Review visa exemption for seven countries

Vietnam reviews visa exemption for seven countries

Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai has instructed relevant agencies to report about the impact of the free visas visitors from seven countries have been enjoying before the government decides whether it will continue with the policy.

He instructed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to review the policy’s political, economic and security impacts and submit its findings to the government, VnExpress reported.

Between 2004 and 2009 Vietnam unilaterally waived visas for single-entry visits of up to 15 days for Danish, Finnish, Japanese, Norwegian, Russian, South Korean, and Swedish visitors.

At a recent meeting of the State Steering Committee on Tourism, many officials urged Vietnam to not only continue the exemption, but extend the length of stay to 30 days.

Earlier in April, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs criticized the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) for failing to take advantage of the policy to promote tourism, saying the underused policy had forced it to accept losses of US$50 million annually.

After that, VNAT proposed that the government continue the visa exemption because otherwise, Vietnam would become less competitive, as several other countries in the region waive visa fees to promote tourism.

Vu The Binh, VNAT deputy chairman, said nothing should be done to dissuade tourists from South Korea, Russia and Japan from coming to Vietnam. Last year, revenue from those tourists was $2 billion, of which the government collected $200 million in VAT.

Vietnam is not a very attractive tourism destination in the region and a visa requirement would worsen the situation, he said.

~News courtesy of Thanh Nien News~

Ho Chi Minh City - Bus Directory

Ho Chi Minh City - Bus Directory
胡志明市 - 巴士指南

http://map.ebms.vn/routeoftrunk.aspx

PP Sorya 168 Transport - Bus Ticket

Phnom Penh Sorya 168 Transport - Bus Ticket

HCMC Bus Ticket

Bus ticket for HCMC city bus

Tones

Tones 

Pitch contours and duration of the six Northern Vietnamese tones as spoken by a male speaker (not from Hanoi). Fundamental frequency is plotted over time. From Nguyễn & Edmondson (1998).

Vietnamese vowels are all pronounced with an inherent tone. Tones differ in:

• length (duration)
• pitch contour (i.e. pitch melody)
• pitch height
• phonation

Tone is indicated by diacritics written above or below the vowel (most of the tone diacritics appear above the vowel; however, the nặng tone dot diacritic goes below the vowel). The six tones in the northern varieties (including Hanoi), with their self-referential Vietnamese names, are:

Name	Description	Diacritic	Example	Sample vowel
ngang   'level'	mid level	(no mark)	ma  'ghost'	a (help·info)
huyền   'hanging'	low falling (often breathy)	` (grave accent)	mà  'but'	à (help·info)
sắc   'sharp'	high rising	´ (acute accent)	má  'cheek, mother (southern)'	á (help·info)
hỏi   'asking'	mid dipping-rising	̉ (hook)	mả  'tomb, grave'	ả (help·info)
ngã   'tumbling'	high breaking-rising	˜ (tilde)	mã  'horse (Sino-Vietnamese), code'	ã (help·info)
nặng   'heavy'	low falling constricted (short length)	̣ (dot below)	mạ  'rice seedling'	ạ (help·info)

Other dialects of Vietnamese have fewer tones (typically only five). 

In Vietnamese poetry, tones are classed into two groups:

Tone group	Tones within tone group
bằng "level, flat"	ngang and huyền
trắc "oblique, sharp"	sắc, hỏi, ngã, and nặng

Words with tones belonging to particular tone group must occur in certain positions with the poetic verse.

~Info courtesy of Wikipedia~

Cao Dai Temple, Tay Ninh Province

Cao Dai Temple, Tay Ninh Province

Foreigners learn to cope with scams in Hanoi

Foreigners learn to cope with scams in Vietnam capital

Visitors to Hanoi have become familiar with the scams, rip-offs, and persistent vendors that many of them now manage to deal with them.

Tuoi Tre newspaper reported some foreigners as saying that many first-time visitors might choose to ignore them, not knowing who to complain to or how a conflict might end up, but those who have been here for a while do not.

