Vietnam Deel 2

[FredVN]

Vietnam's meteorological facility recognized as world’s centennial observatory station

A ceremony is held at the Phu Lien meteorological station in the northern Vietnamese city of Hai Phong. Photo: Xuan Long / Tuoi Tre


A meteorological station in the northern Vietnamese city of Hai Phong has been listed among the world’s centennial observatory station by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

A ceremony was organized on Saturday morning for the WMO to recognize the 117-year-old Phu Lien meteorological facility, located in Kien An District, Hai Phong, as the world’s centennial observatory station.

The acknowledgement was granted after the facility met a number of criteria listed by the WMO, including being at least 100 years old, having provided continuous data for a century or more, and operating in line with the organization’s standards, among others.

Phu Lien is the weather station that has the longest history in Vietnam, according to Professor Nguyen Duc Ngu, 82, who is a former weather observer at the facility and was head of the Vietnam Meteorological and Hydrological Administration between 1991 and 1999.

The establishment was constructed on September 16, 1902, Prof. Ngu said, adding that the station was originally equipped with only meteorological magnetic field monitoring equipment.

Inside a room within the Phu Lien meteorological station. Photo: Xuan Long / Tuoi Tre


“Astronomical monitoring equipment, seismographs, earthquake measuring devices were later added,” he continued.

The station used to provide data for Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia, the professor elaborated.

Tran Hong Thai, the incumbent head of the Meteorological and Hydrological Administration, asserted that the Phu Lien station still plays an important role in monitoring weather conditions, providing forecasts, and minimizing damage brought about by natural disasters in the country’s northeast region.

According to the WMO, there are about 100 centennial observatory stations across the world, all of which need to be preserved for their data. Such information is essential for experts to evaluate the changes of climatic patterns over the past century.

The WMO is a specialized agency of the United Nations with 192 member states and territories.


Vietnam's meteorological facility recognized as world’s centennial observatory station - Tuoi Tre News


Die op mijn dak is nog niet zo oud.

Ik heb in januari vanuit NL een nieuwe satelliet-pc meegenomen: een HP 260-G3. De oude was een half jaar geleden gecrasht en was eigenlijk niet meer te repareren. De bedoeling is dat deze 24/7 in bedrijf is, zowel achter mijn weerstation als voor de ontvangst van verschillende satellieten.

Op dit moment ben ik de Pc aan het inrichten en het gehele proces waar mogelijk te automatiseren. Deels kan dat door in de gebruikte programmatuur ingebouwde functies, deels door AutoHotKey scripts. Daar moet t.z.t. een upload naar mijn website bijkomen. Dat was een paar jaar geleden al in werking, maar toen bleek ik de upload-grenzen te overschrijden. Hier moet ik nog een keer uitgebreid gaan testen en aan rekenen.

Voor wie hier meer over wil weten: de bedoeling is dat in het eerstvolgende juni-nummer van De Kunstmaan, het kwartaalblad van de Werkgroep Kunstmanen, hier een uitgebreid verhaal over komt. Dus wordt lid via Home.

 

[FredVN]

Essay: Hobbies

Via Minh.

Assignment Some people believe that hobbies need to be difficult to be enjoyable.
To what extent do you agree or disagree? Write an essay of minimum 250 words.

Essay from Nữ, Grade 11, 17 y.o.


Everyone has a hobby of their own. For example, playing football, listening to music, watching movies ... People say that hobbies must be challenged to have fun. In my opinion, easy hobbies can also make people happy. So I disagree with the above opinion.

People can consider simple actions as their interests. For example, at any age, people can enjoy reading. We don't need to put too much effort into it. I myself do not like reading books but I can spend all day watching movies that I like. And I enjoy it. Or a friend of mine, she loves playing piano. She has been practicing it since she was a middle school student. She can spend a few hours playing for me without feeling bored.

On the other hand, people who do activities require keeping themselves interested. For example, climbing a mountain, they can find a coach and need to practice perseverance because climbing is not easy. However when they have conquered, they will enjoy it. Or for some people who like to dance, they have to go through long-term training. It is difficult for them to know how to dance, but when it comes to dancing, everything seems easy to them

Some people believe that their hobbies are only through difficult activities, while others think that they may feel happy when they do some simple things. I think that hard or simple hobbies depend on each of us.

 

[FredVN]

Brug

Al eerder zijn foto’s geplaatst van deze (nutteloze?) brug, die na een dagje regen een cm. of 30 naar beneden hing. Zie Vietnam Deel 2

Inmiddels zijn die 30 cm. zo ongeveer vertienvoudigd.

