tips for welcoming the new year in Vietnam in Vietnam Travel

In Vietnam, Tet introduces the New Year and is by a wide margin the greatest day on the national datebook. Tet ceremonies start a prior week New Year's Day, and the initial three days of the New Year are official occasions, yet the occasion guests will truly need to encounter is New Year's Eve. This is the one night that Tet turns into a clamorous festival; whatever is left of the time its a reasonably peaceful family undertaking.

One prior week the New Year, Tao Quan – the three Spirits of the Hearth, found in the kitchen of each home – are said to climb to the sky to cover the previous year's occasions to the Jade Emperor. Sacred places, laden with offerings, are amassed in arrangement for the divine beings' takeoff, in the trust of getting a great report and guaranteeing good fortunes for the family in the advancing year. Nonattendant relatives return home so the entire family can celebrate Tet together.

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A cay neu (New Year's tree) is built to avoid malevolence spirits. Kumquat trees are mainstream all through the nation, while extensions of pink dao (peach blooms) beauty houses in the north, and mai (yellow apricot blooms) are prevalent in homes arranged further south.

This night the Tao Quan come back to earth, and at the stroke of midnight all issues from the past year are deserted and pandemonium follows. The objective is to make however much commotion as could be expected.

The occasions of New Year's Day are urgent as its accepted they influence the course of life in the year ahead. Individuals take additional mind not to be discourteous or show outrage, and its imperative that the first guest of the year to every family unit is suitable. They're normally male – best of all is a rich wedded man with a few kids. Outsiders are now and again invited as the first to go into the house, despite the fact that not generally, so its imprudent to visit any Vietnamese house on the first day of Tet, unless unequivocally wel

Andy Richter | Kumbh Mela

Photo © Andy Richter-All Rights Reserved

"I wanted to go deeper and connect with the Kumbh from a participant’s point of view. I wanted to see what it was like from the inside, to really experience this massive gathering, and photograph that. It was essential to slow down and spend time with people." -Andy Richter (The Leica Camera Blog)

The Kumbh Mela is the one pilgrimage-festival that seems to really emit a powerful magnetic force, gathering not only Hindu devotees, but all sorts of people including photographers and photojournalists from every corner of the world.  It's one of the world's most extraordinary religious events.

Its main objective is to bathe in the Ganges, as it's said that bathing in sacred rivers during the annual pilgrimage breaks the circle of life & death, and allows Hindus to attain moksha. While attended by millions of authentic pilgrims and devotees, it also attracts an enormous number of charlatans, magicians and fake sadhus who are surrounded by the unwary, the gullible, the curious and naturally, the tourists.

I know this first hand having attended and photographed the 2001 Maha Kumbh Mela in Allahabad, which is reported to have attracted approximately 60 million people, making it the largest gathering in the world at that time.

I am pleased to feature Andy Richter's Maha Kumbh Mela, which was mostly photographed with a Leica M9 with a 35 mm Summilux. One of his essay's photographs shows a mass of pilgrims crossing a pontoon bridge, where I also walked, and I still recall the sensation of being shoulder to shoulder with this moving mass of humanity, giving me the impression I was standing on a flat escalator.

Andy tells a fine story on The Leica Camera Blog, and mentions how he was surrounded by the naked babas bathing in the river...and meeting Alex Webb at the same spot.

Mountain Hardwear 2010 Exedition Sponorship News

Mountain Hardwear has posted a brief note on their Hardwear Sessions blog indicating that their 2010 Expedition Sponsorship Program will be kicking off soon, with applications being made available on May 1st.

Each year Mountain Hardwear offers up some cash to help sponsor worthy adventures around the globe and to help give back a bit to the community. For instance, for 2009 the company gave out a total of $10,000 to help fund two expeditions, Operation: Denali, which will assist four soldiers wounded in Iraq in climbing Denali, and the New Zealand Batura Expedition, which will head to a remote region in the Karakorum to tackle unclimbed peaks there.

Now, I'm sure you're looking at the calendar and thinking, "Hey! It's only March 24th! May 1st is a long way off!" But, it's never to early to start thinking about your 2010 expedition, and preparing to write the application for the MH grants. May 1st will be here before you know it, and you should take advantage of this opportunity when it comes. Sponsorship opportunities may be few and far between in this economic climate, and it's good to see that there are still some out there for adventurers to take advantage of.

