Vietnam Deel 2

[Badgast]

Dat wou ik ook net zeggen, als kaaskop kan ik dat bord echt niet lezen, alleen dat laatste Cam- ON ! zou ik kunnen begrijpen....
Buiten dat, als dat het verbod is, dat geldt dat verbod toch echt alleen ACHTER dat "bord" dus over de reling hangen is er dus niet bij, wel zo veilig.!

 

[FredVN]

Dat wou ik ook net zeggen, als kaaskop kan ik dat bord echt niet lezen, alleen dat laatste Cam- ON ! zou ik kunnen begrijpen....
Buiten dat, als dat het verbod is, dat geldt dat verbod toch echt alleen ACHTER dat "bord" dus over de reling hangen is er dus niet bij, wel zo veilig.!

Uit eigen langdurige ervaring: dit is "iets te subtiel" voor de Vietnamees. In het algemeen wordt het bord gewoon genegeerd voor zowel ervoor als erachter.
Het over de reling hangen klopt wel: dat moet je echt alleen maar doen als je vleugeltjes volgroeid zijn.

 

[FredVN]

Clandestine world of sugar dating in Vietnam — Part 1: Search for new flame

A Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper reporter (left) disguised as a sugar baby hopeful is seen discussing relationship details with a sugar daddy candidate whom she got in contact from a Facebook group. Photo: Le Phan / Tuoi Tre


Sugar dating, a mutually beneficial relationship where 'sugar daddies’ or ‘sugar mommas’ provide financial support for their 'sugar babies’ in exchange for romantic affection and possibly sex, has recently become a trend in Vietnamese society.

‘Sugaring’ relationships and the people who seek them out usually try to stay covert because of the public’s divisive response to the arrangement, with some even referring to it as mere pretense for prostitution.

Wife, mistress and sugar baby
A Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper undercover correspondent infiltrated a secret Facebook group, which boasts over 28,000 members, for people seeking a sugar dating arrangement. The reporter then switched to a burner Facebook account, using sexually suggestive pictures from the Internet to pose as a junior-year college student in Ho Chi Minh City looking for a sugar daddy.

On paper, she offered the perfect package for a sugar baby: stunning looks, obedient, available to meet three times per week, and capable of keeping a secret. Within less than an hour, the post yielded hundreds of reactions and a few dozen offers from aspiring sugar daddies in the group.

After a few flirty messages, Nguyen Duc Vinh — whose name has been changed for this article, a 44-year-old sugar daddy hopeful was down to meet in real life. He claimed to be a husband, father as well as the director of a construction firm in Binh Tan District of Ho Chi Minh City.

During the first encounter at a coffee shop on Ung Van Khiem Street of Binh Thanh District, Vinh talked about his wife as a meek and caring person, but the flame between him and her seems to have died. He was seeking companionship from a young woman to fill the gap that his mistress of ten years left behind.

The reason for their break-up was her forcing him to divorce his wife and marry her. “I wish to find a secret lover whom I can talk to, but please don’t let yourself catch feelings, for I have yet to forget [the mistress], nor can I offer you a title [as a wife] in broad daylight,” Vinh confessed right after he poured his heart out about his former mistress. “My wife is very docile. As long as you stay obedient and don’t force me to divorce her, you will be all set.”

Cutting a deal for affection
Vinh affirmed he is not the promiscuous kind of man, but he added that sex acts will be paid extra on top of the settled benefits. During the first meeting, Vinh was extremely vigilant, scrutinizing the undercover reporter on whether she is a sex worker in disguise. He insisted that his partner should be employed in a white-collar job or a student so he can help “support and mentor” her career-wise, or employ her if she is out of work, even suggesting the prospective sugar baby move near his company office to obtain care from him more easily.

Vinh offered a benefit package of VND15 million (US$645) per month starting after a probation period, where he would drive the partner-to-be to her school to confirm her identity. He also required his partner to take an HIV test at a facility of his choice. Donning an exemplary corporate demeanor, Vinh handled all inquiries from the Tuoi Tre reporter with diplomatic finesse.

When asked about the possibility of him vanishing without any trace from the deal, he cited the credibility of his company and himself as a businessman. Upon the staggering request of a high-end suite and a scooter after the first month together, he did not shy away, but instead floated them as feasible rewards for good times between the two.

The 44-year-old man shoved VND2 million ($86) of cash into the reporter’s hands as a guarantee of his credibility. To seal the deal, Vinh said that he enjoyed his time with her and drew a comparison between her and his ex-mistress. “If we work out well, you will have whatever you want, as long as you satisfy me,” he concluded.

Sugar daddy as a mentor
The Tuoi Tre correspondent went on to meet another sugar daddy wannabe from the candidate list, which had expanded non-stop since the post in the Facebook group.

Tran Cong Hai — whose name has been changed, a 47-year-old from Binh Thanh District, said his casual outfit did not speak for the plush lifestyle that he can afford his partner. Introducing himself as a cosmetics tradesman and homestay host in Ho Chi Minh City, Hai said he first joined the sugar dating Facebook group to promote his lodging facilities for sugar daddies to house their sugar babies, but later became part of the scene himself.