Bovenstaande foto’s zijn een aantal dagen geleden gemaakt. Gisteren reed ik speciaal langs met mijn grote camera om betere foto’s te maken. Helaas, te laat. Ze hadden de restanten al uit de sloot gevist…

Hoe dit allemaal zo maar kan?

Wel, die uitleg is op zich uiterst simpel. Maar Xin Loi: helaas wel van een terras-en-Dalatwijn-niveau.

 

[FredVN]

Court approves Vietnam’s supposedly costliest divorce of couple behind Trung Nguyen coffee brand

Le Hoang Diep Thao, co-founder of Trung Nguyen Group, tears up as she leaves the courtroom in Ho Chi Minh City on March 27, 2019. Photo: Phuoc Tuan / Tuoi Tre


A court in Ho Chi Minh City on Wednesday approved the high-profile divorce between the couple who built and ran Trung Nguyen, one of Vietnam’s largest and most well-known coffee producers, finally settling disputes over the division of their property, valued at nearly US$354 million.

The ruling marks the end of a years-long battle between Dang Le Nguyen Vu, chairman of Trung Nguyen Group, and his wife Le Hoang Diep Thao, a co-founder of Trung Nguyen. Vu, 48, and Thao, 46, co-founded their business in 1996 and transformed it into one of Vietnam’s coffee giants until disagreements between them led the woman to file for divorce in 2015.

Their disputed properties – which include real estate, cash, gold, bank savings and shares in Trung Nguyen and its subsidiaries – are valued at VND8,229 billion (almost $354 million). Their shares in Trung Nguyen were collectively valued at some VND5,737 billion ($246.8 million).

After more than three years of legal proceedings, their divorce was finally approved by the People’s Court of Ho Chi Minh City on Wednesday.

The presiding judge of a court in Ho Chi Minh City reads the ruling on the divorce between Dang Le Nguyen Vu, chairman of Trung Nguyen Group, and Le Hoang Diep Thao, co-founder of Trung Nguyen, on March 27, 2019. Photo: Phuoc Tuan / Tuoi Tre


According the to the court’s decision, Vu will take over Thao’s shares in Trung Nguyen and its subsidiaries, and pay Thao the cash value of her shares. Their thirteen private properties will be split evenly between the two with Vu keeping six properties, worth a combined VND350 billion ($15 million), and Thao keeping seven, worth a combined VND375 billion ($16.1 million).

Thao will pay Vu VND12.5 billion ($537,000) to cover the difference.

Their bank savings, cash and gold, totaling VND7,502 billion ($322.7 million) in value, will be split to the ratio of 6:4 in favor of Vu.

Dang Le Nguyen Vu, chairman of Trung Nguyen Group, speaks at a court hearing in Ho Chi Minh City on March 27, 2019. Photo: Phuoc Tuan / Tuoi Tre


The couple were asked to pay more than VND80 billion ($3.4 million) in court fees, though the accuracy of this fee calculation is disputable.

According to calculations by Tuoi Tre News based on provisions of the law, the couple should have been subject to VND8 billion ($344,000) in court fees, approximately one-tenth of the amount asked for by the court.


Bron: Court approves Vietnam’s supposedly costliest divorce of couple behind Trung Nguyen coffee brand - Tuoi Tre News


Ik had hier al iets over gepost in Vietnam Deel 2 Maar het blijkt dus om “iets meer” geld te gaan. Over de laatste alinea overmorgen meer.

 

[FredVN]

Sloten

In Vietnam Deel 2 waren opnames te ziet van de betonnen sloten, die je hier overal in het landschap ziet.

En hier wordt getoond hoe ze worden gemaakt.

Dit voorste deel is klaar. Het moge duidelijk zijn dat de afstemming tussen de diverse diensten zo hier en daar nog wel iets te wensen overlaat.
(En dan te bedenken dat, toen ik in 1971 de ICT in ging, we al bezig waren met het systeem ARTOL, Automatisch Registratie van Topografie en Leidingen).

Men is inmiddels aan de andere kant van de knik bezig. Nadat de bodem is gestort op een ondergrond van stenen worden metalen platen op de ondergrond gezet.

Aan de buitenkant wordt grond tegen de platen geschept.

En tot hier is men gekomen. Het zag er niet naar uit dat er snel beton gestort zou worden, dus daar ben ik maar niet op blijven wachten.

 

[FredVN]

Vietnamese judge mistakenly asks divorcees to pay $3.45mn to cover $345,000 court fee

Judge Nguyen Van Xuan (R) reads the ruling on the divorce of Dang Le Nguyen Vu and Le Hoang Diep Thao at a court in Ho Chi Minh City on March 27, 2019. Photo: Phuoc Tuan / Tuoi Tre


A judge who presided over a high-profile divorce in Vietnam caused quite a stir after announcing court fees ten times the actual amount before realizing and admitting his mistake, following media reports.

