Event Dates
Start:  22 October 2010
End: 31 October 2010

Opening hours
From 15PM till 11:30PM daily

Location
The 23/9 Park is located near the New World Hotel in District 1 and a walking distance from Ben Thanh Market or the bagpacker’s area Pham Ngu Lao. Entrance if FREE.

More information
This event will showcase food, music and cultural characteristics of The Netherlands. It is a great opportunity for the Vietnamese people to learn more about The Netherlands.

The event includes 12 traditional Dutch canal houses and a life-sized windmill!

For more information visit the official website of the event:
www.holland-village.com

Hubert van Es was a Dutch photographer who passed away on 15 May 2009 in Hong Kong. He became famous after he made a picture on 29 April 1975 in Vietnam showing South Vietnamese civilians scrambling to board an Air America helicopter during the evacuation of the US in Saigon.

Due to copyright I don’t put the picture here but you can find it at: http://www.spokesman.com/photos/2009/may/17/77769/

The picture was taken a day before the fall of Saigon. For many years it was believed that the picture showed how people were evacuated from the roof US Embassy in Saigon which is however incorrect. The actually building was an apartment building located at Gia Long street (current address 22 Ly Tu Trong). 

To read the full story about that day, written by van Es himself, you can visit: http://www.digitaljournalist.org/issue0506/300mill.html

The LinkedIn Vietnam expat group is for any expat living in Vietnam, lived in Vietnam or intend to move to Vietnam.

• Use its discussion board to find recruits, make friends and to share suggestion related to legal, economy, culture, investments, housing, places to go anything or anything else related to being in Vietnam.
• Accelerate careers/business through referrals from Vietnam Expats Group members
• Know more than a name – view rich professional profiles from fellow Vietnam Expats Group members

Of course, don’t forget to use it to make party announcements!

Here’s the link to join:
http://www.linkedin.com/e/gis/1261757

Hope to see you in the group,

— The Vietnam Expats Group Team
Related: join the Vietnam IT Outsourcing Group on LinkedIn.

It was an odd time for Vietnam to organize the event as it would have been much better if it was held on Saturday or Sunday instead of a Monday morning 8AM when all Vietnamese people are at work. Some people in Saigon were lucky as there were full day power outages in Tan Binh and other locations so that employees let their staff go home.

The strange time was chosen so that it coincides with prime-time Sunday evening TV slot in the USA, home of Donald Trump. Miss USA, Crystle Stewart, previously said that she was very confident and

Nerves don’t play a part in this

…well, maybe nerves did play a part as she tripped during the evening gowns segment. ….

I hope you all enjoyed the event! If you missed it, look on YouTube and if you already saw it and got time available, play sudoku-ball.

The amphi theatre of the Vinpearl Resort was loaded with 81 beauties that were competing in the mini competition, the bikini show (or swim wear show…..whatever you want to call it).

Elisa Najera, 21, was the winner in the mini competition, the bikini show, for the Mis Universe 2008 pageant.The earier mini competitions were the traditional costume presentation and the Vietnamese traditional dress, the Ao Dai, Fashion Show.

My new office is located near the airport and approximately 7 minutes driving from my house. Yesterday, Tuesday the 29th of April, the 7 minutes became 1.5 hours. When I left the office the streets were blocked. There was no chance that I could drive. There were hundreds of policemen on motorbikes and huge amounts of cheering people. The reason: The Beijing Olympic flame had arrived at Tan Son Nhat airport in Ho Chi Minh City.

The Vietnamese government has done all they could to make the global torch relay a success. Thousands of Vietnamese were obvious proud that for the first time in history the Olympic flame had arrived in the city.

The torch was carried from the Opera House, located in the centre of Ho Chi Minh City, to the Military Zone 7 competition hall where the official torch relay ceremony took place. The distance is approximately 12km and some prominent people, including Vietnamese officials, athletes and pop star My Tam were selected to bear the torch.

The event in Ho Chi Minh City was a great success. It was also the last leg of the Olympic flame’s global journey outside of China.