Prior to the undercover reporter, Hai had met up with two other sugar baby candidates but reached a deal with neither.

According to Hai, one was a hustler as she did not hesitate to suggest sex in their first encounter, while the other quoted VN20 million ($860) per month for her companionship, the amount being a dealbreaker for Hai. Nevertheless, VND20 million per month is definitely within his pay range, he claimed. As the conversation went, it was revealed that a case of erectile dysfunction greatly limited Hai’s sexual potency. The tentative meetups would be in hotel rooms to shroud his affairs from his social network and would consist of casual dating for the most part.

Hai said he is only available to meet during the day, and his secret partner is not welcomed to actively ring him as his daughters might pick up the infidelity while using his phone. He was caught cheating by his wife once, who threatened him until Hai promised to “never be unfaithful again.” It turns out it was not an isolated case as he admitted to adopting a few sugar babies during his time in the group.

In these sugaring liaisons, Hai was willing to provide the babies with tuition money, career orientation, or even boyfriend advice. The sugar babies were allowed to have boyfriends outside of the sugaring affair with Hai. Either party can call an end to the relationship the moment they want to, he proclaimed. “I don’t give out many promises, but every single time you meet me, I won’t leave you disappointed by any means,” Hai assured.


Morgen deel 2

 

[FredVN]

Clandestine world of sugar dating in Vietnam — Part 2: Different shades of sugar daddies

A Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper reporter (right) disguised as a sugar baby hopeful is seen discussing relationship details with a sugar daddy candidate whom she got in contact from a secret Facebook group. Photo: T.M. / Tuoi Tre


An undercover reporter makes a foray into the sugar dating scene in Hanoi in this exclusive serial exposé by Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper.

Sadism seeker
Using the disguise of a sugar baby searching for a benefactor, the reporter received dozens of offers from sugar daddy candidates. “Do you handle pain well?” Tran Minh Thanh, whose name has been changed for this article, said to his ‘date,’ whom he found on Tinder, a popular dating app, as he fidgeted with his wine glass.

Thanh claimed to be the chief executive officer of a video game development company, which has a huge project with a Singapore-based partner underway. “Looking for a sugar baby under 22 years old, experienced in intimate stuff, VND25 million [US$1,080] of monthly allowance,” his Tinder profile wrote in a straightforward manner.

After ‘swiping right’ — a finger gesture to express interest in people's profiles on Tinder — on each other, Thanh and the Tuoi Tre reporter engaged in a conversation that led quickly to an in-person date.

He arrived to the date in a dashing semi-formal outfit. A car key dangling on his keychain completed the look of a nouveau riche, middle-class man. “Again, do you handle pain well?” he repeated.

He explained that the sugar-baby-to-be was expected to join him in BDSM practices — which stands for bondage-discipline, dominance-submission, and sadism-masochism, a spectrum of sexual activities that include pain, physical restraints, and unequal power relationships.

Thanh is about to marry his girlfriend of five years, but does not want to perform the pain-inducing practices with her. To gratify the deep, kinky desire, he opted to find a BDSM partner outside of his relationship. “I’ll leave space for you to decide, I would not pressure you since this is a win-win situation: you gain money, I gain pleasure. I know this would hurt a lot physically, which is why I am compensating you VND25 million per month, not to mention a rewarding tip if you perform well,” he assured.

A sweet transaction
Just as upfront with his intentions is Ho Minh Bang, whose name has also been changed to maintain confidentiality, a 49-year-old with a wife and two kids. He is also an active member of a secret sugar dating community on Facebook.

Prior to their meeting, the prospective sugar daddy detailed his qualifications for a sugar baby in a Facebook post: “Aged 18 to 22, light skin, height above 160cm, must be a university student, obedient, disciplined and is able to keep a secret.” After getting in touch with the Tuoi Tre reporter, he set up a meeting at a bar on Lac Chinh Street, Hanoi. When asked about his urge for extramarital flings, Bang gradually unfolded the details of his sex life.

His wife is entering perimenopause at 53 and no longer has an appetite for sex, yet his libido is still functioning. The fact that faithful marriage no longer provides him with sexual gratification led him down new paths to quench the ‘beast’ inside.

In addition to that, he also needs a companion whom he can bring to alcohol-laden feasts with business partners. He topped off each activity listed with a money reward, which will be entitled to his sugar baby as long as she is “obedient and knows their place.”

In a prior text message correspondence with the Tuoi Tre reporter, Hai said each sugar baby would get VND4 million ($172) per meeting. Each of his sexual rendezvous requires at least 3-4 sugar babies to satisfy his potency, Hai added.

Staying true to his businessman ethos, Bang pulled out a prepared contract with legally binding responsibility for the sugar baby: anticipating calls and text correspondence with the provider is prohibited while engagement in any other love affair or sugaring liaison is not allowed either.