At a court in Ho Chi Minh City on Wednesday, Judge Nguyen Van Xuan approved the divorce between Dang Le Nguyen Vu, chairman of Trung Nguyen Group, and his wife Le Hoang Diep Thao, co-founder of Trung Nguyen, effectively ending the couple’s years-long legal battle over their disputed assets, worth nearly US$354 million.

Trung Nguyen, founded in 1996 by Vu and Thao, is one of Vietnam’s largest and most well-known coffee producers and café chains.

After reading out a lengthy ruling on the division of their disputed properties, Judge Xuan announced that the couple would be subject to court fees totaling over VND80 billion ($3.45 million), after deducting the advance payments made by both parties.

Vu would cover VND47.4 billion ($2.05 million) of the fee, while Thao was told she would be responsible for the remaining VND32.6 million ($1.4 million), the judge read from a paper.

Combined, the requested payment would have set a record for the highest court fee ever issued on a divorce case in Vietnam.

However, questions were swiftly raised on the accuracy of the fee calculation made by the Ho Chi Minh City court after the ruling made headlines.

For civil cases where disputed assets exceed VND4 billion ($172,500) in value, Vietnamese laws dictate that court fees be calculated by adding VND112 million ($4,800) to 0.1 percent of the value that exceeds the threshold VND4 billion worth of the properties.

Using this formula, court fees in Vu and Thao’s divorce should only have been around VND8 billion ($345,000).

After Tuoi Tre News remarked on this inconsistency in an article published on Thursday, Judge Xuan has made a statement admitting that the court fees he announced during Wednesday’s ruling were inaccurate.

“This is a complicated case with big numbers and a lengthy ruling,” Xuan told Tuoi Tre on Thursday. “To be honest, my eyes had all been blurred [by the time I read the court fees],” he said. The printed ruling accurately stated that VND8 billion is the total court fees for the case, and it was his own error in reading that led to the misunderstanding, he added.

“I will send a notice to the litigants to inform them of the mistake,” Xuan said.


Bron: Vietnamese judge mistakenly asks divorcees to pay $3.45mn to cover $345,000 court fee - Tuoi Tre News


Goh, leuk geprobeerd…

Hij had een tijdje in de ICT moeten gaan werken, dan had hij geweten dat je zoiets altijd door anderen moet laten lezen. Want “je leest wat je denkt dat er staat”.

En voor wie dacht dat het nu wel rond zou zijn, nee, nee… .

Overmorgen meer.

 

[FredVN]

Kerk

Het begint aardig op te schieten. De klok op de toren en de klokken in de toren werken al.

Ook binnen is men hard bezig met de afwerking.

Deze bouwvakker was buiten bezig maar ze was moeiteloos over te halen om even te poseren…

 

[FredVN]

Vietnam’s Trung Nguyen Coffee couple appeals divorce ruling

Dang Le Nguyen Vu (R), chairman of Trung Nguyen Group, and his ex-wife Le Hoang Diep Thao are seen in this collage of Tuoi Tre photos.


The chairman of Vietnamese coffee giant Trung Nguyen Group and his ex-wife, who received court approval last month to be legally parted, have both appealed a court verdict dictating the terms of their divorce.

Dang Le Nguyen Vu, founder and chairman of Trung Nguyen, demanded a larger share of the former couple’s disputed assets while his ex-wife, Le Hoang Diep Thao, hopes to overturn the divorce.

Vu, 48, was handed 60 percent of the couple’s disputed assets, valued at US$354 million, in addition to the entirety of their combined shares in Trung Nguyen, worth $246.8 million, by a Ho Chi Minh City court on March 27, putting an end to a three-year legal battle.

The court’s ruling also stipulated that Thao would take custody of the couple’s four children and the remaining 40 percent of their assets.

Vu was asked to pay Thao the cash value of her shares which he will be taking over, as well as $431,000 in annual child support.

Both parties have filed appeals against the court’s decision, said the People’s Court of Ho Chi Minh City on Tuesday, two weeks after it issued the original ruling.

Thao filed her appeal against the entire verdict on April 5, asking to overturn the divorce and be reunited with Vu.

She disagreed with the splitting of their assets to the ratio of 6:4 in favor of Vu and the court’s decision to give her ex-husband management rights, through the share acquisition, over Trung Nguyen.

Vu filed an appeal against part of the verdict on Wednesday, repeating his original demand for 70 percent of the couple's assets instead of 60.

Vu and Thao got married in 1998, two years after they co-founded Trung Nguyen, and lived together until disagreements between them led the woman to file for divorce in 2015. Trung Nguyen Group is one of Vietnam’s largest and most well-known coffee producers, chalking up revenues of VND3.95 trillion ($170.5 million) in 2017.


