cavanami Posted January 8, 2015 Report Share Posted January 8, 2015 Sounds like Thailand 20 years ago.... 21 Reasons To Fall In Love With Vietnam http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/04/vietnam-travel-reasons-to-visit_n_6272222.html Vietnam should be on the top of everyone's travel list. It's that simple. With its dramatic landscapes, fascinating history, epic food and pulsating energy, Vietnam will electrify all of your senses and seize you from all angles. Vietnam is at once crazy and serene, thrilling and relaxing. There are endless reasons to hop on a flight to Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City and travel down or up this amazing country by train, plane, bus or -- the preferred method of transport -- motorbike. If you need persuading, here are 21 reasons to fall head over heels in love with Vietnam: 1. Street Food 2. Motorbikes 3. Coffee... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bust Posted January 8, 2015 Report Share Posted January 8, 2015 Last year Vietnam had the fastest growing economy in Asia I have enjoyed my time in HCM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted January 8, 2015 Report Share Posted January 8, 2015 HRW calls for end to arrests of critics (HRW) – Vietnam should drop all charges and immediately release bloggers Nguyen Quang Lap (Nguyá»…n Quang Láºp) and Hong Le Tho (Hồng Lê Thá»), who were arrested for operating independent blogs, Human Rights Watch said Dec. 10. Nguyen Quang Lap was arrested on December 6, 2014, and Hong Le Tho was arrested on November 29 in Ho Chi Minh City. Both were charged with “abusing freedom and democracy to infringe upon the interests of the state†under article 258 of the penal code. In 2014, Vietnam has used article 258 to convict at least 10 rights advocates and arrest 4 bloggers. “There can hardly be a more insidious legal provision than one that criminalizes ‘abusing freedom and democracy to infringe on the interests of the state,’†said Brad Adams, Asia director. “These charges are even more preposterous from a government that is not democratic and doesn’t respect individual freedom.†Nguyen Quang Lap (referred to as “Bo Lap†on his well-known Que Choa blog), 58, is a prominent writer, journalist, and blogger. After graduating from the Hanoi Polytechnic University, he served in the army for five years during the early 1980s. Lap began his writing career as a freelance writer and journalist. He served as the deputy editor-in-chief of the popular Cua Viet (the Door of Viet) magazine from 1990-1992. After only seventeen issues, Cua Viet was shut down by the authorities for publishing pro-democracy content. In the early 1990s, Lap moved to Hanoi where he worked for various literary media including Young Literature & Arts Newspaper and the Kim Dong Children’s Publishing House. He penned a number of widely produced and highly acclaimed plays such as Nhung linh hon song (Living Souls) and Mua ha cay dang (A Painful Summer). His film scripts such as Thung lung hoang vang (Deserted Valley) and Doi cat (Sand Life) won national awards. In addition to his writings for film and stage, he is the author of a published novel and several collections of stories and short pieces of non-fiction. In 2001, Nguyen Quang Lap suffered a motorcycle accident that left him with one leg and one arm paralyze Nguyen Quang Lap started the Que Choa blog in 2007. It quickly emerged as one of the most popular blogs for Vietnamese readers both domestically and overseas. In May 2013, the administrative manager of the domain server that hosts the Que Choa blog requested that he remove a number of “sensitive†and “bad†posts on his blog. He declined and his blog was removed from the server. Lap then moved to a foreign-based host sever. Despite suffering intermittent attacks and firewalls, by June 2014 Que Choa had received more than a hundred million views. In July 2014, Nguyen Quang Lap’s Facebook account was temporarily suspended and he was forced to open another account. Attempts to silence Nguyen Quang Lap have only made him more outspoken. In a blog entry in June, he wrote, “I have never nor will I ever follow or oppose anyone because this is not the job of a writer. I will always be a small boat person, carrying the boat of TRUTH to the people and nothing else.