Over the course of one month, the relics of Lord Buddha embarked on a spiritually profound journey across nine major cities and provinces, from Ho Chi Minh City in the south to the northern province of Quang Ninh, drawing more than 17.8 million devotees

Around 40,000 visitors made the pilgrimage to Huong Pagoda in Hanoi’s My Duc district on January 30, the sixth day of the Lunar New Year, to attend the opening of the longest running festival in the country.

Nghinh Ong Festival, an event for fishermen to show their respect for the whale and gratitude for a bumper catch, will return to Can Gio district of Ho Chi Minh City in October with a bigger scale.

A Thai woman suspected of having contracted Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) virus has been hospitalised after returning from her pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia.