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Let me start by saying that this story is not a joke!
Today the much criticized plan to ban short, skinny and people without boobs from driving was banned. The new rule would imply that people weighing less than 40kg, being shorter than 1.5 meter or with a chest circumference of less than 72cm (28 inches) would no longer qualify for a new drivers licence.
Many girls were worried about this proposal because the average chest size in of a Vietnamese lady isn’t that big. The average Vietnamese lady is about 1.55meter tall and about 47kg. I would be able to tell lots of friends that that would no longer be allowed to drive their motorbike. I don’t see the link between accidents, bad driving and small boobs but rest assured that the streets would be empty, traffic jams would be gone but that driving would somehow be less fun.
Last year I found the product below in the supermarket. I though that strengthen the beasts was a spelling error but maybe……..it is reality!
My house is located 3 minutes walking from Tan Son Nhat airport in Vietnam. On Monday morning, 27 October 2008 at about 2:45AM the domestic terminal got fire.
Many fire trucks could be heard rushing to the airport and it took several hours to get the fire under control. When I went to work the fire was already put out. The fire started around the cafeteria area and souvenirs, tables, clothes etcetera were destroyed. The building looks black from the outside now.
No casualty have been reported reported and at the moment of this writing I have not yet heard about what caused the fire. Passengers for domestic flights were redirected to the new terminal for international flights.
It has been a while that we spoke about traffic accidents in Vietnam. The mandatory of wearing of helmets for motor bikers were introduced last year and what is the result?
A total of 9,500 traffic accidents were registered during the first 3 months of 2008. Of course there must have been many more because many accidents are resolved without the involvement of police. A total of 8,605 people were killed according to the National Committee for Traffic Safety at a conference held in Hanoi last week.
This means a reduction of 13% of fatal accidents compared to the same period of last year.
Yesterday many friends and colleagues told me that they had heard that petrol prices would increase further following the 31% increase last week. The story wa that the price would increase from the current VND19,000 to a new record of VND25,000. In the afternoon hundreds of people queued at the petrol station near Tan Son Nhat airport to fill up their tanks. My bike was empty but I didn’t have the patience to wait in such a lengthy queue. In the evening there was still a large queue.
For those sportsaholics in Vietnam and neighbouring countries: Don’t miss the deadline for registration for the Vietnam International Triathlon! Registration closes on the 8th of August 2008. For registration details click the following link: REGISTRATION
The event, held on the 23rd and 24th of August 2008 is going to be great but sweaty. A good friend tried the course for the Olympic distance last week for his training and confirmed my expectations, Hoi An is
If you are you are interested in getting in touch with individuals/companies that outsource to Vietnam or if you provide outsourcing services you’re invited to join the Vietnam IT Outsourcing Group on LinkedIn. Joining will allow you to find and contact others members on LinkedIn. The goal of this group is to help members:
Reach other members interested in IT/Software Outsourcing business
If you have projects that you wish to outsource you may be able to find the company/individual you were looking for
Last February, petrol prices in Vietnam were increased by 11% and diesel prices were increased by 36%. It is hard to believe but today the price for one liter of 92-Octane petrol (which I used for my motorbike) was increased from 14,500 VND yesterday to an amazing 19,000 VND (USD 1.10) today. This is a 31% increase. Diesel was raised with 14.3% to 15,950 VND.
Vietnam is trying to catch up with fuel prices in other countries but this sudden increase was not known by many people and comes as a shock. Fifteen years ago I used to work at a petrol station in Holland and if prices were going up by just 1 cent, Dutch people would start to panic already. Can you imagine what would happened if petrol prices in Holland increase by 31% overnight?
Of course, those who are living in Europe will argue that petrol is cheap in Vietnam but compared to salary levels petrol prices are expensive. This increase will push the inflation for July and August 2008 even further up.
Petrol prices in Vietnam are lower than those of their neighbors and therefore traders smuggle a lot of petrol
Today morning, Monday 14 July 2008, Miss Venezuela may call herself Miss Universe. Eighty beauties attended the in Vietnam hosted Miss Universe Pageant. Millions of people around the globe witnessed that Dayana Mendoza, 22 and an aspiring interior designer, won the Miss Universe pageant in Nha Trang, Vietnam.
It was an odd time for Vietnam to organize the event as it would have been much better if it was held on Saturday or Sunday instead of a Monday morning 8AM when all Vietnamese people are at work. Some people in Saigon were lucky as there were full day power outages in Tan Binh and other locations so that employees let their staff go home.
The strange time was chosen so that it coincides with prime-time Sunday evening TV slot in the USA, home of Donald Trump (more…)
I was watching the TV two days ago and was surprised how late the show was held as it is uncommon in Vietnam to organise events until late in the evening.
The amphi theatre of the Vinpearl Resort was loaded with 81 beauties that were competing in the mini competition, the bikini show (or swim wear show…..whatever you want to call it).
Elisa Najera, 21, was the winner in the mini competition, the bikini show, for the Mis Universe 2008 pageant.The earier mini competitions were the traditional costume presentation and the Vietnamese traditional dress, the Ao Dai, Fashion Show.
