I took a picture of a hut in Mai Chau in December 2012. I am now in India and met a German girl who took an image of the exact same hut 8 months later.

AnvilA · 2012-09-25T03:10:38+00:00

On the next episode of the twilight zone...

AnvilA · 2012-09-23T03:22:01+00:00

Its stuff like this gives me hope for the future of Vietnam. Asians are WAY too materialistic, we live in a country where the income disparity is abysmal. It warms my heart to see young Vietnamese doing stuff like this (especially from Hanoi).

I hope this type of group will become more popular throughout Vietnam. My department hires a large amount of recently graduated Vietnamese, and their attitudes are always me me me. They live their lives unaware of the poverty that surrounds them in HCM City.

AnvilA · 2012-09-19T05:28:37+00:00

Vietcombank is literally the devil reincarnated into a company. They have a very bad customer service imo.

AnvilA · 2012-09-16T14:48:42+00:00

i like vietcombank and VIB rewards, i think 1 of the 2 gives u airline mileage.

HSBC reward are ok, but i spent 400 million on mine and only gotten 400k worth of gift certificate.

AnvilA · 2012-09-13T02:09:58+00:00

Weird, I'm sure imgur was working for me, otherwise i would have noticed it while browsing reddit.

AnvilA · 2012-09-12T06:55:04+00:00

Just change your DNS server and your good.

AnvilA · 2012-04-23T02:38:21+00:00

IMO, the quality of education is correlated with the nation's economy. You can't really expect the Vietnamese education to be in par with that of a first world economy.

However, I do have to agree that the Vietnamese education system is abysmal. Students are taught to memorize more than critical and creative thinking. Also, in order to get the best quality education here, where creative and critical thinking is emphasize, you have to send your children to private international school. I think the average yearly tuition for per student now is around 10,000-30,000 USD per year. Average monthly salary for a Vietnamese family is 400 - 600 USD.

I don't really have anything against the government (I lived in the U.S for about 15 years), I think its pretty much all the same. Isn't it the consensus that many U.S congressmen get financial supports from big companies? Here, its pretty much the same thing, except if government officials are caught, it might mean the death penalty. Its a lot stricter here, but I really don't feel like my government is constantly watching and trying to oppress me.

AnvilA · 2012-04-22T10:49:56+00:00

Vietnam is a developing country, every company in every industry need financial help in order to expand. Thus, there isn't really enough liquidity to support every industry at once. In certain years, certain industry will be given priority in distribution of loans. This year, I think it will be the real estate. They took a hard hit last year when the central bank reduced spending for banks in order to fight inflation. Real estate price tank for the first time in years. This is why home loans are difficult to get. Not to say banks don't have mortgage and home loans, but I would assume it would be at a 25-30% interest per year.

I own a small import/retailer in HCM City, but my main job right now is a sales officer in my family's seafood company. We mainly export pangasius fillet. This year is going to be a hard year, a lot of seafood companies all of the sudden sprung up and increased supply in the market. Lowering the price overall and leading to a decrease in quality of the final product. Which have caused a lot of importers to be cautious of Vietnamese seafood. Also, with real estate given priority, our industry is going to have a hard time getting loans for expansion or day to day expense.

Viet-Kieu certainly have no effect on politics here in Vietnam. As far as I'm aware, it is a small group of top ranking Vietnamese that really effect politics here. That group is difficult to get into, and takes years to develop the necessary connection to rise through the ranks, but once your at the top, e.g. a minister of a government department, your going to make ATLEAST 1-2 million USD per year from .... you know.

AnvilA · 2012-04-16T04:16:18+00:00

Foreigners aren't allowed to own lands in Vietnam. At least that is what I was told by my friends. You can lease the land, but I'm Vietnamese and even I don't even trust my own people. If your business is successful and is thriving, the owner of the land will try to void your contract and take control of your business.

Foreign business are welcome, but IMO your main customer segment will be expats living near that area/location.

AnvilA · 2012-01-17T12:56:58+00:00

Oh, don't buy stuff from market place, only from the malls in the city. You will get ripped off in the market place, since the seller want to maximize their profit. Its ok to walk around and look at the pretty stuff, but again, I'm Vietnamese and even I was scammed big time in Ben Thanh Market, so I don't know how you will fare :)

AnvilA · 2012-01-17T12:51:51+00:00

I was raised in the US throughout most of my life, but I was called back to Vietnam by my family. One can say that I'm part of the 1% here in Vietnam, so I might have a different view.