Some newcomers are, however, well prepared after reading travel forums and media reports about things to expect like taxi drivers lying about not having change, taking circuitous routes, and having dodgy meters.

Kevin, 32, an Australian living in Hanoi, says he keeps a diary with the names and phone numbers of reputed taxi firms and never uses others.

A woman tourist from Papua New Guinea says when a taxi driver claims not to have change, the passengers just needs to be patient to see who blinks first.

“Once a driver showed me his wallet to prove he has no change. So I told him I will wait in the car for him to go around and find some change.

"He thought for a moment and took out some change from his trouser pocket."

Some foreigners who have stayed long enough have even set up travel agencies to make sure foreigners have a better experience in Vietnam, especially the capital.

Guim Valls Teruel, owner of The Hanoi Bicycle Collective, says he encourages his friends to protect themselves from scams.

Taxi drivers, for instance, are well aware that they are breaking the law, and so when tourists question or threaten to report them, they back off, he says.

But he admits a confrontation is only a temporary solution, and says the authorities need to be tougher, or the bad news will spread by word of mouth and foreigners will hesitate to come to Vietnam.

Jean - Jacques Barre, who has been in Vietnam since 1994, says the country is never a top option for tourists and all these scams persuade people not to come back a second time.

Barre and his friends have set up the Hanoi-based Freewheelin’ Tours, but any time his customers catch a taxi on their own they get ripped off, he laments.

Nguyen Thi Bich Ngoc, vice chairwoman of Hanoi, admits that the “persistent scams” are causing trouble for tourism promotion.

Hanoi police recently arrested a taxi driver from Trung Viet Company who allegedly forced an Australian couple to pay VND980,000 (US$46.6) though the meter only showed VND98,000.

The couple took photos of the meter, the driver, and the cab’s license plate before paying the fare and went straight to the police.

French tourist Caballero Mathias got a compensation of VND10 million from a hotel following police intervention after he was threatened by staff at a hotel.

A taxi had taken him and his friends to another hotel and not the one they had booked, but when they asked to leave, the hotel staff threatened to assault or even kill them.

The visitors had demanded compensation of VND17 million for the mental agony and loss of money and time he and his friends incurred.

The city police recently also fined a cyclo driver for charging an Australian tourist and her two children VND1.3 million for a five-kilometer ride, more than ten times the normal price, despite earlier agreeing on a fare of VND70,000.

~News courtesy of Thanh Nien News~

Consonants

Consonants

The consonants that occur in Vietnamese are listed below in the Vietnamese orthography with the phonetic pronunciation to the right.

		Labial	Alveolar	Retroflex	Palatal	Velar	Glottal
Stop	voiceless	p [p]	t [t]	tr [ʈʂ~ʈ]	ch [c~tɕ]	c/k/q [k]
	aspirated		th [tʰ]
	voiced	b [ɓ]	đ [ɗ]
Fricative	voiceless	ph [f]	x [s]	s [ʂ]		kh [x~kʰ]	h [h]
	voiced	v [v]	d [z~j]	r [ʐ~ɹ]	gi [z~j]	g/gh [ɣ]
Nasal		m [m]	n [n]		nh [ɲ]	ng/ngh [ŋ]
Approximant		u/o [w]	l [l]		y/i [j]

Some consonant sounds are written with only one letter (like "p"), other consonant sounds are written with a two-letter digraph (like "ph"), and others are written with more than one letter or digraph (the velar stop is written variously as "c", "k", or "q").

Not all dialects of Vietnamese have the same consonant in a given word (although all dialects use the same spelling in the written language). 

The analysis of syllable-final orthographic ch and nh in Hanoi Vietnamese has had different analyses. One analysis has final ch, nh as being phonemes /c/, /ɲ/ contrasting with syllable-final t, c /t/, /k/ and n, ng /n/, /ŋ/ and identifies final ch with the syllable-initialch /c/. The other analysis has final ch and nh as predictable allophonic variants of the velar phonemes /k/ and /ŋ/ that occur before upper front vowels i /i/ and ê /e/.

