Life
Living slowly and safely amid pandemic
Lê Hương
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed everyone’s way of life and many people have adjusted their and their families’ habits to adapt to the “new normal”.
For some, the pandemic has brought an opportunity to slow life down and connect more with their family.
Lê Hòa Bình, who runs a shop selling electronic devices in downtown Hà Nội, has had more free time than before the pandemic as he has closed the shop for half a month.
“There have been very few customers, so I closed the shop to spend more time with our children,” Bình said.
Before, they had little time for their daughters. They rarely ate together as a family and Bình just saw his daughters early in the morning before they went to school.
“Now, both of us stay at home most of the day,” Bình said. “My wife plays more with the children while I sometimes cook delicacies for the whole family, which I never had enough time to do before.”
His wife Nguyễn Minh Thu, who works as an accountant, said though the pandemic has harmed all aspects of social life including her family’s income, it has created more time for people like her for their families.
“I feel happier as we stay home together for so long,” she said. “My children are more excited as they have more time to play together besides online classes.”
Tô Kim Hiến, a woman in the northern city of Ninh Bình, said she has had time to teach her children how to cook, wash clothes and clean the house.
“I planted some vegetables up on the rooftop to teach my children to take care of the vegetables,” she said. “I think we haven’t wasted a single hour during social distancing periods.”
Nguyễn Phi Long, who works for a trading company in Hà Nội after returning from the UK where he earned his MA degree two years ago, said the pandemic has offered him a chance to live slowly and spend more time with his parents, who now live in his homeland Thái Bình Province.
He has decided to stay off from work and return home to live with his parents.
“Staying with my parents and relatives, I feel as if I were small again and feel life is more meaningful,” the 30-something man said. “Before the pandemic, I worked very hard and saved as much money as I could to send to my parents. But now, I realise that besides money and work, I still have parents, who are getting older every day. My parents do not need much money but lots of care and love.”
According to psychologist Dương Thu Ngân, such anecdotes are great examples of family healing amid the pandemic.
“It helps balance the stress that the pandemic may cause for many people,” she said.
“Working from home may make many people feel they are busier than working in the office as they work online, take care of children, do housework,” she added.
“Yet this circumstance makes family members closer to one another. Children understand more about parents’ work while husbands and wives sympathise more with one another and share much more. Each person seems to have more responsibilities to their family.”
Hà said the pandemic, from this perspective, offers a chance for many people to strengthen family bonds, a simple yet “luxurious” change from their busy working routines before the pandemic.
Optimistic spirit
Many people have taken up new hobbies like reading, cooking, raising plants, and keeping pets to enjoy their time at home during the pandemic.
HCM City-based second-year student Mai Hồng Khuyên took some time to get used to social distancing.
In previous social distancing periods, she felt bored and stuck at home as she likes hanging out with friends at cafes.
Yet in the past few weeks, she has found herself busy after online classes.
Before she often ate out as she was too lazy to cook for herself.
Now, she cooks three meals per day and even follows complex recipes from YouTube.
“I even try making desserts like cheesecake and panna cotta,” she said. “I failed initially, but then I succeeded.”
To cheer herself up, Khuyên has spent lots of time decorating the apartment that she shares with a friend. She changed the window curtain and bedding and turned many corners into studios to take photos.
She and her friend has taken a lot of photos and posted them on social networks to cheer themselves up.
Sometimes, they take photos in bed, sometimes by the window, other times by the balcony.
Lê Ngọc Hải, another student in Hà Nội, bought a new cat to entertain himself during the pandemic.
“I have a small fish tank and a new cat,” he said. “Home is now no longer boring.”
University lecturer Trần Hoàng in Hà Nội loves planting orchids. He now has more free time for his small garden.
He has bought more other kinds of plants like quỳnh (night cactus), cẩm cù (hoya) and ngọc lan (white champaca) as well as various kinds of orchids.
“Each plant has its own features, which I should study in order to take care of them better,” he said.
He now teaches online and for the rest of the day, he studies plants online.
“I follow livestreams by farmers and order plants from other provinces,” he said. “I think it’s a good way to support farmers during the pandemic.”
He said he finds lots of surprises in his garden every day.
“New blooming flowers entertain my wife as she likes taking photos of and with the flowers to post on her Facebook,” he said.
“We have found joys at home that way,” he said. “I hope the optimistic spirit can give us more energy to stay healthy from the virus.”
Source: https://vietnamnews.vn/life-style/967748/living-slowly-and-safely-amid-pandemic.html
Cruise ship Zhao Shang Yi Dun brought 721 Chinese passengers to Quang Ninh Province, northern Vietnam on Tuesday to visit its world-famous Ha Long Bay and other popular tourist sites.
