Calendar
| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
Categories
Archives
XML/RSS Feed
Blog Directories
Statistics
Total entries in this blog:
Published On: Oct 30, 2006 07:47 PM
Published On: Oct 30, 2006 07:47 PM
Mon - October 30, 2006
Working Hard ;-)
Cat Cat Village in Sapa. Mind you, we worked hard
walking back up the hill
again!
Posted at 07:47 PM
Sun - July 30, 2006
Subsidy System Exhibition
Last weekend, Russell and I decided to go
and check out an exhibition about Vietnam's Subsidy System which was shown at
the Museum of Ethnology.
This system lasted from 1975 - 1986. I think the thing that really struck us both was that the scenes and situations within the exhibit, of course, seemed harsh, but that it was so RECENT. It is so hard to believe - on one level - that Hanoi lived through that such a short time ago. But on another level, it really informs so many aspects of life in Hanoi, so many attitudes. We came out of the exhibit having a bit more of an appreciation and understanding for the motivation behind Vietnamese behaviour we sometimes don't understand.
We took so many photos, as it was such a fascinating exhibit. Maybe I need to set up a flickr account! I won't post them all here.
A few things we thought noteworthy:
* Even through real hardship, Tet was celebrated with enthusiasm, and the government provided for Tet products in its stores.
* If you were able to purchase something (say a radio) you would need to take the ownership book to go and buy batteries!
* Whilst you would imagine the food-stamp system would mean equality, it actually didn't. People at various levels of society got different stamps to allow more (or less) of each item. Of course, for some people who would otherwise have nothing, the stamps meant SOMETHING, at least.
* Whilst many aspects of culture and art were limited, a poem commenting on the lack of results from Ho Chi Minh's vision was published in newspaper. Obviously, this was controversial!
* The accountability of the government in regards to the lack of success of this system. Yes, I know it's easy to acknowledge this when you have shown a new style of government which is, undoubtedly, successful. And with the pending WTO accession, it does show the current government in a very good light. Nevertheless, I think it's very brave of the government to go ahead with a display like this and make past hardships known to a greater audience.
Below is a photo of ration stamps.
I really don't know whether many young people appreciate what their parents and grand-parents went through. But maybe it's better they don't. Their optimism and enthusiasm is what drives the success of the new Vietnam.
This system lasted from 1975 - 1986. I think the thing that really struck us both was that the scenes and situations within the exhibit, of course, seemed harsh, but that it was so RECENT. It is so hard to believe - on one level - that Hanoi lived through that such a short time ago. But on another level, it really informs so many aspects of life in Hanoi, so many attitudes. We came out of the exhibit having a bit more of an appreciation and understanding for the motivation behind Vietnamese behaviour we sometimes don't understand.
We took so many photos, as it was such a fascinating exhibit. Maybe I need to set up a flickr account! I won't post them all here.
A few things we thought noteworthy:
* Even through real hardship, Tet was celebrated with enthusiasm, and the government provided for Tet products in its stores.
* If you were able to purchase something (say a radio) you would need to take the ownership book to go and buy batteries!
* Whilst you would imagine the food-stamp system would mean equality, it actually didn't. People at various levels of society got different stamps to allow more (or less) of each item. Of course, for some people who would otherwise have nothing, the stamps meant SOMETHING, at least.
* Whilst many aspects of culture and art were limited, a poem commenting on the lack of results from Ho Chi Minh's vision was published in newspaper. Obviously, this was controversial!
* The accountability of the government in regards to the lack of success of this system. Yes, I know it's easy to acknowledge this when you have shown a new style of government which is, undoubtedly, successful. And with the pending WTO accession, it does show the current government in a very good light. Nevertheless, I think it's very brave of the government to go ahead with a display like this and make past hardships known to a greater audience.
Below is a photo of ration stamps.
I really don't know whether many young people appreciate what their parents and grand-parents went through. But maybe it's better they don't. Their optimism and enthusiasm is what drives the success of the new Vietnam.
Posted at 06:19 PM
Mon - July 10, 2006
Macbook Pro 17"
Regular readers will know I've had my eye on
a Macbook Pro ever since his Steveness brought the first 15" model down from the
mountain top earlier this year. You may also remember the extreme discipline
shown by yours truly as I decided to wait on the 17" model. Well the new baby
is here and it was worth the
wait!
Once I decided to order it I contacted my local FPT distribution staffer and signed a purchase order. Four weeks later I brought it home. If you are in the market for a Mac in Vietnam, do give FPT distribution a call and they will be able to help you. They are also the local Apple service centre. If you want contact details feel free to drop me an email message.
