Tieng Viet lovers club

[jackbl]

Vietnam lost half a billion dollar because it picked unripe coffee beans
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VietNamNet Bridge – Despite being a big coffee exporter in the world, Vietnam’s coffee is unable to obtain high prices. Experts have pointed out that this is because of the Vietnamese farmers have the habit of harvesting ripe and unripe coffee beans at the same time.

The coffee prices have been increasing significantly these days in the central highlands, the heart of Vietnam’s coffee production. The domestic price has climbed to 35,000 dong per kilo, the highest level in the past two years. Meanwhile, the robusta export price has also increased to $1945 per ton FOB.

However, even these increases do not make Vietnamese exporters and farmers happy, because Vietnam’s coffee is not considered as high quality in the world, which explains why the prices of Vietnam’s coffee are always lower than the prices of Indian, Brazilian and Columbian products.

It is puzzling why Vietnamese exporters and farmers have been agreeing to sell at the low export prices for such a long time, and have not done anything to change the situation.

Experts have pointed out that Vietnamese farmers have the habit of picking ripe and unripe beans at the same time. Ripe coffee beans regularly account for 80 percent, while sometimes the percentage of unripe coffee beans may reach 30 percent.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the habit of picking unripe beans leads to the loss of 30 percent of coffee bean output every year, of 300,000 tons, worth $540 million (the average export price is $1800 per ton). If farmers pick 1100 unripe beans, they will be able to process one kilogramme of coffee, while if they pick ripe beans, the amount will allow to make 1.45 kilogrammes of coffee.

A question has been raised of why Vietnamese farmers continue to pick unripe coffee beans? The truth is that it is not that they want to pick unripe coffee beans but that they have no other choice. The habit is in fact imposed by the current way of collecting coffee beans applied by intermediate merchants (who collect coffee beans from farmers to sell to processing factories or export companies)
According to Nguyen Van Sinh, Deputy Director of Dak Lak Agriculture and Rural Development, merchants prefer a mixture of ripe and unripe coffee beans which is cheaper to, paying more for ripe coffee beans and paying lower for unripe coffee beans. Therefore, farmers would rather pick both unripe and ripe coffee beans at the same time, which requires lower labour costs, than selecting ripe beans,.

“The labour cost now is very high. With ripe coffee beans, farmers would be able to pick up 50 kilos a day, while thw unripe coffee beans, they would be able to pick up 200 kilos,” he said.

Why do Vietnamese enterprises only want to purchase mixed unripe and ripe coffee beans? The answer is that the current 150 coffee trading companies now cannot be picky about collecting coffee beans from farmers, because they rely on foreign partners. Foreign importers would accept high quality coffee products from India, Brazil and Columbia, but they would only buy coffee from Vietnam at low prices.

Director of a Vietnamese enterprise said that previously, Vietnamese enterprises competed fiercely with each other by lowering the export prices. Therefore, foreign partners tried to force the prices down.

“They purchase Vietnam’s coffee at low prices, then mix with the coffee from other countries to process,” he said.

Nevertheless, Vietnamese exporters think that Vietnam will be able to improve the current situation. If Vietnamese enterprises can improve the quality of coffee products, they will be able to control the prices in the world market as it is holding 40 percent of the robusta market.

Source: Saigon tiep thi

[jackbl]

E-commerce to blossom
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VietNamNet Bridge - E-commerce transaction values in Vietnam will sky rocket in the next five years.

Nguyen Ngoc Diep, director of Vatgia.com, estimated that the e-commerce transaction values in Vietnam posted a 10 per cent monthly growth rate during the past three years.

“We estimated that the value would account for 4 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) in the next five years from only 0.4 per cent and equivalent to around $400 million for the time being,” said Diep.

Vatgia.com is running one of the top e-commerce websites showcasing 4.1 million products through 12,000 online pavilions developed by 2,500 enterprises and shops in Vietnam. The website witnessed e-commerce transaction value of $12 million a month on average.

E-commerce transaction values accounted for 1 per cent of China’s GDP, equivalent to $40 billion. The value in the US made its largest in the world with 7 per cent of the US’ GDP or $980 billion.

A Vietnam Internet Network Information Centre report reads that Vietnam had around 30 million internet users by the end of November. However, only four per cent of those conduct transactions online.

“We are seeing a trend that internet surfers prefer to log into e-commerce websites rather than newspaper websites and what we should do from here is we should start educate internet users about online transactions,” said Diep.

Nguyen Hoang Hai and Associates lawyer Nguyen Hoang Hai said around 96 per cent of surveyed e-commerce websites in Vietnam did not contain guidelines for customers to handle possible transaction disputes.

