Vietnam Deel 2

Sputnik

Twee dagen geleden, op 4 oktober, was de 60e verjaardag van de lancering van de Sputnik 1. Daarmee begon ook voor mij de interesse voor ruimtevaart.

Zie een film over die beginperiode op ESA Euronews: 60 years since Sputnik

De foto hieronder is een model van de Sputnik 1, zoals die in het National Space Center in Leicester hangt. Ik ben daar meerdere malen geweest omdat de Engelse zusterorganisatie van onze Nederlandse Werkgroep Kunstmanen daar hun jaarlijkse bijeenkomsten hield..

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Vietnam losing control of excessive pesticide use

Farmers are abusing and overusing pesticides to maximize their farming productivity while ignoring the dangers these practices pose to consumers


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A farmer sprays pesticide on his paddy field in the Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang. Photo: Tuoi Tre

The massive amount of pesticides being imported into Vietnam is sparking major concerns over the negative effects of such chemicals on agricultural products and consumer health.
Statistics from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development show that the Southeast Asian country has spent more than US$660 million on pesticides in the first eight months of 2017, up 47 percent year-on-year.

According to the ministry, China is the primary exporter. The increased purchase has a direct correlation to their application in agricultural activities across Vietnam – a trend that could put consumers in harm’s way.

Pham Van Banh, a farmer in Chau Thanh District in the Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang, confirmed that local farmers have become more reliant on insecticides over the past few years. To meet the rapidly growing demand for agricultural products, farmers are expanding their operations and increasing their output, thus leaving little time for conventional pest control methods. Pesticides are considered the fastest way to protect plants from insects and disease, Banh elaborated.

During a typical 90-day farming season, insect repellant chemicals are used on seven to eight separate occasions at a cost of about VND8 million ($353.5) per hectare of filed per season, the farmer added. “There are endless varieties to pesticide and other farming chemicals. Some are designed to protect from bugs and diseases while others help make produce appear fresher,” he said.

Knowing that the overuse of pesticides can be harmful for consumers, Bui Van Thanh, a farmer in the Mekong Delta province of Soc Trang, explained that he would risks heavy losses if he forewent such chemicals. Thanh Hien, who another Soc Trang resident, was of the same opinion, sharing that he and his family do not consume vegetables farmed on their land.

According to Le Van Da, deputy head of the Plant Protection Department in Kien Giang Province, many farmers have neglected regulations on pesticide limits. Some people even create their own mixture from several types of products to maximize their farming productivity, a highly dangerous practice, Da continued.


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A farmer sprays pesticide on a paddy field in Binh Chanh District, Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Tuoi Tre

Only warnings
Regarding penalties for the abuse of pesticides, authorities in most Mekong Delta provinces say the violators are only warned for their wrongdoing. “We mainly remind them not to rely too much on chemicals. Our main goal is to change the farming habits of local residents step by step,” said Truong Thanh Binh, chairman of the People’s Committee in Dai Hai Commune, Soc Trang Province.

Meanwhile, Cao Xuan Dieu, chairman of Phu Huu Commune, in the southern province of An Giang, said that local authorities primarily seek to raise farmers’ awareness of the situation and have no intention to penalize anyone for their actions. According to an expert from the agricultural ministry, farming products treated pesticides can be harmful to consumer health.
Local authorities should consider the abuse of pesticides as a serious crime and impose harsher punishments upon violators.

The central government should have a nationwide strategy aimed at prompting farmers across the country to follow regulations regarding chemical use in farming and contribute towards a cleaner agricultural industry.

New policies should be implemented to encourage the use of alternate and eco-friendly pest control measures such as organic fertilizer and biopesticides, said Nguyen Xuan Hong, former head of the Plant Protection Department under the Ministry Agriculture and Rural Development.



Bron: TEMPLATE | HOME


Hier, in mijn omgeving, gaat het precies hetzelfde.

Tam, Minh’s studente, die de studiebeurs van Fulbright in de wacht sleepte, schreef als eerste zin in een kort essay voor Fulbright: "The road from the stomach to the cemetery has never seemed so short and straight,".

Hoeft verder niets aan toegevoegd te worden.
 
Vietnam’s abortion rate among world’s highest as contraception fails

The country is reporting Asia’s highest rate of abortion. Nearly 40 percent of unintended pregnancies in Vietnam are due to failed contraception, as people’s lack of knowledge about birth control continues to diminish the country’s efforts to reduce abortion.

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The figure was announced at a seminar on the benefits of contraception, held by the Ministry of Health in Hanoi on Tuesday. Between 250,000 and 300,000 abortions are completed across Vietnam every year on average, according to official reports, with the actual number of abortions, including those conducted illegally at private facilities, estimated to be much higher.

Vietnam ranks first in Asia for abortion, and remains among the countries with the highest abortion rates in the world, the ministry said, citing data from the World Health Organization.
According to Mai Xuan Phuong, a family planning official from the Ministry of Health, the average age of people’s first sexual intercourse experience in some countries, including Vietnam, has dropped in recent years. “Youths having sex without understanding birth control can lead to unintended pregnancies,” Phuong said.

There have been stories of young girls in Vietnam taking morning-after pills frequently and over a long period of time, despite the pill being designed as an emergency or ‘plan-B’ option that should only be taken once or twice a month, Phuong said. The abuse of contraceptives like this can lead to endocrine disorders and negatively impact their ability to get pregnant in the future, he explained.

