AsiaLIFE Vietnam February 2014

AsiaLIFE volume 71 Asialifemagazine.com

18 front

06 News & Events 08 Dispatches

36 Sterling's Saigon

food

Eaters of flowers and fruits

37 Znap! Cafe

09 Street Smart: Vo Van Tan

A fusion cafe and bistro

12 Q&A With Robert Dodge

38 Doraku

14 Photo Essay: The Other Side of Borneo

cover story

18 On the Job

storyboard

24 Sci-fi Comes to Vietnam

Women in the workplace

A Japanese restaurant on stage

39 Chuck's

American comfort food

style & design

28 Make Space

A place for creatives to work

30 Blind Ambition Digital resources for the blind

Preserving city community life

42 In With the Old Fashion by Mayhem

26 Motor Skills

Motorcycle sport

40 The Sidewalk Solution

back

46 The List 66 Spotlight 68 Street Guide 76 Odd One Out Preparing for super-stardom

77 A Libertine Abroad

getaways

32 Where the Wild Beaches Are Brazil

Why McDonald's should come to Vietnam

78 Pub Quiz

34 The Land of the Long White Cloud New Zealand

14 42 Cover Art direction Sarah Joanne Smith Photography Fred Wissink Model Trinh Thi Thien

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note from the editor Group director sales and marketing / director Vietnam: Jonny Edbrooke jonny@asialifemagazine.com Managing editor: Chris Mueller chris@asialifemagazine.com Deputy editor: Lien Hoang lien@asialifemagazine.com Assistant editor: Ruben Luong ruben@asialifemagazine.com

Art director: Sarah Joanne Smith sarah@asialifemagazine.com Photo editor: Fred Wissink fred@asialifemagazine.com Production manager: Nguyen Kim Hoa nguyenhoa@asialifehcmc.com Administrative: Nguyen Hanh Trinh trinh.nguyen@asialifehcmc.com

Editor-at-large: Brett Davis brett@asialifehcmc.com

Chris Mueller Every expat has been asked the question: Why are you in Vietnam? It is so common that most of us respond with a default answer without really giving it much thought. For me, the answers vary from “because it’s different” to “I just ended up here”. But if I really think about it, what has kept me here these past four years is the rollercoaster of emotions that is life in Vietnam.

Vietnam is full of extremes. Even the weather, at least in the south, goes from one end of the spectrum to the other in the blink of on eye. Also, in just one day I can go from reveling in the cool tropical air on the drive to work to cursing the entire country because of the way people drive, only to have my love for Vietnam restored by a random warm-hearted xe om driver. Life here is never dull.

Our cover story this month is another good example of just how contradictory Vietnam can be. It doesn’t take long to realise how important women are to the country and how much sway they have over Vietnamese society.

We profile five such women who are representative of how many women are moving from home to the workplace.

We cover a wide range of jobs, from a martial artist to an economist, that show how much women are impacting the growth of the country.

At first glance, it could look like the lack of women’s rights in Vietnam is a non-issue. There are, after all, more women in the workplace here than in most other countries in the world. But at the same time the glass ceiling has barely cracked. Domestic violence, sexism and the gender pay gap, for instance, continue to plague Vietnamese women, but they, like those in our story, don’t let this stand in the way of their dreams.

To illustrate this idea, we decided to make our own version of the iconic ‘We Can Do It!’ American propaganda poster from World War II. The original poster* was designed by J Howard Miller in 1943 to boost worker morale during the war. While obviously the issues Vietnam’s female workers face are much different, we felt a Vietnamese version of ‘Rosie the Riveter’ embodied the strength and spirit of the women who are shaping the country.

For advertising and marketing enquiries please contact: +84 938 298 395 / +84 8 6680 6105 or adsales@asialifehcmc.com

AsiaLIFE Cambodia Group editor / director: Mark Bibby Jackson mark@asialife.asia Managing editor: Ellie Dyer

Art director: Joe Slater Sales: Sorn Chantha chantha@asialife.asia

Next time you're in Cambodia check out the latest content from AsiaLIFE Cambodia or view it at:

Asialifemagazine.com

*The original ‘We Can Do It!’ poster.

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EVENTS

NEWS A Brew-ha-ha

Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Thailand until 9pm. A free flow of Tiger draught beer and rum sour will run all night, while a complimentary free flow of wine and sparkling wine runs until 9pm.

The event is Indochine-themed, and guests are encouraged to dress in white or Indochine-inspired. There will be live acoustic music from 8-9pm,followed by DJ sets from 9pm until midnight.

Monsoon is located at No 1 Cao Ba Nha, D1.

Community theatre group Saigon Players braces for its 10th season with its new production, Two, a one act play about 14 characters who frequent the same local pub. Each character presents unique personalities in different roles, like Moth, the cheeky flirt who gawks at women, Alice and Fred, an eccentric and jolly couple, or Mr and Mrs Iger, a hen-pecked husband and an over-dominant wife.

Auditions for the roles were held early last month and the show will premiere in March. For more information, visit Saigonplayers. com.

McDonald's and Motorbikes

Free Buffet At Monsoon Restaurant

To celebrate its two years in Saigon, Asian fusion restaurant Monsoon is hosting a free buffet and free flow of select alcohol 22 SEED copy oct.pdf Feb,half frompage 7pmhor to midnight.

The buffet will consist of dishes from

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McDonald’s is embracing Vietnam’s motorbike culture by pioneering the first-ever drive-thru restaurant in the country. When the location opens 8 Feb, it also will be Vietnam’s first 24-hour fast food joint. The two-story restaurant is at the Dien Bien Phu roundabout in District 1, while 9/27/13is under 9:20 construction AM another on Tran Hung Dao Street. Because

the concept hasn’t been tried in Vietnam, the company will have a traffic controller to help locals get used to the drive-thru and stay in line. It will also include a PlayPlace and McCafe coffee shop.

The menu will have classics, but after a year or so, McDonald’s will integrate Vietnamese dishes.

So far, the company is sourcing 90 percent of its supplies from abroad.

Aussie Aid

Vietnam was awarded 11 grants through the Australian ConsulateGeneral’s Direct Aid Program (DAP) to help carry out a wide range of projects from community healthcare to small-scale infrastructure projects in 2014.

DAP is a grants program that assists individuals, NGOs, and other organisations to help carry out non-profit, developmental activities. Applications to become a DAP recipient are highly competitive. Last month, DAP recipients

in Vietnam accepted the grants in Ho Chi Minh City at an official signing ceremony with the Australian Consulate-General.

