A taste of order in Vietnam

The new town that impresses S’poreans in chaotic Ho Chi Minh City
Weekend • June 28, 2008
CHRISTIE LOH IN HO CHI MINH CITY
christie@mediacorp.com.sg

THE haphazard zig-zag of cars, scooters and fearless pedestrians gradually melts away as you hit the giant bridge between chaos and calm.

It begins to look less and less like the rest of Ho Chi Minh City. Usually-narrow roads that fan into generous lanes. Neat rows of shops shaded by trees evenly spaced out. Tall blocks of offices and apartments covered in glass and steel. “It’s Singapore!”

That was the gut reaction of Dale (who wants to be known only by his first name) when he visited the area three years ago as a potential site for his restaurant, Peaches The Curry Pub. He was instantly charmed. Phu My Hung, an up-and-coming township also known as Saigon South in Ho Chi Minh City, has that effect on Singaporeans.

A picture of order and sophisticationcompared with the city’s characteristically-congested and litter-strewn streets, the area — designated District 7 — is a reflection of Vietnam’s nouveau riche mintedby the boom that came before the country’s current economic woes.

When Taipei-based Central Trading and Development Corp (CT&D) teamed up with the Vietnamese government to develop the area in 1993, they were looking at a massive swamp that was a 15-minute drive from the city centre. So, they pledged hundreds of millions of dollars and roped in prestigious American architecture firm, Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, to draw up a master plan. Inspiration for the revamp reportedly were from places such as Hong Kong’s financial centre, Singapore’s Boat Quay area and New York’s Soho. Security posts on every corner

On paper, there were luxurious homes, international schools, an industrial park, a hospital, office buildings, malls and a convention centre, all thoughtfully set in a green, landscaped environment spanning 3,300 hectares. Over the years, those plans came to life. And the joint-venture firm’s name, Phu My Hung — meaning “rich, beautiful and prosperous” in Vietnamese — became synonymous with the township.

“They organised it very, very well,” said Mr Donald Lee, 40, a Singaporean businessman who moved into the district six years ago with his wife and children. If there were anything that reminded him of home, it was the peace of mind he and his family felt in the district dotted with security posts at nearly every corner. “It’s safer,” said Mr Lee, who has lived in other parts of the city formerly known as Saigon. “It’s the only place you see people park cars on the streets overnight.”

Anywhere else in the city, the car’s side mirrors and wheels would have been gone by daybreak, he said. In this neighbourhood known to locals such as Ms Luu Thanh Thuy as “high class”, residents are rich Vietnamese, some of whom are said to have made big bucks from the rocketing property and stock markets over the last two years — as well as expatriates from Korea, Taiwan, South-east Asia and the West. All live in apartments, terraces, customised bungalows, condominiums, villas or townhouses. Catering to them are the many restaurants serving up a taste of their respective hometowns, such as Singapore Food Paradise, and shops offering internationally-known brands including L’Occitane and Gloria Jean’s Coffee.

For Dale, the district’s Park View section reminds him of Singapore’s Holland Village with its pleasant little shops and eateries along sidewalks. US$4,000 Per square metre The metropolitan ambience stands out in a nation that only recently began allowing foreign fast-food chains such as KFC to open, after agreeing to open up the Vietnamese economy in exchange for membership in the World Trade Organisation. But Phu My Hung has been a long time in the making. After getting the licence in 1993 to develop the district, CT&D faced several road bumps:

A high-profile tussle with the Vietnamese government over taxes and an internal company dispute that reportedly involved the 2004 suicide of CT&D former chairman Lawrence Ting.

As late as 2002, Mr Lee said, the town was still “very quiet” — just two rows of villas and two blocks of low-end apartments, he recalled. But when the prices of shares and real estate took off, he witnessed a “rush” to buy up space in District 7. Builders worked faster. At the peak, some homes were going for as much as US$4,000 ($5,451) per square metre, said Mr Lee.

One Singaporean friend, who had bought a villa for US$400,000, was offered US$1.2 million by a Vietnamese two years later. Today, Mr Lee estimates that those exuberant prices have nearly halved. Buyer confidence has dropped on Vietnam’s stock market slump, credit crunch and escalating inflation. But construction continues in Phu My Hung. Houses are still rising from the ground, although several lie vacant, and residents are awaiting the completion of the promised mall, Paragon

June 17, 2008 Straits Time Interactive

Vietnam's crown jewels of tourism losing lustre
By Roger Mitton

HANOI - THE hill station of Sapa in the rugged mountains of north-western Vietnam, near the border with China's Yunnan Province, is rated as one of the country's must-see attractions by guidebooks. So is picturesque Halong Bay and the old port of Hoi An.

