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Re: All Vietnam Related TCSS / Info / Gatherings / Help Thread
How penguins are raised on tropical Phu Quoc Island
TUOI TRE NEWS UPDATED : 03/28/2017 16:32 GMT + 7 A colony of 15 Antarctic gentoo penguins are being kept at the heart of one of Vietnam’s largest and most modern aquariums on Phu Quoc Island. At 4:00 pm sharp, Pham Minh Chien, an employee of Phu Quoc Vinpearl Land Aquarium, entered the ‘artificial Antarctica’ enclosure carrying a bucket of fish to feed the penguins. Chien had barely stepped inside when the playful animals made a beeline for their caretaker over the icy flooring intended to mimic snow. The 24-year-old laid out a white towel on a stool for the penguins to stand on while enjoying their afternoon feast, a habit that has been established since their resettlement from their former home in Australia. Clumsy animals According to Chien, there are 15 gentoo penguins being raised at the aquarium, ranging from three to 14 years of age and weighing between 4.5 and seven kilograms. Each penguin is given an English name and a ‘personal’ number, which are printed on a color-coded tag attached to their wings along with their birthday and gender. The penguins’ daily meal includes up to five different types of seafood and vitamin supplements, divided into four main portions, Chien said. Being one of only two employees tasked with caring for the animals since their ‘immigration’ to Phu Quoc, Chien said he had grown familiar with each of the penguins’ habits and characters. One penguin enjoyed lying on its side, Chien said, while another was rather clumsy with its feet, and two were too lazy to fetch their food underwater. “And then there’s this one penguin that is so easily distracted during feeding time,” Chien said. “I see them as friends, not animals. Never before had I thought of working daily with such lovely animals.” From Australia to Vietnam The penguins’ enclosure is designed to mimic the Antarctic climate and weather conditions with dozens of giant ice machines working day and night to keep the animals cool. Temperatures in the penguins’ habitat are maintained at around four degrees Celsius, while the water temperature is kept at no hotter than eight degrees Celsius. “The artificial snow helps protect their feet,” said Thai Thi Nhung, head of the penguin team. “Whenever the freezers are not running at full power, aquarium employees will manually grind 50 columns of ice to make do. We are gradually lowering the temperature so that the penguins can adapt well to Vietnam’s climate.” Every day between 8:30 pm and 8:45 pm, all lights in the area are turned off so that the penguins can take a quick uninterrupted nap, while during the day, only on-duty caretakers may enter the enclosure for feeding and cleaning. Those who get direct contact with the animals are required to wear protective clothes and sanitized boots, and the penguins' swimming water is replaced daily to prevent any bacterial buildup. “On their first day here, the penguins were so stressed and scared that they retreated into a corner and refused to move or come into the water,” Nhung said. “Now that they’re familiar with their new home, they have got a lot more confident and playful. To see them every day makes me feel younger and more blissful.” Nhung joined a two-week training course in Australia in October 2014 on taking care of penguins before taking on her current post at the aquarium. “We’ve had to make several adjustments to how we had been trained to look after the penguins, as Vietnam’s climate is very different from Australia’s,” Nhung explained. “The penguins are still being trained to adapt to the tropical climate of Phu Quoc Island.”