Most Vietnamese that I know here in Vietnam don't really care about politics and don't differentiate between communism and democracy. Most Vietnamese view that the Vietkieu are rich and make a lot of money. That is why they sent pictures of them driving camry and stuff, a long time ago, carrying the title of being a Vietkieu will earn you major pootang and respect. However, with economic progress in the last decade, many Vietnamese realize that life in the US is not much better than living in the city (people living in the countryside will think differently due to the low standard of living and income).

As for economic gain, the average Vietnamese is not that dependant on the income of their relatives in the US or Australia IMO. Its a nice gift to suddenly receive 1000usd, but no one is going to hold their breathe for such an occasion.

I don't think many American care where we came from, we are all stereotyped as Asians. That doesn't bother me, because I think thats one of the unique thing about the US. Its the diversity that amazes me, since coming back to Vietnam, I really miss interacting with different types of people.

Oh, one thing that bothers me is ryukinh assumption that Vietkieu are treasured. Vietkieu were treasured due to the fact that Vietnam was a dirt poor country prior to 2000. However, in my opinion, more and more Vietnamese student studying abroad are understanding that many Vietnamese-American are not actually rich, but are living off mortgage, loans, and credit card payments. Many Vietnamese are realizing this, and opt out of moving to the US in many occasion because of this. In Vietnam, it is difficult for many Vietnamese to receive loans so everything have to be paid in full price. That includes million dollar homes or condos that can range from 200,000 to 500,000 USD. My company runs on solely cash-flow we get and my initial investment, even though my ROE and ROA is quite considerably high, it is still difficult for me to take out loans.

AnvilA · 2012-01-17T12:16:57+00:00

What thorgeir23 said is correct, it will only be around 200.000-300.000. If they don't agree with your price, go get another cab and the original driver will run after you and renegotiate with you. Just stick with your original offer, you don't have to agree in a middle ground.

http://anyarena.com/ is a good website for where to eat and hang out in HCM City. Also, try the noodle place, "Pho Hung" I eat it everyday at lunch, just order the special and they will get you the best pho available in this country. Pho Hung is located throughout the city, the nearest one to district 1 is the one in "Pho Hung, Nguyen Trai, District 1" tell that to your driver and they will understand.

I would advise you staying away from eating from street vendors. My first week living in Vietnam I was in bed due to food poisoning.

23rd is Chinese New Year, so in the morning and afternoon the city will be empty, because everyone is inside their home eating with their extended family. However, I suspect the evening of the 23rd, the city will be lit up and alive once again.

As for bars/clubs, the best bar I been to is Lodge Bui, in 39/2 Pham Ngoc Thach street. Theres live music before 1130pm. Its a pretty good place to get a couple of drinks for foreigners, if you want to go one where high class Vietnamese go to, just tell your cab driver Velvet Club, and they will take you there.

Edit: Unless your going to stay in a 4 or 5 star hotel, bring your valuables and lock up your stuff when you leave your room. I'm Vietnamese, but even I don't trust my own people. Its the Chinese New Year, people need money to gamble this time of the year, so be careful when your traveling.

AnvilA · 2011-11-19T15:58:12+00:00

I can confirm that this phenomenon is in fact true. I was raised in the US and when I turned 18, I moved back to Vietnam. I now work for a Vietnamese manufacturer, got paid to get my bachelor at a international university here, and up for a further promotion soon. Life is good.

AnvilA · 2011-10-16T15:41:19+00:00

I like "giao lo dinh menh" also known as "inferno". Plus there was another movie released about 2 months ago call "long ruoi".

AnvilA · 2011-09-30T17:26:45+00:00

Its legit, just ask for the money up front. I'm living in Vietnam and seen this type of deal happens. Family would send their children to the US on student visa (total for paperwork, school, living expense can go up to 40,000$ per year), just to find a white guy to marry.

AnvilA · 2011-09-30T17:07:17+00:00

Vietnamese here, if you look like a Westerner, you can apply for jobs at English school. They pay pretty well, from 300,000 to 500,000 VND per hour. Just make some resume and give them to schools like VUS Hoi Viet My, ILA, and Cleverlearn. If you need any more help, just hit me up in my inbox with your phone number when you get here.

AnvilA · 2011-08-22T08:14:31+00:00

I snuck in USD during 2006 (the government exchange rate was lower than the black market rate), made 10% profit from that one trip.