Anyway I brought the new Mac home and booted it up. The first thing I noticed was the speed of the machine. It's fast alright. It goes without saying it's the fastest Mac I've ever used. It probably is exceeded by a Quad G5 Mac for some tasks but you would expect that. The next thing I noticed was just how similar it was to my old (now Emma's gratefully received new) 17" Powerbook. Check out the photos Below:
This of course is no bad thing as these are the most beautiful laptops ever made.
In use the new laptop is amazing. The engineering achievement here is substantial. Apple have managed to entirely switch architectures but made the user experience seamless. This looks and feels just like a Mac, just very very fast. The "universal" binaries run very quickly indeed, blowing away the previous machine by a wide and visible margin. The emulated PowerPC binaries are slower than the Universals but even they feel at least as fast as they used to on the G4 laptop. The exceptions to this are floating point intensive applications such as Photoshop. Until universal binaries are available for that, it is actually a better performer on a G4 or G5. In all though, for my uses the Macbook performance ranges from as fast as the old machine to ridiculously fast! This is a remarkable job from Apple. I was around for the 68000 to PPC transition and I thought THAT was well handled. This has been even better.
From time to time there is a need to run that "other" operating system, Windows. I need to run Visio at work from time to time and whilst it feels archaic and inflexible next to the excellent Omnigraffle sometimes I just have to run it. For this I need Windows. On the G4 I used to use Virtual PC and whilst this was functional it was as slow as the proverbial molasses. On the Macbook I use Parallels and the performance is stunning. I'm pretty confident that my Macbook running Windows under Parallels is the fastest Windows box I've ever used too. Very nice for occasional Windows use and keeps it all in a sandbox under the control of the seemingly bulletproof OS X. Parallels does not give you access to the 3D graphics card in the Mac but for 99% of Windows applications it's a non issue. Great work to the guys from Parallels.
I'm delighted with the new machine. It's fast, beautiful and the screen is gorgeous. I say this every-time I get a new Mac but it's the best machine I've ever owned.
As a side note it's also worth mentioning Apple's migration assistant. I used it for the first time to migrate Emma from her old laptop and it was amazingly easy. You connect the two laptops via Firewire and the new Mac copies all the user data, applications and settings. It was as easy as it sounds right there. The most simple computer transfer I've ever done. Very nice.
If you have any questions about the MacBook Pro or Apple in Vietnam in general please let me know!
Once I decided to order it I contacted my local FPT distribution staffer and signed a purchase order. Four weeks later I brought it home. If you are in the market for a Mac in Vietnam, do give FPT distribution a call and they will be able to help you. They are also the local Apple service centre. If you want contact details feel free to drop me an email message.
Anyway I brought the new Mac home and booted it up. The first thing I noticed was the speed of the machine. It's fast alright. It goes without saying it's the fastest Mac I've ever used. It probably is exceeded by a Quad G5 Mac for some tasks but you would expect that. The next thing I noticed was just how similar it was to my old (now Emma's gratefully received new) 17" Powerbook. Check out the photos Below:
This of course is no bad thing as these are the most beautiful laptops ever made.
In use the new laptop is amazing. The engineering achievement here is substantial. Apple have managed to entirely switch architectures but made the user experience seamless. This looks and feels just like a Mac, just very very fast. The "universal" binaries run very quickly indeed, blowing away the previous machine by a wide and visible margin. The emulated PowerPC binaries are slower than the Universals but even they feel at least as fast as they used to on the G4 laptop. The exceptions to this are floating point intensive applications such as Photoshop. Until universal binaries are available for that, it is actually a better performer on a G4 or G5. In all though, for my uses the Macbook performance ranges from as fast as the old machine to ridiculously fast! This is a remarkable job from Apple. I was around for the 68000 to PPC transition and I thought THAT was well handled. This has been even better.
From time to time there is a need to run that "other" operating system, Windows. I need to run Visio at work from time to time and whilst it feels archaic and inflexible next to the excellent Omnigraffle sometimes I just have to run it. For this I need Windows. On the G4 I used to use Virtual PC and whilst this was functional it was as slow as the proverbial molasses. On the Macbook I use Parallels and the performance is stunning. I'm pretty confident that my Macbook running Windows under Parallels is the fastest Windows box I've ever used too. Very nice for occasional Windows use and keeps it all in a sandbox under the control of the seemingly bulletproof OS X. Parallels does not give you access to the 3D graphics card in the Mac but for 99% of Windows applications it's a non issue. Great work to the guys from Parallels.
I'm delighted with the new machine. It's fast, beautiful and the screen is gorgeous. I say this every-time I get a new Mac but it's the best machine I've ever owned.