Engineers Come to Vietnam

The 2014 HEEAP Alliance Partners and Arizona State University will host the second annual Vietnam Engineering Education Conference on 25-26 March in Ho Chi Minh City. A major event bringing together global industry, government and academic professionals to discuss transformative ideas and solutions to engineering and technical education programs in Vietnam, the conference includes interactive plenary sessions, panel discussions, technical sessions and seminars. This year, the conference will be organised

by Ho Chi Minh University of Technology. For information contact jeff.goss@asu.edu.

East Meets West

Saigon-born artist Lien Truong marked her second solo exhibition at Galerie Quynh’s two gallery spaces last month. Truong’s exhibition, The Orient, The Occident, is a series of new paintings that explores Imperialism and cross-cultural belief systems. She depicts watery Eastern landscapes using western oil painting techniques. But they are also allegorical works, incorporating human figures and mythical beasts, and draw from Truong’s research on Orientalist paintings and imperialist landscapes of the 18th century. Truong received her master’s of fine arts in California and has exhibited in major galleries such as the National Portrait Gallery in Washington DC. Her exhibition runs through 8 March. Galerie Quynh’s main gallery is at 65 De Tham, D1, while its downtown gallery is 151/3 Dong Khoi, level 2.

ARC Pet of the Month — Lucca

Meet Lucca, a wonderful little dog who is looking for some much-needed love. Although Lucca is blind in both eyes, it’s not a problem for him. However, he would do better inside with supervision around heights. He is able to make his way upstairs with no problems, but needs help getting back down. Lucca is an approximately eight-year-old male weighing in at about 10kg. He’s a mellow little fellow, affectionate and companionable, enjoys short walks and loves hanging out in the garden on his own. If you’re interested in adopting Lucca, or any other animal, email ARC at arcpets@gmail.com.

dispatches

Travel news from around the region and beyond

More to Splore Glamping, beach bumming, art trails, live funk and Afro beats, theatre and poetry are the fundamentals of Splore, a three-day, family-friendly festival which takes place along the shores of Tapapakanga Regional Park in New Zealand’s North Island 14-16 Feb. The park consists of ancient Maori settlements, five separate campgrounds, and a beach lined in red and billowy pohutukawa, an indigenous tree wrapped in coloured yarn for the festival. The beach turns into a veritable circus, like mermaids swinging from trapezes, and everyone dresses in costumes at night to 'splore' (carouse), in tent parties. Tickets are $255 at Splore.net/buy-tickets.

Hong Kong Arts Festival Giddy up for the Year of the Horse with Asia’s 42nd Hong Kong Arts Festival, 18 Feb to 22 March. About 140 opera, theatre and contemporary dance performances from 55 ensembles and solo artists are scheduled, including two rarely staged Cantonese operas, The Gilded Fan and Wu Song the Tiger Killer. The festival will also stage 21 new works and premieres, such as a Chinese rendition of Romeo and Juliet by the National Theatre of China, and 16 Asian premieres, such as four dance shows from New York-based Trisha Brown Dance Company. For more program details, visit Hk.artsfestival.org.

Light the Night Sky lanterns are one of Taiwan’s main attractions in the remote hillside township of Pingxi. There, hundreds of lanterns have been released into the night air since the early 19th century and nowadays for the annual Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival, part of the Taipei Lantern Festival held in Taipei Expo Park. Each rising lantern represents a prayer sent to ancestors for the coming new year, but lanterns were also used by mountain dwellers as safety signals to their families. The Taipei Lantern Festival also hosts the Yanshuei Beehive Fireworks celebration as part of Taipei’s “little New Year”. Behold both spectacles 14-23 Feb.

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Photo courtesy of Taiwan Tourism Bureau

Street Smart:

Vo Van Tan

Ruben Luong finds that street food and unique boutiques reign supreme on Vo Van Tan in District 3.

Vo Van Tan, spanning almost three kilometres from Cong Truong Quoc Te circle, is home to commercial businesses in the east, administrative businesses toward the centre, and the War Remnants Museum in the west. At all hours, there are food hawkers, blue- and white-collar workers, and tourists who regularly cross paths.

It’s perhaps one of the most underrated streets, but it does compete with traffic-heavy main streets Nguyen Thi Minh Khai in the north and Nguyen Dinh Chieu in the south. Vietnamese culture still dominates in terms of street food here, and there are a number of popular spots that everyone should visit.

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Lunch Lady at Vo Van Tan

Linh Tinh

Corner of Vo Van Tan and Truong Dinh

255 Vo Van Tan

Office buildings populate the centre of Vo Van Tan, and with them, plenty of com binh dan, or worker lunch stalls. More than 10 dishes of the best authentic street food, like Vietnamese chicken curry, pork-stuffed tomatoes, steamed bamboo shoots, sour catfish soup, caramelised fish or pork, and tofu with boiled egg (VND 26,00050,000), are served by this lunch lady every Monday-Friday around 11am-2pm, attracting locals, but also tourists who want to try new dishes.

Linh Tinh, a women’s accessories shop enshrouded in a small, but well-merchandised space, is literally a gem in the road. Affordable but dazzling jewelry in mod or classic designs are organised, colourcoordinated, and branded in cute, bespoke packaging (and its business cards are customised in the shape of a vintage bow). Clever ear cuffs, bejeweled earrings, boho bracelets, beaded statement necklaces, and dainty rings range from VND 230,000-400,000.

Tofu Dessert Lady

Little Dog

Corner of Vo Van Tan and Truong Dinh / 97 Vo Van Tan

353 Vo Van Tan

Dau hu duong gung va nuoc cot dua, a sweet tofu, ginger and coconut milk pudding (VND 5,000/serving), is always served warm from the tofu lady, who is just as friendly and sweet. She sets her don ganh tre, or Vietnamese shoulder pole, at the corner of Vo Van Tan in the afternoons to serve her tofu recipe to workers, but moves down the street around 2pm to Open University, where students regularly visit her for their after-school comfort food.

As more expats decide to settle here long-term, cats, and perhaps dogs, gradually become more feasible pet options. But within urban livelihoods, dogs probably require significantly more care here. Little Dog, a “spa and everything for dogs,” is a boutique with every imaginable accessory to take care of puppies and bigger dogs. Specialised (even whitening) shampoo, auto pet feeders, dog strollers, and spinach and fruit treats are all here, but dogs are also pampered and groomed by appointment.

Banh Uot Lady

Nick Dragon Boutique

In front of 57 Vo Van Tan

362 Vo Van Tan

If you want filling street food without a plate of rice, the banh uot lady has a stall outside Banana Leaf restaurant with steamed rice noodle sheets served with cha lua (Vietnamese pork sausage), fried shallots, bean sprouts, cucumbers, an herb mix of basil and perilla, chilli, and fish sauce. It’s a popular breakfast dish, but is excellent for quick lunches. Depending on the day, she also serves bun thit xao, noodles with grilled meat and crunchy egg rolls. Both dishes cost VND 15,000-20,000.