†Hong Le Tho (who blogs as Nguoi Lot Gach – which means “bricklayerâ€), 65, was an anti-war student activist in Japan in the late 1960s and early 1970. After 1975, he reportedly worked for the Vietnamese Embassy in Japan for four years before moving back to Vietnam. He started his blog, Nguoi Lot Gach, in 2011. He has mainly used it to repost articles focused on social and political issues in Vietnam. Tho is known among the Vietnamese intelligentsia as an independent researcher of issues related to Vietnam’s territorial claim in the Spratly and Paracel Islands. Both he and Nguyen Quang Lap have strongly opposed China’s claims in this dispute. Nguyen Quang Lap and Hong Le Tho are not the only bloggers who have been arrested and charged with article 258 this year. Other victims of this ongoing crackdown include Nguyen Huu Vinh (known as Anh Ba Sam) and his colleague Nguyen Thi Minh Thuy, both arrested in May2014. In November, the B14 Detention Center in Hanoi refused to allow defense lawyer Ha Huy Son to meet with his client Nguyen Huu Vinh, and defense lawyer Nguyen Tien Dung to meet his client Nguyen Thi Minh Thuy. In December, the Procuracy office informed Ha Huy Son that the case has been sent back to the police investigation bureau for supplemental investigation. Vietnam became a member of the UN Human Rights Council in 2014. However, it continues to use vaguely defined articles in the penal code, such as article 258, to silence Vietnamese critics. “Efforts to silence bloggers make a mockery of Vietnam’s commitments to the United Nations when it stood for election to the Human Rights Council,†Adams said. “The Vietnamese government looks like little more than a bully at home and abroad when it persecutes people who do nothing more than express their opinions.†https://www.vietnamr...sts-of-critics/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dean Posted January 8, 2015 Report Share Posted January 8, 2015 Having lived through the Vietnam War era and almost drafted, I have no great desire to visit and absolutely no desire to live there. However, I would like to visit Cuba as soon as relations are normalized, as my dad and mother spent several vacations there, including their last one, as "guests" of the Castro regime at their hotel in Havana. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted January 8, 2015 Report Share Posted January 8, 2015 I liked Vietnam even during the war. I just didn't like the folks who were shooting at me. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mekong Posted January 8, 2015 Report Share Posted January 8, 2015 Bullshit List, Number 1 in Nam is Bia Hoi at 20,000 VND per pitcher best value in the world, Number 2 in Nam is Thang Long Cigarettes 75,000 VND for a carton of 200 smokes. Bar Bill tonight for me and my mate copious amounts of ale and 4 packs of smokes (80) 140,00 VND which is about 225 THB, I couldn't get a pint and a pack of smokes for they in Bangkok. Number 3 in Nam is Traditional Vietnamese Weddings, surreal, I was at my secretary's wedding on wednesday evening, this was further than nakon nowhere 30 minutes off the beaten track, the whole village are related, or should I say commune since it is a communist country, I could start a whole new thread about this but I feel honoured to have been invited, definitely some experience that "Lonely Planet" would never pick up on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coss Posted January 8, 2015 Report Share Posted January 8, 2015 Kong, if you're still there when I'm back in The Glorious People's Republic, I'll come and visit. My experiences with a trip to Hanoi and Ha Long Bay, were that, people who were involved with the Buses and Tourism and Accommodation on the travel and tours we did - absolute c*nts, I've never been so close to losing it and just decking one of the little bastards. But! The people who weren't in the aforementioned categories, the locals in local restaurants, shops and so on, the normal non-tourism people, perfectly lovely. If only I could find away of travelling in Vietnam that didn't involve the tourism industry. I am told by an Old Timer, that when Vietnam was opening up to the tourism industry, the people thought this was great, but they just took the punters money and offered little in service or value, the Viet Government then had to "Educate" the industry as a whole and it got a lot better, but now its slipping back into it's old ways, time for a little bit more "Traditional Cultural Communist Education:. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ALHOLK Posted January 9, 2015 Report Share Posted January 9, 2015 I was in Saigon/HMC 1992 and most people were very friendly. Sure some people in the tourist trade were on the make. To be fair, which tourist area in the world doesns't this happen. I supose that comming from a country that supported Vietnam in their struggle So the bottom line is: The Vietnamese people are very nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted January 10, 2015 Report Share Posted January 10, 2015 I wouldn't tell folks in Saigon that your country supported them in their struggle. Even now you might be surprised. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now