(VOVWORLD) - “Songkran Festival”, “Songkran Day”, and “Thai Water Splashing Festival” are different names for Thailand’s most famous festival. It celebrates the Thai New Year and is the biggest and most important festival of the year for Thai people. Today we’ll talk about the Songkran Festival and "Nam Ob Thai”, the scented water associated with this occasion. This edition of Cultural Rendezvous is hosted by Bao Tram and Ngoc Diep, VOV’s correspondent in Thailand.

(VOVWORLD) - What do you know about the culture of Hungary, a landlocked country in central Europe? A generation of Vietnamese studied and worked in Hungary and knew the country quite well. But it was a long time ago. To make Hungary more familiar to Vietnamese people, especially the youths, Hungary Day 2023 was held in Hanoi last weekend.

(VOVWORLD) -Amed is an underrated and hidden gem on the east coast of Bali, Indonesia. It’s an area developing for tourism while holding on to tradition. It is slowly becoming known as a destination for backpackers, free diving, scuba diving, and yoga. James Demin, who just spent a week-long holiday in Amed, Bali, will share some of the best things to do in this paradise including his free diving course.

(VOVWORLD) - Poland’s “Wet Monday”, locally known as Śmigus Dyngus, takes place annually after Easter Sunday when people get water thrown on them. This year it falls on April 10. Traditionally boys soak girls on this special day, which is called one of the craziest Polish traditions. The girls often shriek in protest at being doused, but each wants to be splashed because it’s an acknowledgement of her attractiveness. I talked to Mateusz Dołhan, a Polish student, and Thanh Tra, a Vietnamese student studying in Poland, to learn more about this tradition.

(VOVWORLD) - Kintsugi is the Japanese art of putting broken pottery pieces back together with lacquer and gold and at the same time enhancing the cracks. Repair in Western culture aims to return the product to its original state, Kintsugi, on the other hand, highlights blemishes that can create new beauty. The art of kintsugi is inextricably linked to the Japanese philosophy of embracing life’s imperfections. In this week’s Cultural Rendezvous, we’ll learn more about the ancient Japanese repair technique of kintsugi.

(VOVWORLD) - Traditionally, henna is used to paint blessings on the skin of most brides before a Muslim wedding ceremony. At a recent gathering in Hanoi to introduce the social and cultural transformation of Saudi Arabia, many guests showed interest in henna painting, a traditional art of Islamic culture. Dr. Hiba Mostafa S. Mahros, the wife of the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to Vietnam, will talk to us today about the art form.

(VOVWORLD) - On top of pop/rock music known worldwide, Sweden has a lesser known classical/chamber music industry. Today we’ll share with you part of a conversation with Åsa Jäger, a young Swedish soprano, about Swedish chamber music and how to attract more young people to this genre. Åsa just performed a Christmas concert with artists from the Vietnam Academy of Music and a Lucia celebration at the Swedish Embassy in Hanoi.

(VOVWORLD) - It’s said that the food culture of Saudi Arabia is heavily influenced by other cuisines of the region, so visitors to the Kingdom have a pleasant variety of dishes to choose from. At a recent gathering in Hanoi, Dr. Hiba Mostafa S. Mahros, the wife of the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to Vietnam, talked to VOV’s reporter about the authentic Saudi cuisine and some popular dishes in Saudi Arabia.

(VOVWORLD) - Japan is famous not only for Hello Kitty, a product branding character, and Doraemon, a cartoon robot cat, but also Maneki-Neko, the good luck beckoning cat. This week, we’ll tell you about Maneki-Neko and how this lucky money cat is believed to help you attract wealth and prosperity energy.

(VOVWORLD) - BridgeFest, a music and community festival, finally returned after a 2-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Through songs, exhibit booths, and social activities on the sidelines of the festival, BridgeFest encourages young people to be agents of change, to reduce social inequality, and to be their authentic selves. Since its inception, this concept has resonated with the Vietnamese public. In this week’s Cultural Rendezvous, we’ll discuss BridgeFest 2022, the 6th iteration of the festival, which took place last month in Danang city.