Vo Van Tan encompasses a large swath of fashion stores that get lost in one another toward the east, near the end of the road at Cao Thang. You can’t miss Nick Dragon Fashion Boutique, however, as its current collection features cut-out, body-conscious neon dresses and a range of T-shirts and dresses featuring a signature parrot print, which are surprisingly well-tailored and emulate the aesthetic of global brands H&M and Mango. On hangers, they are bold designs, costing several million VND, but are marketed beautifully on the store’s mannequins and fashion editorials at Nickdragon.com.vn.

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Grilled Banana Lady Outside Hem 376 Vo Van Tan Locals love the banh chuoi nuong, grilled banana cakes (VND 12,000/piece), near Hem 376, especially around rush hour and twilight. Many make a pit stop on their way home from work to the grilled banana lady’s makeshift and fragrant grill, almost like a corner drive-thru for the cakes, which are later eaten with a creamy coconut milk sauce that’s packaged separately. Other treats can be ordered, like homemade keo dau phong, or Vietnamese peanut candy (VND 30,000).

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Robert Dodge One year before the 40th anniversary of the end of the American War, an experienced Washington DC reporter discusses his eight-year-long photo project and his upcoming photography book, Vietnam 40 Years Later, which he hopes will change the way Americans view Vietnam. By Chris Mueller. Photo by Ly Hoang Long.

What piqued your interest in Vietnam?

I’m a baby boomer so the Vietnam and America war was the war of my generation.

When I was in high school and college, news of the war just poured out of the TV and daily newspapers every day.

It was an all-consuming story and it shaped American culture and politics of that era. I had already been interested in a career in journalism, and the war galvanised my interest in media and politics. While I didn’t serve in the war, it had a huge impact on defining my career path.

I made a trip to Vietnam in 2005, which was just going to be a one-time trip to do some photography, and I guess I got bit by the bug. I decided that I

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really wanted to come back and make a project out of this, and it slowly evolved into a book project.

Why photography?

I thought it was a very interesting place from a photographer’s standpoint. It was a beautiful place. It just seemed like everywhere I looked I could see a good picture.

What do you hope to accomplish with your book?

I wanted my book to focus on the Vietnam of today. What I found was a country that is very much in motion. Vietnam is a story that is not yet told; it’s a country with one foot still in ancient Asia and another galloping towards the global economy. That’s the

Vietnam I sought to show, and I think that’s what the book is all about. I also wanted to challenge Americans to adopt a new and updated view of Vietnam. Many Americans, when they hear ‘Vietnam’, still think of the war.

Do you think Americans care what Vietnam is like today?

I do. But I think you have to tap them on the shoulder and ask them to take a look. On a number of occasions I’ve had showings of my work and the people that come to see it were intrigued and amazed at how beautiful the country is, and how different it is from the images they’ve been carrying around in their heads.

Eight years is a relatively short period of time, have you seen

many changes between visits?

I’ve seen an incredible change.

I think in terms of recent Vietnamese history, eight years is a relatively long time. It seems like every time I come back to Vietnam, even after just 12 months, there have been big changes. The skyline is changing, you can see many Vietnamese have more money and a higher standard of living.

Because of social media, they’re more connected to the world.

In just eight years, Vietnam has vastly changed.

What surprised you most while working on your project?

I was very surprised at how quickly the gay community in Vietnam, and Saigon especially, developed with the help of Facebook. When I first came to Vietnam in 2005 the gay community had no profile.

There were no bars and people only knew each other through one-to-one introductions.

All that changed with Facebook. Connections grew quickly as friends met other friends online. … Gay Vietnamese are now fully aware of the gay rights movement globally. And they want the same things.

What do you find is a more effective at story telling: photography or writing?

I know that when I go out and shoot photos, I see my work very much through a journalist’s eyes. That’s the life I lived for decades and I just can’t help wanting to try and tell a story through pictures when I’m shooting. An awful lot of the time as I shoot pictures I imagine in my head what the captions would say. It seems that my gut instinct is to reach for both tools and use them together.

What can your book show

expats in Vietnam that they may not have seen before?

I think the book will pull together for them things they have seen and experienced with things they haven’t and put it all in one place. This, perhaps, will give them a platform in which to think about their own experiences and think about the period of time that they’re spending in Vietnam and how it is very much a historic time for the country.

Vietnam 40 Years Later will be released on 1 March. For more details and to see some of Dodge’s work, visit Robertdodge.com.

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photo essay: the other side of borneo

Vibrant rainforests echoing the calls of orangutans, the deep blue ocean swirling with schools of barracudas, and mystical mountains towering over pristine beaches. This is how most visitors see Sabah, Borneo. But on a recent visit, photographer Lee Starnes saw a different side — one where the urban chaos of cities, such as Sandakan, Semporna and Kota Kinabalu, revealed the story of a struggle to survive and succeed in a rapidly advancing world. Yet, through this grime and grit, good will and humanity still shone brightly. To see more of Starnes’s work, visit Leestarnesphoto.com.

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On the Job It comes as no surprise that women in Vietnam make up a large part of the Vietnamese workforce. From the corner pho seller to the incredibly strong construction worker, women are part of every industry here. In fact, about 72 percent of women are part of the labour force, higher than in most of the world, according to the UN’s International Labour Organisation.

Despite the ubiquity of women, and men’s willingness to accept them in Vietnam’s workforce, there are still huge barriers. In 2012-13, for instance, Vietnam was one of the few countries in the world where the gender pay gap actually widened. Now, women make on average from 20 to 30 percent less than their male counterparts, a 2 percent change from the previous year, according to an annual ILO report.

Even with these obstacles, women in Vietnam are staying strong and continue to hold and succeed in important jobs. AsiaLIFE speaks to some of these women, in professions traditionally dominated by men. They are a diverse representation of working women as a whole, who will continue to shape the culture, economy and future of the country.

y tos b k.

Pho issin W d Fre

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Martial Artist

T

rinh Thi Thien has always been a fighter. After her parents’ messy divorce, her father was left to care for Thien and her four siblings in a small village in central Quang Ngai province. Unable to land steady work, her father soon found it difficult to afford even food.

In desperation, Thien’s father packed up his children and headed to Saigon. It was here that Thien met Ho Hoa Hue, an internationally renowned Viet Vo Dau, or Vovinam, master and instructor.

