charvey in Vietnam

NaviWorks Halloween

Third annual Halloween party at NaviWorks.  The peeps really got into it.  Good times, good times.  View the slideshow on the big screen here. 

Games in the Park

On weekends there are always groups of boyscouts, teenagers and 20-somethings getting together to play games and have fun in Tao Dan park near my house.  I happened upon these lively young people a few weeks ago.  Each of them had a balloon tied to one ankle.  The objective was to stomp other people's balloons while protecting your own.  Hilarity and pandemonium ensued at the whistle.  I stopped to watch for a moment and snap a pic.

Ads ads everywhere

I snapped this pic last week at Tan Son Nhat airport on the way to Hanoi.  Every seat back was covered with an ad.  More evidence that Vietnam has gone capita....erm, market-oriented in a big way.

This ad is for a bank.  There are an unbelievable number of banks in Vietnam.  I have no idea why, because I don't think the consumer and business credit market here is very developed.  Anyone know?

Got a job!!

Wow, we've begun receiving some photographs from users entering our photo contest to show how they feel when they find a new job.  Got some great ones.  Click here to check it out!

 

VietnamWorks Marketing Campaign

Today we launched the online component of our current "Success" campaign.  The site encourages our users to send us photos of them showing the emotions of landing a new job.  We'll choose one finalist to become the new face on the VietnamWorks home page.  Check it out! [in Vietnamese only].

 The captions in the pictures say things like "Hey mom, I'm about to start a new job!" and "I got a new job, yeahh!"  The idea is to capture the emotion and excitement of finding a new job.  It's a great campaign!

Banana Man

Le Thanh Ton Street near Ben Thanh Market.

Old and New

I snapped this photo at the corner of Nguyen Du and Truong Dinh in district 1. It's a great example of the juxtaposition of "old Saigon" and "new Saigon."  Slowly but surely, decaying buildings and infrastructure are giving way to shiny new buildings and bridges.  It's changing the character of the city.  Of course, some will lament that something is lost, and they're right.  But something is gained too.  Change is unstoppable, and brings the good with the bad.  

It's a real shame, though, when historic old buildings are demolished to make way for plain-vanilla office towers (see Beijing).  The Society for Historic Preservation is a bit, ahem, underfunded in Saigon.

There are tons of similar-sized office buildings going up all over districts 1 and 3.  Judging from all the "for rent" signs, I imagine each new building contributes to the surplus of space on the market.  No doubt all this space will be absorbed over the next 2-3 years though.  I can feel things starting to pick up again, slowly but surely. 

I think the building on the left is a residential building. Looks like it's at least 50 years old.  What's your professional opinion, chu Mel?

POST UPDATE: Thanks to readers Tyler and Mel, the old building has been identified as the Meyerkord BOQ from back in the day.  I found this roughly 40 year old pic on the internet.  Looks like time has been unkind to the Meyerkord.

Inspired by Talent

Last night I went with some friends to La Habana, a cool Cuban-themed bar in District 1. On weekends there's a live band playing rock 'n roll favorites.  Suddenly, the main singer's gravelly bass was replaced by a woman's smoky voice singing "You Give me Fever."  "Whoa, who's that?" I wondered. I looked over and it was Phuong Vy, of the girls in our group (pictured at right).  

I was riveted utterly by Phuong Vy's performance.  Not only did her voice vibrate with clarity and richness, but it was alive with trembling emotion.  Her pitch was perfect.  Her facial expressions and gestures radiated pure passion and joy like a brilliant searchlight piercing the darkness.  Rarely have I witnessed a live demonstration of such pure talent.  Later I found out she won the first season of "Vietnam Idol."  Wow.

Seeing Phuong Vy doing what she loves and doing it so beautifully lifted my heart.  It inspired me to be the best I can be at what I do.  Some of the truest joy comes from expression of great passion and excellence.

Charvey, Film Critic

Back in February I posted a review of the romantic comedy "Passport to Love."  Much to my surprise, I recently discovered that the film's promoters have listed my lil' ole review on their official site.  Check it out, below.  Roger Ebert, move over!!

"Passport to Love" will start playing on October 9 on a limited basis in Orange County, San Jose, Dallas, Houston and Atlanta [thanks commenters BuuNghi and Debra]. 

Corruption

I stumbled across an English-language news story on vietnamnet.vn quoting people speaking openly about corruption by government officials in Vietnam.  Although it seems common knowledge that corruption at all levels is endemic among officials, I didn't expect it to be discussed so openly.