Vietnam’s Trung Nguyen Coffee couple appeals divorce ruling - Tuoi Tre News


Wat ik mij nu afvraag, krijgen we daarna ook weer een aangepaste court fee?

Ik hou het in de gaten!

 

[FredVN]

Kerkklokken

Ik had deze opname al een paar weken geleden gemaakt en wilde hem combineren met andere opnames van de kerk. Die van eergisteren. Compleet vergeten. Dus bij deze…

 

[FredVN]

Vietnamese teachers resolve to stop arranged marriages among students

Teachers talk to students during a break to have them share their personal thoughts and feelings to make sure the students do not drop out of school for marriage at Tay Giang High School in Tay Giang District, Quang Nam Province, central Vietnam. Photo: Tr. Mai / Tuoi Tre


Teachers in a central Vietnamese province are fighting arranged marriages that are still a practice in rural villages despite the law and cause many students aged 15 to 16 to drop out of school against their will.

Noticing that one of her students was no longer found in school, Nguyen Thi Tra My, a teacher of a school in central Quang Nam Province, asked around about her female student only to find out that Co Tu Poloong Thi Nghi Nghi has already left the region with her lover to make a living somewhere else.

Nghi is not a rare case in the rural villages of Vietnam, where getting married before a legal age is still commonly practiced. In many instances, just a promise of a future together is enough for students to drop out of school while believing that their life would turn to a new chapter, teachers in Tay Giang District, located near the Vietnam-Laos border, said.

Such marriages are not always arranged, they added.

Even though the law states specifically that male citizens need to be over 20, while females need to be over 18 years old to get married, many students originating from ethnic minorities and rural villages are still found dropping out of school because of forced marriages.

Shocking to many teachers
Quitting school to get married is most commonly seen among students aged 14 to 15, or even younger, when many consciously make nuptial decisions while others are forced into arranged marriages despite the objection of the bride-to-be.

Teachers of Tay Giang High School in the namesake district are already used to having their outstanding students suddenly disappear, leaving behind an empty score sheet while their names are still in the school’s database.

“Every year, we have to deal with numerous cases of students dropping out of school, but the most heartbreaking instances are still the ones that abandon their education to get married,” headmaster of the school Dinh Van Tu said, indicating that in the rural areas of Vietnam it is still uncommon to finish all 12 years of the standard curriculum.

A case in point is a female student who came from a small village near the Vietnam-Laos border and had to travel for quite a long distance just to reach her school, which is located in the center of Tay Giang. “I just want to be studying instead of planting seeds like others in my village,” Aral Mai Tinh, vice-headmaster of Tay Giang High School, quoted her former student as saying.

Having noticed that the female student was unhappy, her teachers soon learnt that their precious student had already been required by family to marry a man from her village since birth without her consent or knowledge.

The groom’s family decided that it was time for the couple to start their life together as husband and wife, even though the bride had not finished high school yet. In protest, Tinh took the female student in to live with her so as to shelter the girl from old-fashioned practices of the village and the tribe. “Even though she was staying in my house, the groom’s family and the villagers still came looking for her,” the teacher recalled. “Tension rose as many people showed up to force the illegal marriage. “In the end, my student and I had to give in and move in with her groom, leaving the books and school supplies with her teachers.”

Some time had passed before Tinh came to the village looking for her student only to find a much more mature female farmer with a newborn baby in her arms and her eyes filled with indescribable sadness, the vice-headmaster said.

An illegal practice that is difficult to change
Rules within a tribe and a village are oddly powerful, Tay Giang teachers admitted. While it is already outlawed, changes come slowly as people are still more bound by their own tribe.

Teachers’ patience is the most important feature that can make a change, the headmaster Tu said. “As teachers, if we do not help our students change their perception such tragic scenarios will keep repeating themselves for thousands of generations,” he added. Besides the cases where teachers’ interference could not change the unfortunate fate of these students, many have helped keep students from quitting school. At least the students were able to finish 12 years of their basic education, Tu said.

One of such cases is a 12th grader who was about to suspend her studies to get married. Having learnt of this, the headmaster called local authorities to have parents come to the school so that the teachers could prevent the illegal practice, resulting in the postponement of the marriage.

Thanks to the teachers’ efforts, the number of students dropping out of high school for nuptials has seen its downfall over the years, with some cases still continuing their studies even after such marriage. “Currently we have two married couples who are also students at our school,” Tu said, adding that one couple is living together as per their tribe’s tradition while the other only comes to the husband’s house at the end of the week.


Bron: Vietnamese teachers resolve to stop arranged marriages among students - Tuoi Tre News


Minh: “Arranged marriage is mainly with minority in far away regions. Students dropping out schools to get married are overall, mainly because the girl is pregnant. But the number is not so high i think.”