6 abortions in 7 years
Tu Du Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City – the city’s leading maternity hospital – handles some 150 abortions on a daily basis, and a similar number is reported at Hung Vuong Hospital in District 5.

Dr. Hoang Thi Diem Tuyet, director of Hung Vuong Hospital, said the hospital had handled a total of over 15,000 abortions last year, and a further 7,000+ cases in the first six months of 2017. Most women seeking an abortion are girls between 18 and 25 years of age, Tuyet said, with some having undergone the procedure two or three times, or even six in one example.

Experts put the blame on Vietnam’s misguided approach to sex and contraception education, which primarily focuses on deterring youths from having sexual intercourse rather than teaching them how to have safe sex.



Bron: TEMPLATE | HOME


Het is hier al vaker in verschillende vormen ter sprake gekomen: sexuele voorlichting is in Vietnam een volstrekt onbekend begrip. En ik zie dat (voorlopig?) ook niet veranderen. Iets wat toch –gezien het artikel- een absolute must is. Maar ja, cultuur...
 
Topsport

Tja, het is off-topic, eigenlijk niet fraai, maar het verhaal schoot me kort geleden weer te binnen. Het is inmiddels wel verjaard (vind ik), ik woon nu ver weg en ik heb weinig inspiratie dus...

Lang geleden deed ik een opleiding sportmassage. Eén van de deelnemende dames had aan topsport gedaan en dat moesten we te pas en vooral te onpas horen, minimaal toch wel één keer per lesavond.

Erger was dat ze net niet de olympische spelen had gehaald, waar ze blijkbaar nog steeds hevig gefrustreerd over was, want ook dat kwam steevast ter sprake.

Enfin, toen we al meer dan een half jaar bezig waren met de cursus werd het hele verhaal voor de zoveelste keer afgedraaid.

“Goh, ik heb ook de olympische spelen niet gehaald” merkte ik op toen het verhaal even stokte. Onmiddellijk had ik haar volle aandacht. Een lotgenoot. *O*

“Wat voor sport doe je?”
“Ehh.... ik speel tafeltennis in de 2e klasse afdeling Rotterdam” antwoordde ik naar waarheid. O-)

Ze heeft nooit meer een woord tegen me gesproken. :+
 
President Trump to visit Vietnam in November: White House

The U.S. president will participate in a series of bilateral, multilateral, and cultural engagements, including the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit

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U.S. President Donald Trump (R) welcomes Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc at the White House in Washington, U.S. May 31, 2017. Reuters


U.S. President Donald Trump will visit Vietnam this November as part of his five-country Asia tour, the White House said on Friday. President Trump, accompanied by First Lady Melania, will travel to Japan, South Korea, China, Vietnam, and the Philippines, as well as a stop in Hawaii, from November 3 to 14, according to the White House announcement.

The U.S. president will participate in a series of bilateral, multilateral, and cultural engagements, including the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit, “demonstrating his continued commitment to the alliances and partnerships of the United States in the region,” the document reads.

President Trump will discuss the importance of a free and open Indo-Pacific region to America's prosperity and security. He will also emphasize the importance of fair and reciprocal economic ties with America's trade partners. The White House said Trump's engagements will strengthen the international resolve to confront the North Korean threat. The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, or APEC Vietnam 2017, is hosted by the central Vietnamese city of Da Nang.

At regular press conference on Thursday last week, Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Le Thi Thu Hang said Vietnam and the United States are exerting their full efforts to prepare for President Trump’s visit to Da Nang next month.

Hang said careful preparations are being completed for the trip, reiterating that the U.S. head of government stated he would attend the 2017 APEC during a meeting with Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, when the Vietnamese premier visited the U.S. in May.

APEC is a regional economic forum established in 1989 and comprised of 21 member states, including Australia, China, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, the United States, and Vietnam. The forum is aimed at creating greater prosperity for the peoples of the region by promoting balanced, inclusive, sustainable, innovative, and secure growth as well as accelerating regional economic integration.



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Goh, ik zou best even op mijn terras van gedachten willen wisselen. Ik zorg wel voor een paar dozen Dalatwijn, die zullen we hard nodig hebben. Want vriendjes worden we niet ben ik bang. O-)
 
Vietnam to launch tours through Son Doong Cave as controversial ladder installation backed

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The ladder at the 'Vietnamese Wall' inside Son Doong. Photo: Oxalis


Quang Binh authorities have finally approved a plan to install a ladder inside the north-central province’s famous Son Doong Cave, allowing tourists to explore through out the world’s biggest natural cave instead of returning to exit after reaching its end.

The Quang Binh administration has green-lighted the ‘ladder solution’ despite widely objections that it may destroy the stalactites that are millions of years old inside Son Doong.
Son Doong Cave, located in the heart of the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park in Quang Binh, became internationally known after a group of cavers from the British Cave Research Association conducted a survey of the area in April 2009. The cave has since become known as the largest cave passage cross-section in the world, according to National Geographic.

At the end of the Son Doong passage stands the 90 meter tall ‘Vietnamese Wall,’ made of millions-years-old stalactites. Behind the wall is a 600-meter passage leading to the rear entrance of the cave. As part of the current cave exploration tour, offered by Quang Binh-based Oxalis, explorers must return to be able to exit the cave through its entrance after reaching the ‘Vietnamese Wall.’ The tour operator has thus proposed building a ladder to help tourists climb over the stalactite wall and leave the cave through the rear entrance.

