Spreading joy: Spark Circus volunteers give children tools and circus lessons. — VNS Photo Phương Vũ Viet Nam News A Hanoian hip-hop dancer finds dancing more than his passion when he volunteers to teach hip-hop to youngsters in Việt Nam and other Southeast Asian countries. Bích Hường reports. Since 2013, Nguyễn Anh Tuấn has travelled every year to neighbouring countries including Thailand, Laos, Myanmar and the Philippines to teach hip-hop to street children and other disadvantaged youngsters. The 29-year-old first became a volunteer seven years ago after he met Jerry Snell – a Canadian dance choreographer and hip-hop veteran who visited Việt Nam to promote his Street Art for Street Kids initiative, teaming up with the country’s top street dance crews with shelters for vulnerable children to offer dance lessons and companionship. “In a summer day in 2012, when I was teaching hip-hop to youngsters … [Read more...] about Hip-hop dancer brings joy to youngsters
Pattaya
More than 70,000 discounted tours offered at HCM City tourism festival
Visitors buy promotional tickets at Vietnam Airlines' booth. (Photo: VNA) HCM City (VNA) – More than 70,000 domestic and foreign tour vouchers are available at discounts of up to 50 percent at the Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Fair which opened at 23/9 Park on April 12. The annual event held by the municipal Department of Tourism features 150 booths of travel agencies, hotels, retailers, restaurants, transporters and airlines. This year, the fair is themed “Discovering 2018 Summer”. An array of promotional programmes are available at the festival, including “Hunting zero VND tour” with 1,000 free tickets for domestic and foreign tours, a gold hour of low prices and “buy one tour, get one tour”. The Vietnam Airlines Corporation will set aside 2,400 promotional codes with a 30 percent discount for individuals on domestic and international flights and up to 49 percent for groups on international flights. Travel aficionados will have chance to … [Read more...] about More than 70,000 discounted tours offered at HCM City tourism festival
Southeast Asia’s idyllic islands buckle under tourism strain
The six-month closure of the Philippine tourism island of Boracay for a revamp after the country's president branded it a "cesspool" reflects the growing pressures on beach resorts across Southeast Asia as visitor numbers surge. Tourism experts say the region's infrastructure is buckling under record visitor numbers, especially as more Chinese holiday abroad, and expect more drastic measures to come. Airports have become chaotic, hotels are being thrown up hastily with little regard for safety and sanitation, tropical beaches are strewn with garbage and coral reefs are dying. Thailand already has plans to shut its famous Maya Bay in the Phi Phi islands for four months this summer, while an environmental group is calling for urgent government action to tackle a "crisis" on the Indonesian tourist island of Bali. "Many out-of-control destinations across Asia will need clean-ups," said Brian King, associate dean of the School of Hotel and Tourism Management at Hong Kong Polytechnic … [Read more...] about Southeast Asia’s idyllic islands buckle under tourism strain
Lessons to be learned in Vietnam from Thailand’s sex industry
“Call me Ryn, I like that name!” a transgender woman told me with a hoarse voice and a shy smile, preferring the female name than her given one. Ryn works at a bar in Soi Nana, one of many glittering alleys along Sukhumvit which often sit on top of the must-visit places in Bangkok. At these red light districts, sex workers, male or female, provide all kinds of services, from a fun date to arousing massages. The alleys stand right next to a shopping center crowded with Muslims. A man having fun all night at Soi Cowboy can take a short walk to the mall and buy beautiful hijabs for his wife or lover back home. It’s hard to work out if prostitution is legal in Thailand. The country has at least three laws defining the acts of selling one’s body and enticing sexual desires for money as illegal. In 2003, the Ministry of Justice planned to legalize prostitution to collect taxes and try to control STDs, but eventually it could not rule over traditional ethical values. … [Read more...] about Lessons to be learned in Vietnam from Thailand’s sex industry
Viettel win friendly tournament
Viettel players and coaches pose with their winning trophy. — Photo vov.vnViet Nam News HÀ NỘI — Viettel beat Hà Nội 2-0 to clinch the trophy in an international friendly U15 football tournament between Việt Nam and Japan in Hà Nội on Sunday. With two wins and one loss, Viettel, Thanh Hóa and Japan had six points each. Owing to better goal difference, Viettel became champions. Japan came second, followed by Thanh Hoá. In another youth football match, the Promotion Fund of Vietnamese Football Talents Football Club (PVF) finished sixth in the U15 Asean Dream Football Tournament 2018 (U15 ADFT ) in Thailand on Sunday. On the last day, the Vietnamese representative lost 4-5 in penalty shootout to Changrai United of the hosts after the match ended 1-1 in official time. Earlier, in the group round, PVF won all the three matches to enter the quarter-finals, where they lost 0-1 to Assumption United. In the play-off match, to … [Read more...] about Viettel win friendly tournament