Tieng Viet lovers club

[Honey Boon]

make sure you visit Sunway Lagoon, the theme park and the resort there ....

Originally Posted by lhhuy1

I am heading to Monash in Sunway. I need to get a map.

[jackbl]

Thanks for your help.... 平地一声雷

Originally Posted by Hurricane88

Du sao di chang nua dc quen anh em rat vui = no matter how i am very happy to know you

no matter how = du sao di chang nua

[lhhuy1]

Originally Posted by Honey Boon

make sure you visit Sunway Lagoon, the theme park and the resort there ....

Thanks. I am not very much interested in theme park, resort or scenery. I am looking for something else......such as bars and girls.

[Honey Boon]

then I am sure you know where to head to? just ask the taxi man

Originally Posted by lhhuy1

Thanks. I am not very much interested in theme park, resort or scenery. I am looking for something else......such as bars and girls.

[lhhuy1]

Yeah. I am sure I will have no problem going about in such a nice city.

[jackbl]

City sings, dances and blossoms for Tet
================================

The Youth Cultural House in Ho Chi Minh City has a full schedule of traditional events to celebrate Tet that will go on until the fifth day of the new year.


The Tet Viet Ky Suu 2009 (2009 Vietnamese Lunar New Year of the Buffalo) festival opened last Thursday with displays of pictures and calligraphy that are also for sale.

It also features lion dancing and a contest between don ca tai tu (traditional southern folk music) groups.

A “calligraphy street” has been set up in front of the house in Pham Ngoc Thach Street, and opens until January 25. It has calligraphers showing off their skills, exhibitions and sales of their works.

Also, a photography exhibition will trace Vietnam’s development through the years, and a weeklong tea festival opening today will showcase the nation’s tea-drinking culture.



A tourist looks at calligraphy on display in front of the HCMC Youth Cultural House in District 1

On Friday, three days before Tet, visitors will be taught how to make banh tet (round glutinous cake), which will be given later that day to 2,000 orphans along with li xi (lucky money given to children for Tet).

Traditional Vietnamese martial arts and co nguoi (human Chinese chess) performances will begin on January 27 until the 30th.

The city is also blooming with Tet flower markets to mark the holiday, with the largest flower market, the Tet Flower Market at September 23rd Park, opening on Sunday in District 1.

The park is vibrant with the colors of peach blossoms from the north, kumquats from the Mekong Delta, and ochnas from Binh Dinh and Ben Tre provinces.

A seller from northern Hai Duong Province said peach blossoms were more expensive this year due to higher workers’ wages and transportation costs.

An eight-year-old peach blossom tree is priced VND1.5 million (US$86) while smaller ones sell for around VND600,000.

For the first time ever, strawberry trees from the Central Highlands’ Lam Dong Province are being sold at the market for VND80,000 and many cool-temperature flower varieties, such as lilies, are available.

In addition, the Nguyen Hue Flower Street will open in downtown this Friday as the epicenter of all the city’s Tet seasonal celebrations. The street fair, including hundreds of booths and live outdoor performances, will take place on Nguyen Hue Boulevard in District 1.

Three other large Tet flower markets are currently open at District 1’s Le Van Tam Park, Gia Dinh Park in Go Vap District and the Phu My Hung New Urban Area in District 7.

Reported by Da Ly – Mai Vong

[jackbl]

Will be easier for ppl in BEN TRE travelling to HCMC now!!! Bro SV...


Major southern bridge opens to traffic
==========================

The VND1.4 trillion (US$80 million) Rach Mieu Bridge connecting Ben Tre and Tien Giang provinces opened to traffic January 19 after construction began in April 2002.

It has been built over the Tien River along National Road 60, around 70 km from Ho Chi Minh City.

The bridge is vital for Ben Tre residents, facilitating not only transport but also socio-economic development in the province and the Mekong Delta.

Unlike the modern My Thuan, Can Tho, and Bai Chay suspension bridges, Rach Mieu was designed and built by Vietnamese with Swiss technical assistance.

With the Can Tho bridge still under construction, it is the second suspension bridge in the delta.

The first, the My Thuan Bridge, connects Vinh Long Province with the city of Can Tho, was finished in 2000.

Rach Mieu is 2.87 kilometers long. Its suspended portion is 504 meters long while it has a clearance of 37.5 meters.

It was built under a build-operate-transfer (BOT) contract by CIENCO 1, 5 and 6 at a cost of VND988 billion (US$59 million). Of this amount VND571 billion came from the Government and the rest from CIENCO.

The bridge toll will be the same as the ferry charge now collected.


Happy occasion

With the ferry system a thing of the past following the bridge completion, the delta is expected to attract more investment.

While it used to take around 25 minutes to cross the river by ferry, it only takes five minutes now.

Farmer Nguyen Van Hai, 65, of Ben Tre Province’s Giong Trom District, said “This is the bridge of our dreams. My wife and I have always dreamed of a bridge to connect the two banks of the Tien River. We are very happy.”

“My children who live and work in Can Tho and Ho Chi Minh City will no longer have a long wait for a ferry when they return home for Tet,” he added.