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Re: All Vietnam Related TCSS / Info / Gatherings / Help Thread
Dog, cat cafés melt hearts in Ho Chi Minh City
TUOI TRE NEWS UPDATED : 03/28/2017 19:01 GMT + 7 Are you a pet lover? If yes, why not visit a café where you can pet fluffy dogs and friendly cats while sipping at your drink? Among other novelty cafés including anime and book coffee shops that have popped up across Ho Chi Minh City over the past few years, dog and cat cafés featuring an array of canine and feline friends for customers to play with have emerged as favorite weekend retreats for young urbanites. Recently, one Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper reporter dropped by a shop on Pham Van Hai Street in Tan Binh District, the name of which arouses passers-by’s curiosity; ‘Dogs Café-Café Cho.’ An imposing Alaskan breed of dog with a shiny coat slowly ‘showed’ him upstairs, suggesting that ‘surprises were up there.’ As the door popped open, a pack of pooches of a variety of breeds barked noisily and wagged their tails to mark a friendly welcome for their new client. Though not shy with dogs, the male reporter was slightly spooked after being surrounded by so many large dogs. No sooner had he put his backpack down and started a conversation with the shop attendant than one of the pooches sneaked toward his bag and peed on it, seemingly to mark territory. As the attendant was about to clear up the mess, another dog put his hind leg on the bag for one more welcoming pee. As the reporter settled down at the low table, the dogs continued to linger. One Golden Retriever tenderly held the reporter’s calf with its soft snout to keep him from leaving, while an all-white, fuzzy Samoyed, introduced as the friendliest pooch, sat nearby, with its glittering eyes seeming to say, ‘Please caress me!’ The Alaskan guide dog was meanwhile basking on the floor, while the sheep shepherd and hare hunter frolicked raucously with the dozen other dogs. The sleek, snow-colored Samoyed refused to leave the reporter, vying for his attention and trying to keep his eyes away from other dogs by repeatedly poking at his arm with its front leg. Drinks are available for VND50,000-100,000 (US$2.2-4.3) apiece. Young visitors fondle cuddly dogs at a canine café in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Tuoi Tre continue reading here http://tuoitrenews.vn/features/40278...-chi-minh-city
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Re: All Vietnam Related TCSS / Info / Gatherings / Help Thread
Vietnam tour operators irked by increased airfares
TUOI TRE NEWS UPDATED : 03/28/2017 18:01 GMT + 7 Vietnamese tour agencies are scratching their heads over unexpected airfare increases by local carriers, as they have charged tourists the old air ticket prices when selling packages for the upcoming summer holidays. In mid-March, the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam submitted a proposal to the Ministry of Transport, seeking permission to hike landing and takeoff fees for airlines, as well as several passenger services. The Airports Corporation of Vietnam, which manages all civilian airports in the country, has said the fee hikes would reduce the state budget’s spend on countrywide airports, while claiming that the increased fees would not result in much higher airfares. Vietnamese airlines were quick to grab the opportunity however, having announced their increased airfare plans. Vietnam Airlines has said business-class tickets for domestic services will be hiked by VND100,000-500,000 (US$4.5-22), while economy tickets will rise by VND40,000-300,000 (($2-13), depending on routes, starting April 1. On March 23, low-cost airline Vietjet increased the service fee for domestic routes to VND140,000 ($6) per flight, and VND160,000 ($7) for international services. The old fees were VND100,000 and VND120,000 ($5). Vietjet is now also charging higher fees for such services as seat selection, baggage, and flight change surcharges. Passengers who fail to board their international flight on time will have to pay VND1 million ($45) to be able to use the next service on the same route, instead of VND735,000 ($33). Jetstar Pacific Airlines has also raised its system management fee to VND130,000 ($6) per route from the old VND100,000 from March 15. Even foreign carriers, such as Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways, have upped their system management fees and fuel surcharges for services to Vietnam. Travel companies have been the first to get upset about those new fees. Tran Van Long, general director of Vietnam Media Travel Co., said the fee hikes would lead to higher airfares, which is a headache for tour operators given that they had sold packages to tourists based on the old prices. “The impact will be huge as airfares account for 35 to 45 percent of a tour’s total price,” Long said. The increased airfares will hit travel agencies on future packages, as they have to cover the extra costs but may not increase the tour prices to maintain competitiveness. In the meantime, an official from the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam, who asked not to be named, has defended the airfare hikes, saying carriers “had tried to keep ticket prices unchanged when global fuel prices spiked.” “Vietnamese airlines had even cut airfares to stay competitive against foreign carriers,” the official said. He added that the new airfares are well below the ceiling prices airlines are allowed to charge flyers. “The highest airfare for a domestic service is still 20 percent lower than the ceiling price,” he said.