North Pole 2009: Two Teams At 90ºN!

It was a big weekend at the top of the world, with two teams accomplishing their goal of reaching the North Pole, while the Barneo Ice Station closes for another season.

We'll start with the Victorinox North Pole 09 Team, consisting of John Huston and Tyler Fish. The two Americans found themselves in a race against time this weekend in order to reach the North Pole and still catch the last plane out to Barneo Station, and then home. The deteriorating ice conditions at Barneo forced the closure of the Russian Base, which meant John and Tyler had to arrive at the Pole by yesterday morning. They worked overtime to get there, and made it, becoming the first American team to go unsupported to the Pole. Congrats guys!

The Peary Centennial Expedition also lists their current position as 90ºN, with team members Lonnie Dupre, Max Chaya, and Stuart Smith all arriving safely after 53 days on the ice, covering 650 miles in the process. The trio arrived on Saturday morning, giving themselves plenty of time to enjoy the view and reflect on their achievement before they too caught the plane to Barneo on Sunday. Congrats to the team for a job well done as well, and a second round of congratulations to Max, who has now reached the "Three Poles", having been to both the North and South Pole and the summit of Everest. Well done Max!

The latest updates on Christina Franco's page indicate that she is heading home as well. There aren't a lot of details to be gathered from her posts just yet , but Christina was making a Last Degree journey to the Pole as a training exercise for next year's attempt at a solo journey from the Canadian side of the ice. I'm sure we'll hear more once she's back in civilization, but it seems she accomplished her goal as well.

Meanwhile, the Catlin Arctic Survey Team seem unconcerned with how they plan to get off the ice. They've now been out for 57 days, and covered more than 230 miles, with another 340 to go before the get to the Pole. But they're carrying sensitive scientific equipment along with them, including ground penetrating radar, and their goal has always been to gauge the healthy of the Polar ice, and determine the effects of global climate change on the region. From all accounts, that mission is going well, but they will be out there for awhile yet.

Finally, the Baffin Babes continue to struggle with illness on their journey across Baffin Island. After a brief respite on Saturday, in which they stayed in a "luxury camp", they thought that they had recovered, but upon hitting the trail yesterday, two of the girls began to feel ill again. Their latest dispatch says that each of them has taken turns with this bout of illness, which includes vomiting and diarrhea, none of which sounds like very much fun when you're also trekking across inhospitable terrain, dragging a heavy load, and it's -30º outside. Good luck girls. Hope you're feeling better soon.

Iditarod 2009: Crowded Leaderboard into Takotna

The 2009 Iditarod continues to be a very competitive race, with a large group fairly close to one another out on the trail. The bulk of the leaders are now in, and out, of Takotna, and making their way to Ophir, where three mushers have already arrived.

As of this writing, the official leaderboard has Martin Buser in to Ophir first, followed by Jim Lanier, with Aaron Burmeister third. Burmeister has a leg up on the other two however, as he has already taken his mandatory 24 hour rest, which will likely come back to haunt Buser and Lanier, as those lurking behind them on the trail have made the decision to take that break already.

Notables that are chasing the top three include Hugh Neff (4), Sebastian Schnuelle (5), Lance Mackey (6), and Jeff King (8), all of whom have taken their mandatory 24-hour rest as well. Schnuelle and Neff recently went one, two at the Yukon Quest in one of the closest races in the history of that race.

The Ophir checkpoint is 444 miles into the race, leaving 687 miles to Nome. At this point in the race, we're beginning to see the contenders start to separate themselves from the pack, and yet there are still a number of teams that can win this thing. The strategy of when to rest and when to go on, is really interesting to watch, as it can make or break the race for some of these guys. The Iditablog, which has some great content on the race, is also making updates via their Twitter feed. In their latest post, they note that Buser has elected to stay in Ophir, while the others get moving again, and the move will likely cost him a Top 10 finish. That remains to be seen of course, but those who have already rested, will pass him shortly.

Long way to go until Nome of course, but it's beginning to look like a race between Neff and Schnuelle with Mackey and King nipping at their heels. Should be fun to watch the rest of the way.