Opportunities for Ben Tre

The Rach Mieu Bridge will not just facilitate transportation in the region, but also Ben Tre Province’s economic and tourism development.

When the bridge was under construction, many foreign and domestic investors visited the province to study its potential.

Nguyen Thai Xuan, chairman of the Ben Tre People’s Committee, said foreign investment into the province has soared in the last three years.

The province has now drawn up fresh socio-economic plans, he said.

It is seeking investment in existing industrial parks like An Hiep and Giao Long, with seafood and export of fruit getting priority, Mr. Xuan added.

By staff writers – Translated by Hoang Thi

[jackbl]

Hi ppl, anyone know how to translate this? A greeting from fren wishing a safety return trip....
"Chuc ban ve nuoc don mung xuan"

[Carrot007]

Originally Posted by casannova03

Hoa trang is also make-up lei..my wife say one...but i guess it makes sense la... in order to camou, you need to put make-up ma, right??

Another commonly used word for make-up is 'trang điểm'

trang điểm = hoá trang = make-up

[jackbl]

Thanks, I normal used the words trang điểm for make up..... "Today u no make up also pretty lei ... "

Originally Posted by Carrot007

Another commonly used word for make-up is 'trang điểm'

trang điểm = hoá trang = make-up

[jackbl]

1) Chuc Mung Nam Moi = Cung chúc tân xuân = Happy New Year

2) Cung hỉ phát tài = "Congratulations and be Prosperous" 恭喜发财

3) Van su nhu y = 萬事如意

4) mã đáo thành công = 马到成功

Originally Posted by jackbl

Lunar New Year Greetings:

[jackbl]

The needle and the art done
=================================

A local artist is pushing to make tattoos more tolerated in Vietnam.


Nguyen Dang Thien had a rebellious streak in him from a young age.

By 16, his love for rock music, still barely accepted in Vietnam at that time, had lead to a passion for tattoo art.

He began studying body art on his own in high school.

But tattoos in Vietnam are stigmatized as belonging only to convicts, gang members or ex-soldiers in the former Saigon regime’s army – none of which are looked upon fondly by the general public.

But young Vietnamese have been getting more tattoos these days, including famous singers, actors and musicians.

Thien says local Vietnamese are slowly dissolving the taboos and stereotypes associated with tattoos here by steering clear of themes often represented by prison and army tattoos and focusing instead on philosophy and personal passions.

“Tattoos have been accepted by groups of Vietnamese youth and have become a part of their everyday lives in a very healthy way,” says Thien.

After graduating from the College of Fine Arts in 2001 with a degree in graphic design, the artist taught himself tattoo methods by reading, surfing the Internet and attending tattoo conventions in Thailand and Singapore.

He opened a small tattoo shop in Phu Nhuan District as soon as he graduated, despite the strong protests of his family. But he quickly decided he wanted formal training so he enrolled in classes in Thailand.

Upon returning home, Thien opened a bigger tattoo parlor, Saigon Ink, in District 10 last June.

“Tattoo is an art. It has no limits,” he says.

“Tatoos can express beauty and charm or they can also be simple good luck charms or religious symbols of spiritual value.”

Thien’s customers include both Vietnamese and foreigners, as well as some local celebrities.

Pop star Thuy Tien has acquired her fifth tattoo, a seraph good luck image on her neck, at Saigon Ink.

Charlie Nguyen, director of Dong mau anh hung (The Rebel), got his first tattoo, which memorialized the date he began shooting the film, at Thien’s parlor.

The average price of a Saigon Ink tattoo depends on the type of image, but it usually ranges between US$50- 100 per hour or per small tattoo.

All of Saigon Ink’s equipment, inks and catalogs are from Thailand, the US, China, Singapore and Japan, Thien says.

After the Tet holiday, he plans to open a second shop located in HCMC’s backpacker area.

“My ambition is to develop a tattoo service and build an official tattoo career in Vietnam. I hope to help rub out the bias against tattooing so that an original Vietnamese tattoo culture can begin to take shape.”

By Kim

[Hurricane88]

Originally Posted by jackbl

Hi ppl, anyone know how to translate this? A greeting from fren wishing a safety return trip....
"Chuc ban ve nuoc don mung xuan"

Chuc ban ve nuoc don mung xuan = congratulation you come back home town to greeting new year

don mung xuan = greeting new year

[lhhuy1]

Originally Posted by Hurricane88

Chuc ban ve nuoc don mung xuan = congratulation you come back home town to greeting new year

don mung xuan = greeting new year

Or in other words.....

đón = To go meet

mừng = happy

xuân = spring

Originally Posted by jackbl

Thanks, I normal used the words trang điểm for make up..... "Today u no make up also pretty lei ... "

Yeah, my girl used to ask if I liked her with or without make-up. The answer was always no make-up, but I know she's just lazy putting it on and needed to ask for approval. So I am always walking around with an ugly girl.

[jackbl]

Lately, I found that your translation is quite good hor.... Keep up the good work!!!

Originally Posted by Hurricane88

Chuc ban ve nuoc don mung xuan = congratulation you come back home town to greeting new year

don mung xuan = greeting new year