The Ministry of Trade and Industry (MoIT) is scheduled to issue the circular on management operations of websites providing e-commerce transactions for products and services later this year.

Under the circular draft, all e-commerce websites including operating websites must register to the MoIT for providing e-commerce transactions for products and services within 90 days. The MoIT will issue a special and common mark for its authentication for e-commerce websites. The move aims to increase trust of customers of e-commerce websites.

Tran Huu Linh, deputy director of MoIT’s E-commerce and IT Department said its next activities focused on translating e-commerce transaction practices further familiar with local customers.

Vietnam targets to have 70 per cent of large-scale enterprises and 30 per cent of small-scaled enterprises being e-commerce website members by 2015.

“We are cooperating with tax agencies and banks to measure official figures of e-commerce transactions as those e-commerce transactions must reports through tax agencies. We have just conducted a survey on large-scale enterprises for the report,” said Linh.


Source: VIR

[jackbl]

Football crazy nation....

Travel firm hires airplanes for Vietnamese football fans
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VietNamNet Bridge – Immediately after Vietnam beat Singapore 1-0 to enter the semi-finals of AFF Cup 2010, hundreds of fans called travel agents to book trips to Malaysia, where Vietnam and Malaysia will meet in the first semi final game on December 15.

A local tourism company, Vietravel, hired two Vietnam Airlines airplanes, totaling 360 seats, which will both depart from Hanoi and HCM City to Kuala Lumpur and return from Kuala Lumpur to Vietnam on December 15, to serve football fans.

The trip from HCM City is priced at VND8.9 million and VND9.9 million for the trip from Hanoi.

The firm also offers 2-4 day tours to Malaysia, including ticket for the game between Vietnam and the host.

Hanoi Redtour booked 40 seats on Vietnam Airlines flights to Malaysia. Its four-day tours to Malaysia, plus a ticket to the semifinal match, are priced $469. Nearly 20 tourists booked the tour on December 9 morning.

Hanoi Tourist said travel firms are worrying about the shortage of air tickets to Malaysia. This company only received a booking for a group of 16 people to Malaysia on December 15.

On online forums, members called on each other to self organize tours to Malaysia to watch football.

PV

[paulwwk88]

Help it so long and my head is spinning.... I was sitting with a vb then one of her friend notice that I can speak a bit tieng Viet and told her that I'm xao luon cuz I know tieng viet and she start to disbelive me and today I sent a SMS saying that her friend no good and she don't know me and how can said that I'm xao luon.... Then she reply with this....

XINH LOI VI ANH BIET ROI DO O BEN VN EM LAM RAT CUT CO CO QUA DAY EM TAN DUNG THOI GIAN DI LAM VA LAI DAU CO O LAU DUOC DAU VA LAI EM LAM NGHE NAY KHONG TOT DAU ANH DUNG SI NGHI VE EM NHIEU ROI KHONG VUI

Pls help

[VietnamLover]

Originally Posted by KangTuo

Minh ten wuyen minh muon lam wen voi KT duoc khong?

I do not think that wuyen is the correct Vietnamese name. Correct name should be Uyen.

[jackbl]

Loan sharks scam HCMC students
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Students unable to repay debts fear for their limbs

Binh left his home in a nearby province and came to Ho Chi Minh City with dreams of a degree.

Struggling with the high costs of living in the city, he failed to pay his university fees in October and ended up borrowing VND5 million (US$256) from a friend.

When the friend asked him to return the money, Binh reluctantly went to one of the many loan sharks that lend money to cash-strapped students in the city.

“I had no choice. Banks and legal loan services won’t give me loans because I have no assets [to mortgage],” he said.

At a money lender’s in an alley off Tran Hung Dao Street in District 1, just steps away from the dormitories of the HCMC University of Economics and the HCMC University of Natural Sciences, Binh was “approved” for a loan at an interest rate of 21 percent per month.

To legalize the loan, Binh was made to sign a document saying he received the money as a deposit for a laptop he would deliver later.

Before he left, the lender warned the student with dire consequences if he failed to pay his debts. “They threatened to contact my family and cut off my limbs,” he said. Thankfully, he was able to pay off his debts within ten days.

But another student, Tu, was not that lucky. He was threatened and seriously bullied all November after failing to pay interest on a loan of VND11 million ($564). Fearing for his limbs and life, Tu borrowed money from his sister to pay off the interest. But he is still mired in debt.

According to Tu, hundreds of students have borrowed money from the same lender, identified only as C.

The 47 universities in HCMC attract thousands of students every year from around the country, especially the southern provinces. Loan sharks lurk around the universities and thrive on ripping off broke students.

