A night of fire jumping

10:42' 02/07/2007 (GMT+7)

VietNamNet Bridge – Pang, pang…The worshipping master tapped a bamboo stick. The sound urged the young man to plunge into the flaring fire and jump out intact amid the extreme elation of the crowd. It was a day of fire jumping, a traditional game that the Pa Then minority living in the northern mountainous region of Vietnam often play after harvests. The fire jumping festival is held several times a year, often falling between lunar October and the following January and taking place on a big, flat ground or inside a worshipping master’s house. On a drizzly and dismal afternoon, master Sin Lao Ta’s house situated on a hillside in My Bac hamlet, Ha Giang province was noisier than usual. Some were preparing wood for the fire. Others were killing a beautiful hen with golden legs. Sin Lao Ta in black clothes was sitting alone in a corner, silently staring at an altar with incense, a bowl of water, and other altar food for the event. Soon the whole village gathered around the big crackling fire in the middle of the master’s home: children with eyes wide in suspense; women in their best and colourful traditional clothes mingling in the red hot hue of the night. Young men surrounded the master, their faces turned towards the fire with apprehension and excitement. This was their day. Only men “jump fire”; women aren’t allowed to. The Pa Then people believe that if they jumped into a fire, women would dance around like mad without stopping for 7 days and 7 nights. Around 8 pm, a 25-year-old man named Viet picked up a bamboo stick and started tapping it on the master’s iron worshipping equipment to call spirits to enter him and carry him safely through the fire. A few minutes later, Viet’s body started to shake. He jumped up and down like a frog on a wooden stool so many times that it cracked. He stopped, shook his head and withdrew. Other tried, but they didn’t jump either. A young man with brown skin and curly hair named Vinh seemed to succeed in calling the spirits since he did jump into the fire twice, feet feeling the burning coal. He jumped out, lying flat on the ground, exhausted. Vinh later said, “Now I’m very tired but when the spirits entered me, I felt as light as a feather. The fire didn’t feel hot to me then.” A man named Dinh even jumped several times. And after his first failed attempt, Viet did succeed at last. Then other men joined in. Some jumped so far and high that their heads touched the wooden pillars of the house, then fell down, but got up right away with broad smiles on their faces. Around 9, with the fire dying down and the house smelling of smoke and bodies becoming weary, the villagers started to disperse. Villagers who participate in the game often contribute wood to feed the fire. But according to Phu Thi Thien, a local culture official, the fire jumping festival has lost much of its simplicity and beauty in recent years due to foreigners’ inappropriate ways of exploring culture. For the past 10 years, foreign tourists visiting My Bac hamlet have often given local people money when they jumped fire and this made them misunderstand that they should be paid to do so. Gradually, they started to lose the habit of willingly contributing rice, wood, and chickens to their communal festival and expect money in return for taking part in the game. For money, some worshipping masters have even organised fire jumping shows “out of season”, taking the “spirits of fire jumping” to as far as Ha Tay province to deliver shows ordered by some customers. (Source: Viet Nam Net)

Long-term mortgages open property market

16:17' 02/07/2007 (GMT+7)

VietNamNet Bridge – Banks are beginning to widen the time frame on home loan deals from 10-15 years to as long as 30 years as the market matures and consumer incomes rise. Phu My Hung JSC, a real estate developer, has for example recently signed agreements with nine banks to help provide consumers with 20-30 year home loans, including market leaders like Techcombank and Sacombank. Housing agreements, over 25-30 year time frames are already popular in many other countries, says Nguyen Huu Dang, head of marketing at the Housing Development Bank (HDB), and finally Vietnam is catching on to the trend. The HDB, another of the nine banks partnering with Phu My Hung, is even allowing clients to take out mortgages worth the full value of the property. "These new services would offer people with stable incomes more opportunities to buy homes," says Dang. HSBC is even delving into the home loan market, offering clients 25-year deals on 80% of property values. Tran Xuan Huy, a Sacombank deputy director, indicated the bank has just begun its long term home loan programme this month, so it is still too early to determine its success, but foresees huge potential in the market. Sacombank on Wednesday sealed a VND500mil (US$31,250) deal in which the International Finance Corporation, the World Bank's private investment arm, will lend financial support to consumers wanting to buy, build or repair homes. Many other property developers are now searching or have already joined forces with banks to offer loan packages including the Khanh Hoi Import-Export Co in HCM City, which has jumped in bed with Incombank. The two are offering a 20 year loans on 50% of a property's value. Many consumers, though, still struggle with interest rates, which for the time being has curbed the number of financing deals inked. Khanh Hoi reports that 90% of units sold in its latest apartment block have not used long term loan agreements or mortgages. Even at an interest rate of 1% over 20 years, the monthly payments are still high for many consumers, said a Khanh Hoi representative in a recent interview. On a 57sq.m apartment, the monthly fee could be as much as VND6mil (US$375) on a 20-year deal, said the representative. News reports put the average wage of a Vietnamese white collar worker in HCM City at around US$400-1,000. Huy, though, remains confident that the property market will continue to grow this year, which will only encourage more banks to offer new and different home financing products. "This is good for our co-operation [with developers and consumers] and for the domestic real estate market as a whole," says Huy. (Source: Viet Nam Net)

