Monday, 17 December 2018

Tet Nguyen Dan, the important festival to Vietnamese

Tet Nguyen Dan, the important festival to Vietnamese
Vietnam’s Lunar New Year, also called Tet, is the most crucial event in Vietnamese tradition.  Tet marks the arrival of spring based on the lunisolar calendar, it will be between January and February as usual, after New Year’s Day. Tet occurs from the first day of the first month in Vietnamese lunar calendar to the third day or even more. Occasionally, all Vietnamese people have around 1 week off during Tet holiday, the length of the holiday depends on the change in lunar calendar annually.

How to calculate Tet

Tet Nguyen Dan, the important festival to Vietnamese
Different from the Gregorian calendar, Lunar Calendar has a fix number of twelve months with 30 days each, and a leap-year will have a whole intercalary month instead of the 29th day of February. The new year of Lunar Calendar normally will start in late January or beginning of February according to Gregorian calendar. That explains why Tet days vary from year to year, it is because the leap month may fall shorter or longer which create a smaller or bigger gap between the two calendars.

How to say Happy New Year in Vietnamese

Tet Nguyen Dan, the important festival to Vietnamese
Like Thai and Chinese, Vietnamese is a tonal language, making pronunciation a challenge for English speakers.
Regardless, locals will understand your attempts through context. You can wish people a happy new year in Vietnamese by telling them "chúc mừng năm mới." Pronounced roughly as it is transliterated, the greeting sounds like "chook moong nahm moi."

How to celebrate Tet

Since Tet occupies an important role in Vietnamese’s religious beliefs, Vietnamese will begin their preparations well in advance of the upcoming New Year. In an effort to get rid of the bad luck of the old year, people will spend a few days cleaning their homes, polishing every utensil, or even repaint and decorate the house with kumquat tree, branches of peach blossom, and many other colorful flowers. The ancestral altar is especially taken care of, with careful decoration of five kinds of fruits and votive papers, along with many religious rituals. Everybody, especially children, buy new clothes and shoes to wear on the first days of New Year. People also try to pay all their pending debts and resolve all the arguments among colleagues, friends or members of family.
Tet Nguyen Dan, the important festival to Vietnamese
Like other Asian countries, Vietnamese believe that the color of red and yellow will bring good fortune, which may explain why these colors can be seen everywhere in Lunar New Year. People consider what they do on the dawn of Tet will determine their fate for the whole year, hence people always smile and behave as nice as they can in the hope for a better year. Besides, gifts are exchanged between family members and friends and relatives, while children receive lucky money kept in red envelope.
No matter where Tet is celebrated, it must be clarified from the beginning that Tet is not a day, but several days of celebration.

What to eat on Lunar New Year

Tet Nguyen Dan, the important festival to Vietnamese
When it comes to Tet holiday, there are some traditional dishes you should try to find in a Vietnamese restaurant
Fatty pork braised with duck egg in coconut juice – Thit kho hot vit
Pickled onion – Dua hanh
Pickled small leeks with dried shrimp and century egg – Tom kho, hot vit bach thao va cu kieu
Square glutinous rice cake – Chung cake
Banana glutinous rice cake – Banh tet chuoi
Bitter melon soup – Canh kho qua
Spring rolls southern style – goi cuon

Read more: 10 traditional Vietnamese New Year dishes

If you are invited to be a guest, you should…

Prepare a few red envelopes to give the children of the family. Normally, people put 50,000 VND or $2 USD in the envelope (because Vietnamese consider 2 dollars to be lucky money). However, you can also put the smallest bill of your currency in the envelope.

Dress up in Ao Dai or any piece of clothing that has a vibrant or bright color. White is acceptable to some families but avoid wearing black and dark colors.
Bringing a gift basket or cards to give the head of the family is optional but you should do so to show your goodwill.
Tet Nguyen Dan, the important festival to Vietnamese
If you make a wish to the family members or a friend, follow these simple rules as wish for health to the elderly, intelligence and happiness to the children, prosperity and luck to the rest.
Receive lucky money with both of your hands. This is how we show our respect to other people.

And wish

Tet Nguyen Dan, the important festival to Vietnamese
Chuc mung nam moi – Happy New Year
Van su nhu y – Everything you wish will come true!
An khang thinh vuong – Security and prosperity
Doi dao suc khoe – Plenty of health
Song lau tram tuoi – Live up to 100 years old (only say this to the elderly)
Tien vo nhu nuoc – Money will flow in your pocket

Source Internet

Friday, 14 December 2018

Top 5 great shopping malls in Thailand you cannot miss

Top 5 great shopping malls in Thailand you cannot miss
Bangkok is one of my favorite shopping cities in the world. It has huge posh shopping centers with chick international and Asian fashion design, these are 5 great shopping places that are tested and proven to be great for the real shopaholics.

Terminal 21

Top 5 great shopping malls in Thailand you cannot miss
Terminal 21 is located near Asok sky train station and is a fairly new shopping center which opened in 2011. This is a really cool shopping center, one of the coolest and most spectacular. Each floor is designed as a city, one is London, another is Paris, Rome, Tokyo, Istanbul, San Fransisco and Hollywood. The center is huge, consisting of more than 600 shops.

Terminal 21 has a wide range of nice restaurant and cafes, as well as cinema on the top floor. You should visit Terminal 21 just to have a look at the design of each floor.