Indeed, these three scenic sites are regularly touted as the nation's crown jewels.

No doubt, they once were. Not any more.

Instead, they epitomise how the Vietnamese authorities have not been able to make the most of their cultural treasures despite an increase in tourist dollars.

Sapa, for instance, which has long attracted tourists to its breathtaking landscapes, is now a kitsch town, full of gaudy guest houses, mock Mediterranean eateries, pseudo-pubs and karaoke bars, and expensive trinket shops.

Its streets are lined with ruddy-cheeked women and children from the region's ethnic minorities, all dressed in their traditional garb and all looking for handouts.

They loll about waiting to be photographed and tipped by tour groups, upmarket travellers and Lonely Planeteers who have turned Sapa into a kind of ethnic Disneyland.

Said Dr Dang Hung Vo, former deputy minister of natural resources and environment: 'Sapa, like Halong Bay, is losing its original charm because of over-development.

'We have not cared for our scenic and cultural sites properly.'

Increasingly, Vietnamese and foreign visitors - and even tour operators - agree.

Said Ms Phan Thi Hai, a Hanoi-based travel agent: 'The government has made superficial investments in these places, but it has not looked more deeply to see if they can be developed and preserved in a complementary manner.'

She is right.
In Sapa, Halong Bay and Hoi An, developers out to make a fast buck have thrown up ugly, blocky hotels, neon-lit souvenir shops, and pizza and hamburger joints catering to tourists who arrive one day and leave the next.

The failure to look after these scenic and cultural sites partly explains Vietnam's inability to realise its full tourist potential.

The country, which is bigger than Malaysia or Britain, is blessed with historical treasures, fabulous mountain ranges, a 3,200km beach-strewn coastline, and a cuisine that is world-renowned.

Yet it attracted only 4.2 million tourists last year.

Thailand got three times as many and tiny Singapore hosted more than 10 million.

The statistics show that 85 per cent of Vietnam's visitors never return.

One reason for that is the neglect and gaudy development of treasures like Sapa and Halong Bay.

With its spectacular Guilin-like seascape of jagged limestone pillars and caves, Halong Bay is still one of the world's most gorgeous spots.

But as big cruise liners now join the myriad tourist junks, flashy speedboats, local hawkers and floating villages, the bay area could go the way of Pattaya and Kuta and Tioman.

Said Ms Hai: 'The lack of planning at Halong Bay has badly affected its natural landscape.'

When I raised the topic with an environmentally-conscious European ambassador, he blanched and said: 'Oh, Halong Bay is already gone. It's lost.'

A foreign businesswoman in Hanoi told me that when she and some others went far out in a boat in Halong, there was still rubbish in the water and they got oil on themselves when they went swimming.

Not unexpectedly, the organisers of a scheme to choose the seven natural wonders of the world recently removed Halong Bay from their list of contenders. There is even talk that Unesco may delist it as a World Heritage Site.

Said Dr Vo: 'Because we have not worked out how to open these places to tourism while also conserving them, they have already deteriorated badly.'


And now Hoi An, the lovely historic little port in central Vietnam, which is also a Unesco World Heritage Site, is threatened by rampant charm-smashing commercialism.

Said Ms Hai: 'Hoi An is now full of souvenir shops and tourists, and the character of this beautiful old town is being destroyed.'

Indeed, the ancient town centre has already been converted into a glitzy cavalcade of gift shops, speedy tailors, kitschy art galleries and trendy fusion and carrot cake eateries.

Said Dr Vo: 'Most original Hoi An residents have moved away and given their homes over to shops, cafes and hotels. So instead of seeing ancient houses still used as homes, you see an empty space behind a tourist shop.'

Unless the authorities enforce more rigorous preservation orders and curb over-development at these places, Vietnam will be in danger of turning off some potential visitors.

It could consider measures like those taken at heritage sites and national parks in Australia and the United States where high fees, strict rules and limited entrants curb wanton degradation.