Other terms mention the exclusion of condoms during sexual intercourse and the conferral of contraception responsibilities and the liability in case of pregnancy entirely on the sugar baby. On the other hand, the sugar daddy is liable to provide VND4 million per month for his sugar baby to set up two meetings per week.

If the relationship sustains, the sugar baby would get help from her provider to start a small business for herself after graduating from university.

Coming in multiple shades
Next on the list of sugar dating hopefuls encountered by the Tuoi Tre correspondent is Quang Phong, a middle-aged man in Hanoi.

After getting in touch through the sugar daddy-baby Facebook group, he took no time to rope the undercover reporter into a real-life meeting at a pub in Ba Dinh District of the capital city.

During conversations, Phong made it known that he is in the sugar dating scene only to find someone to talk to. “I just went through a divorce a few months ago. The loneliness is tormenting me, so I’m looking for people who I can vent my feelings with,” Phong said.

After the divorce, he found it hard to open up to people around him. The sugar dating dynamic hence seems to be the optimal choice for his situation, as he can get quality time from eloquent people for a price he can afford. Primarily, he seeks company from university students who are educated and adept at conversation. Sex, while not being the ultimate criterion, is not totally ruled out from Phong’s vision of a sugaring relationship. Talking of past sugaring attempts, Phong did not see any longevity as he found all women he has met to be 'shallow.'

Other sugaring candidates do not share the tactful approach that Phong chose as they use vulgar and profane language as soon as possible, right from the first date. Nam, a man described as ‘rude’ by your correspondent, asked her about public sex and even spoke of peeking at her bosoms in their very first encounter.

Prospective sugar daddies show up at dates in different manners. Some drive luxury cars and don formal clothing to the appointment, while others blend in with meager, even poor-looking outfits.

Nevertheless, they all promise a great amount of monthly compensation to talk sugar babies into joining them and providing a myriad of services they desire.


Morgen het laatste deel

 

[Deanevo]

Ze brengen het als iets nieuws, maar dit is altijd een onderdeel van de aziatische cultuur, geweest enige verschil is dat het nu via internet directer is en zichtbaarder.

 

[FredVN]

Klopt. Maar dat geldt voor veel dingen hier.

Denk b.v. aan de karaoke-bars, waar je in een aantal “samen kunt zingen” met één van de aanwezige dames. Cultuur? De link naar de karaoke-aso’s hier zal ik maar niet maken

 

[FredVN]

Clandestine world of sugar dating in Vietnam — Conclusion: Hunter and prey

A sugar baby hopeful is seen discussing relationship details with a sugar daddy candidate (unseen), who is Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper's undercover reporter. Photo: T.M. / Tuoi Tre


In this final iteration of a three-part exposé by Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper, an undercover reporter poses as a well-to-do man looking for sugar babies to shed light on sugar dating from another angle.

Your correspondent made a simple Facebook post which read, “Lonely man, owns a house in Saigon, looking for an obedient daughter to talk with.” A day after making the post, the correspondent was flooded with dozens of messages from aspiring sugar babies. Just as many sugar daddies use tricks and schemes to find a partner, young women looking for ‘sugar’ have their own tricks to play.

Since sugar daddies usually only seek university students, the number of sugar babies branding themselves as university undergraduates struggling to pay tuition is very high. It is generally agreed upon by the men in the group that there cannot be that many students looking for an older man, but rather they are likely hustlers and blue-collar workers who put on a disguise to get money.

The first date that the reporter went on was with a young woman who went by the nickname of Hong Hoa, who took the initiative to make the encounter happen. Through Facebook messages, the woman introduced herself as a 21-year-old junior year medical student. She also presented an all-clear test result on HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases, a common practice despite the prevalence of forged test results which can be obtained for as cheap as VND1-2 million (US$42-86).

According to sugar daddies in secret Facebook groups, the best practice is to escort sugar baby candidates to a clinic of their choice, as results presented by the candidates are not at all reliable.

The meeting with Hong Hoa took place at a popular café in Ho Chi Minh City. After a few lines of conversation, she opened up about her parents living in the Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang, who were in deep trouble after the failure of their farming business. The situation put Hong Hoa at risk of being unable to pay her tuition fee, she claimed.

After explaining her situation, she asked to be compensated at least VND20 million (US$860) per month for her companionship, offering 2-3 meetings per week and bragging about her 'fierce potency' for sex that could take on all of a man’s needs. She then showed the correspondent sexually explicit photos, but said she would wait until a VND5 million contract deposit was transferred to her account before anything else could take place.

When the conversation was steered into medical-related issues, including the novel coronavirus and the progress on vaccine development, the sugar baby hopeful immediately shied away from the conversation by alluding to other topics. It is strange for a medical student to duck such a topical issue, isn't it?

During the investigation, the correspondent encountered several cases where vulnerable young women were forced into asymmetrical power dynamics with sugar daddies. Yet in other cases, the roles were reversed: the young women became the hunter and the sugar daddies turned into the prey.