Students get mired in extortionate interest rates, often ending up struggling to pay off just the interest, without any hope of getting out of debt.



Abundant bloodsuckers

Following a complaint from a victim student, Thanh Nien conducted an investigation and found hundreds of students who have seen their hardships turn into horrors.

Disguised as a relative repaying a student’s debt, a Thanh Nien reporter found that the loan shark popularly known as C. belongs to a ring with at least three unlicensed lenders around universities in HCMC.

He was told that he could pay the interest at any of the other “branches” in the city - at Street No. 2 near University of Technology in District 10, at D5 Street near a branch of Foreign Trade University in Binh Thanh District, and in the Thu Duc university area in Thu Duc District.

The service on D5 Street appears to be a pawn shop with a board advertising “low-interest loans with easy procedures.” A man called H. directed the “customer” to a nearby service on D2 Street to discuss the loan. However, he refused to lend money when the reporter presented an invalid student card.

Another loan shark in H.’s racket said many other loan sharks in Thu Duc university area charged even higher interest rates, of VND40,000 per day on a VND1 million loan, which works out to be 120 percent per month.

H. also claimed that the ring has tight connections with government and police officials who protect the illegal services.

According to state regulations, interest rates should be no more than 150 percent of the benchmark interest rate set by the State Bank of Vietnam. At the moment, the benchmark rate is 9 percent per annum, and the maximum interest rates charged by money lenders should not exceed 13.5 percent. Violating lenders can be punished by jail terms of up to three years and fines up to ten times the involved interest amount.



INVESTIGATION UNDERWAY

Following Thanh Nien’s report published Monday (December 6), the police in District 1 summoned 28-year-old Nguyen Manh Cuong, previously identified as C., for interrogation.

Cuong, who operates the money-lending service on Tran Hung Dao Street confessed he had lent money to students at a monthly interest of 21 percent. He also admitted that he had forced borrowers to sign false documents saying they received the money as a deposit for laptops.

However, he failed to say how many students had borrowed money from him. A subsequent police raid of his facility found records of 29 students who had borrowed a total of VND185 million. The police also found several leaflets introducing his services.

Police said Cuong has so far not revealed any connections with other loansharks’ services in Binh Thanh District or elsewhere in the city.

A District 1 police officer said they are investigating the case and are determined to crack down on the loan sharks.

Meanwhile, several students who had borrowed money from Cuong told Thanh Nien that they received anonymous phone calls instructing them to pay their debt at a facility in Binh Thanh District.

The Binh Thanh District police told Thanh Nien they would verify the information about the loan sharks operating in their jurisdiction.

Reported by Thanh Nien staff

[jackbl]

Originally Posted by paulwwk88

Help it so long and my head is spinning.... I was sitting with a vb then one of her friend notice that I can speak a bit tieng Viet

Why dun u try out first? If it's incorrect, maybe the other experts here will correct u?

[zhu star]

Originally Posted by VietnamLover

I do not think that wuyen is the correct Vietnamese name. Correct name should be Uyen.

I may be wrong but I think it should be 'Huyen'.

[jackbl]

U may wan to visit this place if u go to vung tau

A perfect hot spot
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Among the mountains of southeastern Vietnam, amidst the lush greenery of a primary forest, a perfect hot spot awaits your discovery.

Literally.

The Binh Chau - Ho Coc area teems with hot springs hidden in forests. They were “discovered” in 1928 by a French doctor named Salle.

The area consists of more than 70 visible hot springs with water temperatures ranging from 37 to 82 degree Celsius.

Tourists have been flocking to Binh Chau - Ho Coc hot springs since 1989 in search of relaxation and relief.

Experts say the water contains many substances like silica, nitrogen, sulfur, sodium, and chlorine that are useful for treating many types of illnesses.

The minerals in the water are said to be beneficial for the bones, muscles and skin, and to improve blood circulation, thus strengthening the immune system and facilitating the healing process.

Visitors soak their feet in hot water along a concrete channel winding through the area, and usually, do not forgo the opportunity to boil eggs in the 80°C wells.


We reached Binh Chau - Ho Coc after spending three hours on the bus from Ho Chi Minh City. The stiffness and muscle tensions of a somewhat long journey disappeared as we immersed ourselves in a pool where the water stayed at 37 degrees Celsius.

Beside the hot-water baths, the site now offers mud-baths, sauna, massage, jacuzzi and steam baths.

A sports-leisure complex to play golf, volleyball and tennis as well as a garden named Vuon Trang with a 1,000-seat open air stage have been added to the area to lure more visitors. The last-mentioned facility is often hired by companies for team-building activities and by others for concerts, dance performances and so on.