Opening hours: 10 a.m. – 10 p.m.

Platinum fashion mall

Top 5 great shopping malls in Thailand you cannot miss
Platinum Fashion Mall is like an indoor version of the Chatuchak Weekend Market. It specializes in wholesale fashion clothing and accessories, with four floors of shopping space, packed with some 1,300 shops. Here, haggling is part of the fun, and you will save more buying in larger quantities.

Each floor of Platinum Fashion Mall is named after famous shopping districts around the world, namely Orchard, Nathan, Ginza, Soho, Oxford and Camden. Roughly, the four floors of retail shopping space are dedicated to men’s and women’s clothing, leathers, shoes and fashion accessories. The range of styles and what is available is more than impressive.

Opening hours: 9 a.m. – 8 p.m.

MBK Center

Top 5 great shopping malls in Thailand you cannot miss
You will get an amazing shopping experience at the MBK Center in Bangkok as it is one of the most popular choices for both the locals of the area and the tourists that travel to Thailand. Emerged as the best of Bangkok attractions, this particular eight-story shopping market is just a place that you cannot miss. And the place is even more beautiful and filled with people on a weakened. Bangkok residents and tourists hop over to the MBK center for a quick round of shopping in the amazing shops, stalls and other interesting things. This market is cheap and affordable.

Opening hours: 10 a.m. – 10 p.m.

Central World

Top 5 great shopping malls in Thailand you cannot miss
Central World opened in 2006 and is the sixth biggest shopping center in the world with eight floors. This is the ultimate Bangkok shopping mall.

Central World consists of several “wings” full of shops, cafes, and restaurants. Each floor is dedicated to a specific type of item. Central World mega-shopping complex offers one of the most exciting shopping experiences in Bangkok. It has everything from brand name clothing boutiques, funky fashion, high-tech gadgets, bookshops and designer furniture to imported groceries, a lineup of banks, beauty salons, gourmet eateries and even an ice-skating rink. With so many tantalising options to explore, you could easily spend half a day here without realising it.

Opening hours: 10 a.m. – 10 p.m.

Siam Discovery

Top 5 great shopping malls in Thailand you cannot miss
Do you want to experience the best of Thailand shopping? The Siam Discovery is amazing place to shop in Thailand. The personal favorite of most of the Thailand residents and the tourists, the Siam Discovery is a place that you must visit if you are a shopaholic. Filled with interesting and unique stuff which include amazing houseware and gorgeous clothing, this place is a hub for everyone to shop.

Opening hours: 10 a.m. – 10 p.m.

Read more: 7 free things to do in Bangkok
Source Internet

Best places to travel in Vietnam during Tet

Tet is the Lunar New Year for Vietnam and falls on the same day as the Chinese New Year. For the Vietnamese, Tet is like Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Eve all rolled up in one. Moreover,  this is a great time to be in Vietnam for travelers. Everyone is in a very festive spirit and the streets are filled with flowers.

Best places to travel in Vietnam during Tet

Moc Chau plateau

Best places to travel in Vietnam during Tet
200 kilometers apart from Hanoi, Moc Chau is a well-known destination for backpackers. The best time to go to Moc Chau is from the end of January to February, when plum blossoms and sakura bloom everywhere, making the plateau looks like a white heaven.

Tam Dao

Best places to travel in Vietnam during Tet
It is quite hot in Vietnam this winter, and if you miss the feeling of those cold winds blowing to your face, why don’t you come to Tam Dao where the weather is always cool? Visiting the Van Pagoda, Silver Waterfall, Sky Gate and enjoying local dishes like chayote, hill chicken, man pig as well.

Dalat

Best places to travel in Vietnam during Tet
With no doubt, visiting the “City of flower” in the blooming season is a great plan for your Tet holiday. You can hire a motorbike and wander around this city to enjoy its quiet beauty and of course flowers. Must-thing to do when you come to Dalat is visiting Dalat Flower Garden. You can even find an impressive cacti garden, many of them originally from Africa. The garden is in the center of the city, so don’t miss it.

See more: 10 traditional Vietnamese New Year dishes

Hoi An

Best places to travel in Vietnam during Tet
Used to be a South-East Asian trading port from the 15th to the 19th century, it seems like Hoi An is left by the modern world and still sleeping in its glorious past. With the well-preserved ancient architecture, it makes you feel like you are coming back to hundreds of years ago. It is a small town, so you should spend around 1 to 2 days here.

Hanoi

Best places to travel in Vietnam during Tet
Hanoi is quite quiet during the holiday because a lot of Vietnamese people visit their family. So let's take advantage of this holiday to avoid traffic jams in this city. Wandering around Hoan Kiem Lake, you can enjoy the holiday decorations and locals in traditional clothing. In addition, you can visit Ngoc Son Temple and Tran Quoc Temple to enjoy the atmosphere of the holiday.

Sapa

Best places to travel in Vietnam during Tet
Another Northern destination in this list must-visit Vietnam. If you come to Vietnam and you don’t visit Sapa, it’s such a pity. The breathtaking mountainous scenery of Hoang Lien Son range, the terraced fields on rolling hills, the villages of Highland ethics, the colorfulness of brocade fabric. You just don’t want to miss it.

See more: 5 traditional activities during Tet holiday for families
Source Internet