The majority of women in the latter scenario seem to be hustlers or bar escorts looking for someone to support their lifestyle. They asked for around VND20-30 million ($860-1,300) per month, with some even charging VND50-100 million ($2,150 - $4,300) monthly for their companionship.

On top of the monthly benefit, they also solicit the daddies to pay their rent and buy them the newest motorbikes and gifts.

Another fringe category of sugar babies are blue-collar workers serving in street stalls and local shops in Ho Chi Minh City, most of whom are migrants from surrounding provinces. They seek a sugar daddy simply to cover their rent and pocket some VND5-7 million ($215-300) to pay other bills and leisure costs.

A few from this category are in desperate need of money to bail themselves out of precarious loan situations or to buy new valuables. “I’m VND20 million [$865] in debt of a standing loan; the interest rate is insane. Please help me, I’ll do anything you want,” said a woman who claimed to be a worker at Tan Tao Industrial Park in Ho Chi Minh City.

This demographic is also the most sought-after target of sugar daddies thanks to their assumed cleanliness, candor, and low maintenance.

Hoanh Thanh Binh (name changed), an adept player in the sugar dating scene, divides sugar daddies into two types: the 'naive deer' and the 'hunter.' The latter is drawn to outward appeal but will discard women as fast as they pick them up, as there are no feelings involved.

These kinds of men often work in groups, engaging in several activities including the swapping of sugar babies to give a spin to their sexual experience. Women involved in these rings may also be to serve multiple sugar daddies at a time, a condition that perpetuates the woman’s lack of agency in the relationship.


Bronnen:
Clandestine world of sugar dating in Vietnam — Part 1: Search for new flame - Tuoi Tre News

Clandestine world of sugar dating in Vietnam — Part 2: Different shades of sugar daddies - Tuoi Tre News

Clandestine world of sugar dating in Vietnam — Conclusion: Hunter and prey - Tuoi Tre News

 

[Deanevo]

Klopt. Maar dat geldt voor veel dingen hier.

Denk b.v. aan de karaoke-bars, waar je in een aantal “samen kunt zingen” met één van de aanwezige dames. Cultuur? De link naar de karaoke-aso’s hier zal ik maar niet maken

Ja, inderdaad

 

[FredVN]

Internet

Zoals hier al zo vaak opgemerkt zijn organisatie en service niet de sterkste punten in Vietnam. Sterker, velen hebben nog nooit van die woorden gehoord.

Reparatie?
Een afspraak maken voor een reparatie in HCM? “Kom het apparaat maar brengen, dat kijken we ernaar”. En dan als de taxi weer bijna bij het hotel is bellen ze: “dit apparaat is te oud om te repareren”. Als ze dat nu meteen bij het brengen vertellen…

Geen elektriciteit?
We hebben niet eens een nummer om dat te melden.

Geen water?
Minh heeft het nummer van de monteur. Wel duimen dat hij bereikbaar is.Nu is dit het minst erge. We kunnen even vooruit met de watervoorraad in de tank op het dak en zo nodig de tank beneden voor de toiletten.

Geen internet?
Ik moet nu één uitzondering maken: het postkantoor en dan specifiek de afdeling die over het internet gaat. Als we geen internet hebben en Minh belt zijn er een paar mogelijkheden.

• Ze roepen meteen dat er aan het leidingennet wordt gewerkt en vaak daarbij de schatting hoe lang het ongeveer gaat duren.
• De monteur staat in meestal verrassend korte tijd voor de deur. M.n. als hij net in de buurt bezig is.

In praktisch alle gevallen volgt er later nog een telefoontje van het postkantoor of het probleem echt is opgelost.

Een on-Vietnamese service.

 

[Badgast]

He, zowaar en positieve insteek! ;-)

 

[FredVN]

Mogelijk ook meteen de laatste...

 

[FredVN]

Police bust condom recycling facility in southern Vietnam

This photo supplied by market monitors shows used condoms being recycled at a facility in Binh Duong Province.


Authorities in Vietnam uncovered a vast number of used condoms being recycled and stocked for sale following a raid on an apartment on Saturday.

According to local market monitors, nearly 324,000 used condoms, equivalent to 360 kilos, were recycled at the facility and would be sold on the market later. They confiscated all products at the facility, which is located at DX12, Hoa Nhut Quarter, Tan Vinh Hiep Ward, Binh Duong Province, located in southern Vietnam. Upon their swoop on the illegal production base, all the used condoms were found unpackaged and unlabeled.

Pham Thi Thanh Ngoc, owner of the facility, who comes from Nghe An Province, admitted that she had received a monthly input of used condoms from an unknown person. The used condoms then underwent a process including washing, drying, and reshaping with a dildo in unhygienic conditions before being put up for sale.

Every year, Vietnamese people use 500-600 million condoms, according to statistics.

Using condoms from dubious manufacturing sources poses a huge threat to human health, including severe infection.


Bron: Police bust condom recycling facility in southern Vietnam - Tuoi Tre News


En voor de zondag toch weer iets toepasselijks (voor sommigen misschien onpasselijks) gevonden.