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The ladder at the 'Vietnamese Wall' inside Son Doong. Photo: Oxalis


Even though the proposed ladder has been met with public objection in that it may affect the natural stalactites believed to be formed over millions of years inside the cave, the proposal was eventually approved by the Quang Binh administration.

Oxalis has been allowed to take tourists through Son Doong from entrance to exit from 2018. The administration, however, required that the tour operator ensure the ladder installation and usage will not leave any environmental impact or destroy the stalactites. The decision came after the Quang Binh environment department submitted an assessment report, claiming that the ladder may affect the geological process inside the cave, but the impact is insignificant.

Shorter, more effective package
The new tour, allowing tourists to go through the cave, will take four days and three nights, one day-night period shorter than the current package, according to Oxalis. The company has tested the new tour from May 21 to August 31, with nine different groups including a total of 188 tourists successfully going through Son Doong.

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Son Doong Cave. Photo: Oxalis


Oxalis said the ladder solution was initially recommended by British Cave Research Association and its location had been carefully selected to leave the smallest possible impact on the cave environment and its stalactites. Tourists will feel more relaxed with the new tour as the journey will be shorter. The ladder will also help shorten the time to leave the cave in case of accident to two hours from the current six hours. It will also be of great use in the event of flood, when tourists can climb over the ladder and leave the case immediately, instead of having to wait up to four days until the floodwater recedes, according to Oxalis.



Bron: TEMPLATE | HOME


En zo, stapje voor stapje, komt de in FredVN in "Vietnam Deel 2" genoemde kabelbaan steeds dichterbij.
 
Astrofotografie

Wie op een heel eenvoudige manier wil beginnen met astrofotografie moet zeker kijken op Bescheiden beginnen met astrofotografie - Astroforum

Hier wordt uitgelegd hoe je met een digitale spiegelreflexcamera en een gratis te downloaden programma al behoorlijk spectaculaire resultaten kunt bereiken.
Dit ga ik eens proberen. Ik heb alle ingrediënten al in huis, nu nog een onbewolkte nacht. :P
 
Nederlander ervaart steeds minder vaak buurtoverlast

Helaas, van dit artikel op Nederlander ervaart steeds minder vaak buurtoverlast | NU - Het laatste nieuws het eerst op NU.nl klopt niet veel. O-)

Het wordt hier voor deze Nederlander zo ongeveer met de dag erger. En helaas, geen hond die er wat aan doet, laat staan het daartoe bevoegde gezag. Die houden strak en stijf vol dat het niet in de wet staat, dat het niet mag.

En dus mag het.

Tja...


Merkwaerdig...
Het blijft hier toch -hoe zal ik dat politiek correct verwoorden- een ehhh... merkwaerdig land.

Je mag je gewoon ongestraft als aso gedragen.

Je mag een pokkeherrie maken. Al horen ze het 5 dorpen verder. Officieel alleen op je eigen land maar ze rijden nu ook gewoon op de motor rond met een soort mobiele installatie.

Je mag als aso ongestraft je buren bedreigen. Die doen toch geen aangifte, want het mag (schijnt het). Dat was nadat het dorpshoofd (wat mij betreft nog steeds de enige hier met ballen!) eenmalig iets had gezegd over de herrie. De grootste aso ging prompt verhaal halen bij de verkeerde buren.

Je mag gewoon bomen en struiken op je eigen land laten groeien. Of ze telefoon- en electriciteitsleidingen of internetkabels boven openbare grond stuk trekken, tja, jammer dan. Had je ze maar ergens anders moeten ophangen.

Maar er is hoop!!! *O*

Want ik scheef in FredVN in "Vietnam" in een aanvulling:
“Aan het eind van de dag kwamen de kinderen van de laatste groep nog met een aanvulling. De politie is hier tegen aan het optreden, Niet duidelijk is of het tegen het lawaai of mogelijke gevaren is. Maar als ik de p....herrie van de geluids- en karaoke-installaties hier hoor vind ik dat ze nuttiger werk kunnen verrichten. Maar die kinderen is denkelijk snel en gemakkelijk scoren. ”

En ja, wat ik daar schreef klopt denkelijk wel. We zijn nu 1½ jaar verder. Ik heb na het maken van de foto’s dit niet meer gezien of gehoord. Mooi, dat zal ze leren, de kleine ettertjes. Herrie maken. Ja, dat dacht je. Inleveren die stokjes en lucifers. We krijgen jullie wel! Wat denk je wel niet. O-) :+

Mooi, nu het oefenen zo goed geslaagd is kan het echte werk beginnen.

Lijkt mij.

Of toch niet?

Toch te uitdagend misschien?

Ik vrees het.
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|( Gefrustreerd? Tot op het bot! |(
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En het blijft absoluut merkwaerdig...
 
Oeps!
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Ik zag dat ik gisteren een fout heb gemaakt. En als dit gelezen wordt zou de verkeerde persoon teveel eer krijgen. En dat willen we geen van allen. Toch? O-)

Hier in de wijde omgeving heb je heel veel kleine gehuchten. Wij wonen in één daarvan. Elk gehucht heeft een eigen hoofd. Dat is de man die ik gisteren bedoelde.

Een aantal gehuchten wordt samengevoegd tot een dorp. Ook een dorp heeft een hoofd. Zo ook ons dorp. Wie dat is? Ik heb niet het flauwste idee.

