Conical Hat – A Piece of Vietnam
“Non la” (translated as “conical hat”) is not only a normal hat, but also one of Vietnam’s symbols of charm. Every country has its own national headgear. The United States has the baseball cap, Britain is famous for the London bobby’s helmet. Greece is associated with the fisherman’s hat, while the beret is the symbol of France. The Israelis use the yarmulke and we usually see the Saudi Arabians in their white headdresses. Indian Sikhs wrap their heads in elaborate turbans while Russians warm their craniums with fur hats, which are of good use even at fifty Degree Celsius below zero. In Vietnam, the national chapeau is the non, or conical peasant hat. Along with the graceful silk ao dai, the non has become a sort of informal Vietnamese national symbol that is recognized worldwide. How Inseparable It is? The hat has a conical shape, made out of straw and is kept on the head by a silk cloth chin trap that keeps the hat from slipping out of the wearer’s head. This traditional conical hat is particularly suitable for farmers in such a tropical country as Vietnam where fierce sunshine and hard rains take place as often as girls’ sulking. It can be used as a basin or a bowl to contain water when they are thirsty, as a fan when they are hot, as a basket of a bunch of vegetables. Romantically, young couples can veil their kisses behind this traditional conical hat during their dates. The legend behind the hat is that, once upon a time, there was a very tall woman who often wore a magical kind of hat made from four round leaves knitted together with bamboo. Wherever this woman appeared, clouds passed and the weather became favorable. After teaching people to plant vegetables and trees for their living, she secretly passed and ascended to the heavens. Yet, she was honored as the Goddess of Human and ever since, they have made hats in the shape of hers to protect themselves from the sun and the rain.
Inside Vietnam’s largest domestic terminal just opened at Tan Son Nhat Airport
Vietnam’s largest domestic terminal, T3 at Ho Chi Minh City’s Tan Son Nhat Airport, has completed final stages to serve its first commercial flight on Thursday. The terminal is seen from above on Wednesday, one day before serving its first commercial flight that took off for Van Don Airport in the northern Quang Ninh Province, home to Ha Long Bay. The project has completed most of its major components after nearly two years of construction. and is set for full operation on April 30, two months ahead of schedule. T3 will have an annual capacity of 20 million passengers, making it the largest domestic terminal in Vietnam. Built by the Airports Corporation of Vietnam, work on the VND11 trillion (US$445 million) terminal began at the end of 2022. The terminal has five floors and a total floor area of 112,500 square meters. It has four main sections: the passenger terminal, a multi-story car park integrated with non-aviation services, an overpass, and an aircraft parking area. T3 is located next to T1 domestic terminal, with its entrance facing the road connecting Tran Quoc Hoan and Cong Hoa streets. It features a softly curved roof that extends from the terminal to the garden at the center of a commercial-office complex, evoking the shape of ao dai (traditional Vietnamese costume). The terminal will handle domestic flights for Vietnam Airlines and Vietjet Air, while Bamboo Airways, Vietravel Airlines, Pacific Airlines, and VASCO will continue to operate from T1. Check-in counters are also installed with machines and behind them is a bagdrop system for luggage drop-off. It has 90 traditional check-in counters, 20 automatic baggage drop counters, and 42 check-in kiosks. The terminal features 25 security control gates and automatic conveyor belts, helping to save time for passengers. The terminal features 27 gates, 13 of which are equipped with telescopic bridges, while the remaining 14 are served by buses. The ground floor houses the baggage claim area, with the ceiling, tiles, signs, and conveyor belts nearly finished. Tan Son Nhat Airport earlier had two terminals, T1 for domestic flights and T2 for international flights, with an initial design capacity of 28-30 million passengers per year. However, the number of passengers passing through has exceeded 40 million per year, putting great pressure on the infrastructure. When terminal T3 is put into operation, it will handle about 80% of domestic passengers, helping to reduce the load on terminal T1, which is seriously overloaded.