The powers that be pay lip service to fighting corruption, but the unfortunate reality is that palm-greasing and shakedowns are so entrenched up and down the bureaucracy that it is nearly impossible to remove.  I've concluded that any time you hear of a top-level guy getting strung up on corruption charges, yeah the charges are probably true but the real reason he's in trouble is he stepped on the wrong guy's toes.  So they decided to sacrifice him on the altar of an "anti-corruption drive" to keep up appearances and kill two birds with one stone.  Nice and neat, eh?

Here's an example from Newsvine - Vietnam about some local officials who got busted.  It sounds cynical, but I wouldn't be surprised if their real offense was not sharing the loot with the right guys above them.

Here's a post I wrote two years ago when I heard about a corruption-fighting grandma in Hanoi.

Personally I haven't encountered corruption in Vietnam, but then my contact with officialdom has been nearly nonexistent.  I couple Western guys I know who married Vietnamese complained bitterly about all the palms they had to grease to get marriage licenses, birth certificates etc.  Usually the official will raise maddening bureaucratic obstacles, but then generously offer to "expedite" your request for a "fee" or "gratuity."  If you don't pay, they'll drown you in red tape.  It's petty and really makes people angry.

It's not just the government that has a problem.  Kickbacks are also a way of life across sectors.  Our salespeople are sometimes asked for an under-the-table kickback -- oops, "gratuity" -- in exchange for steering their company to buy our services.  We've decided not to do that, ever.  If we signal it's ok to pay kickbacks to win business, then we have no moral standing to demand our people not take kickbacks to favor certain vendors.  You can't have it both ways.  Besides, our service is good enough that we're confident to win against any competition paying kickbacks.  

Here's the story, below.  You can read the original here.

“Good and honest officials are regarded as fools”

11:36' 28/09/2009 (GMT+7)

VietNamNet’s readers write in to the Administrative Reform Forum with more ideas on improving government.     From Russia, reader Hong Son sends a story about his close friend who returned to Vietnam to get married. An official “suggested” that a gratuity of seven million dong could ensure completion of all necessary formalities. It’s obvious, Son said, that only when people are taught self-respect at school that it will be possible to have public servants who refrain from asking for things to which they aren’t entitled.   Reader La Ken from Hai Phong said that if the entire administrative system were computerized, it will be more effective, saving money and time for the people and harassment would be diminished because the people wouldn’t have to directly meet with officials. “By automating procedures,” he wrote, “we can cut down the number of government employees by two-thirds. Wages for government employees will rise while the state doesn’t have to pay more,”   Ken speculated that simplifying formalities is simple in other countries but difficult in Vietnam because officials who hold the power in the government system don’t want to harm their own self- interest.   Many readers propose that public services be privatized. They also suggest a standardized  recruitment policy, tighter discipline and reduced government staffs.   Tran Thi Dung from HCM City maintains that the current number of government employees ought to be slashed in half. “In addition, we should reduce the number of divisions and departments within government agencies by two-thirds. Within each division and department, the number of staff should be reduced so that all officials are always busy. Naturally, administrative formalities will be reduced and they will be paid a satisfactory salary,” Dung wrote.   Pham Thi Van from Da Nang questioned: “If an official deliberately takes risks that cause losses to his organization, how would it be if – as in other countries -- his boss has to resign?”   Promotions go to those who are clever at ‘building relations’   VietNamNet’s readers have not only analysed the phenomenon of harassment but also have pointed out the danger of relying on officials who are not good in their jobs nor of high moral character, but instead are just clever at “footwork” and good at building “good relations” with their bosses. Some comment how odd it is that pure and honest officials are regarded by their colleagues as “eccentric fools” and referred to as “idiots.”   A reader at nv.thieu54@... complains: “It is painful how often rich officials return to their home villages openly boasting about their talent in building relations with their superiors. They are proud because the whole village and their relatives admire and honor them as talented people – or so they seem, since they are richer than many who have high diplomas.”   Hoang Nga from Hanoi expresses frank criticism: “Don’t excuse immorality as the consquence of  low salaries. Many people live purely and keep their self-respect. It is regrettable that such officials are rare today and they may be thought of as “stupid” by their colleagues.”   According to Hoang Nga, cases of officials abusing administrative formalities to benefit themselves has become an “epidemic.” The perpetrators are not ashamed when they harass the people.   Some students now studying overseas told VietNamNet that the current situation discourages them from returning home to work. Nguyen Huong in London said that she is studying with some Vietnamese officials. Whenever they talk to each other, they always mention that this position is lucrative or that position is good for earning money or it is very easy to create difficulties for people who need their help.   Huong added that although the monthly salary of these officials is two to three million dong, they spend luxuriously.   “Let’s bravely change our policy entirely, like Singapore did. Don’t set up a long ‘roadmap” that will take many years to execute” Huong urged.   The prayer of nearly every reader is that the government will strongly commit to the reform of ‘administrative procedures’ and take resolute action.  Le Nhung