As a side note it's also worth mentioning Apple's migration assistant. I used it for the first time to migrate Emma from her old laptop and it was amazingly easy. You connect the two laptops via Firewire and the new Mac copies all the user data, applications and settings. It was as easy as it sounds right there. The most simple computer transfer I've ever done. Very nice.
If you have any questions about the MacBook Pro or Apple in Vietnam in general please let me know!
Posted at 07:30 PM
Sat - July 8, 2006
Mon - July 3, 2006
Sun - July 2, 2006
Holiday Bliss
Hoi An has long been a stop on the
travel-trail between Saigon and Hanoi. It's also a fave of (particularly Hanoi)
expats for relaxing breaks. It also happens to be the place where our company
has taken us on the annual vacation. Yay! Living in Hanoi, it's nice to be
treated to a bit of luxury every now and
again!
This year, as last year, we stayed at the 5-star Golden Sands Resort. It's glorious! Click on the link to see - you know you want to! The resort is set on its own private beach, and we stayed in a huge room looking right over the glistening sand and sea. Just looking at this picture makes me feel so relaxed and stress-free. We had such a fabulous time - again!
One of the big draws about this particular resort is its enormous - and I mean, biggest ever - pool. Apparently size does count when it comes to pools. This one is so beautiful and so big it needs bridges over it at various intervals. And of course, it's set right on the beach, so you have a choice of locations to luxuriate. I think this is an important feature in a resort. You don't want to get too "bored" of your little piece of paradise!
So, as usual when we return from vacation, I'll be posting some pics and thoughts of Hoi An for the rest of the week. It's always nice to relive the bliss :-)
This year, as last year, we stayed at the 5-star Golden Sands Resort. It's glorious! Click on the link to see - you know you want to! The resort is set on its own private beach, and we stayed in a huge room looking right over the glistening sand and sea. Just looking at this picture makes me feel so relaxed and stress-free. We had such a fabulous time - again!
One of the big draws about this particular resort is its enormous - and I mean, biggest ever - pool. Apparently size does count when it comes to pools. This one is so beautiful and so big it needs bridges over it at various intervals. And of course, it's set right on the beach, so you have a choice of locations to luxuriate. I think this is an important feature in a resort. You don't want to get too "bored" of your little piece of paradise!
So, as usual when we return from vacation, I'll be posting some pics and thoughts of Hoi An for the rest of the week. It's always nice to relive the bliss :-)
Posted at 12:00 PM
Thu - June 8, 2006
Healthy enough to work in Vietnam!
Last Wednesday morning I went for the
dreaded health check at the Hanoi SOS Clinic. Everyone applying for a work
permit in Vietnam has to submit a health check certificate. I purposely waited
until I had EVERY OTHER piece of documentation required for the work permit
before getting the health check done. I just hate going to doctors or hospitals.
I have a crazy fear of needles and in particular of having blood drawn (just
writing that makes me all
squeamish!).
So I went along to the clinic, prepared for the worst. First of all, I filled out a general health questionnaire. Then I went in for a chest x-ray. I'd been told I had to have an MRI but this turned out to not be true, a chest x-ray will do, thank goodness. Then, back to the waiting room. I settled in for a while of waiting, watching this older couple who were obviously in the process of adopting 2 Vietnamese children. They had a little girl and a baby and it seemed like a mountain of paperwork they, and what seemed to be a kind of agent, had to get through.
Then I was called for the nurse check. Uh-oh, this is going to be the blood test, right? Panic was totally setting in at this point and I could feel my heart beating really fast, which is probably not good for blood pressure and heart rate checks! The nurse was really professional and kind. She did all of the checks including the ever-popular "pee-in-the jar". When she took my pulse, she kept telling me to calm down - my reading was waaayyyy up there! Ooops! I couldn't help it, just thinking about that blood test was killing me. So then we came to the blood test itself and all I can say is thank goodness it's now a week ago.
So, arm band-aided up and feeling very stressed and kind of faint, I went back to the waiting room. I couldn't help watch the adopting parents and their children again. I wondered about the children. What happened in their lives? The baby wouldn't know anything, but the young girl would have experienced... what? I looked at her and marveled at how well she appeared to be coping. Or maybe she was delighted at this clear change in fortunes, with two new parents who obviously doted on her.
My thoughts were interrupted by the doctor, calling me for my next check of the day. This one was pretty easy. Just a sort of physical body check and no blood spilt or otherwise removed from my body, which always signals an easy health check for me. Although she did go and get the pulse monitor and test me again, obviously not believing the nurse's previous (and accurate) documentation of my racing heart. Then I was done.