Treasures like Hoi An and Sapa were once beguiling because of their old-world charm and idyllic atmosphere, while natural wonders like Halong Bay were magical because of their pristine and fantastical scenery.

These remain precious and fragile qualities. Once expunged by over-development and the rush to make a quick profit, they can never be resurrected.

rogermitton@hotmail.com

Reflection Questions

1. Explain how toursim development have negative impact on the human and physical environment.

2. Should the number of tourist be restricted in these tourist attractions?

3. What should the government do to protect these attraction?

The Enterprising Retailing Team Challenge 2008

Part of the GP Programme Module is the Entrepreneurship Module where students have to propose a business plan and sources for materials and goods for their business when they are in Vietnam. They are given a limited capital to work with.

For this module, Mrs Audrey Koh has been the ever smiling "market consultant", guiding the students, teaching them how to bargain and analyse the market trend.

In this module, students are taught the following concepts:
a. Profit and lost
b. Supply and demand
c. Analysis of market trend
d. Business plan proposal
e. Constrains (Unlimited wants, limited resources)
f. Proper accounting of all stock, capital, sales and receipts.

When they were back in Singapore they took part in the Enterprising Retailing Team Challenge 2008 to see if their business plan worked.

This competition is jointly organised by Yuying Secondary School, the Association of Commerce Educators Singapore (ACES) and the National Institute of Education (NIE). The students set up a stall at Anchor Point from 7th to 8th June 2008.



Here, you can see the goods that the students have bought from Vietnam.

Wei Ming waiting for business to begin.

An overview of our stall.

Students checking to ensure that the accounts are kept correctly.


Ms. Daisy Lim,who teaches Principal of Account, has been teaching us how to keep the a set of proper account.

Carline doing the "Kung Fu Panda."




Amanda teaching another student how to promote the goods from Vietnam.

Reflection Questions for those who are involved with this module.

1. Why is it important to keep a proper, accurate and complete account?

2. What must an enterprise have in order for it to be successful?

3. How do you feel when shoppers keep on rejecting you? How do you feel when the sale was successful?

4. What risks did you take? What happens if you could not sell all the goods?

5. After participating in this module would you want to take the risk and be an entrepreneur?

Hear are two letters that were written to the Straitis Time.

May 27, 2008
No traffic police, no lights, no problem...

I VISITED Vietnam recently and was impressed by the country's traffic culture. We can learn from the people.

Ho Chi Minh City, in the south, has more than 4.5 million motorcycles, cruising and ridden around without proper traffic lights and signs.

One requires nerves of steel merely to cross a junction with all those bikes crisscrossing one's path.

However, throughout my visit there, I did not see a single traffic mishap, dispute or scuffle on the road.

Like a perfectly solved Lego puzzle, there was no traffic jam or gridlock.
There was not a single police officer to direct traffic and no traffic junction camera to monitor movements.

The roads are crowded day and night, but traffic flows like an untrammelled river.

How can a country and its population go about its daily business so flawlessly, without disputes and accidents on the road?

And possibly without a road courtesy campaign to guide them too. There is a lesson to be learnt here.

It must be their self-discipline and consideration for one another.
Motorists somehow believe in the concept of 'road harmony' and have fine-tuned it to perfection for the benefit of everyone.

I can only wish that Singapore motorists will one day practise this on our roads.
Douglas Chua




May 30, 2008
Vietnam has road harmony? You're kidding...

I REFER to Tuesday's letter by Mr Douglas Chua, 'No traffic police, no lights, no problem', praising the traffic situation in Vietnam.

I have just returned from a trip to Vietnam, including a visit to Hanoi.

I beg to differ from Mr Chua. During my week-long stay, I saw two accidents involving bikers zipping about without regard for traffic rules.

Yes, traffic was relatively smooth flowing, but it was common to see bikers running red lights. Pedestrians risked being knocked down when they tried to cross the road.

The 'road harmony' Mr Chua praises comes with ceaseless sounding of horns by motorists at one another and at pedestrians.

I was told the speed limit is 60kmh in the city and along country roads. But it is impossible to achieve that speed in the city with motorcyclists zipping in and out.

Perhaps the Vietnamese have more to learn from us than we do from them.

Koh Chin Chin (Mdm)

These two letters show two different views about the traffic conditions in Vietnam.

Does it means that one of them is wrong?