Hue saw promise in the young Thien and decided to take her in and train her. At just five years old, Thien went to live with Hue, and began a grueling training regimen.

She trained three times a day over the next three years, and began to show natural talent. Then others started to take notice.

When Thien was eight, the Vietnamese army recruited her into the army martial arts team. Over the next 20 years, Thien would compete internationally, representing the Vietnamese army.

Although Vietnam has a long history of female warriors, from the Trung sisters to the soldiers fighting the French and Americans, martial arts here is still widely thought of as a men’s sport, Thien says.

that they can be stronger, independent and still be beautiful,” she says.

But two years ago, Thien, now 30, decided she wanted to follow her dream of opening a fashion shop and left the army. Now she runs a small fashion boutique called Xich Lo (60 Nguyen Van Lac, Binh Thanh District) and also helps her former master train both Vietnamese and westerners from all over the world.

Despite her move toward But during her time with the army, Thien trained, lived and competed with both boys and girls and never felt like she was at a disadvantage simply because she was female.

“I always thought, what boys can do so can I,” she says.

And she was right. Over the years, she won countless competitions, receiving both money and gold medals. She often competed with boys as well, usually in choreographed routines. While she may not have actually been fighting with men or boys, her skill was impressive nonetheless. She even broke her collarbone in a competition and was told she’d have to sit out for a month.

But just two weeks later, she was back at it.

“I hope my story can show young girls

“I hope my story can show young girls that they can be stronger, independent and still be beautiful.” something many think of as a more typical women’s job, Thien says martial arts still defines everything she does.

“I’m the same as every girl,” she said. “I want a family, husband, money for life. But I’m different because I have something inside me. When you know martial arts, you have something special, different inside of you. And I think people can see that.”

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Journalist

K

huu My Phung used to consider herself a shy person; then she became a journalist.

The job boosted her confidence, in large part because of all the interaction it required on a regular basis. Before press conferences, Phung would make sure she was prepared, knowing what information she wanted to get out of the event.

“I like to be the first to ask a question,” says Phung, who covers foreign trade and investment for Vietnam Economic News, which is published by the Ministry of Industry and Trade. “I want to be the first to know.”

Her competitiveness and curiosity are hallmarks of journalism. But the profession historically and disproportionately attracted men, both in Vietnam and around the world. The gap has narrowed in recent decades, though men still fill most editorial and administrative leadership posts.

Phung works at Hanoi-based Vietnam Economic News’ local office on Nam Ky Khoi Nghia Street, where the ratio of men to women is two to one. She said gender discrimination isn’t a problem, but she often loses female colleagues who quit after getting married.

“Men continue to develop, grow in their

careers after they get married,” she says.

Women, on the other hand, feel obligated to focus on child-rearing and home-making. With children, it’s also hard to keep the unpredictable schedule of a journalist, who often attends events at night or conducts after-hour interviews when sources are available.

Journalism can be a grueling, itinerant existence, and Phung doesn’t think she’s as rugged or “dynamic” as her male coworkers, who travel more.

But her gender does come with advantages. Women are naturally more nurturing, and Phung says that helps her

Her gender does come with advantages. Women are naturally more nurturing, and Phung says that helps her empathise with people she’s interviewing or put them at ease. empathise with people she’s interviewing or put them at ease.

“I think I can communicate with people easily,” she says. “I’m open to listen, so they want to share with me. They feel comfortable talking to me.”

By contrast, “Sometimes men look serious,” Phung says, laughing. “They’re more aggressive. They want to show they can do many difficult things, that they’re strong.”

The press in Vietnam faces challenges known to news outlets all over the world, namely, the struggle to find a profitable business model as readers move online and away from paid, print subscriptions. But other issues are more pronounced here.

The fetters on the industry push reporters into yellow journalism.

But Phung also says the public generally respects journalism; on the national day for journalists every June, newsrooms fill with flowers from well-wishers. More substantively, reporters themselves are evolving professionally.

“They are developing, getting information well, quickly, and translating information from the world,” Phung says. “For example, if something happens in the US, one hour later we can have it in Vietnamese.”

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IT Manager

K

im Mai Bui showed up to an interview with AsiaLIFE wearing a smart blue dress, thick eyeliner and a heavy necklace.

That matters, because Bui hates the stereotype that women who go into science and technology fields are nerds with glasses.

“They’re very girly, very stylish, even though they’re very technical,” she says.

Bui runs a team of game developers and graphic designers working on a project for tiNiPlanet, which bills itself as a safe playground for children online. In the world of gaming and coding, her fashion sense and girl-next-door looks might seem out of place. “Most people don’t think I was ever technical when they first meet me,” she says.

But technical she is. Bui studied information technology and software engineering in university, surrounded 90 percent of the time by males. That turned out to be an asset — as a rare coed, she stood out to the professors and recruiters.

She then joined Fujitsu, the IT company, where she worked as a software and web developer, as well as a business analyst.

Bui was in the minority again, but gender wasn’t a concern.

“People seem to feel not many women go into IT because it’s not welcoming or hostile. But that couldn’t be further from the truth.”

“People seem to feel not many women go into IT because it’s not welcoming or hostile,” she says. “But that couldn’t be further from the truth.”

Men have driven the global explosion of tech companies in the last two decades, but there are more female role models than ever.

Marissa Mayer is president and CEO of Yahoo, Sheryl Sandberg is one of the public faces of Facebook after she left Google, and Melinda Gates was developing software at Microsoft before she married the richest man on the planet.

That’s good but not great. Bui says she wants to see more women in the computer and other tech industries, which she promotes through support networks like Girl Geeks and IT lunches.

Women are already more exposed to this world than before because of consumer products like smartphones. Such products used to be more about pragmatism, but after Steve Jobs helped to marry form with function, women’s aesthetic sensibilities could benefit tech devices.

“These days it’s very competitive, people want a beautiful user experience,” Bui says.

Women also tend to be patient and care about the details, which comes in handy.

“As a coder, you can’t leave the computer until the problem is solved, and you don’t know how long it’ll be until the problem is solved,” Bui says. “Coding for 10 hours is not really an exaggeration.”

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Civil Engineer

S

hortly after graduating from the Ho Chi Minh University of Technology in 2010, Le Thi Thanh Tram, 27, was designing two complex basements for the Lim Tower, the stark 34-level office building at the conjunction of Ton Duc Thang and Le Thanh Ton in District 1.

“Most of the projects I design are basements,” says Tram, a civil engineer for Phu My Designing Consulting (PMDC) in Tan Binh District. “I liked the Lim Tower because there were many problems to solve. It was the first project I designed to be constructed.”