Ik heb al meerdere posts geschreven over seksuele voorlichting en met name anti-conceptie. Ik heb niet het idee dat er sinds dat moment ook maar een millimeter veranderd is en verwacht dat ook niet de komende tijd.

 

[FredVN]

Wegen

Je ziet hier heel veel doodlopende zijweggetjes, waar soms één of meerdere boerderijen aan liggen en soms alleen wat land. Vaak zijn deze gemaakt van schitterend vlak beton van zeker 15 cm. dik.

Veel van de iets bredere doorgaande wegen zijn hier nog steeds zeer slecht begaanbaar.

 

[magnamaniac]

private wegen wellicht die de eigenaars zelf betaald hebben? (of goede vriendjes zijn met degenen die de wegen aanleggen/bepalen)

 

[Badgast]

Kerkklokken.... hmmm hebben ze daar nou nog geen Whatsapp om de gelovigen naar de kerk te doen laten gaan??

O wacht, waar ik woon zijn ook een paar van die idioten die het leuk vinden om de hele stad in surround-sound te doen onderdompelen (meerder kerken, die anno 2019 nog steeds niet op dezelfde tijd afgaan...Hoezo NTP of RCF ? )

Als ik sochtens met een bel ga sta rammelen in de straat krijg ik vast de politie op mijn dak, ondanks mijn badgast-geloof...
Ach, nog een lange weg te gaan, om een beetje in je thema te blijven ;-)

 

[FredVN]

Man stabbed to death over karaoke noise in south-central Vietnam

The tenanted house Nha Trang City, located in the south-central Vietnamese province of Khanh Hoa. Photo: Thai Thinh / Tuoi Tre


Police in the south-central Vietnamese province of Khanh Hoa have arrested a man for fatally stabbing his neighbor after the victim had thrown a noisy karaoke party at his home.

Senior Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Duc Thanh, deputy head of the police department of the provincial capital of Nha Trang confirmed on Wednesday afternoon that L.V.Q., 25, had been apprehended for murder. The case has been transferred to the provincial police department for further investigation, Thanh added.

According to officers, Q. works as a construction worker and lives with his wife at an tenanted house in Phuoc Dong Commune, Nha Trang.

On Tuesday night, 53-year-old B.N.P.H ., who rents a house next-door, threw a drinking and karaoke party with his friends. Q. returned to his home at around 8:00 pm that day and asked H. to turn down the volume.

The neighbor did as told, but he refused to stop singing, saying it was a holiday time. Vietnam observed a five-day holiday marking the Reunification Day on April 30 and International Workers’ Day on May 1.

Shortly after the karaoke noise returned, Q. grabbed a knife in his house and stabbed H. at his chest, killing the victim on the spot.

He then returned to his rented home and was arrested by police on the same night.

The suspect admitted he had consumed alcohol prior to the incident.


Bron: Man stabbed to death over karaoke noise in south-central Vietnam - Tuoi Tre News


Wordt het zo langzamerhand niet de hoogste tijd dat de overheid paal en perk gaat stellen aan dit soort overlast?

Een paar aso’s mogen nu ongestraft complete dorpen terroriseren, want “het staat niet in de wet”. Het gedreun van de bassen is hier bv. vaak al op 500 meter duidelijk hoorbaar. De meeste krijsen nog valser dan de varkens hier doen als ze zonder verdoving worden gecastreerd. Mensen kunnen in hun eigen huis hun eigen muziek niet eens horen.

Ik ken uiteraard de voorgeschiedenis niet van bovenstaande geschiedenis. Maar het zou me niets verbazen als dit gewoon de welbekende druppel is geweest.

Als altijd kent dit verhaal alleen maar verliezers. Hoewel, de andere buren…
De rest van mijn uiterst cynische gedachten hierbij hou ik maar weer voor me.

Ik ben wel bang dat als er niet snel iets aan gedaan wordt, het veel vaker uit de hand gaat lopen. En als altijd heb ik ook hier mijn grote twijfels. Karaoke lijkt wel een soort cultureel erfgoed, veel belangrijker dan alle historische plaatsen hier bij elkaar die, omwille van de bouw van hotels en andere mogelijk geld-opbrengende attracties, rücksichlos worden vernietigd.

Zie ook 'Geluidsoverlast maakt mensen ziek' Helaas zijn deze inzichten hier nog nergens doorgedrongen.

 

[FredVN]

private wegen wellicht die de eigenaars zelf betaald hebben? (of goede vriendjes zijn met degenen die de wegen aanleggen/bepalen)

Eigenlijk weet ik het niet. Volgens mij de eerste optie zeer zeker niet...