Ik heb wel het onbestemde en niet door enige ervaring verkregen gevoel dat mensen als burgermeester Abouthaleb van Rotterdam, van Zanen van Utrecht en vroeger v.d.Laan van Amsterdam gemakkelijker te benaderen zijn dan mijn dorpshoofd (terras en Dalat-wijn). Maar ik kan het uiteraard mis hebben. O-)

Niettemin, nog steeds alle eer voor het hoofd van mijn gehucht.
 
Laatst bewerkt:
Should Vietnam’s special economic zones include 'red-light districts'?

Phu Quoc, Van Don and Van Phong are set to become the country’s first special zones

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Women stand outside a bar in a red light district in Bangkok, Thailand, July 12, 2016. Photo: Reuters


A deputy chairman of Vietnam’s lawmaking National Assembly said the country’s upcoming special administrative and economic zones should be allowed to host businesses illegal elsewhere nationwide, including the 'red-light districits'. The proposal of deputy chairman Phung Quoc Hien came during the legislative body’s discussion on the Law on Special Administrative-Economic Units on Monday, local news site Dan Tri (Intellectual) reported on Tuesday

The law is expected to lay the groundwork for the establishment of Vietnam’s first special zones – Phu Quoc, Van Don and Van Phong – which will function as a new model for the Southeast Asian country to stimulate growth and lure foreign investment.

The Phu Quoc special administrative and economic zone will be developed on the namesake island off the southern province of Kien Giang, whereas the Van Don will be located in the northern province of Quang Ninh, and Van Phong in the south-central province of Khanh Hoa.

Dan Tri quoted Hien as saying at the NA session that current policies and mechanisms proposed to be incorporated in these zones were still boxed inside a management mindset that had existed for 30 years. Such proposals include an extension of land lease period to 99 years, and simplification of paperwork for businesses.

In order to truly unleash the full potential of these zones, they should be allowed to host businesses that are outlawed elsewhere in Vietnam, such as casinos and “even red-light districts,” Hien was quoted as saying by Dan Tri, referring to areas where prostitutions are allowed.

Tran Chi Dung, director of Kien Giang Department of Tourism, said the proposal tackled a “sensitive topic” in Vietnam that required more in-depth discussion during his interview with Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Tuesday. “It is clearly a sensitive topic in the context of Vietnam’s society,” Dung said. “The question of whether to allow casinos in Phu Quoc alone has been heatedly debated, let alone the legalization of prostitution. I don’t think the problem is as simple as it sounds.”

According to Dung, current Vietnamese laws consider prostitution a crime, and prostitutes are subject to administrative fines. In a social and cultural sense, he added, sex is considered a taboo topic in Vietnam, a country strongly influenced by oriental values.

Though acknowledging that prostitution still existed in the Vietnamese society, Dung said to publicly recognize it was another story. “In my opinion, experts and policy makers should spend more time mulling over this issue and listening to public feedback before further steps are taken,” Dung said.



Bron: TEMPLATE | HOME


Ach, geen forum-bezoeker zal hier nog vreemd van opkijken na het verhaal van eergisteren. Ik kan hier moeiteloos nog wat cynische opmerkingen over maken, maar laat ook eigenlijk maar.
 
In smartphone era, children still fight crickets in Saigon outskirts

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Children watch a cricket fight in this photo taken outside Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Tuoi Tre


Just outside Saigon, children still play what was believed to be a forgotten game rather than stay glued to their screens

While it is safe to assume that cricket fighting has lost some of its popularity during the era of smartphones, this so-called ‘blood sport’ remains a favored pastime for children in the outer suburbs of Ho Chi Minh City.

Tran Tien Dung, a Tuoi Tre (Youth) photojournalist, spent the weekend in a suburban area of the city and was amazed to see a group of boys playing traditional childhood games like kite flying and cricket fighting. “I was stopped in my tracks by such an innocent scene and felt nostalgic for my childhood,” Dung said.

The pleasure of seeing children in this ‘hi-tech time’ playing what is widely believed to be a game from the past left Dung wondering whether “children in urban areas know that such games even exist, as they are beyond their smartphone video games.”

Given that it is currently the rainy season in Vietnam, cricket numbers have grown rapidly in the humid weather. The insects can be found inside bushes, behind the doors or in burrows on paddy fields. ‘Lazy’ children can enter the market and buy some ‘cricket warriors’ for their game.

However, only male crickets are selected for the blood sport. The strongest warriors are the ‘coal crickets,’ whose wings are black, and the ‘fire crickets,’ with yellowish-brown wings. The ‘fight arena’ is made by digging a small ring 15 centimeters deep, and around 25 centimeters in diameter. The fighting crickets are kept in small boxes or vases.

Upon being released into the arena, the insects start chirping before rushing to attack their enemy, hitting each other head-on. The loser will try to escape the fight ring, whereby its owner will immediately substitute it for another warrior. Other children gather around the arena and cheer.

A common trick is to send a ‘surrenderer’ back to the ring by tying a single hair on its head or leg, then spin it around in the air for a while. The dizzy cricket will ‘forget’ its defeat and start fighting again.



Bron: TEMPLATE | HOME


Voor wie geïnteresseerd is in nog veel meer foto’s van dit “kinderspel” moet even op de bron-pagina kijken.
 