Tram works in an office with 20 other civil engineers and graphers to realise various apartment buildings and high-rise developments contracted throughout the city. Architecture firms hired by real estate investors consult PMDC to help blueprint structural designs.

Her position requires a considerable amount of calculation and daunting levels of technical training. She taught herself computer programs that weren’t taught at her university, including Plaxis and ETABS, structural and geotechnical software that analyses and helps render 2D and 3D civil

Her friends tell her as few as three women are now pursuing civil engineering at her alma mater. structures.

“When we have a fixed schedule with a big project, but a short time to work, there is very much pressure,” she says. “We must work overtime Saturday and Sunday. We spend a lot of time reading books because we must follow strict civil engineering standards.”

Tram admits most women aren’t innately attracted to civil engineering as a career here, since it can be demanding and stressful. She works with five other women at PMDC and her friends tell her as few as three women are now pursuing civil engineering at her alma mater.

But she followed in the path of her older brother, who is the deputy director of Construction Corporation No 1, the company responsible for some of the city’s most prominent civil, industrial, and infrastructure works over the last 30 years, including the Thu Thiem Bridge.

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Tram found high-rise buildings the most interesting, taking on more challenging assignments since her first foray into designing building elements, for Hoa Sen Apartment near Dam Sen Waterpark in District 11.

Because high-rise buildings require substantial investment and money, Tram says there haven’t been as many projects so

far this year at PMDC. In the meantime, she wants to make sure she’s ready.

“In the future, more and more high-rise buildings will be built in the city, so we need more civil engineers to have the skills to design or to construct it,” Tram says. “I must be prepared to improve my knowledge.”

Ruben Luong

Economist

R

ead any news story about the Vietnamese economy, and you might think all economists are men, with perhaps the exception of the World Bank’s Victoria Kwakwa.

Of course, it’s not just Vietnam. The Nobel Prize in economics has never gone to a woman, including last year’s three-way tie among three men. If you can name any economist at all, it’s probably the likes of John Maynard Keynes, Paul Krugman or Jeffrey Sachs.

So in the preparation for this month’s cover story, the last subject we found was Phan Thi Nhi Hieu, a lecturer in the faculty of economics and commerce at Hoa Sen University. That she is a rare female economist is somewhat surprising, given that she had plenty of young women in her classes when she majored in finance 30 years ago.

“It was a hot major at that time,” Hieu says. “When students tested for university, the best students went into finance.”

But the number of women dwindled as she went on to get her master’s and doctoral degrees in similar studies. Hieu wondered if men have had the structural fortune to rise up in economics fields. She says that in the United States, 70 percent of one’s success

Vietnam’s bank restructuring process, and has her students summarise it, give their opinions, and analyse or explain what’s happening. To track all this she has a handful of devices out at any given time — a desktop computer, a laptop and a tablet.

Hieu says when it comes to economics, women bring a lot to the table, because they are careful and detailoriented. seems attributable to ability, the rest to luck.

In Vietnam, it might be that chance, connections, or other factors beyond skill play a bigger role.

Women’s representation matters here because the economy is the top concern in Vietnam, for both those at the top and the public. The legitimacy of the ruling elite depends on their ability to lift GDP and credit growth, reform state-owned enterprises, and fix the banking sector. And yet so few women’s voices are heard in making decisions about the country’s future.

These are the topics Hieu brings into her classroom. She starts her day reading news on everything from securities to investment, and scans the exchanges like NASDAQ and the VN-Index. She chooses an issue, such as

That she is a rare female economist is somewhat surprising, given that she had plenty of young women in her classes when she majored in finance 30 years ago.

“When I came here, I was very happy because the students really like learning,” Hieu says. But that’s true of both sexes. “I don’t dare say girls or boys are better.”

Lien Hoang asialife HCMC 23

The making of The Last Generation. Photo courtesy of Wendigo

Dead City takes a young man and woman, dressed like ' Hunger Games ' characters, through post-apocalyptic ruins at the opera House, Bitexco, the red bridge in District 7, and an eerie fairground.

The making of The Last Generation

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Will Vietnam move past romance and comedy, to produce its own full-length science fiction film? That’s the hope behind Project:Sci-Fi, a film contest that held its first awards night last month. By Lien Hoang.

What will happen on the last day on earth? Few questions seem to arise in the realm of science fiction as often as this one.

Apocalyptic nightmares usually bring in zombies, aliens, meteor crashes, or some other dramatic flourish.

But maybe the human race will cease quietly, instead, with people going about their daily routines, washing dishes, and chatting with one another.

At least, that’s what happens in A.I, a short film that was a surprise winner in last month’s awards for the first-ever Project: Sci-Fi amateur film contest in Vietnam. A.I draws from Ray Bradbury’s short story The Last Night of the World, in which an older couple discuss nonchalantly that they now know the end is near.

“Why is it tonight, and not some other night?” the wife calmly asks her husband in the film.

“Because tonight is not another night, why else!” he answers, as they both chuckle.

The casual absurdity is more reminiscent of existential literature, such as Waiting for Godot, than of the fantasy that typifies sci-fi. But such simple humour might have helped A.I win "Best Promo" and come in as second runner-up for “Best Film” at the awards ceremony.

The entry was among more than 60 films, shot mostly around Ho Chi Minh City, to participate in Project: Sci-Fi (another set of films centred on Hanoi, where a separate ceremony was held). Production companies HKFilm and Cloud 9 Production organised the competition to raise the profile of science fiction among Vietnamese filmmakers, who

rarely dabble in it due to lack of funding and experience.

As a Cloud 9 producer Ross Stewart put it: “We are discovering that filmmakers are wanting to experiment more outside of the safe and financially proven romance and comedy genres.”

Project: Sci-Fi hosted more than 20 workshops to support budding filmmakers. Those who entered the contest had one month to complete their films, which were limited to 10 minutes. Entrants ran the gamut of skill levels and were both Vietnamese and foreigners, such as the mixed group behind The Last Generation, which cleaned up at the awards night in January. Out of 10 categories, the film took top prize in six, including best film, best director and best actor.

To close out the night, organisers screened The Last Generation, which tells the story of a lab-generated hitman who turns on his creator, before cloning his own team of mindless assassins. The cloning relies on Quentin Tarantino-style backdrops, while digital effects create a futuristic laboratory.

By contrast, all such special effects were entirely absent from the breakout short A.I. It began in black and white, turning to colour once the married couple kissed for the final time.

Producer Chung Chi Cong was so surprised to place in the best film category that he ran up to the stage and danced when the award was announced.

“Our team, we didn’t learn about making movies in university, we studied economics,” he said afterward. “So the award tonight is a big encouragement.”

