LivingSPOTLIGHT

HCMC to have 70 public electric vehicles

Saigon Public Transport Co., Ltd. (Saigon PT) has announced that it will launch 70 electric vehicles of 5-14 seats to carry passengers on city tours from April 12 on a pilot basis.

According to Saigon PT, these electric vehicles will serve guests from 6 a.m. to 12 a.m. every day, and the trial period will last from this year’s second quarter to the end of 2025. All the electric vehicles are made in Vietnam, using American battery technology, German electric motors, and Japanese electronic control units. Cashless payment is required.

The drivers must have a driver’s license as requested and are equipped with basic knowledge about the city to talk to tourists. It is noteworthy that all drivers wear áo bà ba (traditional southern shirt) while at work.

The public electric vehicles travel from HCMC’s District 1 to District 4, passing Nha Rong WharfKhanh Hoi Bridge-Ton Duc Thang Street-Nguyen Binh Khiem-Nguyen Thi Minh Khai-Hoang Sa-Hai Ba Trung-Nguyen Thi Minh Khai-Nguyen Van CuVo Van Kiet-Calmette Bridge-Doan Van Bo-Hoang Dieu-Nguyen Tat Thanh-Nha Rong Wharf; and from District 5 to District 6, passing Nguyen Van Cu Street-Nguyen Trai-Nguyen Tri Phuong-Hung Vuong-Hong Bang-Nguyen Thi Nho-Le Quang Sung-Pham Dinh Ho-Thap Muoi-Hai Thuong

Lan Ong-Vo Van Kiet-Nguyen Van Cu, tuoitre.vn reported.

Young cow herder wins students’ running competitions

Pham Nguyen Thi Kim, a 12-year-old, sixth-grade student in Ky Anh District, Ha Tinh Province, won a bronze medal for the 3,000-meter distance for female students at a running competition held in the province in March this year. The image of the little girl arriving at the finish line barefoot in the rain went viral on social media.

One month earlier, Kim won a gold medal for the 3,000-meter run held by Ky Anh District. She was then admitted to the district’s running team (three female runners and five male ones) to compete at the aforementioned running tournament held by Ha Tinh Province. The provincial running competition attracted 132 students, including 42 females.

Kim is now living with her mother, twin sister, and elder brother. Her mom, Nguyen Thi Nhung, told thanhnien.vn that Kim began running when she was young, adding that the brother and twin sisters always try to herd cows and cook meals for their mother after school. Kim’s good running results encourage her brother and her twin sister to practice running with her every day.

Cycling through three nations in scorching summer

Tran Trong An, 45, and four friends of his, all live in Hanoi, spent 16 days cycling to Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and back to Vietnam on the scorching summer days, sometimes as high as 45 degrees Celsius, in March this year.

On March 4, An and his friends traveled by coach from Hanoi to Lao Bao Border Gate in Quang Tri Province. They cycled some 300km from the border gate to Pakse City in Laos’ Champasak Province. There, they ziplined to watch Tad Fane Waterfall and Khone Phapheng Falls before cycling to Cambodia via Stung Treng Border Crossing Station. They continued cycling to Siem Reap Province to visit the temple complex of Angkor Wat. Then they headed for Cambodia’s Poipet City and crossed the border to Thailand. They spent two days cycling around Bangkok to visit famous destinations of the capital city.

From Bangkok, the cyclists returned to Hanoi by air, ending their 16-day, 1,000km cycling trip through three Southeast Asian nations. An told vnexpress.net that the cycling trip from Vietnam to Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and back to Vietnam cost them VND18 million each (equivalent to some US$720).

Crafting cakes similar to luxury handbags

Nguyen Anh Triet, a 34-year-old resident of HCMC, has been known for his talent in crafting cakes that look similar to luxury handbags.

“Female customers favor the cakes that imitate designer handbags, with prices ranging from VND45 million each,” the baker told the Dan Tri news site. The procedure for crafting handbag cakes is quite akin to that of other cake types. After baking, the cakes are shaped into handbag forms, smoothed, covered with fondant (a key cake-making ingredient), and meticulously adorned with intricate details. It typically takes around 8-10 hours to complete a cake like that.

Triet said that many of his customers were surprised by the cakes’ resemblance to real handbags. Given their fondness for luxury items, many individuals buy these cakes as gifts for others on special occasions.

A unique wedding photo album of a lucky couple

The photo in which Tran Quynh Anh, the bride from Gia Lai Province, and Tran Quoc Anh, the groom from Dong Thap Province, were taken with the background being the rehearsal for the flag raising ceremony and some 3,200 people in red T-shirts printed with golden stars standing to form the map of Vietnam for the 65th Tien Phong Marathon 2024 (taking place on March 31) went viral on social media these days.

Quynh Anh told thanhnien.vn that they got up very early on March 29 to travel to Dien Cape in Phu Yen Province to make their wedding photo album. Learning about the rehearsal for the flag-raising ceremony and the map of Vietnam formed by thousands of people, the couple took the chance to take some wedding photos from above with such a unique background.

Quynh Anh, an office worker, met her husband Quoc Anh, a systems engineer, for the first time on a mountaineering trip on Chua Chan Mountain in Dong Nai Province three years ago. Having the same love for mountaineering and running, they decided to tie the knot.

Boat made of recycled materials used to clean up canals

Saigon Xanh, a group of young volunteers dedicated to cleaning up polluted canals in HCMC, has crafted a boat from over 1,200 plastic bottles collected from the city’s waterways to aid in their river cleanup endeavor.

In an interview with the Saigon Tiep Thi news site, Nguyen Ngoc Luong, leader of Saigon Xanh, said, “The boat is designed to aid our team members in gathering trash from the deeper areas of canals and rivers, while also raising awareness about recycling. Discarded items can be recycled to serve various purposes in life and can contribute to reducing waste pollution.”

Moored along the Nhieu Loc Canal, adjacent to the Dien Bien Phu Bridge in District 1, the boat grabs the attention of passersby and tourists alike. Its presence serves as a tangible reminder of the collective effort needed to safeguard the environment for future generations.

Looking ahead, Saigon Xanh will collaborate with local partners to clean up the Nhieu Loc Canal. This endeavor is not only to enhance ecotourism experiences there but also cultivate a deeper sense of environmental protection among citizens.

Red-headed cranes spotted at Kien Giang’s reserve

Nine red-headed cranes, scientifically known as Grus antigone sharpii, have been sighted at Phu My Reserve in the Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang.

Lam Hong Tuan, deputy head of Phu My Reserve’s conservation management board, said that a flock of cranes appeared in the area on March 28. These nine cranes landed in the reserve’s buffer zone, searching for food.

They continued foraging in the area the next day before returning to the Anlung Pring Conservation Area in Cambodia in the afternoon. Tuan told the VnExpress news site that the area where the cranes landed is tranquil and has plenty of food for these birds. Local residents are urged to avoid disturbing the reserve to maintain a peaceful environment, thereby encouraging the cranes to return.

The red-headed crane is a rare and endangered species listed in both Vietnam’s Red Data Book and the IUCN Red List.