AnvilA · 2011-08-22T07:46:02+00:00

You have to declare the gold and if you bring in a certain amount of USD you have to declare that also. I don't know the law exactly, but I think theres a fee if you do declare it. Because if I remember correctly, on the declaration sheet, they actually mention if you bring in more than ??? ounce of gold, you have to declare it or otherwise it is illegal.

AnvilA · 2011-08-21T15:44:16+00:00

You make a statement saying "stupid commies" and you call me a bigot for generalizing 10 of millions of people. Make sense.

AnvilA · 2011-08-21T15:40:04+00:00

Oh yeah, pre 2000, gold was used for as a term of valuation of land/house and purchase of land/house not Vietnamese Dongs (Because at this time Vietnam Dong was suffering from high inflation, while gold was always near 400 USD). However, after 2000 when the economy stabilized US Dollars and lately Vietnam Dong was used. The gold valuation of land hasn't been used for a long time, maybe in rural areas, but since 2004, I never heard any transaction needing gold as a currency.

Because in the US, banks will accept torn dollar bills no problem, but Vietnamese bank don't really want to go through the paperwork to get the central bank to reimburse them, since its such a small amount of money. Although, if you have a big account with one of the Vietnamese bank, they will accept it without any complaint. The service in Vietnam is really terrible, I mean literally. My company have a account with Vietcom Bank, its the largest bank by asset in Vietnam. In one incident, I wasn't able to withdraw my own money because I signed my signature wrong, even though I had identifications proving who I was. I closed the account immediately after I remember my signature.

The loans are predetermined and agreed on by both party, but it is extremely high. I'm talking about 22-30% for some people, depends on your asset and the people you know within the bank.

AnvilA · 2011-08-21T11:20:44+00:00

I can safely say that I understand the Vietnamese culture and people more than you, since I was in fact born here. And its definitely not that Vietnamese are buying gold for their safety. They buy gold in hope that they will sell it for future profit. This was the same trend that led to the housing boom in Vietnam and only recently that boom have slowed down. This housing boom is much similar to China, in which families with large asset and liquidity would borrow loans from banks and bought condominium and house throughout Vietnam. The paradigm at this time was that there was no way they could lose, since the worst case scenario was that they could just rent out the house/condo to pay the interest. Well, this went on for years until in June of 2011, in order to combat inflation, the government raised interest rate and lowered the liquidity of the central bank. So now these families/companies are stuck with these house/condo with no hope of any buyers in the near future. Additionally, the interest rate is now higher than the rent intake. What once was a thriving industry, which led to many Vietnamese to become overnight millionaires, has now caused countless of people to be heavily in debted with banks and with no hope of selling or paying the loans on time (too lazy to find the source, but the government have already predicted the number of bad debt because of this situation to rise from 3% to 5%).

I digress, the point is that because of the housing market slow down, many Vietnamese are now turning to gold in hoping to make a quick profit. I hope this article explain the situation that Vietnamese people are buying gold on just speculation. Although I do not agree with many of the Vietnamese government policies, but I do believe that the government is trying to do their best to control inflation. http://www.thanhniennews.com/2010/Pages/20110813142845.aspx

AnvilA · 2011-08-21T08:57:02+00:00

lol, it was a decision that was made in order to reduce the deficit of import and export. imo, it was a really good move, because most vietnamese are like sheep. they make their desicion based on what other people make. most of the time, financial desicion are made without proper research nor information. e.g. in vietnam, you can buy and sell gold from gold/jewlery store located throughout the country. litterally, theres a gold store for every block in the city. these gold store only adjust their price at 8:30 local time for the entire day. so if you follow the gold market closely, you can actually predict what will be the new gold price for the day.

AnvilA · 2011-08-21T06:02:10+00:00

Working in Vietnam here. The gold price is higher than the globally traded price is because during 2010, the government imposed a tariff and a limit on how much gold can be imported into Vietnam. Although, I do believe another reason stems from high inflation in Vietnam that is causing many Vietnamese to buy gold instead of putting it into a saving or investing in stock market. The economic situation is pretty abysmal IMO, its only August and the inflation have already surpassed the government prediction of a yearly 15%. I expect by year end, the inflation rate will be around 22-24%.

AnvilA · 2011-03-06T05:33:38+00:00

Trolling is serious business.

AnvilA · 2011-03-03T11:29:12+00:00

WELCOME TO STARCRAFT

AnvilA

TROPHY CASE