Nominees were introduced throughout the night against the soundtracks of popular scifi epics, such as E.T. and Back to the Future. While hosts spoke or artists performed, the screen behind them ran through what felt like the history of cinematic sci-fi, with clips from The Matrix, Akira, Invisible Man, Tron and others.

As for the films shot in Vietnam, they can be watched at Scifi.yan.vn and will delight viewers living in Ho Chi Minh City with scenes famous and familiar. Dead City, for instance, takes a young man and woman, dressed like Hunger Games characters, through post-apocalyptic ruins at the Opera House, Bitexco, the red bridge in District 7, and an eerie fairground.

For a no-budget film, it offers impressive fight sequences and supernatural creature costumes, straddling dystopian and horror themes. Dead City, which sets a bleak tone with lighting and colouring, won the best actress award.

One of the judges to choose the winners was Andrew Cosby, a sci-fi film and TV producer in California. He sent a recorded greeting to the awards audience to announce the top film. “You guys did a tremendous job, and really captured the heart and pioneer spirit that's at the centre of all good science fiction,” Cosby said.

Stewart, also behind the 48 Hour Film Project, told the audience he looked forward to seeing a full-length sci-fi feature come out of Vietnam soon.

“Before, not many were brave enough to make sci-fi in Vietnam,” he said at the awards. “The future of sci-fi is in your hands.” asialife HCMC HCMC 25 25 asialife

motor skills A new motorcycle sports club promotes safe riding and gives enthusiasts a place to test their skills. By Chris Mueller. Photo by Nguyen Anh Khoa.

Even in this land of motorbikes, big and proper motorcycles are still a rare sight. But on a recent cloudy Sunday morning in District 7, a line of super sport bikes lined up and revved their engines for Moto Gymkhana, a time trial sport, usually held in empty parking lots.

There were big Hondas, Suzukis, Yamahas, and even a couple of very expensive Ducatis thrown in for good measure.

These bikes are not only meant to go very fast, but are also meant for tight turns and precision handling.

So I was expecting an impressive show when the first bike, a 1,200cc Honda, prepared to enter the course. But to my surprise, the expensive bikes with big engines were actually the slowest to make it through.

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The rider with the smallest bike — a 50cc HondaCD — had the fastest time for the day.

Moto Gymkhana began in Japan over 40 years ago, and from there has spread all over the world. The goal is to run the course, indicated by traffic cones, in the correct way and with the fastest time. Although the majority of people use powerful motorcycles, most of the time they never get above 70kph, and when they do that’s only on short straightaways.

This means that while the sport does require a lot of technical skill and superb riding techniques, anyone can give it

a go. And at the course in Ho Chi Minh City, riders of any skill level, with any type of motorbike, are welcome to try it out. On my visit last month, there were the big bikes, but also typical Honda Waves, small 50cc bikes, and even a couple of automatic scooters.

The course is set up near RMIT in District 7 in an abandoned area where roads were built, but houses never went up.

The Moto Gymkhana Vietnam

club pays a fee to use it, and since it is far enough away from any public roads, they don’t have to worry about traffic rules.

The club is an official branch of the franchise and was founded in 2012 by Tran Dong. Now, Dong says, the club has over 45 members in Ho Chi Minh City, including four women, and has also spread to other cities such as Vung Tau, Bien Hoa, and

Buon Ma Thuot.

Dong, who is in sales and marketing, decided to set up a branch of the sport after seeing it in action in Japan.

“When I saw Gymkhana in Japan and watched videos online, I noticed the skills and techniques would be more useful in Vietnam than anything like stunts or drifting,” he says.

“I thought, why not make it a sport here?”

Although Dong set up Gymkhana in Vietnam as a hobby for motorcycle enthusiasts, it has had some unintended benefits.

“Most people drive much more carefully after they leave,”

he says. “They drive fast here, so they don’t drive fast on the road.”

After seeing how much his members improved their driving skills, Dong realised that Gymkhana could do more good than just provide a place for people to ride their bikes.

He recently helped put on a safety course with a Vietnamese motorsport magazine, and has more in the works. He’s hoping to work with motorbike clubs, dealerships and the media to help set up more of these courses.

“We’ll make them fun events,” he says. “We will make it so Vietnamese want to go, and they’ll also learn about riding techniques and safety.”

While nursing his recently broken collarbone, Dong explained that they try to keep everything as safe as possible.

As part of the official Moto Gymkhana Association’s rules, the club requires all members to wear leg, arm and torso pads, as well as helmets.

Despite his recent injury from riding the course, Dong says anything more than scrapes or bruises are rare.

Viet Anh, a 20-year-old student, was the first member of Moto Gymkhana Vietnam. He, too, says he has not only seen a noticeable difference in his own skill level, but in others as well.

“A lot of big bike riders don’t have the right techniques,” he says. “But here they can improve their techniques. I can now ride any bike easily and it

also helps a lot riding around Ho Chi Minh City.”

The club is also attracting a handful of expats. Like many expats, Mik Stockden didn’t pick up motorbike riding until he came to Vietnam. Now he rides a Ducati, and likes to visit the club because it challenges his riding skill.

“You really learn what you’re capable of,” he says. “You think you can only do so much, but here you learn you can do much more. Plus it’s just a good Sunday out.”

The Moto Gymkhana Vietnam club meets every Sunday at 9am in District 7 and is open to anyone with any type of motorbike. The fee is VND 150,000 a month. Visit Facebook.com/motogymkhanavn for more information and contact details.

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Creatives have a place to collaborate at WORK Saigon, the latest co-working space to open in the city. By Ruben Luong. Photos by Tuan Le.

D

eciding on the name for their new co-working space in Ho Chi Minh City, expats Tuan Le, 28, and Laure Chevallier, 23, considered something along the lines of a campfire.

“Everyone comes together and gathers around the fire to share stories and ideas,” Le says. “We like that kind of environment.”

Their initial concept came to fruition last December with WORK Saigon, their café-cumcreativity school where innovative folk can hang out, dine, or rent out a stylish upstairs space for upcoming events and design projects.

Le, born in Da Nang but raised in Los Angeles, and Chevallier, from France, came to Saigon after working two years in Dubai together at TBWA\ RAAD, a global ad agency.

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Disaffected with life in Dubai, the couple saw more creative potential in Vietnam.

“You feel this buzz abroad,” Le says. “We read about Marou chocolate, District Eight Design, Lam Boutique, Nosbyn, an online fashion store. And when you arrive here, there is much more. You get a sense that everyone’s doing this cool stuff.

You join in and be part of the group.”

