HO CHI MINH CITY WEATHER

                                     

Ho Chi Minh City has a tropical monsoon climate - it's very much a typical steaming hot Southeast Asian metropolis where you can expect it to be either hot and dry or hot and wet.

Regardless of the time of year, you'll never need more than one layer of clothing in this southeastern Vietnam city.

Best Time to Come to Ho Chi Minh City

The best time to visit Ho Chi Minh City is during the drier months of December to March, when temperatures range between 21°C and 34°C. Many like to visit during the Tet Festival (Vietnamese New Year) in late January or early February. The whole country joins in the festivities and it's a colourful spectacle, but prices are higher and getting around may be difficult due to the large numbers of people travelling.

May to September sees frequent showers with monthly rainfall levels of 200 to 300mm during this period. The rains tend to come in short bursts, so it's possible to still enjoy sunny days during these wet summer months. Just be sure to bring an umbrella to avoid being caught out! The peak period for typhoons to hit Ho Chi Minh City is from July to November.

Seasons

Ho Chi Minh City has two distinct seasons, the northeast monsoon months from November to April and the rainy southwest monsoon months of May through October. Humidity levels average 75% throughout the year but are higher during the rainy season.

Ceiling Fan Lighting

                            

A decade ago when you looked up to the ceiling and saw a fan, chances are the fan would have been mostly black, white or a different shade of the two colors. Fans back then were only used for cooling purposes and nothing more than this. However, now a fan is lot more than a 'device' used to provide you with just relief from soaring temperatures. Fans are actually being used to make statements of class and style, just like you would your clothes! With the turn of century people began to get more conscious about their interiors of their houses and wanted it to match up to their social standing in society. To meet the uprising need for designer house appliances and house decorating items, necessities like fans, lights and other essential appliances now look a lot better than they used to. Read on for valuable information on state-of-the-art ceiling fans that come with lights.

• Today, fans come in trendy designs to match different kinds of decorative ideas used in houses. Hence you don't have to stick to one kind of fan for every house. You can choose the kind of fan for the right kind of decor.
• You can choose a fan that complements the color of your room.
• Ceiling fans are not just there for cooler temperatures. Now, ceiling fans are available with lights on them and look very fancy and trendy. Your guests will be highly impressed when they walk into the room and find a fan with a bright or slightly dim light, you would too.
• Ceiling fans with lights are often bought to replace light fixtures. If you have a ceiling fan with a light attached to it you will not need a night lamp. It is better to choose a fan with a dim light attached to it so that it can be used as a replacement for your night lamp.
• These fans are available in numerous designs and shape and sizes that can be used to match the decor of the room.
• The structure of the fan depends on the manufacturers. Some of them are intricately carved blades that look exquisite, some finished in a way that makes them look more colonial than modern.
• India's colonial past can never be forgotten, in fact, the most desired and popular fan designs are the ones that revolve around Victorian themes.
• When you go to buy a ceiling fan with lights you will have an array of extensiveshades of colors to choose from. They come in conventional browns and blacks and also in bold and bright colors. Be careful while choosing the color, because the same will have to go with the rest of your room.
• You can choose the kind of lamp you want for your fan. You do not necessarily have to stick to conventional ones. Experiment with new designs and grace your house with a brand new look!
• While selecting lights for your fan ensure that the light is appropriate for the room. You require bright lighting in work areas like the kitchen and study. Dim lighting will do just fine in the bedroom and dining area.
• By installing a fan with lights, you can adjust the intensity of the light on the fan to suit your mood.

Some fans come with remotes, not only to operate the fan, but to also operate the lights as well.

A lamp lighting ceiling fan that is tastefully designed can be a decorative addition to the room. While buying ceiling fans remember to buy the best, but also look at your pocket before you go in for anything in particular, because ceiling fans with lights can be very expensive.

Vietsovpetro taps 200 millionth tonne of oil

                                 

The Vietnam-Russia oil and gas joint venture (Vietsovpetro) on Aug. 8 tapped the 200 millionth tonne of oil from two oil fields of Rong (Dragon) and Bach Ho (White Tiger) off the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau.

The event reflects great effort of Vietsovpetro’s staff in ensuring the safe and effective exploitation since the pumping of the first tonne of oil on June 26, 1986, affirming the traditional friendship between Vietnam andRussia . 

Since the joint venture was established in 1981, it has earned more than 60 billion USD from selling oil. 

In the past 30 years, Vietsovpetro has drilled over 1.8 million metres in 440 exploratory and operational wells, built more than 40 marine works and laid 600 km of pipes.

From the beginning of this year, the joint venture has pumped 3.68 million tonnes of oil, accounting for 60 percent of the yearly plan. Its selling revenue achieved 80 percent of the yearly plan, with a total value of 3.32 billion USD.-VNA

Interior design of a coffee shop

Your coffee shop interior design will be a key element to bringing customers into your shop and keeping them there. The theme you choose will greatly affect the feel your shop has and the type of customers who will be drawn in. Subtle design decisions could play a vital role in how a customer perceives your shop, so consider every visual aspect of what will be going into your shop.

                                

                                

                                

                                

                                

                                 

                                

                                

                                

Visiting Tra Su Mountain in An Giang

Tra Su Mountain is a must-see destination in An Giang Province and it was a day we won’t forget.

                                 

To reach there you have to head from Nha Bang Township on the road to Tinh Bien Township for about 150 meters, then make a right turn along a rocky sloping path to a pharmacy named ‘Sau Xung va Nam My’, tourists will spot Tra Su Mountain.

