Dengue fever has surfaced again in the North, along with the arrival of warmer weather. There’s no vaccine for Dengue, so it’s all about prevention. Here are the latest words of wisdom from the Australian Health Department:

Cover your exposed skin with an insect repellent that contains DEET

If you can’t access DEET, lemon eucalyptus oil is also an effective repellent

If you use both sunscreen and insect repellent, apply the sunscreen first and then the repellent

Wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants

Avoid wearing dark colours – light colours will attract fewer mosquitoes

Sleep under a mosquito net

Keep the air in your home moving constantly with pedestal fans, ceiling fans or an air conditioner

Source: http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/ohp-dengue-fs.htm

Vietnamese celebrate the 3rd day of the 3rd month (on the lunar calendar) every year. In English, we call it Ancestors’ Day or Holiday of the Dead; in Vietnamese you can call it  Thanh Minh or Tet Han Thuc, which in Vietnamese means Cold Food Festival, because of the tradition of eating cold dishes on this day. Several days before Ancestors’ Day, relatives usually clean the graves of their ancestors and decorate them with flowers. On the holiday, people traditionally visit the cemetery, taking with them incense and food for the deceased. This year Tet Han Thuc falls on Wednesday 25th April – now you know why it’s a public holiday.

Hand-made incense is still produced by families on Nghi Tam Rd in Hanoi and in craft villages like Cao Thon on the banks of the Red River. Key aromatic ingredients in Vietnamese incense are sandalwood, eucalyptus, ginger and cinnamon. Each incense-making family has its own secret recipe, but one ingredient is universally used – sawdust, which binds the mixture together.

Incense must be dried under the sun from one to three days. This bonds the ingredients to the stick and seals the aroma. Making incense is a messy process – it’s dirty & dusty and workers are susceptible to lung complaints. The sticks that form the core of incense are made from bamboo that has been soaked in water for at least a month. Burning incense repels insects and helps to keep your home mold-free.

(Ảnh: Lê Tùng Anh)

While the spring weather in Hanoi is some of the year’s best, this time of year can also see air pollution levels sky-rocket. Here are 5 more air-purifying plants that you can easily purchase on Hoang Hoa Tham St:

English ivy (above)

This plant grows well indoors, even in rooms with little sunlight. It can be a slow grower at first, so give it plenty of fertilizer.

Golden Pothos

This creeping plant grows like a weed in Vietnam, so you’ll have no trouble caring for it. Golden pothos tackles formaldehyde, carbon monoxide and benzene – all of which are found in car exhaust fumes

Lady palm

Lady palms love humidity and heat and are almost indestructible – they seem to thrive on neglect.

Chinese evergreen

This attractive and compact pot plant eats up formaldehyde

Philodendron

Philodenron (aka Monsteria) plants can’t tolerate direct sunlight for long, but they do like a bright room. Perfectly suited to Vietnam’s climate.

The generic word for police in Vietnam is cảnh sát, but not all types of police can be described using this term.

Those police officers wearing green uniforms are the Công An – their name translates to “keepers of the public peace”. As an ex-pat, you can seek the Cong An’s help for issues like theft, noise pollution, getting a criminal record check etc.

Vietnam’s equivalent of SWAT are the CSCD (Cảnh Sát Cơ Động). These police officers respond to terrorism threats and riots, as as both of these are very rare in Vietnam,  you don’t often see the CSCD on the streets.

The traffic police (Cảnh Sát Giao Thông) are the police we see on our way to work. Their uniforms are a creamy camel colour. They’re the most visible of the police forces and their job is to ensure drivers comply with road safety rules such as wearing helmets and stopping at red lights. They also help out when there’s a traffic flow problem. If you’re involved in a traffic accident, the CSGT can help you.

Photo sources: Getty images; Bao Thua Thien Hue; Thanh Nien News