Zie een film op Vietnamese politie valt loods vol met gerecyclede condooms binnen

 

[FredVN]

My lifetime dream: It’s over…

Ik heb in principe besloten om te vertrekken.

De redenen
De pestherrie, die pakweg 5 jaar geleden is begonnen, wordt steeds erger. Het gedreun van de bassen en het valse gekrijs is een groot deel van de dag overal in huis hoorbaar. Zelf in de uren, dat het volgens iedereen / de wet / het dorpshoofd / de Chinese dokter (doorhalen wat…) stil moet zijn.

Iets als dit (maar dan op vele honderden meters al hoorbaar)…

Het aantal aso’s groeit. Op z’n plat Rotterdams: grote bek, twee linker klauwen en te stom om zelfs de meest simpele en logische zaken te begrijpen. Lees dit topic maar terug.

Het incompetente zooitje, dat zich in dit dorp bestuurder durft te noemen, heeft nog nooit van behoorlijk bestuur gehoord en heb ik, gezien een reeks van uitlatingen zowel van hun als van bewoners, nog niet kunnen betrappen op enig gevoel voor de plaatselijke bevolking. Denk in dit verband aan:

• “We doen er niets aan”
• “Er is geen wet”
• “Er mag alleen getest worden met een gekalibreerde tester”
• “Mensen mogen in hun eigen huis doen wat ze willen”

En meer vergelijkbaar onnozel en stompzinnig geneuzel waar je moeiteloos doorheen prikt.

Tja, ons eigen gehuchts-hoofd doet dit als bijbaan tegen een schamele vergoeding en is motorfietsbewaker van zijn vak. Niet bepaald een bestuurlijke zwaargewicht dus (zelfs niet op de motorfietsen die hij bewaakt vrees ik). Mijn inschatting is dat dit ook voor de andere hoofden zal gelden. Die van het dorp, waar ons gehucht onder valt (denkelijk wel een vaste kracht), hebben we zelfs nog nooit ontmoet. Waarom zou hij ook: domme buitenlander met een grote bek. Dat die buitenlander waarschijnlijk meer ervaring heeft dan alle mensen op het gemeentehuis bij elkaar doet er niet toe.

Het feit dat mensen niet eens durven klagen over de herrie of als ze worden bedreigd door één van de aso’s zegt in dat opzicht alles.

En ja, het klopt, als je wel klaagt wordt er ook niets gedaan. Zelf klagen kan ik niet. Ik ben te dom om Vietnamees te leren en op het gemeentehuis is –na vragen- blijkbaar niemand die wat Engels spreekt en voor mij vertaalt.

En om me de rest van mijn leven te moeten opsluiten in mijn kamer (waar trouwens het gedreun ook doordringt, ondanks de dichte deur en dubbele beglazing) of met oordoppen mijn concentratie-vergende klussen moet verrichten zie ik ook niet zitten.

Plannen
De plannen, waar ik de afgelopen maanden mee bezig ben geweest, zijn grotendeels rond.

Problemen zijn nog:

• Het emotionele deel van mijn vertrek (mijn life-time dream)
• Het huis en spullen die ik moet achterlaten
• Tweede golf Covid-19 in Europa.

Over twee weken laat ik mijn oogoperatie (cataract) uitvoeren bij het European Eye Center in HCM. Alles is daarvoor al rond: JD heeft ook mijn netvliesloslating behandeld. Voor wie in NL op een wachtlijst staat, die is hier niet. Dus hier door JD laten uitvoeren is zeker een optie.

Daarna moet ik na 3 weken terugkomen voor controle. In die periode ga ik definitieve beslissingen nemen. In het hoogst onwaarschijnlijke geval dat men tot inkeer komt en maatregelen gaat nemen kan het zijn dat ik beslissingen ga heroverwegen.

Zo ook als men zich hier aangesproken voelt door mijn kwalificaties –ondanks dat ik daar uiterst mild in was- en “moeilijk gaat doen”.

En vooral Covid-19. Het lijkt erop dat ik hier veiliger zit dan in Europa, zeker als ik de verhalen over m.n. Rotterdam lees. Dus ook dit kan maken dat ik (tijdelijk?) andere beslissingen moet nemen.

Vietnam-topic
Het topic zal niet stoppen als ik hier ben vertrokken. Ik ben van plan om een aantal terrras-en-Dalatwijnzaken toe te lichten. Dan zullen ook meer van mijn posts een stuk duidelijker worden.

Mis het niet!!!

Tot die tijd zal ik proberen om mijn regelmatige posts voort te zetten. Maar het was ongetwijfeld al zichtbaar: veel artikelen van de Vietnamese site. Klopt: zin en vooral inspiratie zijn de laatste maanden ver te zoeken.

Xin Loi.

 

[jaap43]

Fred,

Enig idee welke kant je "vlucht" uitgaat. Binnen Indo-China blijven, Indonesië of Europa ?

 

[FredVN]

Nee, nog niet. Ik heb een paar opties uitgewerkt, incl. voor- en nadelen en risico's. Jouw eerstgenoemde staat daar zeker niet bij.

