GP Vietnam 2009

About the GP Programme

In this era of globalisation, there is a need to allow our pupils to gain a global perspective so as to function in a globalized economy.

At the same time, there is a need to internationalise Singaporeans so as to develop a cosmopolitan mindset through experiencing and appreciating the rich diversity of cultures.


By taking part in this programme, students will achieved the following outcomes:

1. Develop their ability to articulate their views and opinions clearly,
2. Develop their critical thinking skills and
3. Develop their sense of appreciation for the rich diversity of cultures.


GP Vietnam 2009 will be conducted from April to July 2009. The trip to Vietnam will be from
2nd June to 6th June 2009. This year, a group of Upper Secondary Normal Technical stream students and Uniform Groups from the Girl Guide, Scouts and NPCC will be going on this trip.

For students who wish to be considered for this trip, please ensure that you have post at least three comments on this blog. Please include your name, class and which UG you belong to.

Background reading

Here are some basic facts about the country of Vietnam.

• Vietnam is the easternmost country on the IndochinaPeninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea to the east.
• With a population of over 86 million, Vietnam is the 13th most populous country in the world.
• Vietnam is approximately 331,688 km² (128,066 sq mi) in area (not including Hoang Sa and Truong Sa islands), larger than Italy and almost the size of Germany.

The Dong (VND) will be your main currency here. The notes come in denominations from 200 dong to the recent 500 000 dong.


1 SGD = 11,902.07 VND 1 VND = 0.0000840190 SGD

Note:SGC =Sing Dollar 1 VND= Vietnam Dong.


















A bowl of ph, which is a Vietnamese thinly sliced meat and rice-noodle soup dish cost about 38 000 VND.


Reflection questions:

1. How much money do you think you need for this trip? Give reasons for your estimation.

2. Give three reasons why you want to take part in the GP Vietnam 2009 programme.

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?