~Info courtesy of Wikipedia~

Muon Mang - Thuy Tien

Anh Sao Trong Dem Mua - Vinh Thuyen Kim

Ha Long Bay - Simply wonderful

Simply wonderful



Vông Viêng Village in Ha Long Bay, the northern province of Quang Ninh, is home to 72 families who still maintain customs from the old nomadic lifestyle and the originality of a Vietnamese fishing village

It was foggy in the morning when we set off in a canoe from Bai Chay Town in the central province of Quang Ninh to Vông Viêng Village, some 30 kilometers away.

Soon, we arrived at a giant rock arch that serves as an entrance to the village that is tucked away in a corner of Ha Long Bay, the natural wonder which is Vietnam’s premier destination.

Going through the arch, we entered what looked like a lost world compared to the lively bay out there: the green mountains surrounding them seemed to have had a calm influence on the waters, as also the blue skies high above.

The houses on boats anchored along islands added to the picturesque look.

Around us, local women were rowing boats for tourists to go sightseeing. The boats moved very quietly and calmly, and we were thankful for that.

The children playing on the sampans were a lively lot, looking perfectly safe and at home on the water as they played with the oars.

Vông Viêng is home to 72 families who live on fishing. For the last few years, tourism has allowed them to augment their income after they were approached by a group of travel firms to provide services new to Ha Long Bay.

The businesses organize homestay tours to the village. During the tours, tourists live, eat and fish with local people. They also join them in traditional festivals and ceremonies when these happen.

These activities have helped visitors learn more about the culture of Vông Viêng, which was established centuries ago when nomadic fishermen living off the sea settled down here.

Locals still maintain customs from the old nomadic lifestyle as well as the originality of a Vietnamese fishing village – from the practice of worshipping sea gods, to singing old folk songs relating to the sea. That they do this in the middle of a famous destination receiving thousands of tourists a day is a welcome development.

Original fishing trip

During our stay in Vông Viêng, we were guided by Duong Van Thanh and his family.

They first took us out on a fishing trip. Initially, Thanh was at the helm of the boat, and just after it left the village’s bay, he handed the steering wheel to his youngest son, Hoang.

Just ten years old, Hoang looked more mature than other boys his age, a result of the fact that he was taught to earn a living at sea to support his family at a very young age.

After finding a good place for fishing, the boy stopped the boat and his family, namely Hoang, Thanh, and his wife, threw their net in.

Once the net was stable, they drove the boat around it for a few times while all of them continuously hit the boat’s sides with a pair of sticks in their hands.

We also joined them in the creating the drum-beat like din. Sometimes, Hoang stopped hitting and hit the water surface with a long pole to scare fish into their net.

It looked as though this original way of fishing dated back hundreds of years. We ended the fishing trip without a big catch, but the experience was exciting. Knowing that the catch would provide us the meal at Thanh’s house when we returned added edge to our appetite.

Thanh’s house is almost rectangular with each side less than four meters long, yet it was home to six people in the family. His other children were also engaged in fishing and rowing boats to show tourists around.

After the meal we were rowed to a floating raft that hosts a school with two classrooms – one for preschoolers and another for students of first grade to fifth grade. On the raft, there was also a reception area for tourists and even a small gallery.

As we were showed around the village, we became aware that in such a secluded place, people tended to bond together. Their houses were tied closely together, and we were told that it was a way to cope with storms. Whenever a storm approached, they would help each other fortifying their homes. Even generators are also shared, one serving six families.

Experiencing this sense of community was perhaps the most attractive part of our trip to Vông Viêng, not to mention their hospitality and being part of locals’ lives for a short time. Amidst a natural wonder of the world, this touch of human magic enclosed in a very simple lifestyle gave us plenty to reflect on as we returned to the chaos of our daily life.

