children will be introduced to Hoi An and Quang Nam's cultural identities through folk games, folk songs and traditional cuisine.

As usual, children and parents can learn to make toys. Artisans invited by the Hoi An Culture and Sports Centre will show how they make toys and traditional dishes.

As many as 25 folk games collected from different regions will be introduced and displayed throughout the event.

Cracking Bamboo percussion festival in town, Hanoi

The Goethe Institute Vietnam will host a percussion music festival Cracking Bamboo at the Youth Theater, 11 Ngo Thi Nham Street, Hanoi on October 7 and the Conservatory of Music, 112 Nguyen Du Street in District 1, HCMC on October 10.

Cracking Bamboo combines Asian and Western music to bring to audiences an exceptional and unique sound. Moreover, music troupes joining the festival will make an appearance on the courtyard of the Goethe Institute, 56-58 Nguyen Thai Hoc Street in Hanoi on October 6.

This year, participants from Germany, Norway, France, England, Mongolia, Canada, Belgium, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam, will also come together for innovative workshops related to music and performing arts in Bangkok. Three percussionists from the HCMC Conservatory of Music and three musicians from Hanoi will play Vietnamese string instrument dan bau and traditional bamboo xylophone dan T’rung at the event.

‘Lantern City' to light up HCM City's skyline

A Lantern City will be created in the sky as the Mid-Autumn festival is celebrated on the Saigon Sky Deck at the 49th floor of Bitexco Financial Tower in HCM City.

Customers are invited to bring with them imaginative homemade lanterns of various shapes, sizes and colours, to create a special seasonal atmosphere. All lantern makers will be granted free access to Saigon Skydeck and their works will be displayed till Sunday. Prizes will be awarded for the best lanterns.

The lanterns will be collected until Saturday or when the first 200 have been received.

On the Mid-Autumn Festival (Sunday), 500 gifts from D'art Chocolate, an event sponsor, will be given to all children who attend the Lantern Festival at Saigon Skydeck.

For further information about the programme, contact (08) 3915 6156 or visit: www.saigonskydeck.com.

Dance to music on Sai Gon River

Authentic cuisine, dancing, music, and many more typical Vietnamese traits are available for visitors on the three-deck wooden boat Vietcruiser that sails on the Sai Gon River every Saturday, and offers charter trips six days a week.

A buffet dinner begins once Vietcruiser leaves Nha Rong Wharf at 7.15pm. During the cruise on the Sai Gon River at night to Thanh Da in Binh Thanh District and back to base, guests can walk around the serving counters on the lowest deck to select goi (mixed salad), goi cuon (spring roll), grilled squid and shrimp, and other dishes from various localities around Viet Nam. Music and dances providing insights into Viet Nam's culture and history will be on show throughout the two-hour voyage.

Tickets are priced from VND390,000. Further information is available at www.vietcruiser.com.

Tre Publisher to digitise more than 20,000 books

HCM City-based Tre (Youth) Publishing House and the city's General Science Library will digitise more than 20,000 books.

According to a co-operation agreement signed on Tuesday, experts at Ybook Company and the library will work together to digitise books published during the past 30 years by the publishing house. Most of the library's readers are students and young people.

Ybook, which is owned by the publishing house, has purchased copyrighted works from many well-known writers, including Nguyen Nhat Anh and Nguyen Ngoc Tu.

In the near future, Ybook and the library will co-operate to offer print-on-demand services for rare and valuable works and documents.

Indian envoy gives books to National Library

India Ambassador to Viet Nam Ranjit Rae yesterday donated his private collection of 194 books in different languages to the National Library.

In recent years, the National Library of Viet Nam and the Embassy of India have strengthened multifaceted co-operation and jointly organised many cultural events that helped to expand mutual understanding between the two countries.

"In the area of libraries, the Embassy of India has donated many books, pictures and documents as well as scholarships and professional training for staff at Vietnamese libraries," said Phan Thi Kim Dung, the National Library's director.

"The books collected during the Ambassador's career covers a wide range of topics and will be a precious resource for our readers," she said.

VNN/VOV/VNS/SGT