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Re: All Vietnam Related TCSS / Info / Gatherings / Help Thread
I hate such report...tell the world Vietnam is cheap...
__________________________________________________ _______________________ The real dangers of traveling to Vietnam just because it’s cheap By Minh Le March 29, 2017 | 02:50 pm GMT+7 Let’s not mince words: tourists love the country because it’s one of the cheapest places on earth, but low costs come with risks. Yet another travel list has named Vietnam among the must-visit places in the world because it’s cheap. This time, it’s Emily Zemler, a writer from Refinery29, who describes Vietnam as one of the best “super cheap” destinations in the world. “Asian destinations like Japan and Singapore can be pricy, but Vietnam is notably budget-friendly. The food, which is just as good from a street cart as it is from a sit-down restaurant, is cheap (usually less than 10 bucks a pop) and hotels are reasonable, with luxury properties averaging around $80 per night… Don’t be afraid to sample the street food, which includes signature dishes like beef pho and bun cha, and make sure to spring for a countryside bicycle tour from Hoi An, which run $17 and up.” To be fair, cost-based recommendations like these are what Vietnam, still an emerging travel destination, needs now. It’s perfectly fine to love something when it doesn’t bankrupt you – it’s even better when that something is also good. “Cheap” is not a dirty word. We don’t need to avoid it and replace it with pretentious phrases like “budget-friendly” or “best value for your buck” when we promote a product or a travel destination. But “cheap” does come with a connotation: some sort of compromises must be made and accepted. For cheap travel, the biggest compromises are on quality and safety. In Vietnam, this can mean anything: drinking a beer that tastes like water, sleeping on a hostel bed with a dirty sheet, getting food poisoning after a meal at a delicious sidewalk joint, drinking toxic moonshine, or falling from a waterfall. And the list goes on. Many travelers will take these risks without blinking an eye. Ask any backpacker in Saigon and they will tell you how happy they are when they only need a few hundred bucks to travel in Vietnam. Diarrhea and those serious travel safety warnings don’t faze them one bit. continue reading here http://e.vnexpress.net/news/travel-l...p-3562491.html
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Re: All Vietnam Related TCSS / Info / Gatherings / Help Thread
Oh yeah sarporkted by the Mighty One now I can be yaya papaya liao.......kekekeke Cheerios.....SS08 ^_^
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Re: All Vietnam Related TCSS / Info / Gatherings / Help Thread
Well admittedly I am quite goot at remembering crap & such...... Cheerios......SS08 ^_^
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Re: All Vietnam Related TCSS / Info / Gatherings / Help Thread
Provided we are in the same town at the same date Cheerios......SS08 ^_^
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Re: All Vietnam Related TCSS / Info / Gatherings / Help Thread
Well I did really tried not to get bothered by it......but really buay tahan when you see bullies tokking nonsense to justify their own selfish or inconsiderate actions in chinese called "er ren xian gao zhuang" Cheerios.....SS08 ^_^
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Re: All Vietnam Related TCSS / Info / Gatherings / Help Thread
Cannot lah, rotan one ........ 18 onwards still can...... Cheerios.....SS08 ^_^
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Re: All Vietnam Related TCSS / Info / Gatherings / Help Thread
Quote:
I remembered a long time ago somebody was advocating in the old thread that it is goot to put $$$ in the Wetnamese banks cos they are giving more than 15% interest rates I die die also will never put there moreover given the miserable savings that I have Cheerios.....SS08 ^_^
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Re: All Vietnam Related TCSS / Info / Gatherings / Help Thread
Quote:
I still prefer SYTs Cafes anytime & they definitely also can melt my hearts anytime too Cheerios......SS08 ^_^
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Re: All Vietnam Related TCSS / Info / Gatherings / Help Thread
Now only you knew you are yaya papaya...kkk...
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Re: All Vietnam Related TCSS / Info / Gatherings / Help Thread
what else you remembered...do you remember how your first syt look...
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Re: All Vietnam Related TCSS / Info / Gatherings / Help Thread
no no...we put date together and buy ticket together...
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