This was the first group of Chinese cruise passengers to pass through the Ha Long international cruise port this year, according to the provincial Department of Tourism.
As scheduled, these cruise passengers will spend one day exploring Ha Long Bay, and another day touring Ha Long City as well as visiting some tourist destinations in Hanoi.
The cruise ship is set to travel to Da Nang City in central Vietnam and Hong Kong before returning to the port of Shekou in Shenzhen, located in Guangdong Province, mainland China.
The first cruise ship from the port of Shekou entering Ha Long City showed a positive sign of Quang Ninh’s inbound tourism and Chinese travelers’ soaring return after the COVID-19 pandemic.
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| The first Chinese cruise passengers are given flowers after they enter Quang Ninh Province, northern Vietnam. Photo: T . Duong / Tuoi Tre |
Cruise ship Zhao Shang Yi Dun is expected to make five port calls in the city and take over 4,000 Chinese guests to the bay from now until the end of the year.
By March 2024, the Chinese-flagged ship will have brought more than 12,000 passengers to Quang Ninh Province.
The province will also welcome multiple Chinese ships in 2024.
A representative of the Ha Long international passenger port said that the 2023 cruise season started in October, with many international cruise ships from Europe and America docking in the city.
The province has received 60 registrations from international cruise ships to dock at the Ha Long international passenger port in 2024.
Among them are Mein Schiff, Celebrity Solstice, Noordam, MSC Splendida, and Westerdam.
Accordingly, over 70,000 international cruise passengers will visit the province next year.
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Source: https://tuoitrenews.vn/news/ttnewsstyle/20231128/vietnams-ha-long-bay-welcomes-first-chinese-cruise-passengers-this-year/76984.html
Dong Ho Lagoon and a charming long coastline hugging Den Mountain, coupled with numerous tasty dishes such as bun ken (noodle soup), grilled chicken, and stretchy rice noodles make Ha Tien City an ideal getaway for domestic and international tourists, mainly travelers from neighboring Cambodia.
Nguyen Thi Mong Quyen, director of the Ha Tien trade and tourism promotion center, said on Sunday that the city, situated in Vietnam’s Kien Giang Province, shares both land and maritime borders with Cambodia, smoothing the path for the neighbor’s visitors to enter the city.
Over the past few months, the number of Cambodian travelers visiting Ha Tien to explore its natural beauty and savor delicacies has been growing.
“Since the start of the year, Ha Tien City has welcomed over three million domestic and international tourists,” Quyen said.
“In particular, throngs of holidaymakers from Cambodia have toured the city.
“Some 1,000-2,000 Cambodian tourists travel to the city each holiday or festival.”
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| A beach in Ha Tien City woos locals and foreigners. Photo: Chi Cong / Tuoi Tre |
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| ‘Bun ken’ (noodle soup), a must-taste specialty in Ha Tien City Kien Giang Province, southern Vietnam. Photo: Chi Cong / Tuoi Tre |
To get ready to welcome Cambodian travelers on the forthcoming Christmas and 2024 New Year holidays, travel agencies in Ha Tien are working to offer new tourism products and adorn the current tourist attractions such as Dong Ho Lagoon, a seaside path skirting Den Mountain, Thach Dong Cave, and Da Dung Mountain.
Tourists are fond of sea bathing, playing water sports, and savoring seafood as well as the city’s specialties.
Du To Tuan, director of travel firm Vietravel’s branch in Rach Gia City under Kien Giang Province, said that Cambodia is a potential tourism source market.
A huge number of tourists from the country have traveled to the province over the past few months.
They often go sightseeing in Ha Tien first, and then take a speedboat ride to famous Phu Quoc Island, he said.
“We are looking forward to welcoming the crowds of tourists to Ha Tien City during the upcoming 2024 New Year holiday,” Tuan said.
“We will roll out various community-based tourism products to diversify services to delight international visitors.”
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| ‘Bok lo hong,’ a popular dish of the Khmer ethnic group in Ha Tien City, Kien Giang Province, southern Vietnam. Photo: Chi Cong / Tuoi Tre |
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| Visitors enjoy an alpine coaster ride to explore a breathtaking mountain in Ha Tien City, Kien Giang Province, southern Vietnam. Photo: Chi Cong / Tuoi Tre |
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| Tourists explore the beauty of Thach Dong Cave in Ha Tien City, Kien Giang Province, southern Vietnam. Photo: Chi Cong / Tuoi Tre |
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| Travelers on an electric three-wheeled motorcycle take a look around Ha Tien City at night. Photo: Chi Cong / Tuoi Tre |
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Source: https://tuoitrenews.vn/news/ttnewsstyle/20231127/stunning-scenery-delicacies-in-vietnams-mekong-delta-draw-cambodian-visitors/76961.html
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