 

[Clover]

Verhuizen in Vietnam geen optie? Naar een plek zonder directe buren?
Of naar Thaliand?

 

[Deanevo]

Je kan zeker wel rust vinden in palawan, genomineerd als 1 van de van de mooiste maar minst bevolkte eilanden in z-o azie en genoteerd als unesco site. Qua formaat ongeveer zo groot als nederland met 1 hoofdweg van noord naar zuid en 1 grotere stad zonder hoogbouw (afgezien van 3 shopping malls). De bevolking spreekt merendeel engels en er zijn inmiddels veel expats neergestreken. Vereenzamen zal je niet.

Het interieur van het eiland bestaat uit een langgerekte bergketen met oerbos, watervallen en jungle, waar soms ook nog stammen
aanwezig zijn.

De kust is merendeel laagvlakte met prachtige stranden en rijstvelden.
Het toerisme is ook nog kleinschalig.
Als je van trails rijden houdt. Je kan hier wel 10 jaar rondrijden zonder alle trails te kennen.

Rustige plekjes te vinden is een makkie.

 

[jaap43]

Over twee weken laat ik mijn oogoperatie (cataract) uitvoeren bij het European Eye Center in HCM. Alles is daarvoor al rond: JD heeft ook mijn netvliesloslating behandeld. Voor wie in NL op een wachtlijst staat, die is hier niet. Dus hier door JD laten uitvoeren is zeker een optie.
Daarna moet ik na 3 weken terugkomen voor controle. In die periode ga ik definitieve beslissingen nemen. In het hoogst onwaarschijnlijke geval dat men tot inkeer komt en maatregelen gaat nemen kan het zijn dat ik beslissingen ga heroverwegen.

Ik heb 2 jaar geleden in beide ogen een kunstlens gekregen doordat ik bij het auto- en motorrijden pas vrij laat de richtingborden kon lezen. Het resultaat is boven verwachting goed. Ik had gevraagd om lenzen voor dichtbij (lezen en computer) maar ook in de verte gaat beter dan ik gehoopt had. Heb dus totaal geen bril nodig, misschien alleen om een cilinder in het hoornvlies te compenseren, maar dat heb ik tijdens militaire dienst als laten nameten en ik heb nog steeds dat dienst/ziekenfondsbrilletje voor als het echt nodig is.

Misschien is dit interessante literatuur: Staar (cataract), Staaroperatie en kunstlenzen (torisch, multifocaal) -Oogartsen.nl

 

[FredVN]

Mijn andere (slechte) oog is een paar jaar geleden in HCM geopereerd in het American Eye Center, waar JD ook een paar jaar heeft gewerkt. Dat oog was al heel lang redelijk stabiel op ca. -12, maar ging ineens in ongeveer een half jaar naar -18. Na de nieuwe lens was dat -1,25 maar is langzamerhand naar ca. -2 gegaan.

Het streven van JD is om op 0 uit te komen zodat ik alleen in één oog een contactlens in moet.

We gaan het zien.

Tijdens de cataract-operatie heb ik aan Dr. Nam Tran gevraagd of ze wilde vertellen wat ze aan het doen was. Heeft ze keurig gedaan. Later vertelde ze dat ik de eerste was die dat ooit had gevraagd.

Door mijn dienstbril heb ik nooit goed kunnen kijken: die hadden ze tegen mijn zin een andere sterkte gegeven dan mijn gewone bril. Typisch militaire dienst-grappen.

 

[FredVN]

Een eventuele nieuwe bestemming is van een hele reeks factoren afhankelijk, waar ik verder niet op in ga. Alle informatie en suggesties worden uiteraard daarin meegenomen.

 

[FredVN]

Yearbook photos celebrate poor Vietnameses parents’ devotion to their children’s education

A student in a graduation gown is seen next to her grandmother and siblings in Tien Giang Province, Vietnam. Photo: Pham Van Thong


Captured by their teacher as a gift, a collection of student graduation photos went viral on Facebook in Vietnam in mid-August thanks to its heartwarming depiction of the familial love between the high school graduates and their parents.

It portrays high school students in graduation gowns, holding a red diploma while their families are by their side, their faces glowing with satisfaction. The photos were taken by Pham Van Thong, a geography teacher at Ngo Van Nhac High School in the Mekong Delta province Tien Giang. Taken after the national high school exam in early August, these portraits are Thong’s gift to celebrate his students’ accomplishments.

According to Thong, the majority of his students come from families that are floating around the poverty line; they can barely afford education for their children, let alone a graduation photoshoot. As a way to commemorate the occasion, Thong brought up the idea of a photographic project with his students and their parents.

Most of the parents were excited about the idea of photographs marking such a momentous occasion in their children’s lives, Thong recollected. Some of them did refuse to appear in the images for fear that their unsightly looks might be an embarrassment for their children. “However, most kids have talked their parents into appearing in front of the camera, to which they ultimately surrendered,” Thong recalled.