~News courtesy of Thanh Nien~

Phở varieties

Phở varieties



A bowl of phở chua (sour phở) costs VND35,000 at a restaurant in District 3, Ho Chi Minh City

In Ho Chi Minh City, which boasts numerous phở restaurants, it is quite easy to find one that suits one’s tastes and purse – from street pushcarts that sell a bowl of phở at less than a dollar to air-conditioned ones that charge much more.

But to have phở chua, a sour variety of phở from the northern highlands province of Lang Son, Saigonese have only one choice: a little restaurant located near Ban Co Market in District 3.

Unlike traditional phở, which is a bowl of hot broth with the noodles and other goodies, the noodles and hot soup are not mixed to make phở chua but instead they come in two separate bowls.

The noodles are placed on a layer of cucumber slices, water morning glory, and herbs. On top come shredded chicken and pork heart, tongue, and stomach, and then peanuts, fried sliced onion, green papaya slices, and finally the sauce that gives the food the name phở chua. Instead of sugar vinegar and tomatoes used in the original version in Lang Son, the sauce here gets the sour taste from tamarind.

On every table at the restaurant is a big bowl of crackling mixed with chili that is quite spicy and fatty, but an indispensable accompaniment for phở chua.

Before having the noodles, put in a few pieces of crackling. After finishing the bowl of noodles, do not forget the smaller bowl of hot chicken-based broth served with chopped spring onion, fried onion, and pepper powder.

Another famous specialty at the restaurant is bánh giò – a pyramid-shaped rice dumpling stuffed with minced pork, Jew’s ear mushroom, and, sometimes, quail eggs.

The rice cake is wrapped skillfully in banana leaves, has thick stuffing, and is served hot, remarkably with fish sauce mixed with vinegar, sugar, and lime juice to infuse a sweet-sour taste. The sauce also has minced pork, shredded mushroom, fried onion, and coriander.

The additions make the restaurant’s bánh giò distinctive.

Founded by a couple in 1954, the restaurant is always crowded during the limited time it opens – 3:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. – every day. It often closes on Monday, but sometimes for a few days and without notice.

Dry phở

Another variety of phở found in Saigon is phở khô (dry phở) from the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai

Phở chua Lạng Sơn

242/101 Nguyen Thien Thuat Street, Ward 3, District 3
Open hours: 3:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Price: phở chua (VND35,000), bánh giò (VND17,000)

Phở khô Gia Lai – Hồng

72 Cuu Long Street, Ward 15, District 10
114 Phan Xich Long Street, Ward 2, Phu Nhuan District
Open hours: 6:30 a.m. – 10 p.m.
Price: VND35,000

Like phở chua, this one is also served in two bowls: one with the noodles, minced pork, vegetables and bean sprouts, all dipped in hot water before serving, and the other with a hot broth with beef or chicken. Thus, it is also called phở 2 tô (two bowls).

Despite also being made from rice flour, the noodles are not soft and flat as usual but are thin and quite tough.

To eat phở khô, first pour some soya sauce into the noodle bowl, squeeze some lime juice, put in a few slices of chili, some herbs, and black sauce, and stir well.

The Gia Lai – Hồng Restaurant in District 10, one of the few shops selling phở khô in HCMC, advises customers to eat the noodles and the broth at the same time. The beef and herbs must be dipped together in the black sauce before eating.

The District 10 outlet is one of two Hồng Restaurants in HCMC, the other being in Phu Nhuan District. The main one is in Gia Lai and is run by the daughter of Nguyen Thanh My, who created the dish many years ago.

Another place in the city to have the Gia Lai specialty is Trung Nguyen Coffee outlets.

~News courtesy of Thanh Nien~

Vietnamese vowels

Vowels

Like other southeast Asian languages, Vietnamese has a comparatively large number of vowels. Below is a vowel diagram of Hanoi Vietnamese.