Marcel

Losing our best and brightest
Once in awhile, the nature of our work hits home in personal ways. It is no longer just a “statistic”. One of my ‘children’- a member of AIPF’s Helmets for Kids program – died in a motorcycle crash in HCMC during Tet. 8-year old Le Xuan Han was killed while riding with her parents and sister to visit her grandmother.

Mom and Dad wore their helmets, but Han and her 7-year old sister Le Minh Nhu did not. A drunk driver on another motorcycle smashed into them at 10am on a Sunday morning. The other driver was killed instantly. The family was rushed to Cho Ray hospital with severe injuries. Han’s father, Le Xuan Hung, suffered a broken hip and collapsed lung. He requires additional surgery. Mother Nguyen Thi Xuan Diem suffered severe lacerations of the face and body. Neither had head injuries. They wore helmets. Sister Nhu suffered a head concussion. No helmet. Han never regained consciousness and died from severe brain damage the next day. No helmet.

We met the grieving parents yesterday in HCMC. They are understandably still in shock. Diem’s first words to us were “I will never forgive myself! Never forgive myself!” She had “made an exception” of the children not wearing helmets that day because “we weren’t going very far”. Han’s sister Nhu still doesn’t understand that her sister won’t be coming home again to play. They had been inseparable. Han’s classmates and teachers are also mourning. Han was one of the top students in her class and had won a number of awards. A bright future lay ahead of her. I share their pain and loss. She was one of ‘mine’. Can you imagine if this happened to you?

The tragedy of this story is being repeated throughout Vietnam everyday. Every day, parents, most of who now wear helmets regularly, are failing to protect their children. Every day, more children are killed in traffic accidents while their parents survive. Every day, more parents must face the grief of a dead or brain dead child. Despite the incredible victory on December 15, when 99% of motorbike riders began wearing helmets, child helmet-wearing rates are rapidly declining. It is now estimated to be less than 5% in the cities, and lower in rural areas. Something is wrong. These children are our future.

I intend to do everything in my power to ensure that Han’s death is not in vain. The suffering caused from traffic accident head injuries is needless, and every death caused from not wearing a helmet is unacceptable.

I call upon the relevant authorities and the police to take steps to close the loopholes and ambiguity of the helmet wearing law. The existing helmet penalty regulation must be revised immediately, and any driver carrying an unhelmeted rider under the age of 14 must be fined. This will work. I call upon parents, teachers and all caregivers to take strict action to ensure that all children wear helmets at all times. No excuses. No exceptions.

The Vietnam Helmet Wearing Coalition, which I head, will re-focus its upcoming Phase III Helmet Wearing efforts on educating parents and teachers about the need for children to wear helmets at all times, on all roads. Parents must understand that there is no medicine for brain damage. Like a vaccination, a helmet is the only known prevention to save a child’s life. They must understand that there is no difference between an adult head and a child head. Both need protection.

All the love in the world cannot bring back a dead child. Don’t gamble with your child’s life. Don’t lose your child forever. Put a helmet on their head.

Sincerely,

Greig Craft
President/Founder
Asia Injury Prevention Foundation
Helmets for Kids

Email: greig.craft@aipf-vietnam.org

PLEASE FORWARD THIS TO YOUR COLLEAGUES, FRIENDS AND FAMILY. PERHAPS IT WILL SAVE A CHILD’S LIFE.

In 2001 the Vietnamese government already tried to implement this law but failed completely. This time however it has been the talk of the day and the government has done a very good preparation. It was well-known that this time the government would put word into action and would fine any person not complying with the rule. I do not know the exact amount of the fine but they are about 150.000VND – 200.000VND which is also approximately the cost for buying a new helmet.

It is not very convenient to use the helmet in Vietnam. It is too hot and you have to carry the helmet with you because leaving it on the bike will most likely mean that someone takes it. Yesterday and today I have hardly seen any drivers not wearing the rice cookers (as many call them) and even I comply this time. It feels funny to wear the helmet but at the same time: everybody in this country looks funny now. Isn’t it great to have fun with a few million people at the same time?

It is good to see that the government makes the effort to make traffic safer. So far a job well done and enjoy wearing the rice cooker on your head!