Catching onto this trend, WORK Saigon follows similar ambitions of two growing coworking spaces in the country: Saigon Hub, which opened downtown last year, and Hub. IT, which launched in Hanoi in November. Both offer communal spaces with solo and team workstations.

But whereas Saigon Hub and Hub.IT are known to accommodate the button-up culture

of tech startups, WORK Saigon adds some pizazz — there’s even a pool next to its café — and focuses on young artists, fashion designers, advertisers and architects.

A number of them are taking advantage of WORK Saigon’s space, tucked in an alley on Dien Bien Phu behind indie outfitter Blackmarket No. 3.

Four chic rooms, furnished in raw materials and custom decor from woodshops in District 2 and fabric vendors in Cho Lon, are creative pads for cool consortiums.

WORK Saigon transformed into a pop-up gallery for its first event organised through Behance.net, an online platform for creative professionals. The event, a review of works from shortlisted local artists, drew 120 guests, and was hosted by Thanh Tung Le, a popular visual

artist known by the alias, Crazy Monkey.

Several weeks after WORK Saigon opened, Gene Kogan, a New York-based programmer and digital artist travelling around Southeast Asia, also led a workshop there to discuss interactive art.

More recently, Le and Chevallier welcomed the inaugural DAY-E, Digital Agency Year-End Party. Conceived by three local digital professionals, it allowed digital buffs in the area to network at a rocking poolside electronic dance party.

“We meet a lot of interesting people,” Le says. “We see them do their work and see them at play and see what they do. Everyone has something to contribute.“ It is a progressive environment, with a few unique hands here and there to help run the

Photo by Crono Le

Photo by Daryl Villanueva

clockwork of creativity. The Green Youth Collective, a volunteer organisation focused on empowering poor youth through urban horticulture projects, grew an organic garden outside the café, adding a distinctly cozy element to WORK Saigon.

“It’s better than my room,” says Daniel Park, a Korean freelance videographer renting out WORK Saigon’s space to work on news video packages and marketing projects that sell Korean cosmetics. “It doesn’t look like an office. It looks, just, fashionable.”

Park is the third individual to rent there monthly (VND 2,000,000) for unlimited access to a spacious meeting room, library, and two workrooms from 10am-9pm. Each resident is given a personal locker tagged with a personalised polaroid. It

currently accommodates up to five residents.

A small member roster is what further separates it from Saigon Hub, which has 60 members, and Hub.IT, which intends to attract large networks of start-ups and techs.

WORK Saigon wants to maintain a strong rapport with its residents, and is experimenting with ideas.

Those who don’t rent can enroll in specialised programs led by a line-up of professionals.

This month, WORK Saigon will begin recruitment for two skillsharing courses in advertising and photography, with lessons in concept, copy, art, and more with 20 percent off tuition.

Classes, some in Vietnamese and some in English, feature creative directors and department heads from major companies like Ogilvy and Lowe.

But whether a resident or course participant, WORK Saigon asserts it isn’t exclusive.

Members of the public community are encouraged to stop by the café and kitchen space, soon to serve savoury waffles, homemade paté and pesto, and other specialty dishes with a range of coffee from Da Lat and canisters of Kusmi tea from France.

It’s a win-win opportunity to meet other interesting voices engaged in the designer landscape of the city. Le and Chevallier were thrilled when a man from Google and his friend stopped by for coffee last month after hearing about WORK Saigon.

“It’s nice to see how people start talking to each other without knowing each other here,” Chevallier says. “We can just sit in a table and exchange business cards.” asialife HCMC 29

BLIND AMBITION The visually impaired in Vietnam used to be locked out of learning tools available only in English, until KMDC came along. By Lien Hoang.

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D

inh Dien has nothing near the fortunes of billionaire philanthropists like Bill Gates and George Soros. And yet he can do something they can’t: he can educate blind Vietnamese.

Dien’s KMDC charity is a good reminder that all the money in the world can’t buy something if it doesn’t exist yet. And what didn’t exist was software in Vietnamese for the blind or visually impaired — until the arrival of KMDC, which stands for Kim Tu Dien Multilingual Data Center. It’s the philanthropic arm Kim Tu Dien, a top seller of electronic dictionaries.

“If you have money and you help the disabled or help the poor, it’s normal,” Dien says. “But in Vietnam, even if you have money you cannot buy software for the blind.”

That’s where Dien stepped in. He and his team of developers are creating a computer program that teaches English to blind Vietnamese. One of the team members, Nguyen Minh Tri, walked me through the lessons.

After Tri launched the software on a personal desktop computer, I used the TAB key to navigate to a drop-down box, and the arrow keys to select my learning level: book 1, 2 or 3. Assuming users can’t see any of this, the program read out each of the options as I scrolled through them. It was the same when I hit TAB again to get to the next drop-down box, where I selected which unit I wanted to learn from (each book has 12 units).

“It’s a big help because such programs for the blind are rare,” Tri says. “It helps them learn better and faster. Compared with normal people it’s not the same, but it’s an improvement.”

KMDC hasn’t completed the English-language software, but its other products are widely used already.

Dien described the most ubiquitous: an electronic dictionary.

At Nguyen Dinh Chieu special high school in Ho Chi Minh City, he said they still have an old, 60-chapter, physical braille dictionary whose volumes take up a 5-metre-wide bookcase.

“The book is inconvenient,” Dien says, noting that one page of written text could fill 10 pages in braille.

So he digitised the dictionary, which has become the de facto resource for blind learners across Vietnam. Tri also showed me the dictionary software, which looks exactly like English-Vietnamese translators on any computer.

“B,” a voice from the computer said, as Tri typed the letter, followed by, “O, O, K.” He hit ENTER, and the voice recited a definition for “book.” The programme also reads out all the functions that a user can go through, like “File” and “Save.”

Other ideas still in beta are software that enables blind people to type mathematical symbols, and a translator for mobile devices. But those require money, and KMDC has had less of that since the global economic downturn began. It relies on profits from the business side of Kim Tu Dien and has cut staff to 13, compared

libraries, and associations for the blind, which most provinces, cities, and even wards have.

Tri said he has visited schools for the blind around Ho Chi Minh City, where he saw pupils and teachers using needles to write out assignments in braille. He conducted classroom observations from primary to high school levels, and did sit-down interviews to find out what the students could use and what KMDC could work on. He said they weren’t shy about expressing their needs.

“They’re really happy, active and friendly,” Tri says.

The e-book that Tri is working on with his colleagues is based on the Let’s Learn English series by the Vietnamese Education Publishing House. When the software opens, it gives blind learners an audio overview of how to use the program.

I tried out the first unit, which has a drawing of colourful children playing in a schoolyard.