Investors impatient for telecom equitisation

10:40' 02/07/2007 (GMT+7)

VietNamNet Bridge – The equitisation of some telecom firms in Vietnam was announced by state agencies in 2005, but so far none of the telecom firms have been equitised. In the eyes of investors, the equitisation process of Vietnamese telecom companies is going at a snail’s pace. MobiFone gets ready According to sources from MobiFone, this company is completing formalities for equitisation this year, and in early 2008 it will perform IPO (initial public offering). Around five partners have expressed their desire to buy MobiFone stocks to become the firm’s strategic investors. However, as it is currently selecting a consultant only, MobiFone isn’t considering this issue yet. Le Ngoc Minh, MobiFone’s director, said that he didn’t know what the value of MobiFone was at this moment. Once MobiFone finds its consultant, tasks related to equitisation will be quickly fulfilled within 2007 to prepare for the IPO early next year. Also a subsidiary of the Vietnam Post and Telecommunications Group (VNPT), VinaPhone can’t immediately conduct equitisation like MobiFone. VinaPhone director Hoang Trung Hai said that there was no detailed plan about VinaPhone’s equitisation yet. VNPT is focusing on the equitisation of MobiFone and VinaPhone will be equitised after MobiFone’s equitisation is completed. Other mobile information companies that will be equitised after MobiFone and VinaPhone are Viettel Telecom and EVN Telecom. However, they have made any moves for this task. Perhaps they want to learn something from MobiFone and VinaPhone. Deputy Minister of Post and Telematics Tran Duc Lai doesn’t agree with the idea that mobile information firms are doing business well so they don’t want to equitisate, which is responsible for the tardiness in equitisation. “Implementation of equitisation is different for each company and this task will be conducted suitably to their ability. Viettel Telecom and EVN Telecom are new businesses and they are designing equitisation plans that are appropriate to their actual situations,” Mr. Lai said. While MobiFone is urgently promoting its equitisation process, equitisation seems to be not a priority of Viettel Telecom. Perhaps this company is afraid that its equitisation will attract small shareholders who will focus on short-term benefits and this will influence its strategy to build a big corporation in the long run. Viettel Telecom’s plan in the near future is developing strongly in rural and remote areas, where benefit doesn’t come in immediately, so shareholders will not like this. The firm, thus, will equitise its subsidies firstly. Viettel Deputy General Director Nguyen Manh Hung said that Viettel had established a joint stock company on value added services for mobile phones and this company would be equitised first. EVN Telecom has also chosen the same path of equitisation as Viettel. Impatient investors The Vietnam Association of Financial Investors (VAFI) has sent many documents urging telecom companies to quickly perform equitisation, which shows how impatient investors are and how great their interest is in shares of mobile information service companies. At the Vietnam Enterprise Forum, under the framework of the mid-term Consultative Group Meeting 2007, held on May 30 in Hanoi, Alain Cany, Chairman of the European Chamber of Commerce (Eurocham), said that foreign investors were anxious to take part in the equitisation process of a significant field like telecom. “To help foreign investors have the best preparation for their participation into the telecom sector, Eurocham and its members hope that the Vietnamese Government will introduce an itinerary for the participation of foreign investors soon,” he said. The Financial manager of Norway’s Telenor group said that when Telenor conducted equitisation the group faced a lot of problems. This group was afraid that it would lose control over the firm. Some said that as Telenor was known in many countries and it was a strong brand equitisation was unnecessary. However, with his experience, the Telenor official said that Vietnamese telecom firms should speed up the equitisation process and bring their stocks to the stock market as soon as possible. However, he agreed that appraising the value of shares of telecom firms is often very complicated. Mark Shuper, Morgan Stanley Bank’s Managing Director, said that value appraisal for telecom companies is best when they are in the development phase, so they should choose the best time for doing this task. However, he commented that Vietnamese telecom companies would not be equitised this year. “This process will take place strongly next year or the following years and of course, we are always ready to participate in this process,” he said. (Source: Viet Nam Net)