Bui Vien Walking Street to officially debut tonight

Visitors can now have a much more enjoyable experience on the most popular street in Ho Chi Minh City’s ‘backpacker area’

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People take a stroll on Bui Vien Street in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City on the night of August 19, 2017. Photo: Tuoi Tre


Following over a month of delay, Bui Vien Walking Street in Ho Chi Minh City’s ‘backpacker area’ is set to have its grand opening tonight, August 20.
Located in Pham Ngu Lao Ward, District 1, the city’s newest pedestrian street is scheduled to debut on Sunday night, offering local residents and tourists a wide variety of entertainment activities.
The promenade stretches 850 meters long from the Bui Vien intersection with Tran Hung Dao-Nguyen Thai Hoc Streets to Cong Quynh Street.

During the opening night, two stages will be set up in front of 33 and 204 Bui Vien Street for a series of artistic performances, alongside such activities as street cuisine, sports, and folk games.

Since July 15, the People’s Committee in District 1 has piloted a vehicle ban from 7:00 pm to 2:00 am on weekends, while the renovation of sidewalks along the road had also been carried out.

Additional efforts will be exerted to upgrade the alleys located within the walking street to create a greener, cleaner, and more esthetic urban face.

Residents and businesses along the section of Bui Vien Street have expressed their support for the project, many of whom stated that their revenue had increased by 50 percent thanks to the vehicle ban.

According to Le Tan Dat, chairman of the administration in Pham Ngu Lao Ward, business activities on Bui Vien Street are bustling both day and night. While diners, coffee shops, clothing stores, and souvenir shops are open to customers in the morning and afternoon, restaurants, bars, and pubs bring a more dynamic atmosphere to the street from the evening until midnight.

Foreign visitors have dubbed the destination a ‘cheap beer area,’ ‘busy street,’ or ‘backpacker land,’ Dat said, adding that establishing the walking street would help preserve its uniqueness and better manage local business activities. A total of 146 businesses are operating on Bui Vien Street, said Nguyen Thi Thu Huong, vice-chairwoman of District 1. Among them are 23 hotels, 25 diners, 15 coffee shops, 33 souvenir, handicraft, and clothing stores, 14 pubs, nine beer bars, 12 salons, eight travel agents, and some other facilities.

Opening specialized streets has been an emerging trend in Ho Chi Minh City, improving trade and services as well as creating distinctive tourism products. In District 5, jewelry streets were introduced in April 2017 and streets specialized in eastern medicine were opened in December 2016. Businesses in these areas reported a 20 to 50 percent increase in revenue and many opportunities to offer their products to domestic and foreign tourists.

In late April 2015, Nguyen Hue, the city’s first walking street, was open to visitors and has become a favorite hang-out spot for both locals and tourists. Nguyen Van Binh, the city’s book street, has also been a regular stop for local book lovers and enthusiasts.



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Goed nieuws!

Voor meer nachtelijke actiefoto’s zie de bron-pagina
 
In Vietnam, new graduates accept unskilled jobs to earn ‘fresh money’ (1)

More and more people with a university degree are working as GrabBike drivers

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This caricature depicts how fresh graduates are unable to meet the actual demand in the Vietnamese job market.


For most of Vietnam’s fresh graduates, life after their university graduation is much tougher than those four years of being a student.

It has been a growing and worrying trend in Vietnam over the last few years that fresh graduates, even those with a master’s degree, fail to land a suitable job and have to accept working in fields that have nothing to do with the majors in which they are professionally trained. It is not uncommon to see people with university degrees do laborious jobs, become shopkeepers or even xe om(motorbike taxi) drivers, where no qualifications are needed.

There are now some 100,000 university graduates doing unskilled jobs, according to the military-run Quan Doi Nhan Dan (People’s Army) newspaper. By the end of this year, Vietnam is expected to see yet another 200,000 young people become unemployed after graduation, Radio the Voice of Vietnam reported in mid-February. Dao Quang Vinh, head of the labor science institute under the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs, confirmed the gloomy outlook with the Hanoi-based radio station.

Experts have pointed the finger at the training quality of local universities, with impractical and outdated curricula, and suggested that the number of graduates is bigger than the labor market demand. The issue has caught the media’s attention again after more and more have chosen to become GrabBike drivers, or ‘hi-tech’ xe om, as a temporary solution to their unemployment.

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Even those with a master's degree are willing to do laborious job. Cartoon: Tuoi Tre Caricature Magazine


Quick and immediate cash
T.D.M., who graduated from the Ho Chi Minh City University of Law in 2014, is now a full-time GrabBike driver. The reason, M. said, is simple: he makes more money from the unskilled job than a position at a law office, and more importantly, the cash comes straight into his pocket on a daily basis. “You don’t have to wait until the monthly salary day,” he told Thanh Nien (Young People) newspaper in August.

There were times when M. could make VND4 million (US$176) a week, or an ample VND16 million ($700) a month. “A job at a law office pays me VND2.5 million ($110),” he said.

M. said he is happy working as a xe om driver, with ‘fresh cash’ earned every day that helps him support his parents back home in the central province of Quang Ngai. The biggest problem, however, is that he has to hide his real job from the family. “Never do I dare to tell them that I am a xe om,” he said. “My parents still believe I am working at a law office.”

For many families in rural areas, having a child complete a college degree in Ho Chi Minh City or Hanoi is a huge source of pride. “My parents would definitely be unable to accept the truth,” M. said.

