VIETNAM ONLINE THIS WEEK: JAN 9-15

Vietnam Weather:

Hanoi: The capital of Vietnam is experiencing rather cold weather these days, with temperature around 16oC. Among three last days of the week, Sunday is anticipated to be the warmest day with temperature ranging from 16oC to 18oC (2oC higher than temperature on Friday and Saturday, on average). While occasional sunshine on Friday brings about beautiful sunny winter day, light rains at the weekend feature the typical weather of Hanoi in spring, especially Tet occasion. The coldness and relatively high humidity of 82% enable some respiratory diseases outbreak; hence, one should put on scarf, warm clothes and wear mask when going out these days.

Hanoi Weather Jan 13-15 (Source: Google.com)

Da Nang: High humidity of 94% and pouring rain makes the weather in Da Nang relatively unpleasant on Friday. However, it gets better and better during the weekend, with light rain on Saturday and warm sunshine on Sunday. Average temperature of 23oC throughout three consecutive days is so cool and able to please any tourist. A sight-seeing trip to Ba Na Mountain or forest trekking on Son Tra peninsular at the weekend sounds great!

Danang Weather Jan 13-15 (Source: Google.com)

Ho Chi Minh City: In contrast with the coldness and moisture in Hanoi, the weather in Ho Chi Minh City is rather hot and dry with average temperature about 27oC and humidity of 70%. Beautiful weather with full of warm sunshine on Sunday is probably a good compensation for the bad one with heavy rain and thunder on two previous days. While rainy weather makes umbrella and raincoat good companion on Friday and Saturday; temperature day up to 33oC, plus sunshine of the tropic makes hat and long clothes are good friends of tourists, especially at the noon.

Ho Chi Minh City Weather Jan 13-15 (Source: Google.com)

News Spotlights:

1.Quan ho folk singing promoted in Paris:

French and other foreigners who are staying in Paris and interested in traditional Vietnamese culture should pay a visit to Vietnam Cultural Center in Paris to participate in an exhibition of Quan ho folk singing, from January 18th to 30th, 2012. Numerous photos, rare objects, documentary films and presentations given by experts are expected to provide visitors a panoramic view of this unique Vietnamese antiphonal singing.

Read our featured series on Quan Ho for a closer look at this cultural tradition:

Quan Ho singing - a long way from the past
Unique elements of Quan Ho Singing
History of Quan Ho
Costumes for Quan Ho singing

2. Jetstar passengers allowed to bring along peach blossoms for Tet

To facilitate passengers carrying apricot and peach blossoms for Tet, the budget airline Jetstar Pacific is offering a special luggage consignment service from now till February 7th, 2012. This kind of service is applied for flights between Ho Chi Minh City- Da Nang, and Ho Chi Minh City- Hanoi/ Hai Phong/ Vinh with two different level of service fee.

3. Emirates Airlines to launch direct flight to Vietnam

Emirates Airlines, a leading international carrier of the United Arab Emirates is going to open daily direct flight Dubai – Ho Chi Minh City on June 4th, 2012. This new route makes Emirates become the second airline in the Middle East (after Qatar) operating flight to Vietnam, and provides tourists in Middle East with easier access to Vietnam and vice versa.