Neighbourhood in the hamlet of foreigners

11:36' 30/06/2007 (GMT+7)

The First Friday Party is organised in turn by each family in the hamlet on the first Friday of the month. VietNamNet Bridge – We attended the First Friday Party in Chua hamlet on the bank of West Lake (Quang An ward, Tay Ho district, Hanoi) with the family of Jim and Mary Packard-Winkler. They have just come to work in Vietnam with two children and this was their first introduction to their neighbours in Chua hamlet. Chua hamlet is called the hamlet of foreigners because there are many families of foreigners of various nationalities here. The party started at 6pm with around 50 attendants, both Vietnamese and foreigners. The party, thus, was a combination of many cuisines from many countries. Besides Vietnamese cuisines like nem (spring rolls), cha ca (grilled chopped fish), and gio lua (lean pork paste) were cuisines of France, Switzerland, Germany, the Netherlands. The children of various nationalities also had a separate zone. Like Vietnamese in a village The host, Mary, was busy with logistics. She rubbed her hands against her pinafore, smiled and said: “It’s wonderful! We are very surprised at and interested in this First Friday Party and the neighbourhood is like a village here.” It has become a ‘custom’ in this Chua hamlet as whenever it has a new member, despite Vietnamese or foreign, they all organise a ‘presence’ party like this. Ms Consuelo from Ecuador has been in Vietnam for five years with her husband and they’ve lived in this hamlet for a long time. She said that at first she was very lonely and she missed her children very much. Through such presence parties, she has made many friends who are her neighbours, who “talk and help each other like Vietnamese in a village”. That friendly atmosphere, according to Ms Consuelo, doesn’t exist everywhere in the world. The party was very joyful. After the hosts introduced themselves, they immediately became an official member of Chua hamlet. Everybody came and shook hands with the hosts. They talked and shared with each other about their jobs, family life, their children. Pham Chi Lan, an economic expert, a former member of the research board of the Prime Minister, is also a member of this village. In late 2006, her family organised a party with the participation of over 80 neighbours, both adults and children. “Our family is a member of this hamlet and foreigners who are living here also consider them part of this Vietnamese hamlet. They want to live in the neighbourhood atmosphere of Vietnamese. That’s wonderful!” she said. Inter-hood! The first First Friday Party in Chua village took place two years ago with the participation of over 30 foreigners and Vietnamese. The one who took the initiative of organising the party is Bruno Moser, a Swedish expert on public finance whose wife is an American. “Our hamlet has many foreigners of different nationalities who live together with Vietnamese. All of us are far from our home so it is wonderful to have meetings and sharing among strange people to turn them into friends along with the local people,” he said. With that thought, he took the initiative of the party two years ago and the party has been maintained until now to become a ‘custom’ of Chua hamlet. Moser has the list of members of all 52 families in the hamlet, their emails, telephone numbers and he announces necessary information in the hamlet to all families. Once a family in the hamlet lost a bicycle and the whole hamlet was immediately announced to be vigilant. When a family moves, they will leave the information of the house for the newcomers. Families in the hamlet also tell each other practical information and recommends good services. When someone is ill, other families will send representatives to visit and even provide financial assistance if that family is in financial difficulty. Each time a family returns to their home countries or a Vietnamese family returns to their home village, they bring back specialities of their home to share with their neighbours. When a Vietnamese family invites others to their wedding party, birthday party, longevity party, or death anniversary, all families in the hamlet come. Those international citizens even take part in traditional rituals of Vietnam. Recently, Mr Hieu, a member of the village, received a Swedish family as his adopted children. It is thought that in modern life people don’t have time to share but it is different in Chua hamlet. They are all modern people who have good jobs and a good neighbourhood. (Source: Viet Nam Net)

Vietnam Children Choir aimed for the future

15:27' 01/07/2007 (GMT+7)