What about those who were taking part in the GP programme? Any views?

Viet women riders spice up their 'rice cookers'

Young motorcyclists customise helmets with pretty covers to look less stuffyBy Roger Mitton

Straits Time June 7, 2008

HANOI - YOUNG Vietnamese women have always loved to wear colourful bonnets, especially when tootling around town on their snappy motor scooters.

The stylish tradition, however, came under threat last December when the authorities began enforcing a new law that required all riders to wear crash helmets.

Suddenly, the young women riders no longer looked so pretty.

With drab, ungainly helmets perched on their heads, they made the streets of Vietnam seem much duller and less charming.

The girls certainly loathed the helmets, referring to them as 'rice cookers'. But they had to wear them - or face paying a hefty fine.

More than a quarter of Vietnam's population of 86 million own a motorbike, and the result is a death toll that reached 30 a day last year.

With the implementation of the new law on helmets, fatalities have dropped by 15 per cent, and injuries by 33 per cent. The downside, however, has been the rise of ugly 'rice cookers' replacing the attractive bonnets.

Fortunately, Vietnam's entrepreneurial spirit has stepped in, and stylised helmet covers shaped like pretty bonnets have sprouted up everywhere.
Said Ms Nguyen Ngoc Anh, a secretary at one of the foreign embassies in Hanoi: 'I'm proud to say I was among the first women to wear one. All my friends said: 'Oh, Ngoc Anh, you look so lovely in your new helmet'.
'They asked me where I got it and now they all have one.'

Usually made of textile or light plastic, the covers fit snugly over the top of the helmets and are secured with elastic or snap-on clips. They come in all manner of designs and shades, from shocking pink to Scottish tartan to kitschy polka dots with flouncy wide brims.

Said Ms Anh: 'Lots of women wear them now and they make the streets less stuffy and more beautiful.'
Not to be outdone, many men have also adopted cap-shaped helmet covers with camouflage designs, the stars and stripes of the American flag, or colours of their favourite football teams.

But some say the new trend is getting out of hand - and may even be dangerous.
Doctors have cautioned that certain helmet covers, especially those with stiff plastic brims, may increase the chance of injury in an accident.

Said Mr Duong Minh Man, director of Ho Chi Minh City's Cho Ray Hospital Brain Injury Department: 'Since March this year, we've had about 40 motorbike accident cases each day, and many have involved wounds caused by girls wearing brimmed helmets.'

But Vietnam's womenfolk certainly appear unconvinced by the warnings.
Said Ms Anh: 'To be honest, I don't like wearing a crash helmet, decorated or not, especially on hot, humid days. But life is hard and you have no choice. So it's better to look pretty, anyway.'

Reflection Time

Dear students,
Learning does not end with the completion of our trip to Vietnam.

In fact true learning has just began now that we have time to think over what we have seen, learnt and experienced.

Choose one of the following questions to reflect on.You may choose to post your comments here or if you have good pictures, you may send your reflection and pictures to the following address :frances_ess@moe.edu.sg

The questions may take a little longer to answer but we assure you it will be very
great learning experiences.

We intend to publish a book on this GP Programme and so your reflections might be selected. Please include your name and class.

The War Remnants Museum

The Japanese do not teach about the Japanese Occupation in their schools. When they visit the Changi War Museum, some of them will be affected. The War Remnants Museum was previously known as the Museum of American War Crimes.

1. Do you think that this museum serve a purpose?



2. If so what is the purpose?



3. Do you think it is effective?



4. With liberalization in Vietnam and the normalization of relations with the United States, should this museum be closed down?



5. If not why?

The Dieu Giac Temple Orphanage

The aim of the orphanage is to provide the children with a safe and caring environment which lessens their misfortune and gives their lives greater purpose and meaning.

Being a private organization, the orphanage is facing many problems in trying to provide the children with food, shelter, health and education. The nuns and volunteers at the orphanage have devoted their lives for the wonderful mission - helping the orphans. Yet they have limited human and financial resources.

1. Did we do the right thing in collecting toys, clothes and food for the children?



2. What was the short term and long term impact of our gift package?



3. What else could we have done given our limited time, money and resources?

Ho Chi Minh City University of Social Sciences and Humanities,Faculty of Oriental Studies.

The students from the Faculty of Oriental Studies made a great effort to established a good relationship with our school.