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Working as GrabBike drivers has emerged as a 'hot job' for unemployed graduates in Vietnam. Photo: Tuoi Tre


Raison d'être
According to experts, one of the main reasons for the glut of university graduates unable to find a suitable position is that what they are trained is of little use in the actual job market. “Many business leaders have pointed out that the curricula of many universities in Vietnam are problematic and outdated,” Prof. Truong Nguyen Thanh, vice chancellor of Hoa Sen University in Ho Chi Minh City, told Thanh Nien. “While technology is changing rapidly – we will have a new piece of tech every six months or a year – what is taught in the four-year university program [in Vietnam] remains unchanged for decades.”

Prof. Thanh added that in the U.S., there are also graduates who have to do jobs different from their majors. “But the jobs are of the ‘same level’ as their qualifications,” he noted. “For example, an IT graduate can work as a PC repairman, but not jobs that have nothing in common with his trained skills.”

In an opinion piece on Radio the Voice of Vietnam in July, writer Vu Hanh put the blame on the training program. It is not really difficult to enter college these days in Vietnam. Some private universities are willing to admit students with average entrance scores or lower, so long as they meet their enrolment targets every new academic year.

These students will easily graduate, but as “a weak human resource base” that fails to meet the high demand of recruiters, Hanh wrote. “There are job fairs with thousands of vacancies available but the recruiters fail to find any suitable candidates,” she said. “Even when an employer decides to recruit fresh graduates, that company will have to waste time on ‘retraining’ these candidates so they can really start doing their job.”



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Morgen het commentaar.
 
In Vietnam, new graduates accept unskilled jobs to earn ‘fresh money’ (2)

Ik denk dat in het artikel van gisteren de drie belangrijkste redenen wel bij elkaar staan:
1. Het curriculum van de universiteit is niet up-to-date
Het zal ook niet meevallen om een universiteit te vinden waar dat wel het geval is. O-)

2. Men kiest een opleiding waar geen droog brood mee te verdienen is
Vaak kiezen de ouders iets dat goed klinkt of waarvan ze denken dat er goed verdiend kan worden. Nagaan of dat ook daadwerkelijk zo is, is er meestal niet bij.

3. Men kijkt vrijwel uitsluitend en alleen naar het bedrag wat men elke maand in handen krijgt.
Dat is hier ook al veel vaker ter sprake gekomen. De meesten zien uitsluitend het totaalbedrag dat ze krijgen. Hoe dat is opgebouwd, wat ze daarvoor moeten doen, hoeveel uur ze daarvoor moeten werken, wat ze zelf nog moeten betalen etc., ik denk dat het overgrote deel van de Vietnamezen daar geen flauw benul van heeft. Vandaar dat er ook geen enkele vorm van loyaliteit is en men moeiteloos voor een paar honderduizend dong in de maand meer vertrekt. Zonder te weten of ze daarvoor niet 2 keer zo lang moeten werken. O-)

Minh probeert nu al een paar jaar voor de studenten, die dat willen, wat meer begeleiding aan te bieden:
1. Informeren en bijblijven wat goede universiteiten zijn en welke studiebeurzen hebben.
2. Idem welke studies de meeste kans op een baan bieden
3. Proberen ze iets over salaris te leren en iets van loyaliteit bij te brengen
In de praktijk blijken de meeste leerlingen zo geïndoctrineerd te zijn over dat geld, dat er maar een paar echt iets met die begeleiding doen. De meesten kiezen een vervolgopleiding die “ze wel leuk lijkt”.

Maar het blijft natuurlijk, gezien het aantal van haar studenten, een druppel op een gloeiende plaat.

Dit zou nu een mooi project zijn voor Looking Forward. De twee hoogste klassen van een aantal scholen op de één of andere manier begeleiding bieden bij een studie- en beroepskeuze. Dan kunnen de kinderen tenminste echt “vooruit kijken” naar de toekomst en komt het geld ten goede aan de gehele gemeenschap in plaats van aan paar enkelingen, waarvan het grootste deel hoogstwaarschijnlijk ook nog eens de kluit belazerd. En met uitsluitend een highschool-diploma begin je ook niets (FredVN in "Vietnam Deel 2" e.v.). Helaas kun je dan op je site niets vertellen over “zielige kindertjes”.

Het zou voor deze streek ook een geweldige stap voorwaarts betekenen. Onderwerpen als universiteit, studiekeuze, studiebeurzen etc. zijn voor de overwegend vrij arme bevolking volstrekt onbekende begrippen. En aangezien de ouders in het overgrote deel van de gevallen nog steeds beslissen wat het kind moet gaan studeren en later moet worden zou een goede ondersteuning in die richting heel wat ellende en foute keuzes kunnen voorkomen. En hopelijk zo ook ten goede komen aan de tokomstige ontwikkeling van de gehele streek.


Morgen nog een -soort van- vervolg.
 
Special community encourages Vietnamese youth to learn foreign languages

The model allows speakers of many languages to exchange knowledge in friendly set-ups

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Vietnamese youths talk with foreign friends during a meeting of the Saigon BlaBla Language Exchange at a local coffee shop. Photo: Tuoi Tre


Members of a language group in Vietnam have been spending their leisure time in local coffee shops on learning foreign languages.

The BlaBla Language Exchange (BLE) started out as a group of 30 members in Hanoi, who set up the team to help each other in their acquisition of the French language. The group was founded by Florian Ziegler, a French teacher, in February 2016, and has now become a large community with a variety of local and foreign members.