A student in a graduation gown is seen holding a duck, her family’s livelihood, while her mother holds a high school diploma. Photo: Pham Van Thong


Moving between photoshoot sites proved to be a substantial challenge to Thong’s project since the locale is a remote one, where houses are scarcely dispersed. For this reason, Thong and his student Nguyen Quang Huy had to spend a few days completing their intended work. The teacher talked of those unforgettable snapshots from the life that his students and their families lead.

Thong reminisced about the trip to the house of a female student and her 67-year-old grandmother. The student’s mother passed away when she was very young, meaning she had never met her mother, and her father moved out of town for work, leaving her alone with her grandmother in a remote house. It takes a lot of work to get to her home over a long and bumpy road. “To this day, I still cannot fathom how she made it to school every day traveling on that road,” he exclaimed. The photoshoot had to be paused halfway through because her grandmother burst into tears. Her grandchild passed the exam, but she has no means to support further education for her, which means her grandchild would have to compromise her dreams.

A student in a graduation gown is pictured walking next to her father on a rural field. Photo: Pham Van Thong


There is another student whose father sells lottery tickets for a living. The fact that his family is classified as a poor household did not stop the student from excelling in his studies. He chose to apply to military school to have his tuition fee and subsistence expenses covered, and his hard work paid off in the entrance exam results. “Rocky as their journey to education may be, their perseverance shone through, helping them conquer all obstacles,” Thong said.

The exam results of Thong’s students were welcomed with joyfulness by the teacher, yet at the same time, he was aware that the struggles of the kids have not ended. “Some will not be able to pursue further education due to their financial circumstances. It perturbs me that some of my students will face formidable obstacles in their next pursuits.”

A student in a graduation gown is shown fanning his father while he reads a high school diploma. Photo: Pham Van Thong


Since his students have not yet received their diploma, Thong brought his own — one that he earned after graduating from high school 15 years ago – for them to use as a prop. “I did fight to earn this diploma. The same goes for them, their work was accompanied by the dedication of their parents. They deserve to see the achievements of their children on their graduation day.”

Quang Huy, the associate that contributed work to Thong’s project, said of his experience, I’m very proud and happy to see photos of [my friends] standing next to their parents, whose hard work was the very reason for the success that they have today.”

A student in a graduation gown shows a high school diploma to his family. Photo: Pham Van Thong

A student in a graduation gown is seen using the stethoscope of his father in a medical clinic. Photo: Pham Van Thong

A student in a graduation gown is shown next to his mother in front of the family’s altar. Photo: Pham Van Thong


Bron: Yearbook photos celebrate poor Vietnameses parents’ devotion to their children’s education - Tuoi Tre News

 

[FredVN]

Vietnamese teens train computer system to spot littering behavior

This image shows Dao Thien Long (left) and Nguyen Thi Huong Giang, creators of a littering surveillance system initiative. Photo: Thanh An / Tuoi Tre


A teenage duo in southern Vietnam has adopted machine learning to create a computer system that monitors people who litter on the street in an initiative to raise public awareness of environment upkeep.

“Upon hearing about artificial intelligence and computer vision in my IT class, I started to ask: instead of constantly reminding students to dispose of trash correctly, why don’t we utilize technology?” said Dao Thien Long, an 18-year-old recent graduate of Hoang Le Kha High School in the southern province of Tay Ninh, 100 kilometers from Ho Chi Minh City.

Long took no time to put his thoughts into action.

In 2019, he recruited the then-freshman Nguyen Thi Huong Giang from his school to kickstart a project, working toward a system to identify irresponsible littering behaviors and raise environmental protection awareness among students.

Their project made it into the 2020 shortlist of an education program for young intellects, which was organized by the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union Central Committee, the Ministry of Education and Training, Thien Long Group, and Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper.

Long and Huong’s initiative replaces hours spent rewatching surveillance footage to spot the litterer by offering automatic footage filtering, which instantly returns images of violators upon query. The identification process is designed for permanent operation with or without an Internet connection, as long as there are a functioning camera and computer.

To build the referencing database for the project, the tech duo persuaded students in their school to record themselves littering and submit the video file, Giang said. It took them one month to process a whopping 4,000 files with littering deeds recorded at various angles. Subsequently, certain details of each video were identified as either ‘human’ or ‘trash’ and classified into corresponding layers.

The processed database was then fed to a machine learning system as training material. As Giang recalled, during the first phases, the system was not capable of tasks such as identifying small pieces of candy wrap or catching the rapid movements of garbage pieces.

To tackle this problem, the duo came up with three algorithms: a static debris filter, which helps distinguish between existing trash pieces in the environment and the person holding trash; an extraneous debris filter, which identifies trash pieces that are either too big, too far away, too high, too low or coming from an external source rather than a litterer in sight; and a littering behavior detector.