	Front	Central	Back
High	i [i]	ư [ɨ]	u [u]
Upper Mid	ê [e]	ơ [əː]	ô [o]
Lower Mid	e [ɛ]	â [ə]	o [ɔ]
Low	ă [a] / a [aː]

Front, central, and low vowels (i, ê, e, ư, â, ơ, ă, a) are unrounded, whereas the back vowels (u, ô, o) are rounded. The vowels â [ə] andă [a] are pronounced very short, much shorter than the other vowels. Thus, ơ and â are basically pronounced the same except that ơ[əː] is of normal length while â [ə] is short – the same applies to the vowels long a [aː] and short ă [a].

In addition to single vowels (or monophthongs), Vietnamese has diphthongs and triphthongs. The diphthongs consist of a main vowel component followed by a shorter semivowel offglide to a high front position [ɪ̯], a high back position [ʊ̯], or a central position [ə̯].

Vowel nucleus	Diphthong with front offglide	Diphthong with back offglide	Diphthong with centering offglide	Triphthong with front offglide	Triphthong with back offglide
i	–	iu [iʊ̯]	ia~iê~yê [iə̯]	–	iêu [iə̯ʊ̯]
ê	–	êu [eʊ̯]	–	–	–
e	–	eo [ɛʊ̯]	–	–	–
ư	ưi [ɨɪ̯]	ưu [ɨʊ̯]	ưa~ươ [ɨə̯]	ươi [ɨə̯ɪ̯]	ươu [ɨə̯ʊ̯]
â	ây [əɪ̯]	âu [əʊ̯]	–	–	–
ơ	ơi [əːɪ̯]	–	–	–	–
ă	ay [aɪ̯]	au [aʊ̯]	–	–	–
a	ai [aːɪ̯]	ao [aːʊ̯]	–	–	–
u	ui [uɪ̯]	–	ua~uô [uə̯]	uôi [uə̯ɪ̯]	–
ô	ôi [oɪ̯]	–	–	–	–
o	oi [ɔɪ̯]	–	–	–	–

The centering diphthongs are formed with only the three high vowels (i, ư, u) as the main vowel. They are generally spelled as ia, ưa, uawhen they end a word and are spelled iê, ươ, uô, respectively, when they are followed by a consonant. There are also restrictions on the high offglides: the high front offglide cannot occur after a front vowel (i, ê, e) nucleus and the high back offglide cannot occur after a back vowel (u, ô, o) nucleus.

The correspondence between the orthography and pronunciation is complicated. For example, the offglide [ɪ̯] is usually written as i; however, it may also be represented with y. In addition, in the diphthongs [aɪ̯] and [aːɪ̯] the letters y and i also indicate the pronunciation of the main vowel: ay = ă + [ɪ̯], ai = a + [ɪ̯]. Thus, tay "hand" is [taɪ̯] while tai "ear" is [taːɪ̯]. Similarly, u and o indicate different pronunciations of the main vowel: au = ă + [ʊ̯], ao = a + [ʊ̯]. Thus, thau "brass" is [tʰaʊ̯] while thao "raw silk" is [tʰaːʊ̯].

The four triphthongs are formed by adding front and back offglides to the centering diphthongs. Similarly to the restrictions involving diphthongs, a triphthong with front nucleus cannot have a front offglide (after the centering glide) and a triphthong with a back nucleus cannot have a back offglide.

From the front and back offglides [ɪ̯], [ʊ̯], many phonological descriptions analyze these as consonant glides /j/, /w/. Thus, a word such as đâu "where", phonetically [ɗəʊ̯], would be analyzed phonemically as /ɗəw/.

~Info courtesy of wikipedia~

Bí mật kim tự tháp

bí mật 秘密 Secret
kim tự tháp 金字塔 Pyramid

Ngày lao động vui vẻ

Ngày lao động vui vẻ 

劳动节快乐 
Happy Labours' Day