Our Mother The Mountain
3,143m high above the sea level, Fansipan challenges many explorers and nature lovers from around the world to conquer the highest peak of Vietnam. Hundreds of ethnic people, mostly Hmong, now make a living as porters and trekking guides for tourists to climb Fansipan. Despite the difficult and high-risk work, porters only earn around $8/day. For many, this is the only way to make money due a lack of formal education, and access to land to harvest. Since 2013, a $200 million cable car is being built to connect the closest town, Sapa, to the top of Fansipan. This will shorten the 2-3 days trekking trip to 15 minutes of leisure, and is expected to serve 20,000 tourists a day that will transform the sleepy mountain.
New Football Craze Grips Nation
2018 was a great year for Vietnamese football. It started off in January with an impressive run at the U23 AFC Championship where they beat strong opponents before losing to Uzbekistan in snowy conditions in the final. Later, thousands of supporters flocked to the 30km long street from Noi Bai Airport to the city center to greet the team bus. In December, the Vietnamese national football team won the AFF Suzuki Cup 2018, a title fans had coveted for 10 years. Google search trends for 2018 in Vietnam show that football was the most searched topic by Vietnamese internet users.