The Vietnam Children Choir in a performance VietNamNet Bridge – After a great deal of hard work, the country’s first children’s choir, Vietnam Children’s Choir, will perform on an international stage for the first time this July when they tour the western US. Founding days In May 2004, during a trip to Hong Kong, conductor Pham Hong Hai from the Vietnam Opera and Ballet Theatre accidentally learned that an international association of children’s choirs from around 40 countries was based there. So after half an hour talking with the Hong Kong founder of that association, Pham Hong Hai started to think about establishing a children’s choir for Vietnam. He came home, proposed the idea to Head of the Vietnam Opera and Ballet Theatre, and rolled up his sleeves to turn the proposal into reality. He distributed leaflets recruiting talented children who loved singing and dancing every time the theatre held performances. And so on July 15 the same year, the Vietnam Children’s Choir (VCC), the first one of its kind in Vietnam, was born. Before VCC, there had been amateur children choirs elsewhere who simply sang children’s songs rather than those written exclusively for children’s choirs. VCC members, however, are taught in a much more professional way and learn how to work with orchestras. Twice a week, the kids come to the theatre to practice under the instruction of experienced opera artists and dancers. Killing three birds with one stone “By establishing VCC, we will kill three birds with one stone,” said conductor Pham Hong Hai. And what’s the first target that VCC is aimed for? According to the same conductor, it’s to train future generations of artists for the Vietnam Opera and Ballet Theatre. From the merely 30 kids who applied for VCC in its first days, VCC now has so many members that the theatre will stop recruiting for some time, for fear there aren’t enough stages as well as instructors for the kids. Many kids first came to VCC just out of curiosity, yet the more they learn, the better they love what they are taught, and so their parents have decided to head them in the professional road. “They will be outstanding artists in a near future. This is very important considering that the Opera and Ballet Theatre is facing a shortage of high-quality “input” these days,” said Pham Hong Hai. In addition, VCC’s young artists also contribute a great deal to the theatre’s programmes. In the past, the theatre could only look for adult actors with a child’s figure to perform in choirs or works written for children. But now that real child actors are in hand, adult actors no longer need to “pretend to be young.” And what is the third “bird” to be killed? This last goal is in fact no less important. The theatre wants to develop a faithful fan base for Vietnam’s choirs and orchestras. Not all of VCC’s current 300 members want to turn professional in the future. But one thing is for sure: they will all become the most enthusiastic audiences for this type of music which is yet to be popular in Vietnam. “The duty of each orchestra theatre in the world isn’t just to perform. It also needs to develop an audience base. Audiences today must have been developed yesterday. If you want your young people from 20 – 30 years of age spend their money to buy tickets to listen to your orchestras and choirs, you’ll have to make them love this type of music when they are 10 years old,” said conductor Hai. And not only these children, but their grandparents and parents may be drawn toward classical performances too. Conductor Hai added that more often than not, the enthusiasm and simplicity of child actors and artists were able to captivate more audiences than their adult counterparts can do. International performances So from July 5-20, 34 members of the Vietnam Children’s Choir will visit the western US including the states of Utah, Idaho and California. On July 9, VCC will perform alongside another children’s choir from Idaho Falls at Colonia Theatre. On July 10, there will be a small performance at Rigby Church; at Island Park Cultural House on July 1 and in Salt Lake City on July 14. For this US tour, VCC will sing familiar folk songs adapted to the choir. After America, VCC kids will visit Indonesia in November to join the Asian Choir Festival, and next year, they will also take part in the International Choir Festival to be held in August in Austria. (Source: Viet Nam Net)

The Beauty of Van Long Nature Reserve

16:20' 01/07/2007 (GMT+7)