I was told the results take 5 days. So between then and this morning I have been having these nagging thoughts in my mind. As I said to Russell, just the fact that you are being checked for HIV, TB and whatever else kind of infers (at least to me) that there would be the possibility of you, in fact, having these diseases. Which is quite scary. Imagine thinking that you are perfectly healthy and just getting a check up, and then being told you have HIV. I think "shocked" would be an understatement.
In the intervening week, I also had the "great" experience of being reminded of the blood test every single day, in the form of the colour on the inside of my left elbow. The day after the test, I recklessly pulled off the band-aid and again almost fainted. Yikes! The inside of my arm was really dark red/purple. I was just expecting a little tiny dot from the hole, but not this enormous, deeply red bruise.
I finally picked up my results this morning. And yes, I am healthy. Yay! In fact, I am not only healthy, but am "in a good health condition and fit for work in Vietnam". It says so on my health certificate. To be honest, looking at the state of some workers in Vietnam, I'm not sure that being fit for work in Vietnam is any kind of recommendation, but I am very thankful to have my health certificate and all of my documentation now.
As Russell says, perhaps the only problem I have is an acute case of hypochondria.
So I went along to the clinic, prepared for the worst. First of all, I filled out a general health questionnaire. Then I went in for a chest x-ray. I'd been told I had to have an MRI but this turned out to not be true, a chest x-ray will do, thank goodness. Then, back to the waiting room. I settled in for a while of waiting, watching this older couple who were obviously in the process of adopting 2 Vietnamese children. They had a little girl and a baby and it seemed like a mountain of paperwork they, and what seemed to be a kind of agent, had to get through.
Then I was called for the nurse check. Uh-oh, this is going to be the blood test, right? Panic was totally setting in at this point and I could feel my heart beating really fast, which is probably not good for blood pressure and heart rate checks! The nurse was really professional and kind. She did all of the checks including the ever-popular "pee-in-the jar". When she took my pulse, she kept telling me to calm down - my reading was waaayyyy up there! Ooops! I couldn't help it, just thinking about that blood test was killing me. So then we came to the blood test itself and all I can say is thank goodness it's now a week ago.
So, arm band-aided up and feeling very stressed and kind of faint, I went back to the waiting room. I couldn't help watch the adopting parents and their children again. I wondered about the children. What happened in their lives? The baby wouldn't know anything, but the young girl would have experienced... what? I looked at her and marveled at how well she appeared to be coping. Or maybe she was delighted at this clear change in fortunes, with two new parents who obviously doted on her.
My thoughts were interrupted by the doctor, calling me for my next check of the day. This one was pretty easy. Just a sort of physical body check and no blood spilt or otherwise removed from my body, which always signals an easy health check for me. Although she did go and get the pulse monitor and test me again, obviously not believing the nurse's previous (and accurate) documentation of my racing heart. Then I was done.
I was told the results take 5 days. So between then and this morning I have been having these nagging thoughts in my mind. As I said to Russell, just the fact that you are being checked for HIV, TB and whatever else kind of infers (at least to me) that there would be the possibility of you, in fact, having these diseases. Which is quite scary. Imagine thinking that you are perfectly healthy and just getting a check up, and then being told you have HIV. I think "shocked" would be an understatement.
In the intervening week, I also had the "great" experience of being reminded of the blood test every single day, in the form of the colour on the inside of my left elbow. The day after the test, I recklessly pulled off the band-aid and again almost fainted. Yikes! The inside of my arm was really dark red/purple. I was just expecting a little tiny dot from the hole, but not this enormous, deeply red bruise.
I finally picked up my results this morning. And yes, I am healthy. Yay! In fact, I am not only healthy, but am "in a good health condition and fit for work in Vietnam". It says so on my health certificate. To be honest, looking at the state of some workers in Vietnam, I'm not sure that being fit for work in Vietnam is any kind of recommendation, but I am very thankful to have my health certificate and all of my documentation now.
As Russell says, perhaps the only problem I have is an acute case of hypochondria.
Posted at 10:41 AM
Tue - June 6, 2006
Beginning Again
Hanoi has so many old trees. In fact, at
this time of year, the maintenance crews have to work overtime to try and keep
the trees well trimmed so that they don't drop branches on the
road.
A few weeks ago, we were walking along our street, and this big strong tree (like the one below) was lying on the ground right across the street. As far as we can tell, it blew down in some really bad storms we had that weekend.
Anyway, this past Sunday we were walking home and noticed that the old tree has since been replaced. It's got a lot of growing to do.