The chaotic traffic is one of the hot-topics in Vietnam. Although a poor country, the number of motorbikes is increasing fast. Thanks to the rising living standards motorbikes replace bicycles for daily transportation. Vietnam counts millions of motorbikes and it is noisy, dusty and hot when driving a bike. According to statistics of the government about 12,000 people die each year in traffic accidents and there are many accidents resulting in serious head injuries. In more than 85% of the cases, motorbikes are involved

It is completely normal to ignore a red light, drive with more than two people on a bike, be on the phone, carry a couple of pigs or simply drive on the wrong side of the road. Vietnamese don’t turn their head to look both ways but simply follow the flow, they turn left completely at the right side of the road and enter the traffic without looking at all.

Traffic is dangerous and tourists who are not familiar with the traffic should be very careful when crossing the roads.

As bad is it may seem, I remember the traffic 7 years ago and the traffic has somehow improved. I am not joking! There may more traffic jams and more pollution but there are less suicidal racers on the roads and the police are working much harder to catch violators.

As of December 2007 it becomes mandatory to wear a helmet in the city. It is expected that the number of deaths and head injuries will significantly reduce. I used to drive a heavy bike in Holland but in Vietnam my bike is just small and the heat and humidity doesn’t invite me to wear a helmet although I should do (unless I drive on the high-way). It is probably not a bad idea to make it mandatory to wear the helmet.

Do you wear a helmet when driving in Saigon or do you think by yourself: Oh man, it is way to hot to wear such a thing!? If you don’t better think twice and get that thing on your head.

Let’s get back to this topic in Q2 2008 and see whether the helmet has actually reduced the number of deaths….

1. Vietnamese people are incredibly friendly so simple is that!
   Wherever you go you will be welcomed and there are always cheerful friendly smiles around regardless of age. If you visit a supermarket or go swimming people try to speak to you, if you go to a sports club you will be invited to join them to play badminton, etc. If you speak about the country of smile: this title definitely should belong to Vietnam.
    
2. Vietnamese are loyal, hard working and eager to learn new things
   When you arrive in Vietnam you will be surprised by the number of study books that you can find in the city. Vietnamese people are enormously eager to learn new technologies and don’t mind approaching you on the street so they can practice their English. Working in Vietnam is a great experience.
   
   
3. Vietnam is an emergency market
   This could not be said when I first arrived in Vietnam but now it definitely is. The country is changing fast and it is one of the major emerging markets of the ASEAN region. It has a stable political and social situation and welcomes foreign investors.
   
   
4. There are many choices for good food
   You can find Vietnamese, Japanese, Indian, Italian, Brazilian, German and many other restaurant and prices are comparatively cheap.
   
   
5. Visiting Vietnam is an adventure!
   Saigon is crowded with bikes and motorbikes. It is simply a mess and a lot needs to be done to get this city organized. In the Ben Thanh market (Saigon) you have to be careful that a pickpocket doesn’t start shopping before you do. Take a taxi and you have a fair chance that you don’t arrive where you wanted to arrive, order food in a local restaurant and you don’t get what you ordered. Take a train or bus and you will be assured that someone will try to speak to you (even when it is just to say hello). Mui Ne is silent and has a beautiful beach for a weekend relaxing and a city like Hue (central Vietnam) is a must to visit because of it’s ancient beauty. Last but not least……don’t forget the beautiful ladies wearing their traditional dress the Ao Dai.  
   (Thanks to Diem Thuyen for publishing these beautiful ao dai photos under creative commons license)
6. There is a lot of value you can add to the country
   Vietnam is a poor country and nearly 24 million people in Vietnam live in poverty. You can help by teaching English or by support charities such as
   1.  Children of Vietnam
   2.  Christina Noble Foundation
   3.  Vietnam Relief Effort
   4.  Sun Flower Mission
   5.  Vietnam Dream for Success 
   6.  Vietnam Now.
      

There are many more reasons but if I would list them all I could publish a book. Have you been in Vietnam before or do you stay in Vietnam? Let me know why you came to Vietnam in the first place. If you are one of those people that I meet each year again, let me know what magic makes you come back.

Cheers, Marcel