VietNamNet Bridge - Covering an area of nearly 3,000ha, about 90km south of Hanoi, the wetland of Van Long is the largest nature reserve in the northern plain. In recent years, together with the old capital of Hoa Lu and Tam Coc-Bich Dong tourist site, Van Long Nature Reserve has become an attractive destination for visitors to Ninh Binh province. Standing on the dyke, visitors can see a vast area of mountains and a reservoir full of clear water. The high mountains constitute natural walls surrounding the reservoir. From Long Van wharf where hundreds of boats anchor close to one another, visitors can take a ride on a boat to discover the beauty of Van Long Nature Reserve. On the vast water surface the space is so quiet that they can hear the sounds of whisking fish, moving oars and children’s voices from distant villages. In the rainy season, the water flows look like silk bands stretching between rows of clumped grass. The water surface is dotted with wild flowers of different colours, giving the reservoir a distinctive beauty. During the cruise, visitors not only contemplate ranges of splendid rocky mountains and surrounding beautiful landscape of the peaceful rural areas and enjoy the tranquil atmosphere, but also have an opportunity to observe aquatic creatures and precious species of birds, learn about various indigenous animals and visit beautiful caves and grottos. Covering an area of nearly 3,000ha in seven communes of Gia Vien District, Ninh Binh Province, Van Long Nature Reserve has a rich and diverse flora and fauna, including 457 species of high-class flora, of which eight species have been listed in Vietnam’s Red Book, 39 species of animals including 12 precious and rare species, such as the white-breeched langur, white-collared bear and serow, particularly the belostoma, a precious species of insect that survives in small numbers throughout the world. Van Long Nature Reserve is also known for many beautiful caves and grottos, such as the Ca Grotto and Rua, Chanh and Bong Caves . Besides, there are hundreds of mountains, such as the Meo Cao, Nghien, Voi Dung, Mo Coi, Hom Sach, Da Ban and Co Tien. Visitors are very interested in learning about a legend of the Ca (Fish) Cave. The story is that a black fish was caught at the foot of Hoang Quyen Mountain . It was so big that even several people could not carry it, hence the name Ca Grotto. Now Ca Grotto, 250m long and half submerged, is the habitat of many species of fish, such as the catfish, anabas and black fish. It runs through the mountain and has magnificent stalactites and stalagmites which have been created over hundreds of millions of years. Van Long Nature Reserve is more attractive with images of rural girls rowing simple bamboo boats with poles, and ox carts carrying visitors on a tour around the village to learn about the daily activities of the rural people and buy the local products. In the near future Van Long wetland will become an attractive tourist site for domestic and foreign visitors. The most favourite route: The Kem Cham-Hang Bong-Nui Vooc route (2-4 hours): The tourist guide receives the visitors at Van Long market and takes them on an ox cart to visit Van Long Village before arriving at Van Long eco-tourist site for a rest and preparing for sightseeing at Van Long Nature Reserve. How to get to Van Long Nature Reserve: + By car: Start from Hanoi and go along Highway 1A southwards for about two hours, you will reach the T-junction of Gian. Turn right and go 7km further, you will arrive at Van Long Nature Reserve. Ticket price: 40,000VND/ passenger. + By train: From the Hanoi Railway Station, take the Hanoi-Ninh Binh train, either the S5 train which departs at 12h30 or the S3 train which departs at 15h40. After more than 2 hours’ run, the train arrives at Ninh Binh Railway Station. Ticket price: 26,000-33,000VND/passenger. After that, go 10km further by car to Van Long Nature Reserve. Ticket price: 15,000VND/passenger. Vân Long resort - Room rate: 150,000-500,000 VND/a day. - Head office: Gia Van Commune, Gia Vien District, Ninh Binh Province . - Tel: 030.641290 / 874439; Mobile phone: 0913518151 – 0912444721. (Source: Vietnam Net)

Red Cross convenes 8th congress

15:45' 01/07/2007 (GMT+7)

President Triet (second from right) stresses that humanitarian activities should be linked with socio-economic development task. VietNamNet Bridge - President Nguyen Minh Triet has applauded the Vietnam Red Cross Society’s (VNRC) work in aiding the country's disadvantaged, ethnic minorities and natural disaster and Agent Orange (AO) victims. The President made the comment while addressing the eighth national congress of the VNRC, in Hanoi, on June 29, where Tran Ngoc Tang was elected as the new VNRC President for the 2007- 2011 term. Over the past seven years, the VNRC poured more than VND 550 billion (US $34.3 million) into hundreds of humanitarian projects to help poor people, Agent Orange/ Dioxin victims, orphans and disadvantaged people in mountainous regions nationwide, including a VND 3 trillion (US $187.5 million) package that was used to aid more than 600,000 households escape poverty, provide vocational training to 40,000 physically challenged and repaired and built 20,000 houses for the poor. More than 330,000 AO victims received free surgery and physical rehabilitation therapy and were granted loans to develop business or production, a further 15 million people were given free medical treatment and close to 20,000 HIV/AIDS suffers were cared for. The congress that was also meeting to review work from 2001-2007, also commended prominent humanitarian activists and organisations in the country as well as local and foreign donors, international organisations and International Federation of Red Cross members for their continued support and assistance to the country. (Source: Viet Nam Net)