Other “attractions” include river fishing and rides on horse-carriages.

For the more scientifically inclined, or those looking for added adventure, the Binh Chau forest is an ideal place to explore.

Accommodation in Binh Chau is offered by eight hotels with the usual range of rooms, not to mention a few villas.

In 2003, the Binh Chau Hot Spring area was recognized by the World Tourism Organization as one of 65 sustainable ecotourism areas located in 47 countries worldwide.

Those visiting Binh Chau can also head to the Ho Coc Beach, around 15 kilometers from the hot springs.

The three-kilometer long, white sandy beach is more or less unspoilt – an idyllic get-away spot.

Reported by Thuy Long



GETTING THERE

• Binh Chau – Ho Coc tourism site is located in Bung Rieng Commune, Xuyen Moc District, Ba Ria - Vung Tau Province, around 150 kilometers from Ho Chi Minh City.

• From HCMC, travel along the National Highway 51 for 100 kilometers until Ba Ria Town. Then turn left to drive long the National Highway 55 for another 55 kilometers to reach Binh Chau – Ho Coc.

• Tourists wanting to come to the site by bus can buy tickets from the Mien Dong Bus Station at 292 Dinh Bo Linh Street in HCMC’s Binh Thanh District. Buses on the Saigon – Binh Chau route depart from 7 to 14:30 every day.

• To book tours, contact Saigon – Binh Chau - Ho Coc Eco-tourist Resort at (064) 3 871 131 (064) 3 871 131 /3 871 623 or (08) 3 997 0677 (08) 3 997 0677. The website www.saigonbinhchauecoresort.com provides more information.

[paulwwk88]

Originally Posted by jackbl

Why dun u try out first? If it's incorrect, maybe the other experts here will correct u?

ok i give my best try with it mean...

sorry because you know already at vietnam my work are very hard. came here i don't have much time to and be here for long and i came here heard a lot no good thing about here. you don't always think of me a lot will not happy.

was trying from yesterday to understand it hope i get right...

[lovesprout]

Receive the following message when we talked about utility bill in vn.

"re ma ko mat lam dau nhung so voi o vn ko co tien va dong tien o vn thi moi mat thoi"

"cheap but not .... but this number at vn have no money and expensive at vn then..."

I have no idea how to make sense of this sentence. Please help. Thanks.

[jackbl]

Originally Posted by paulwwk88

XINH LOI VI ANH BIET ROI DO O BEN VN EM LAM RAT CUT CO CO QUA DAY EM TAN DUNG THOI GIAN DI LAM VA LAI DAU CO O LAU DUOC DAU VA LAI EM LAM NGHE NAY KHONG TOT DAU ANH DUNG SI NGHI VE EM NHIEU ROI KHONG VUI

Originally Posted by paulwwk88

ok i give my best try with it mean...

sorry because you know already at vietnam my work are very hard. came here i don't have much time to and be here for long and i came here heard a lot no good thing about here. you don't always think of me a lot will not happy.

IMHO, ..... came here I make use of time go work and come here can't be long and I work this job no good, U dun think about me alot already, no happy.

[jackbl]

Young daring thieves.....


Nghe An: Thieves cracking ATM machines arrested
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Police in the central Nghe An Province on December 9 arrested three thieves, who breaking into an ATM machine to steal money.

The ATM machine belongs to Saigon Commercial Bank’s transaction office on Nguyen Sy Bach street, Vinh City.

The case occurred around 3 am when three people including Phung Bao Quoc,14; Pham Doan Hung, 14 and Pham Duc Chinh, 15.

Quoc resides in Thanh Duong commune, Thanh Chuong District, Nghe An Province. Hung and Chinh reside in Vinh City.

They heard the news that thieves broke open an ATM machine in Ho Chi Minh City’s Tan Phu District and stole more than VND1 billion (US$51,000) on November 23. They accessed internet to study the way to steal money from ATM machine.

They bought a fire extinguisher, a cutting machine, insulated pliers and crowbars.

The three subjects were arrested when they had cut the ATM machine’s power and camera.

The three subjects are ninth grade at the Doi Cung secondary school.

Quoc is player of U-15 Song Lam Nghe An football team.

Police said it is the first time that thieves broke into ATM machine in Nghe An Province.

[lovesprout]

Originally Posted by paulwwk88

XINH LOI VI ANH BIET ROI DO O BEN VN EM LAM RAT CUT CO CO QUA DAY EM TAN DUNG THOI GIAN DI LAM VA LAI DAU CO O LAU DUOC DAU VA LAI EM LAM NGHE NAY KHONG TOT DAU ANH DUNG SI NGHI VE EM NHIEU ROI KHONG VUI

Pls help

Too add on: cut should "cực" meaning "苦". It is difficult to translate this word into English.