 

[FredVN]

@Badgast
Whatsapp? Waarom? Je hebt hier al surround noise in overvloed:

• De pestherrie van de karaoke en geluidsinstallaties. Zie de post van vandaag.
• De “herrie” van vogelgekwetter uit luidsprekers. Zie de post over een paar dagen.
• De openbare luidsprekerinstallatie, die naast een zeldzame nuttige boodschap als bv. een weggelopen koe of een aanstormende tyfoon grotendeels zeer zwaar vervormde muziek ten gehore brengt.

Dus wat gebeier bij wijze van afwisseling erbij …

En dat met die bel rammelen, is dat niet gewoon een kwestie van een badjas aantrekken?

…

 

[FredVN]

Looking Backward naar de jaarrekening 2018.

Xin Loi, ik kan het niet laten: deze deur stond wederom te ver open…

Uit de jaarrekening 2018 van Looking Forward ( Jaarrekening 2018 gepubliceerd | ):

“Vaststelling en goedkeuring Deze jaarrekening is door het bestuur van de stichting vastgesteld en goedgekeurd in haar vergadering op: 6-3-2019”

Ofwel, het bestuur van de stichting heeft het beleid van het bestuur van de stichting goedgekeurd.

Briljant!

Het heeft weer een verschrikkelijk hoog “Wij-van-WC-eend” gehalte.

En jawel, het mag allemaal van onze (semi)overheid)

 

[FredVN]

Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City among Vietnam’s worst on corruption control: PAPI report

UNDP Resident Representative in Vietnam Caitlin Wiesen speaks at the launch of the 2018 PAPI report in Hanoi on April 2, 2019. Photo: L. Thanh / Tuoi Tre


Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City are among Vietnamese localities ranked worst in terms of control of corruption, according the 2018 Vietnam Provincial Governance and Public Administration Performance Index (PAPI) report released on Tuesday.

Although the report shows that fewer citizens had to pay bribes for state employment, public healthcare, primary education, or construction permits in 2018 as compared to previous years, less than 50 percent of those interviewed agreed that corruption at the national level had decreased in the past three years.

Corruption was one of the top three issues of greatest concern in 2018, with nearly 7.4 percent of respondents citing it as their top concern, the report shows. Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City were among the worst ranked localities in terms of corruption control alongside Dak Lak, Hai Phong, Ha Nam and Hoa Binh.

PAPI, published by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), assesses citizen experiences with national and local government performance in governance, public administration, and public service delivery. The 2018 PAPI report was compiled from interview answers by over 14,300 Vietnamese citizens randomly selected from all 63 provinces and cities.

Overall, Vietnamese citizens had greater satisfaction with most basic public services thanks to the substantial improvements in provincial and local government performance, the report revealed. Positive progress was observed by all provinces in administering public services, although there is still room for improvement, the report noted. Results show several positive trends in citizens’ political participation at the local level in 2018, as transparency in local decision-making also saw significant improvements. Poverty was again the most important issue for citizens in 2018, with about 25 percent of respondents cited poverty as their top concern, the report shows.

A bar graph illustrating the top issues of concern for Vietnamese citizens according to the 2018 PAPI report.


Findings from the survey show that a majority of voters have no preference for either male or female candidates when electing people into leadership positions. “The 2018 PAPI findings highlight an important opportunity for more women to be elected to political positions, while also suggesting that efforts are needed to end societal stigma against women in elected positions, especially among female voters,” Australian Ambassador to Vietnam Craig Chittick was quoted by Vietnam News Agency as saying at the report’s launch event in Hanoi on Tuesday.

This year’s report marks a decade since the first PAPI research began in 2009. Over the past decade, more than 117,000 Vietnamese citizens from all parts of the country have been interviewed for the annual report, which provides objective, up-to-date data on local government performance.

Speaking at the report’s launch event in Hanoi on Tuesday, UNDP Resident Representative in Vietnam Caitlin Wiesen noted that PAPI continues to serve as “a powerful instrument to promote good governance in Vietnam” after ten years.

“The heart of PAPI is very close to UNDP’s mission – putting people at the center of development,” Wiesen was quoted as saying by Vietnam News Agency.


Bron: Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City among Vietnam’s worst on corruption control: PAPI report - Tuoi Tre News


Goh, waarom hebben ze nog niet met mij gepraat?

 

[FredVN]

Bird nest fabriek

In Vietnam Deel 2 stonden de eerste foto’s van deze fabriek in aanbouw. Inmiddels nadert de bouw zijn voltooing.

Net op tijd: ze waren echt met de laatste vierkante meters bezig.

En zeg nu zelf, dit is toch een geweldige verrijking voor het landschap? Alleen die GSM-mast rechts is ook maar zo alleen en kaal.