Vietnam buys into the label culture

17:13' 01/07/2007 (GMT+7)

VietNamNet Bridge - One of the most noticeable changes over the last five years is a visible move from self denial to self indulgence.With GDP growth in 2006 at around 7.8 per cent, Vietnam is regarded as the second fastest growing economy after China. The country is often thought of as the third most attractive destination to invest in retail, after India and China. However, the 2006 AT Kearney report positioned Vietnam in third place on its Global Retail Destination Index (GRDI), behind Russia and India. But, remember that this report came out before Vietnam’s accession to WTO in January 2007 which laid out regulations on foreign retailing. Foreign direct investment (FDI) amounted to approximately $10 billion of which 12 per cent found its way into real estate. Tourism shows signs of strong growth with Vietnam welcoming 3.6 million visitors in 2006. Most markets are showing more than 20 per cent growth in 2007 which bodes well for retail and its tourist dollars. Fortunately, a large percentage of tourists find their way to Ho Chi Minh City or Hanoi, where they will find the lion’s share of exciting shopping options. Ben Thanh market in Ho Chi Minh City is high on the tourist list of things to see and do. This is reflected in a Reuters article in 2006 that reported retail rentals in Ben Thanh market to be the most expensive in the world. One significant aspect that global retailers have their eye on is Vietnam’s relatively large population of more than 83 million people. This is growing at 1.4 per cent, adding an additional one million people a year to the potential consumer base. In addition, a large proportion of the population (as much as 50 to 60 per cent) is under 30 years old. Although the national per capital income is only $550 per person per year, this is still growing by more than 20 per cent, year-on-year. Incomes are much higher in the urban areas by three or four times the national average. The Consumer Market Vietnam is changing rapidly. One of the most noticeable changes over the last five years is a visible move from self denial to self indulgence. Its effects are seen everywhere; from wet markets to shopping malls, from bicycles to scooters, from drab coloured, loose clothing to designer brand names. Among the urban economic classes, households earning between $600 and $1,000 per month are the fastest growing segment followed by those households earning above $1,000 per month. With the advent of a rising aspirational leisure class, sports (particularly golf and tennis) have become popular. Vietnam’s café culture has caught the eye of many of the world’s coffee brands, with Gloria Jeans from Australia recently opening up in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi. More international coffee brands are likely to follow. Nightclubs are popular among all ages, particularly with young people. It is common to see a small table of affluent young males nursing a bottle of XO brandy, regarding it as more of a status symbol than a mere drink. Vietnamese are now travelling and enjoying hotels and resorts in their own country as well as venturing to Thailand, Singapore or Malaysia on budget tours. Shopping appears to be a national weekend pastime, especially if those shopping destinations include food and beverage and entertainment options. Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi have long been devoid of anything to do for young people who now accept new retail developments and international branded fashion merchandise with open arms. The constant increasing supply in the number of gyms, kindergartens, multiplex cinemas, spars, satellite TV stations, internet and mobile phone users, are all indicators of a strong consumer market. Consumer confidence sky high Consumer confidence is high in Vietnam. Regarded as one of the world’s happiest nations and certainly one of the safest destinations, the few supermarkets, hypermarkets and cash and carry stores that do exist are generally packed at the weekend. Although the country only has about 250 supermarkets, they are growing at a rate of 25 per cent per year. Department stores and shopping centres are growing at a rate of 60 per cent, per year. They are quickly gaining a market share in the urban areas, although in the rural areas the wet markets and ‘mum and pop’ stores are still dominating the market and account for more than 80 per cent of all retail sales. Product availability is a visible factor that affects consumer spending. Most international brands advertised in foreign lifestyle magazines can be found on the shelves of a downtown Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City department store or upgraded shop house. Expensive items will these days be purchased with a credit or debit card or with cash drawn from one the many ATMs that have sprung up. All this new found wealth and consumer spending has resulted in what appears to be complete chaos on the roads. Developers of new shopping centres will succeed if they pay attention to building access and parking. Car ownership will grow, but until the new roads systems and mass rapid transports systems are in place, the preferred mode of travel will be motorbike. And you can only go so far and get so much on the back of a motorbike. (Source: Viet Nam Net)