A few weeks ago, we were walking along our street, and this big strong tree (like the one below) was lying on the ground right across the street. As far as we can tell, it blew down in some really bad storms we had that weekend.
Anyway, this past Sunday we were walking home and noticed that the old tree has since been replaced. It's got a lot of growing to do.
Posted at 02:20 PM
Tue - May 30, 2006
Mon - May 29, 2006
Make yourself at home
Building teams here don't just visit the
site each day in time for work; they live in the building site itself. Whilst
I've seen this happen when people renovate their own homes in Australia, this
applies equally to every type of building project here, including large office
blocks.
As a result, the builders need to make themselves at home. They put together a makeshift kitchen, bedrolls come out at night, and, of course, laundry needs to be done, and hung where possible throughout the shell of the building.
As a result, the builders need to make themselves at home. They put together a makeshift kitchen, bedrolls come out at night, and, of course, laundry needs to be done, and hung where possible throughout the shell of the building.
Posted at 02:56 PM
Limits
I remember shopping sometimes in Australia
and literally having a full-sized shopping trolley/cart filled to the top with
groceries. Then they would all be loaded into the car to go
home.
Here we don't have a car. We have a motorbike. The way people (including us) carry things around is to hang the bags on the small hook at the front of the motorbike. The thing is that you really can't hang that much (reasonably) on this hook and still get around okay.
So now when I go shopping I always ALWAYS shop with just the small basket. A full basket is about the right amount of stuff that can fit on the motorbike. So it's definitely a case of limiting what we buy in any one shop.
It's kind of easier if both of us go shopping because then I can hold some bags and sit behind Russell, who also has some bags hanging on the hook. It is a bit of a hassle though.
Here we don't have a car. We have a motorbike. The way people (including us) carry things around is to hang the bags on the small hook at the front of the motorbike. The thing is that you really can't hang that much (reasonably) on this hook and still get around okay.
So now when I go shopping I always ALWAYS shop with just the small basket. A full basket is about the right amount of stuff that can fit on the motorbike. So it's definitely a case of limiting what we buy in any one shop.
It's kind of easier if both of us go shopping because then I can hold some bags and sit behind Russell, who also has some bags hanging on the hook. It is a bit of a hassle though.
Posted at 10:30 AM
Sun - May 28, 2006
Tay Tax
Russell and I call the extra price added to
items we buy "tay tax". Extra money charged because we're
westerners.
Today I just wanted to buy a hair clip. I found one I liked and it had the price tag of 37,000 dong. I handed it to the store owner and she picked up her calculator. I thought it was a bit strange because the package already had the price on it. But she handed the calculator to us: 50,000 dong. Huh? There is a price tag on the item saying 37,000. I pointed. She shook her head. I laughed. We walked out.
Wow, the nerve. I can understand charging more when foreigners don't know the price (like with bread, etc.). But when there is an actual price tag on the item.
I'm not going to get into a haggling fight over a hair clip. But I'm not going to entertain this woman's blatant tay tax attitude.
Today I just wanted to buy a hair clip. I found one I liked and it had the price tag of 37,000 dong. I handed it to the store owner and she picked up her calculator. I thought it was a bit strange because the package already had the price on it. But she handed the calculator to us: 50,000 dong. Huh? There is a price tag on the item saying 37,000. I pointed. She shook her head. I laughed. We walked out.
Wow, the nerve. I can understand charging more when foreigners don't know the price (like with bread, etc.). But when there is an actual price tag on the item.
I'm not going to get into a haggling fight over a hair clip. But I'm not going to entertain this woman's blatant tay tax attitude.
Posted at 07:29 PM
Sat - May 27, 2006
Toothpick Holders 7
Ah, the magic mushroom toothpick
holder.
I'm SURE this is part a Vietnamese folk tale, just HAS to be.
But inside hides a surprisingly functional tool of the toothpicking trade. Pressing the pink button, you lift the small arm inside the holder. At the end of the arm is a little v-shaped gap which is just big enough to hold a toothpick. So when you press the pink button, a toothpick is raised up through the hole in the roof of the mushroom. Genius! Someone has put a LOT of thought into making this toothpick holder. Hope they patented it.
I'm SURE this is part a Vietnamese folk tale, just HAS to be.
But inside hides a surprisingly functional tool of the toothpicking trade. Pressing the pink button, you lift the small arm inside the holder. At the end of the arm is a little v-shaped gap which is just big enough to hold a toothpick. So when you press the pink button, a toothpick is raised up through the hole in the roof of the mushroom. Genius! Someone has put a LOT of thought into making this toothpick holder. Hope they patented it.
Posted at 02:52 PM