Several BLE platforms were then established in Ho Chi Minh City, the central Vietnamese city of Da Nang, Switzerland’s Zurich City, and many other cities across the world. According to Ziegler, the community offers opportunities for foreigners and local people to connect and exchange knowledge in terms of culture and lifestyle. In each country, local youths with passion for learning foreign languages are chosen to manage the groups, the French teacher stated.

In Ho Chi Minh City, the BLE often organizes their meetings in a friendly and casual environment at local coffee shops. During a gathering at Bon Café in District 1 in the middle of June, nearly 30 members had already arrived at the location an hour earlier than the prearranged time. Several national flags of corresponding languages were put on each table, before participants picked a language and started socializing with each other at their corners.
A total of ten language groups were offered at the meeting, namely Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, and Russian.

Learning for integration
According to Tu Anh, 24, a member of the Saigon BlaBla Language Exchange management team, about 150 to 170 participants, mainly young people, attend their regular meetings. English, Chinese, French, and German are the four most popular languages among members of the Saigon BLE, Anh elaborated.

Man Tan Phat, 22, considered the group a helpful place to sharpen his English and spoken Japanese. “Foreign languages are necessary in the era of international integration. Aside from learning a language, we are able to know more about different cultures and enhance our confidence in communicating with international friends,” Phat said.

Members are able to learn new vocabulary, adjust their accent while talking with native speakers, Nguyen Hoai To Nhu, 22, elaborated. Meanwhile, Barry James, a teacher from the United Kingdom, often comes to the BLE gatherings to learn Vietnamese. Frequent interaction with native speakers is an effective approach to acquiring a new language, James stated.



Bron: TEMPLATE | HOME


Ik probeer iets vergelijkbaars via Skype met twee van Minh’s (oud)leerlingen. Elke week spreek ik een half uurtje met ze.
Trinh, tweede-jaars student Engels aan een universiteit in HCM. Zij spreekt al vrij goed Engels. Wordt ook vaak (veel) langer dan een hald uurtje.
Tam, klas 11 op de highschool, die afgelopen zomer een studiebeurs van Fulbright in HCM had. Zij is nog niet echt gewend om Engels te praten, dus dat gaat een stuk moeizamer. Maar ze is desondanks mijlen voor op al haar overige schoolgenoten, ook die van klas 12.

Het grote “voordeel” van deze constructie is, dat ik geen Vietnamees spreek. Ze moeten dus alles in het Engels doen en ik blijf net zolang vragen tot ik begrijp wat ze bedoelen. :+

Minh heeft inmiddels op zondagmorgen een “Engelse club” waar veel van Minh’s leerlingen naar toe komen. Het doel daarvan is “om meer ‘life skills’ te leren zodat ze actiever worden, meer kritisch kunnen denken en zo de basis van emotionele intelligentie te verkrijgen [Minh]”. Zij zal daar binnenkort zelf wat over schrijven.
 
Vietnam grapples with Internet cable problems

The country has reported at least three issues with its submarine Internet cables this year


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Youngsters play games at a cybercafé in Vietnam. Photo: Tuoi Tre

Sluggish Internet connectivity caused by problems with cross-sea cable systems has become a regular annoyance in Vietnam, and users are running out of patience.

At 7:20 am on Thursday, the Asia America Gateway (AAG) cable network suffered a problem at its landing point in Hong Kong, signaling another period of slow connection speeds for Internet users in Vietnam. The 20,000-kilometer system provides one of Vietnam’s lifeline Internet gateways to the world by linking it with other Southeast Asian countries and with the U.S. across the Pacific Ocean.

Thursday’s problem was by no means the first experienced by the AAG, which has one of the largest capacities out of those that Vietnam is connected to. Since its launch in 2009, the AAG has experienced repeated problems, with two ruptures in 2014 and four cable cuts in 2015.

Vietnam’s Internet was also impeded between March 3 and 18 last year because of a power leak, according to local tech news website ICTNews. As many as four separate problems have been reported with the AAG so far in 2017. AAG and other submarine cable systems, including the Asia Pacific Gateway (APG), Intra Asia (IA) and South-East Asia - Middle East - Western Europe 3 (SMW-3) cables, are responsible for 90 percent of Vietnam’s international connections.

The APG system, which had been expected to be a reliable alternative to the AAG when it was put into use late last year, turned out to be a disappointment after a rupture was reported in June along a section connecting the central city of Da Nang with the U.S., Japan and Hong Kong.

In a rare incident in August, all three submarine communications cables crucial to Vietnam’s international connectivity – IA, SMW-3 and AAG – came down with problems simultaneously, causing global connection from Vietnam to be slowed for over a month.

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An office in Vietnam affected by slow Internet connection. Photo: Tuoi Tre


The root of the problem
According to Nguyen Manh Hung, chairman of Vietnam National Posts and Telecommunications Group (VNPT), recent problems with Internet cables are not to be blamed on faulty designs but rather on their locations.

As most of these cables make their landing points in Hong Kong or Singapore, they can be subject to constant disturbance caused by large vessels that frequent the busy ports, leading to ruptures, Hung explained.

Other possible explanations for repeated issues include anchors dropped by ships out at sea and natural geological fractures, he added. “As for the AAG system, the developer must take some responsibility for not having conducted careful enough surveys of the network map to allow such problems to recur so frequently,” one leader of an Internet provider in Vietnam said on condition of anonymity.