Funny & sorrowful stories of doping

15:31' 01/07/2007 (GMT+7)

VietNamNet Bridge – The Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) has recently announced that all Vietnamese players attending the upcoming Asian Football Cup’s final round will be tested for doping before each match while those tests, according to the rules of FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), are performed after matches. VFF’s measure is considered a precaution. Precaution is necessary According to VFF, after a series of scandals in which young players were discovered to be using drugs like the cases of Xuan Thanh and Luu Van Hien, such tests are necessary for football players, including members of the national squad, because narcotics are banned by FIFA and the International Olympic Committee. A VFF official, Pham Quang, said: “I don’t believe that a member of the national squad is using drugs or doping but we still have to perform the test in advance to be assured.” Actually, AFC representatives warned VFF about banned substances at the Asian vision workshop in 2004. At that time, AFC’s health director Gurchanran Sigh said: “AFC is interested in this issue and it warns national football federations to invest in its sport health system. It is regrettable that Vietnam is weak in this area.” However, VFF is worrying about the funding for drug tests, which cost around $200 per quick test. To ‘check’ over 20 members of the national football squad, VFF has to spend $5,000. Meanwhile, Vietnam can’t afford to build a drug test centre, at $20 to $40 million. Don’t cry about drugs… There has been no Vietnamese football player recently found to be using drugs, but there have been several athletes in other fields, for example divers Pham Thi Diu and Pham Toan Thang, boat racer Hoang Hong Anh, and athletic sportswoman Pham Mai Quynh. These cases were ‘shocks’ to Vietnamese sports leaders at the 22nd SEA Games. After the 22nd SEA Games, another Vietnamese athlete tested positive, bodybuilder Nguyen Van Tuan, who was fined $2,000 by the Asian Bodybuilding Confederation. “Elite sports can’t lack medicines, but what are they and are they on the banned list?” said a sports official, frankly. It is very complicated for banned substances. Dr. Le Quy Phuong, Director of the Sports and Physical Training Medicine Institute said: “Drinking too much coffee before playing may bring about a positive test.” In addition, the knowledge of drugs of Vietnamese athletes is limited. The list of banned medicines includes several hundred types. Even when athletes use normal medicines to cure colds, stomach aches tests may show a positive result. Funny and sorrowful stories about drugs Many funny and sorrowful stories happened at the 22nd SEA Games in Vietnam related to drug tests. For example, after Lan Anh won the gold medal in the woman’s 1,500m event, exceeding the SEA Games record, there was rumour that she had used drugs, reasoning that Vietnamese people could not run as fast as she did. Moreover, Lan An’s record at the pre-SEA Games event was not so good. Thus, the athlete was kept for two hours in a room to provide samples for tests. Runner Nguyen Thi Tinh was in the same situation. “I also had to wait for her for several hours till experts took samples for tests because I had to sign the sample-taking document. At midnight we returned to the hotel and Tinh vomited water,” said the Secretary General of the Hanoi Athletics Federation, Thanh Van. Many people still doubt ‘candies’ of the former coach of the Vietnamese national football squad Tavares. In 1995, experts were amazed with the ‘physical strength revolution’ that this coach brought to the Vietnamese national team. Many people raised questions about the green candies that this coach gave his players after each match and during drills. His assistants also reported to VFF leaders about those candies. Nearly ten years later, Tavares once again gave those candies to his players at the Tiger Cup. Are those candies a kind of performance-enhancing drug? Tavares said that these were normal candies and he gave players those candies as a ‘spiritual drug’. Before the 23rd SEA Games, some heard about a ‘natural dope’ of the Vietnamese sports delegation. The Sports and Physical Training Science Institute at that time decided to buy holuthurian and sea-snake pills produced by the Biotechnology Institute. This pill was joked to be ‘domestic viagra’ because it helps increase testosterone in men and increase strength. After the Vietnamese sports delegation returned from 23rd SEA Games with many records, the pill was praised for its effects and it is lucky that there was no problem found with this kind of medicine. Previously, the national football squad used one kind of medicine named ‘Cao tu duong’, which was questioned to be one kind of drug. However, the Sports and Physical Training Medicine Institute said that it was not banned. At the 22nd SEA Games, coach Alfred Riedl’s assistant Nguyen Thanh Vinh told football players to eat dog meat before each match because according to Mr Vinh, dog meat is a ‘natural performance enhancer’. (Source:Viet Nam Net)