1. Do you think it is important to established such ties?

2. If they were to visit our school, what kind of programmes would you have planned for them?

3.How can we continue to maintain a good relationship with Vietnam?

Impact of Agent Orange

Agent Orange is the code name for a powerful herbicide and defoliant used by the U.S. military in its Herbicidal Warfare program during the Vietnam War. During the Vietnam War, an estimated 20 million gallons of Agent Orange were deployed in South Vietnam. Over 3 million people have been affected by Agent Orange like the increased risk of various types of cancer and genetic defects.

1. Do you think it was right of the United State to use Agent Orange?

2. What kind of help should the United State offer for the suffering that they have caused to Vietnam?

3. Should the sons of America pay for the sin of the fathers?

4.Should the Agent Orange victims remain a dignified silence or speak up?

Home Sweet Home

This is the last group photo we took before we left HCM city.
It is outside our hotel called May Hotel

At the airport, while waiting for the plane to take off, the teachers were reviewing the GP Programme and writing the report.

Thank to the fast Internet access, the report was completed and send to the relevant authorities in record time




This picture says it all.

Need we say more?

History is written by the Victor

Day four

The histroy of conflcit is written by victor.

Today, we visited The War Remnants Museum in District 3, Ho Chi Minh City.

It consists of exhibits relating to the American's crime conducted during the Vietnam War. It has become a major tourist attraction.
Operated by the Vietnamese government, the museum was opened in September 1975 as the "The House for Displaying War Crimes of American Imperialism and the Puppet Government [of South Vietnam]."

Later it was known as the Museum of American War Crimes, then as the War Crimes Museum until as recently as 1993.

Its current name follows liberalization in Vietnam and the normalization of relations with the United States, but the museum does not attempt to be politically balanced.

The museum comprises a series of eight themed rooms in several buildings, with period military equipment located within a walled yard.

The military equipment include a UH-1 "Huey" helicopter, an F-5A fighter, a BLU-82 "Daisy Cutter" bomb, M48 Patton tank, and an A-1 attack bomber

The is a picture of a woman who gave birth to four sons who are affected by Agent Orange.

There are over 3 million people who were affected by Agent Orange.

History in the making

In the morning, we visited the Singapore Vietnam Industrial park.


Mr Anthony Tan, the Deputy General Director was there to explain to us the development of the VSIP.
He explained to us the reasons why t.he part was developed
We presented a token of appreciation to him after the talk.

We revisited the children home again as we did not have much time to interact with them the day before.

These were the photographs that were taken by them after we left the home the day before.

They were happy with the model airplane that Mdm Tay denonated.
The children showing off the airplane models.

How to play these games?

The founder of the children home with her helper show the gifts that were given to them
Helper working to sort out the gifts.

Mrs Koh established a firm relationship with his child.

Having a good time in the swing.

What is that?
Some of our students took time to feed this child.
While others taught the children how to read the story book whihc we had brought over.

Who is Uncle Ho?

Who is Uncle Ho?

Ho Chí Minh listen was a Vietnamese revolutionary and statesman, who later became prime minister (1946–1955) and president (1946–1969) of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam).

Ho led the Viet Minh independence movement from 1941 onward, establishing the communist-governed Democratic Republic of Vietnam in 1945 and defeating the French Union in 1954 at Dien Bien Phu. He led the North Vietnamese in the Vietnam War until his death; six years later, the war ended with a North Vietnamese victory, and Vietnamese unification followed. He was named by Time Magazine as one of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century, while the former capital of South Vietnam, Saigon, was renamed Ho Chi Minh City in his honor.

Unlimited Wants, Limited Resourses

Day 3

Unlimited Wants, Limited Resources

Problem Based Learning.

A group of students was tasked to start an enterprise. They were to raise the capital from the students. With this capital, they had to do a market survey in Vietnam to examine the kind of goods that can be sold in Singapore.

The following day, they were given a limited amount of time to buy these items.

They encountered several problems but they managed to overcome them.

Even the boys learnt to shop with an aim and constrain in mind.

It was also International Children Day and the government organised many activities for them.

We were honoured to be given a chance to visit a children home on this day.

These were the bags of goodies that we brought from Singapore.

We had a great time interacting with the children. Mrs Koh was playing a game with the children.




The children enjoyed the book marks that were made by our students.