Nu nog een luidspreker-installatie op het dak, die artificieel vogelgetjilp kilometers ver in de omtrek kan laten horen (de fabriek moet vol, nietwaar) en het plaatje is compleet.

Hmm, misschien nog even terug om te vragen of ik naar het dak mag om foto’s te maken.

 

[FredVN]

10 reasons why Vietnamese food is my favourite (1)

A bowl of pho is served in the Vietnamese way. Photo: Viet Toan / Tuoi Tre News


I’m somewhat objective in any food discussion, having grown up in Canada, where the food is pleasant but not outstanding, and certainly not renowned on the international food stage. Have you ever heard of a Canadian restaurant overseas? Me neither.

Typically, no cultural topic stirs up an emotional debate quicker than food. Many of us think our native country’s cuisine is best and will debate it until our last gasp. I settled on Vietnamese food as my favourite years ago but other countries have me slobbering over their offerings including Peru, Thailand, Indonesia, France, and Italy.

So then, why is Vietnamese food at the top of my list?


1. Taste
I can only recall eating a handful of boring meals in Vietnam - delicious food is found everywhere. Most places are run by entrepreneurs who live from their passion for food, using handed-down recipes and cooking techniques, and Vietnamese customers are knowledgeable and fussy diners.

Sweet, salty, spicy, sour, bitter, and pungent all figure prominently in Vietnamese cuisine so there is a dish available for every craving and mood.


2. Variety
Vietnamese cuisine dates back well over 1,000 years, morphed and modified over the centuries into what we have today. You could practically go forever and not repeat a dish, that’s how varied the offerings are.

All told, there are over 3,000 dishes in the entire Vietnamese food arsenal, so you could literally go for years without repeating the same dish.


3. Personalized flavours
Many dishes in Vietnam are prepared with only the herbs and spices required to create the basic version, while using minimal spicy chili peppers or none at all. It’s then easy for diners to use fresh chilis, chili sauces, pastes, and spicy oils served on the side to dial up just the right amount of heat based on personal preferences.

No need to order mild, medium, or spicy, leaving the fate of your dish up to the servers’ and chefs’ interpretations of what level of spiciness you want, as is often the case with many cuisines.

The range of condiments offered is staggering - not just chili and soy sauce-based, but pickled onions, daikon radish, carrots, and garlic, then fresh raw garlic, salt, pepper, and lemon, kim chi, pickled or fresh mustard greens, soy bean sprouts, crispy fried onions and shallots, lemon wedges, fish sauces galore, and plum sauce.

Then comes a barrage of fresh herbs depending on the dish, including perilla leaves, coriander, chives, basil, cilantro, and mint. I’ve probably missed a few on that list!

A hearty bowl of pho with the fixings


4. Foreign influence
Pure indigenous food is great to try wherever we go, but what about when we crave a dish with an overseas twist to it?

Vietnamese cuisine has a ready supply - heavily influenced by Chinese, French, and other cuisines.

Sizzling steak and eggs (bo ne) for breakfast? Got it! Various hams, sausages, and head cheeses? Yup! Pate? You can have it on every sandwich if you wish.

Vietnamese head cheese gio thu


French-style meatballs are common in pasta dishes and Vietnamese xiu mai dumplings are mouth-watering. Bread? A Vietnamese banh mi baguette is a crunchy, crackly version - lighter and easier to chew than the original French creation.

How about beef stew on a cool day? Ginger and lemongrass make the local bo kho a knockout! Need something pizza-like? Banh trang nuong is the grilled rice paper treat somewhere in between a Mexican quesadilla and an Italian pizza.

Best is you don’t have to pay exorbitant prices for dishes made from fancy imported ingredients because many Vietnamese versions of foreign dishes use tasty local ingredients costing a fraction.

 

[F2ride2001]

Krijg al trek

 

[FredVN]

Morgen meer lekkers.

 

[FredVN]

10 reasons why Vietnamese food is my favourite (2)

5. More than just rice
Many Asian cuisines feature rice, rice, and more rice - until it’s coming out of your ears. In Vietnam you’ll find endless varieties of noodles - both egg and rice-based, thick, thin, stringy, glass, flat, macaroni as pictured below plus nui (elbow macaroni), then rolled rice-based creations such as banh cuon and banh uot, cute little woven bundles of banh hoi, and turmeric-infused such as mi quang.

You name the noodle, the Vietnamese have it!

Vietnamese-style macaroni dish


Then come dumplings, mini-pancakes such as banh canor crispy banh khot, wraps like goi cuon (fresh cold spring rolls), sizzling banh xeo crepes, banh giodumplings, and rolled or grilled rice paper-based concoctions.

