Shwaas band rocks Da Nang

Shwaas, a fusion rock band headed by Rajesh Prasanna from New Delhi, India that blends Indian classical music with jazz and blues, performed at Da Nang's Technology College yesterday, Jan 2.

Shwaas band performed at Da Nang's Technology College yesterday, Jan 3. (Photo: VNS)

Over 200 students attended the performance, sponsored by the Indian Embassy to mark the 40th anniversary of the establishment of full diplomatic relations between Viet Nam and India, as well as the fifth anniversary of the country's strategic partnership and the 20th anniversary of the partnership between India and ASEAN.

The band will also perform in HCM City on Friday, Can Tho City on Sunday and Ha Noi next Monday and Tuesday.

Test your skills with the Ha Noi Pub Quizzers

The Ha Noi Pub Quizzers hosts quiz nights on various topics and themes every Tuesday from 9.30-11pm at R&R Tavern, 256 Nghi Tam Street, Tay Ho District.

Anyone can join the event, either as an individual or a team. Entry VND30,000

Winners get a free beer.

Improve your Vietnamese with classes at Puku

Free Vietnamese class given by "Learn Vietnamese" group takes place at Puku Cafe, 16-18 Tong Duy Tan Street, every Wednesday from 7-9pm.

All levels of learners are welcome to make new friends and improve their Vietnamese free of charge.

VietClimb Gym to build bouldering team

 VietClimb Gym calls on climbers to form a Viet Nam team for the Gravical 2013 – an annual bouldering competition organised by the Singapore Management University Climb Team.

Bouldering is a style of rock climbing undertaken without a rope and normally limited to very short climbs over a crash pad (called a bouldering mat) so that a fall will not result in serious injury.

Taking place in the Singapore City Square Mall from January 11-13, the main objective is to promote climbing. The event will provide challenging bouldering problems.

Phone 0914 548 903 or go to www.facebook.com/events/137597419722676/

Experimental music show to hit HCM City

Erasable, an experimental interactive show combining contemporary dance, music, and visual arts, will be held at Sai Gon Outcast cafe and bar on January 12.

The 60-minute show will have five periods, with each featuring interaction with the audience.

The show will begin at 6pm at 188/1 Nguyen Van Huong Street, District 2. Admission will cost VND70,000.

French movie month begins at IDECAF

The adventures of Asterix and Obelix in Egypt will open a French film month at the Institute of Cultural Exchange with France (IDECAF) in January.

Asterix&Obelix: Mission Cleopatra will be screened on Saturday, followed by musical Peau d'Ane (Donkey Skin), La Fille du RER Louise (The Girl on the Train), and Le gamin au velo (The Kid with a Bike) on the succeeding Saturdays.

Tickets cost VND15,000, and screenings will begin at 3pm. IDECAF is at 28 Le Thanh Ton Street, District 1.

DJs bring Indie electro music to District 1

Everyone's a DJ – promoters of indie, disco punk, and synthpop in HCM City – will present music show Electric Kicks on January 11 at Broma bar in District 1.

The show will feature indie electro, nu disco – the 21st century dance music, and 1980s' new wave music with performances by DJs Pe Dro, Hibiya Line and Superkid.

The show will start at 9pm at 41 Nguyen Hue Street. Entry will cost VND50,000.

Latin dance night salsas into Sheraton

Sheraton Saigon Hotel's Level 23 Nightspot will host a Latin dance party on January 18.

There will be Latin dance, music by an international band, and a lucky draw. Participants are urged to dress up in Latin themes.

The party will open at 8pm at the Sheraton, 88 Dong Khoi Street, District 1.

Celebrity chef Yan to hit Vietnamese TV

Channel 9 of the HCM City Television, HTV9, will broadcast the first episode of reality show Martin Yan – Taste of Viet Nam hosted by renowned Chinese-American chef Martin Yan at 8.30pm tomorrow.

The 26 episodes introduce Viet Nam popular destinations and famous landscapes by focusing on the culinary cultures of the places.

Yan, the presenter and main character, and his companion, the 2010 Miss Vietnam runner-up Hoang My, travel to 14 provinces and cities to showcase their tourism, cuisine, and culture.

Yan, 64, also joins famous local chefs to cook more than 50 specialty dishes.

The show would also be broadcast on many tourism and cuisine channels around the world – including the Asian Food Channel (covering nine countries and territories in Asia) and PBS in the US.

Martin Yan – Taste of Viet Nam will be aired every Friday at 8.30pm.

Hue completes temple restoration

The Hue Monuments Conservation Centre opened the Ta Tung Tu relic (Left Temple) after a year of restoration work, said Phan Thanh Hai, the centre's director.

The project cost VND7.2 billion (roughly US$345,600), of which nearly $46,000 came from the World Monuments Fund and the rest was provided by the centre.

Ta Tung Tu is a place of worship dedicated to high-ranking mandarins under the reign of King Minh Mang of the Nguyen dynasty (1802-1945), the last in Viet Nam.

The temple is located in King Minh Mang's tomb complex on Cam Khe mountain, 14km from Hue city centre. Built in September 1840, the monument was severely damaged due to natural erosion and the wars.

Covering over 100sq.m. the temple is an integral part of the well-matched architecture and solemnity of the complex.

Website unveils Architect of the Year

Vo Trong Nghia was named Architect of the Year by Vietnamese architecture website Ashui.com.

The 37-year-old architect, who won two awards at the World Architecture Festival in Singapore last year for his innovative green house and ventilated school designs, runs Vo Trong Nghia Architects with two Japanese partners.

The firm was among the winners of the 2012 Design Vanguard Award for environmentally-friendly projects.

Nghia and his partners can also count among their design accomplishments the Vietnamese pavilion at the 2010 Shanghai World Expo and Gio va Nuoc (Wind and Water), a bamboo-framed cafe in the southern province of Binh Duong.

His firm has won numerous international prizes, including two golden prizes from the Asian Architecture Association and five American International Architecture Awards. World Architecture News named Vo Trong Nghia Architects one of the top 21 architectural firms of the 21st century for its innovations with bamboo.

Architect Hoang Dao Kinh won the Ashui.com award for theory and criticism, and the award for community architecture went to Hoang Thuc Hao.

Artisans restore musical instruments

Vietnamese and South Korean artisans have completed restorations on a set of musical stones used in the Hue Royal Court.

Experts from the Hue Monuments Conservation Centre and the South Korean National Centre of Traditional Performance and Art restored eleven of the 12 musical stones to their proper sounds. The final one may have been damaged by Hue's high humidity.

These instruments, popular in Hue in the early 20th century are rarely used today. Musicians do not even know how to play them. So the experts also conducted research on the way to play the instruments.

The restoration project is part of a national programme to preserve the Hue Royal Court Music, or nha nhac in Vietnamese, which was the first intangible heritage of Viet Nam to be recognised by the UN cultural organisation UNESCO.

VNN/VOV/VNS