[jackbl]

Originally Posted by jackbl

Banh Xeo! – a traditional Vietnamese flavor
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Pho: Common “name card” of Vietnamese
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Just as Italy has spaghetti, France has croissant, and China has dim sum, Vietnam has pho as a delicacy to offer to the world’s gourmets.


Pho, a Vietnamese noodle soup usually served with beef or chicken, came into existence in North Vietnam in the early 20th century and then spread to the South in mid 1950s. The soup includes rice noodles and is often served with basil, lime, bean sprouts, and peppers that are added to the soup by the eater.


National dish

While a distinctive Vietnamese dish, pho is said to have French and Chinese influences, according to two theories that both explain the origin of the word “pho.” Nguyen Tung, a Vietnamese anthropologist based in Paris, supports the theory that says the name originates from “fun” in Chinese (Cantonese), which means noodle.

Under this assumption, it was likely that Chinese refugees who flocked into Vietnam in the late 19th century brought pho with them, as well as many other dishes which were later Vietnamized, including “hủ tiếu” (kuyteav), “hoành thánh” (wonton), “xá xíu” (char siew), “lạp xưởng” (Chinese sausage), “nước tương” (soy sauce), and “lẩu” (hot pot ), etc.

Meanwhile, the other theory speculates the name comes from the French “feu” (fire), as in the dish pot-au-feu French troops brought into Vietnam in the late 19th century. The supporter of the theory was R.W. Apple, Jr., the late correspondent and editor at The New York Times, who wrote about war and revolution, politics and government, and food and drink.

I, the author* of this article, still wonder which theory is closer to the truth. The noodle soup of the Chinese does not pay much attention to the quality of the stock, while the pot-au-feu of the French has good broth but it uses vegetables instead of rice noodles. Is it likely that the Vietnamese made the best use of both of them to make the unique pho for their own? Anyway, pho has long become one of the best traditional food in Vietnam and can be enjoyed anytime and anywhere.

Half a century ago, writer and gourmet Nguyen Tuan (1910-1987) wrote: “Morning, noon, afternoon, evening or night can be an excellent time for having pho. During the day, eating a bowl of pho is as enjoyable as drinking a cup of tea while talking with close friends. Pho is so delicious that hardly anyone would refuse an invitation for a pho. For low income people, they can easily entertain their friends to it without the worry of being out of pocket.”

Thus, pho can be regarded as the soul and symbol of Vietnamese cuisine in anywhere in the world, from small eateries in Hanoi, the cradle of the noodle soup, to large shopping centers in the US’s Orange County or the Left Bank of Paris, France. Nowadays, pho is not only a popular dish for Vietnamese people but also among the choices of gourmets in many other countries at any time, day or night. Moreover, pho has also become an entry in both English and French dictionaries.


Pho follows Vietnamese migrants to the world

In a certain extent, the spread of pho around the world had a connection with the country’s history in the 20th century. It appears that pho came into existence in Vienam in 1910-1912, right before many Vietnamese young people were forced to emigrate to France to help the "mother country" fight against Germany during World War I.

About thirty years later, when World Ward II came to its end, many Vietnamese soldiers in the French army were naturalized in France and then settled down in France or its colonies. It was the second generation of Vietnamese immigrants who brought pho to Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and even Micronesia, an island country in Western Pacific region. By the 1950s và 1960s, it was not difficult to find a Vietnamese restaurant with pho in Côte d'Ivoire, Senegal, Pondichery or New Caledonia.

In 1954, when the Geneva Accord was signed, dividing Vietnam at the 17th parallel, hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese people moved from north to south and vice versa. Northerners introduced their flavored noodle soup to Southerners who then modified the specialty by adding sprout, basil, thorny cilantro, and some other spices.

During some years after 1975, when the Vietnam War ended, millions of people left Vietnam to settle down in many other countries. Today, there are about 4 million overseas Vietnamese, or around 5 percent of the country’s population of 86 million. Over half of all overseas Vietnamese are living in the U.S., where a great deal of pho restaurants owned by Vietnamese immigrants has contributed to bringing the Vietnamese traditional dish to the American gourmets.

However, it is not only in the US but also in other countries where there are Vietnamese communities, from Denmark to New Zealand or from Japan to Israel, that pho has emerged as one of the favorite dishes of local people.

* The author of this article: Vu Duc Vuong, a writer and teacher in California, the U.S.


Source: VietnamNet – Translated by Quang Hung