Located in Nha Bang Township, Tinh Bien District, Tra Su Mountain belongs to Thuy Dai Son Mountain Range. The mountain is not impressive due to its height but it is an attractive peak for tourists to admire the splendid scenery and to find tranquility for their soul.

The mountain is famous due to a small temple which is dedicated to worship two huge rocks. Locals say that the stones, which are about one ton and 300 kilograms, rolled to the Cua Thien Huyen Nu from the mountain peak on July 25 1991.

People call the stones ‘Chu vi Son Than’ (Goddess of mountain) and worship them as they pray for good luck and health.

Trekking up about 100 steps, tourists will see Ong Ho Cave which has two stone grottoes, one is Ngu Ho temple and one is Cuu Pham temple lying deep in the cave. After another 25 meters, pilgrims will see Ba Chua Temple where many locals often come to pray for a happy life.

Progressing towards the peak, tourists will see a fairy yard where they can stand and appreciate a panoramic view of Nha Bang Township with its greenness of rice fields, plantation, winding roads, streams and nearby houses. The fresh air, the spacious atmosphere and tranquility of nature will help tourists to rejuvenate after stressful working days.

There will be some other stone caves for tourists to discover and old altars for pilgrims to burn incense to connect with the supernatural world.

Vietnamese traditional costumes

For formal ceremonies men would have two additional items, a long gown with slits on either side, and a turban, usually in black or brown made of cotton or silk. In feudal times, there were strict dress codes. Ordinary people were not allowed to wear clothes with dyes other than black, brown or white. Costumes in yellow were reserved for the King. Those in purple and red were reserved for high ranking court officials, while dresses in blue were exclusively worn by petty court officials. Men's dress has gradually changed along with social development.

The traditional set of a long gown and turban gave way to more modern looking suits, while business shirts and trousers have replaced traditional long sleeved shirts and wide trousers. Traditional costumes still exist and efforts are increasingly being made to restore traditional festivals and entertainment which incorporate traditional costumes.

Young women wear light brown-colored short shirts with long black skirts. Their headgear consists of a black turban with a peak at the front. To make their waist look smaller, they tightly fasten a long piece of pink or violet cloth.On formal occasions, they wear a special three layered dress called an "ao dai", a long gown with slits on either side.

The outer garment is a special silk gown called an "ao tu than" which is brown or light brown in colour with four slits divided equally on its lower section. The second layer is a gown in a light yellow colour and the third layer is a pink gown. When a woman wears her three gowns, she fastens the buttons on the side, and leave those on the chest unfastened so that it forms a shaped collar. This allows her to show the different colors on the upper part of the three gowns. Beneath the three gowns is a bright red brassiere which is left exposed to cover the woman's neck.

                                                       

Over time, the traditional "ao dai" has gone through certain changes. Long gowns are now carefully tailored to fit the body of a Vietnamese woman. The two long slits along the side allow the gown to have two free floating panels in the front and at the back of the dress. The floating panels expose a long pair of white silk trousers.

An elegant looking conical palm hat, which is traditionally known as a "non bai tho" (a hat with poetry written on it), is worn as part of a woman's formal dress. This traditional conical hat is particularly suitable for a tropical country such as Vietnam, where fierce sunshine and hard rain are commonplace.

                                                       

To make a conical hat, a hat maker chooses young palm leaves that have been been dried under continued sunshine. Attached beneath the almost transparent layers of dried palm leaves is a drawing of a small river wharf. Below the drawing, there is a piece of poetry to be recited by the hat wearer.

In recent years some foreign fashions have been introduced to Vietnam; however, the traditional "ao dai" remains preferable to women in both urban and rural settings.

                                                

In general, Vietnamese clothing is very diverse. Every ethnic group in Vietnam has its own style of clothing. Festivals are the occasion for all to wear their favorite clothes. Over thousands of years, the traditional clothing of all ethnic groups in Vietnam has changed, but each ethnic group has separately maintained their own characteristics.

In the mountain areas, people live in houses built on stilts, wear trousers or skirts and indigo vests with design motifs imitating wild flowers and beasts. In the northern uplands and the Central Highlands, the young women have made skirts and vests with beautiful and coulourful decoration in a style convenient for farm work in terraced fields and to travel on hilly slopes and mountain gorges.

Competitive market for power generators

                                    


The competitive power generating market was officially launched on July 1, coinciding with a five percent increase in electricity prices.


This new market is the first step in developing Vietnam ’s electricity market and will ensure the transparency of operations and pricing, as well as attract more investment to develop new sources of power.


According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, 29 power generating companies, with the total capacity to produce 9,000MW, have joined the competitive market by directly submitting their proposed prices to the Electric Power Trading Company (EPTC).


Of the power suppliers, 13 are hydro-electric, 11 are coal fired and five are powered by gas turbines.


There are currently 26 other power stations that take an indirect part in the market. Supplies from these plants are either controlled by the country’s Electricity Regulating Centre or their prices are set by the EPTC. Eighteen other plants will indirectly join the market for a set period of time.


In addition, 20 power plants (19 hydro-electric and one thermal) with a designed capacity of 4,567MW are scheduled to join the market as soon as they are on a commercial footing.


Currently, the Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) supplies 55 percent of the country’s electricity, the Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (PVN) contributes 11 percent and the Vietnam Coal and Mineral Industries Group (Vinacomin) provides 5 percent.


Vietnam's electricity market is expected to develop in three stages – a competitive power generating market by 2014, a competitive wholesale market between 2015-22 and a competitive retail market after 2022.-VNA