Banh gio dumpling in banana leaves


6. Nutritional value
I usually eat in restaurants so I try for a balanced diet - easy to do in Vietnam since most dishes are packed with nutrients. Choose a soup and you’ll get a mound of fresh greens and protein-packed soy bean sprouts on the side.

Go to a typical local com binh dan (working class) restaurant and the steam table will be packed with freshly cooked vegetables of all types.

It’s easy to find vegetarian (chay) food in general in Vietnam, especially during the two days each month when passed loved ones are commemorated by family members.

Vietnamese diners expect fresh offerings, so you’ll almost never see wrinkled, stale, old vegetables or garnishes in Vietnam.

Bun chay noodles and cha gio spring rolls

 

[FredVN]

10 reasons why Vietnamese food is my favourite (3)

7. Light
Most Vietnamese meals are light yet full of flavour, featuring broths and light sauces that don’t leave you bloated. Soups are eaten by many on a daily basis usually featuring rice or egg noodles and garnished with plenty of fresh vegetables.

Absent are heavy, creamy, rich sauces that end up putting you to sleep and heavy fried meats and vegetables found elsewhere. Also, Vietnamese people are usually more inclined to marinate and grill meat and seafood rather than fry them in oil.

Here is a divine starter, sup mang cua (asparagus crab soup), balancing the crab, asparagus, and corn perfectly - light and tasty.

Sup mang cua / asparagus crab soup


Hotpot dishes are cooked in broth such as this lau ca tam (sturgeon), another example of a light broth-based dish that will knock your socks off!

Lau ca tam / sturgeon hot pot


8. Low cost
Price only matters if local food passes the other tests. What good is cheap food if it’s lousy? In Vietnam we get some of the best and cheapest food around, a tough combination to beat!

I usually eat for about VND100-120,000 per day (US$4.30-5), and I eat well – freshly prepared dishes with mostly non-processed ingredients. I typically eat all meals outside with breakfast typically costing between VND15,000 and VND30,000, lunch VND30,000 to VND50,000, and a light dinner somewhere in the same ranges.

Typical com binh dan (working class) meal - VND30,000/$ 1.30


If you prefer, there are upmarket restaurants charging VND200,000-300,000 ($9-13) and much more, so the range is large enough that you can choose just what you desire at the price you are willing to pay.

9. Anytime
Typically, Vietnamese people start the day with a hearty soup or banh mi baguette, then eat rice at lunchtime and a light dish in the evenings.

Meals aren’t cast in a concrete schedule in Vietnam. You can find most dishes at any time of the day or evening. It drives me crazy when I travel to some countries only to hear that some dishes are only available at specific times of the day.

Feel like bun rieu cua crab noodle soup for breakfast? No worries, I have it often in the morning. How about in the evening? Available nearby. How about a banh mi in the evening instead of the morning? Just look to your left or right on any main street and you’ll see a banh mistand. Barbecued bun thit nuong or banh uot pork with noodle for breakfast? Easy to find!

10. Banh mi
This tasty baguette sandwich deserves a point all on its own because it’s the national snack - light, tasty, varied, and cheap at between VND10,000 and VND20,000 (US$0.45-$0.90) at a typical street stand or bakery.

Up-market versions with lots of meat and other fillings are available at prices up to VND50,000 if you’re really hungry for a feast.

The banh mi comes in seemingly endless varieties using different ingredients and condiments. It’s quick and cheap, has both pickled and fresh vegetables, so when you’re on the go it’s just perfect.

What gets your taste buds going?

Each of us has a different set of boxes to tick when determining our most preferred foods, that’s the beauty of it all.

The best way to determine your favourite cuisine? Try things you’ve never had in international restaurants and on trips abroad. Close your eyes and stab at the menu! Sure, you’ll blow a few choices, but you’ll also open your mind to different dishes and cooking styles.


Bron: 10 reasons why Vietnamese food is my favourite - Tuoi Tre News


Eet smakelijk!

 

[FredVN]

Mận

“Mận is de vrouw die een kraam met vlees, vis en groente bemenst.”

Mận was het eerste “slachtoffer” van een fotoshoot voor mijn e-boek “Kleine bedrijven in Vietnam (E-book Kleine bedrijven in Vietnam - Een kijkje van binnenuit) en op bovenstaande wijze introduceerde ik haar.

Dit is weer een nieuwe plaats waar ze zit. Er zijn daar een aantal stalletjes bij elkaar, maar doordat er ook regelmatig wordt ge- of verbouwd, moet ze om de haverklap naar een andere plaats verhuizen. Ik denk dat dit al weer de zesde of zevende plaats is, sinds ik haar voor het eerst ontmoette. Nu zie ik haar wat vaker, want deze nieuwe plaats ligt op één van de doorgaande wegen naar huis.