They also integrated the pre-existing tool YoloV3 which helps to identify the litterer and the trash pieces, as well as the OpenPose system which sketches out a stick figure of the litterer. “The littering behavior detector is the most important since it strings together all the algorithms to return the most accurate results on the identity of the litterers,” Giang explained. “It checks whether the trash pieces have fallen from a person’s hands. For example, if the distance from the trash piece and the hand grows progressively further, the machine will call it a littering behavior."

Only able to learn about Pascal and C++ — two programming languages considered to be on the dated side — at school with the help of their homeroom teacher, the students decided to teach themselves the coding language Python to create a system that can identify images with high precision. “We grappled to approach this new coding language at first. Everything was strange, just like learning a foreign language. Yet the thought of protecting the environment with information technology is truly appealing. We gradually got more excited as we continued learning,” Long said.

The workload required for this project is intimidating for any student who has their own share of duties at home and school.

However, with a shared penchant for environmental protection, Giang had no hesitation when Long asked her to jump on board. “I was down for the project the moment he pitched the idea to me. Since most schools are equipped with surveillance cameras at the moment, the awareness among students will gradually be regimented, which leads to less trash dumped to the environment,” Giang explained.

For the time being, the initiative is being piloted within Hoang Le Kha High School.

In the long term, the duo wishes to scale up by launching their model at public areas, residential blocks, and office buildings to optimize management procedures and advocate for a greener living environment.


Bron: Vietnamese teens train computer system to spot littering behavior - Tuoi Tre News


Origineel idee.

Zelf heb ik maar beperkte ervaring met machine learning en neurale netwerken. Eigenlijk alleen GES van Moret, Ernst & Young. Mocht de cursus overnemen van de R&D-man. Is helaas niets meer over te vinden.

Wie geïnteresseerd is moet zeker eens kijken op Free Open Source Windows Machine Learning Software voor freeware en open-source programma’s.

Jawel, ook in Python.

En over problemen met algoritmes Hoe algoritmes discriminerend leren denken (en hoe we dat oplossen)

 

[FredVN]

Vietnam in the late 19th century through French photographer's lens (1)

French lensman Pierre Dieulefils captured images of daily life in Vietnam in the 1880s.

At the end of the 19th century southern women preferred "ao ngu than" (five-piece ao dai) and beaded jewelry. According to designer Sy Hoang, rich women used to wear this type of ao dai, with four layers representing the parents of the wife and husband and the fifth, the wearer. The tunic also had five buttons, symbolic of the five qualities everyone should have - nhan (kindness), le (decorum), nghia (uprightness), tri (wisdom) and tin (faithfulness).
These photos are in a book called "Indo-Chine Pittoresque & Monumentale: Annam – Tonkin", by Dieulefils, who was a soldier in Indochina before returning to Vietnam in 1888 to follow his passion for photography.

Southern women eat a daily meal. Rich urban people used to wear the ao dai to differentiate themselves from poorer ones. The ao ngu than was popular until the early 20th century, when another kind of ao dai with westernized features was introduced.

A Saigon official with long nails symbolizing intellectuals’ traditional exemption from manual labor. Many Confucians also believed that since their bodies were a gift from their parents, they had to keep it as unchanged as possible.

Members of the ethnic Chinese community (Hoa) in Saigon's Cho Lon area prepare ducks for cooking.

Cho Lon was formed between the 17th and 19th centuries when ethnic Chinese and their offspring settled here and built a bustling area. When the French dominated the country, Cho Lon was a town distinct from Saigon. The two were combined in 1956. Currently it is Ho Chi Minh City's Districts 5 and 6.

Funeral of a rich person in the south.

Morgen het slot.

 

[FredVN]

Vietnam in the late 19th century through French photographer's lens (2)

Father and son in northern Vietnam. Ao dai with banded collars were worn along with the traditional turban especially at important occasions such as funerals, weddings, etc. These ao dai had five buttons, usually made of ivory, bones, gold, silver, or bronze, depending on the social class of the weare

Family of an official in the north.

Officials used to travel on horseback with their attendants carrying parasols and other stuff.

King Duy Tan sits on a palanquin in central Hue Town. His original name was Nguyen Phuc Vinh San (1899-1945), and he ruled Vietnam from 1907 to 1916. According to "Vua Duy Tan" (King Duy Tan), a book written by Hoang Hien and published in 1995, the king was confident in dealing with foreigners and could speak French fluently despite his tender age.

Women of the Lo Lo ethnic community in the northern mountains near China's Yunnan Province. Their traditional outfits include colorful turbans and long-sleeved shirts with square collars.

Members of the ethnic Tho community in Dong Dang District, northern Lang Son Province.


Photos by Pierre Dieulefils


Vietnam in the late 19th century through French photographer's lens - VnExpress International


Ik wilde zojuist één van de foto's via Colorize.SG inkleuren om het resultaat te zien. Blijkt dat de site juist met ingang van vandaag gesloten is. Dat de code-base binnenkort open-source schijnt te zijn is een schrale troost. Hoe e.e.a. dan zal gaan werken ben ik heel nieuwsgierig naar.

 

[Badgast]

Mooie foto's uit de tijd dat het nog verboden was te lachen.


o wacht....