Cash rewards for studying?

A video clip featuring a teacher of a secondary school in HCM City giving cash reward for students has gone viral. 

Young people trade job stability for freedom

The young generations now feel more self-confident and find it easier to take on new jobs, and change careers. They have more conditions to experience different jobs and enjoy life, and this is something totally new to the older generations. 

There’s more to tour guides than language

Earlier this year my friends and I visited the mountainous town of Sa Pa with a group of Thai friends. It was the first time our foreign friends visited the town, so we hired a tour guide who could speak Thai to ensure they have the best experience there.

Việt Nam LGBTQ visibility

March 2018 was a big month for LGBTQ visibility in Việt Nam. Singer Nguyễn Hương Giang was crowned Miss International Queen at the world’s largest and most prestigious pageant for transgender women. Then the drag queens who have recently started performing at regular drag nights in Tây Hồ made headlines around the world. 

Women take a break from family for travel: Why not?

Economic development has made Vietnamese women much more independent than in the past. Now they are winning for themselves a more balanced role in society at large as well as within the family. More women are choosing to put themselves first and take a break without their families

The surprising buying power of VNĐ1,000

One thousand Việt Nam đồng equals 0.035 euro and 0.045 US dollars, which is less than a five-cent coin. You can’t really buy anything with this in Europe or America.

But in Việt Nam, one thousand đồng can buy you something useful for your daily needs.

We can’t be prudes about statues

Last weekend, my sister Linh took her kids to visit the Hòn Dáu Resort in Đồ Sơn. They had a good time till they walked into the resort’s garden of statues.

 

What’s in a swear? Parents of teens debate

Do you know anyone who has never uttered a swear word? The answer is almost certainly no: swearing is almost as universal as speech itself. But many of us still believe that swearing is linked to bad behaviour.

New ID policy prescribes bad medicine

It is not just normal, but a norm that it takes quite some time in Việt Nam for a new policy to “sink in” to the community after it takes effect.

Keeping a balanced view on access to high places

Modern pilgrims have been using some modern means such as cable cars and elevators to reach holy sites at high places. We need them to be very environmentally and cultural conscious to minimise impacts on these sites.

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