HUYNH THANH PHI (marketing expert):
I find it unacceptable that Internet providers simply announce a “cable cut” and tell their customers to wait for it to get fixed without taking further responsibility.
“Cable cut” has too often been used as force majeure that exempts providers from responsibility for intolerably sluggish connection speeds. As a user, I doubt this line of reasoning is still valid with the growing number of such incidents.
Internet carriers in Vietnam need to demonstrate more clearly their duty as a service provider, rather than act simply as a messenger to make announcements of “force majeure”!



Bron: TEMPLATE | HOME


Het is de laatste week, zeker ’s avonds, weer behoorlijk rampzalig. En na een snelheidstest, die meestal tot HCM gaat, weet ik dat het de kabel is omdat ik bij deze test altijd mijn normale snelheden haal.
 
Motorreparatie (1)

Dit soort motorreparatiebedrijfjes vind je bij wijze van spreken op iedere straathoek in Vietnam. Je kunt er een litertje benzine kopen, ze plakken banden, verversen olie en halen zo nodig je hele motor uit elkaar, of dat nu nodig is of niet.

Als je wat van techniek weet kun je er meestal maar beter niet bij blijven staan als ze te keer gaan. Ik heb zo in de loop der jaren de meest vreselijke dingen meegemaakt.
• Een pistonpen verwijderen met hamer en koubeitel.
• Een buitenband erop leggen met een grote schroevendraaier.
• Bij een klacht over vibratie bij mijn eigen motor zonder enige verdere controle met een sleutel + een verlengpijp van minstens 1 meter de motorophangbouten “even wat vaster zetten”.
• Alles gaat “op gevoel”:
o bouten vastzetten: dus bijna altijd (veel) te vast.
o klepspeling instellen: na afloop kun je er een heel setje voelermaatjes doorheen gooien, Trouwens niemand gebruikt voelermaatjes, dus er doorheen gooien wordt moeilijk.
o banden op spanning brengen: Even tegen de band aanpieken. Bij aflevering van mijn nieuwe moter had de ene band bijna het dubbele van de aanbevolen spanning en de andere iets meer dan de helft. Inderdaad, samen was het vrijwel goed.
o Etc.
• Monteurs die ongevraagd allerlei zelf met veel moeite ingestelde zaken “wel even zullen aanpassen”, zoals bv. de zelf nauwkeurig bepaalde stand van pedalen en handels.
• In plaats van het vastgeroeste stelschroefje van de voorrem met een tangetje wat aan te draaien zodat de voorrem weer wat meer remwerking zou vertonen werd de gehele voorrem uit elkaar gehaald en een ijzerdraadje om de rem-as gewikkeld. De monteur was niet te stoppen.

Het alternatief blijft mijn lijfkreet: “als je wilt dat iets goed gebeurd moet je het zelf doen”.

Voor alle zekerheid: alle genoemde gebeurtenissen waren bij diverse andere motorshops. Ik kwam deze shop toevallig tegen op één van mijn fototrips.

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Kenmerkende overeenkomst van vrijwel al dit soort bedrijfjes is de enorme troep, die je ziet.

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Morgen deel 2.
 
Laatst bewerkt:
Banh Mi

Banh Mi betekent eigenlijk “brood”. Het lijkt op de Franse baguette, maar is zachter en korter. De Vietnamese Banh Mi is bekend om zijn vulling: een combinatie van boter, pate, vlees, komkommer, zoetzure wortel, koriander en chili (optioneel). Sommige Banh Mi winkels vervangen vlees door ingeblikte sardientjes, kip of gegrild varkensvlees.

Het voelt misschien als "te veel" bij het zien van alle ingrediënten, maar wanneer je begint te eten, combineert alles in één heerlijke smaak.

Meestal koop je ze vanuit een zgn. Banh-Mi-kar. Deze zie je heel vaak in allerlei soorten en maten op straathoeken of voor een huis staan. Het broodje wordt soms ter plaatse opgewarmd en vervolgens “samengesteld”.

Op internet zijn heel veel verschillende recepten te vinden en er zijn zelfs complete receptenboeken uitsluitend over Banh Mi verschenen. Om die reden is hier dan ook geen recept opgenomen.

Wie dit nog nooit heeft gegeten moet zeker eens één van de internetrecepten proberen of een Vietnamees eethuisje of Vietnamese loempia-kraam zoeken en kijken of ze Banh Mi hebben. Wie al eens in Vietnam is geweest heeft geen aansporing meer nodig.

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Uit eigen tuin

Veel mensen hier in de omgeving verbouwen hun eigen groenten, fruit en kruiden. Tijdens een bezoek aan bekenden zag ik o.a.:

Chili.
Voor zover ik mij kan herinneren de eerste keer dat ik ze bij iemand in de tuin zie. Blijkbaar nooit goed gekeken.

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Bananen
Een behoorlijke tros...

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Kokosnoten
Volgens mij ook de eerste keer dan ik een kokosnotenboom zag met een hele korte stam. De kokosnoten hangen ongeveer op borsthoogte. (Het kan natuurlijk ook zo zijn dat hij de boom heeeel diep heeft geplant. O-) :+ )

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Bijen

Tijdens hetzelfde bezoek als gisteren bleek er in één van de bomen bij hun huis een bijennest te hangen. Ik heb een foto gemaakt maar de camera stelde scherp op de bladeren ervoor. Iemand hielp toen een handje door met een stok de bladeren wat naar beneden te duwen. Die herkansing heb ik aan mij voorbij laten gaan: voordat ik de camera kon richten werd ik in mijn hand gestoken en vond toen één behoorlijk pijnlijke steek wel genoeg.

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