It’s divided into sections for vocabulary, exercises, practice, and English songs.

Users can try out their English skills by repeating sentences after an audio guide, filling in the blanks, singling out words that don’t belong in a group, singing along, and reordering sentences.

KMDC has been a way for Dien, the adviser, to exercise the twin passions for which he’s earned doctoral degrees: computer science and linguistics.

Dien is deputy head of intelligence technology at the city’s University of Sciences. He has collaborated with Microsoft to “Vietnamise” their products, and his charity work has attracted recognition in Vietnam at the city youth union level all the way up to the national level. His software has been downloaded by Vietnamese and Viet Kieu across the globe.

“I want to apply my technology to help Vietnamese people,” Dien says.

“If we can use my knowledge to help the disabled, I think I’d be very happy.”

Tri said he has visited schools for the blind around Ho Chi Minh City, where he saw pupils and teachers using needles to write out assignments in braille. with 30 a few years ago. KMDC gives away the products and software it develops.

“I have a lot of ideas but I don’t have enough human resources,” Dien says.

Other products that are distributed through the charity’s website, Kmdc.com.vn, include braille printers and devices to display braille.

Be sure to turn down your volume settings, because the website greets you (in English or Vietnamese, depending on your selection) with a loud audio introduction to the group and its mission.

KMDC collaborates with schools,

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Where the Wild Beaches Are Brazilian Taisa Sganzerla explores the virtually untouched and pristine beaches just south of Rio de Janeiro and finds they are still unknown to Brazilians and foreigners alike.

O

n the south coast of Rio de Janeiro state is a strip of white sand surrounded by mountains covered with the Atlantic Forest. On one recent December afternoon as the sun began to set, gentle waves of an emerald-green sea bathed the remote cove. Only two people could be seen on the entire beach, young boys playing with a scruffy football by a stream that emptied into the ocean.

Later on, I learned they are two of the more than 30 grandchildren of Manoel dos Remédios, known as "Seu Maneco".

He and his family are the only inhabitants of Martim de Sá, a far-flung beach located in the Juatinga Ecological Reserve, a peninsula near the southeastern town of Paraty. Despite its stunning beauty, this place is little known to Brazilians and foreigners alike, and rarely mentioned in travel guides.

Like Martim de Sá, the Juatinga Reserve hides many other small beaches and coves, inhabited mostly by fishermen.

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I decided to visit all of them in a multi-day trek — eased by a few boat rides here and there, a good option if you have less time than money.

It all starts in Paraty, a four-hour bus ride from Rio de Janeiro. A destination on its own, Paraty was founded in the 1600s by Portuguese colonisers and reached its economic peak in the 19th century, when its port served as the main distributor for Brazil's large coffee production. The town also thrived in the production of cachaça, the Brazilian spirit made of sugar cane juice, with which the famous caipirinha cocktail is prepared. Even today, the cachaças produced in Paraty are highly praised throughout the country.

As if having the best caipirinhas weren’t enough, Paraty is also one the most-preserved historical sites in Brazil. Today, the town brims with restaurants, shops and art galleries, attracting a multitude of tourists year round. But Paraty remains democratic, not only

in the variety of its activities, but also with its visitors: from those who pay $300 for a room in a chic boutique hotel to backpackers who sleep in youth hostels for as cheap as $15.

The many tour agencies based in Paraty will try to sell you day tours to the more than 63 islands spread along the bay.

If you're fond of adventure, though, don't let them fool you: the best, most preserved beaches lie in the Juatinga Reserve.

For about $10, a two-hour boat journey will take you to the beach of Pouso da Cajaíba, the home of a small community of Caiçara —the descendants of intermarriages between indigenous people and Portuguese settlers. Pouso has fairly good infrastructure. Well, a few houses have solar panels for electricity at least. But the coarse, yellow sand and the amount of construction so close to the ocean might disappoint some. Two superior beaches lie nearby: Praia de Calhaus and Praia Grande de Cajaíba, reach-

able after a 30- to 60-minute walk. There are no guesthouses in Pouso, you have to find accommodation at a local home, which can usually be arranged on an ask-around basis.

I didn't linger here long and instead made the difficult, two-hour uphill trek to the exquisite Martim de Sá, and Seu Maneco's sanctuary.

Sixty-year-old Maneco is the eldest son of Roque Caçador, a Caiçara fisherman who settled at the beach in the 1930s. Since then, his family has been living off the land and sea in this little

agreed to take me to the beach of Ponta Negra with his boat.

Ponta Negra is a modest beach. There are no waves, so it’s great for swimming, with hills surrounding the sand strip. As with other beaches in Juatinga peninsula, fishermen and their families mostly inhabit it. There is no electricity and the only accommodation available is at the locals' homes.

The next day, I was off to Praia do Sono, or "sleepy beach", after a three-hour walk along the shore, passing through two other deserted

There are no bedrooms and no electricity.

There is a little store with essentials, but Seu Maneco doesn’t sell alcohol. "Here, we get drunk on nature," he says.

Photos by Taisa Sganzerla

inlet. But due to the restrictions of the ecological reserve, only 10 people are allowed to live there permanently. The rest of Maneco's extensive family lives in nearby beaches and towns.

In 2012, Maneco won a court battle that secured his right to remain in the area, putting an end to a decade-old dispute with a prominent family from Rio de Janeiro. Some speculate that the family meant to lease the area for the construction of a resort.

In Martim, a few small houses are sprawled amongst the trees, where Maneco lives with his family. Maneco charges $10 for camping on his grounds and for use of the communal bathrooms and open-air kitchen. There are no bedrooms and no electricity. There is a little store with essentials, but Seu Maneco doesn’t sell alcohol. "Here, we get drunk on nature," he says.

It was hard to leave Martim de Sá and the company of Maneco's family, but there were other beaches to explore.

For $20, one of Maneco's sons

beaches on the way. Earlier in the day, I had been told about Galhetas Waterfall, accessible through a 10-minute detour off the trek. It was a welcome sight after the hot hike in the tropical heat. Locals say there are countless other waterfalls and freshwater pools along the way, though a guide is needed to find most.

Praia do Sono is probably the most visited among the beaches in Juatinga, since it's easily accessible from Paraty, but that doesn't make it any less beautiful than the more secluded ones. There are more accommodation and restaurant options here, and, most importantly, electricity.

It'll still take some time before electricity arrives to the rest of the peninsula, but that shouldn’t dissuade you from discovering the beauty of Juatinga. But if it were up to Seu Maneco, electricity would never arrive. "Why do I even need electricity?” he says. “To watch television? I prefer watching the birds in my backyard."

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Land of the Long White Cloud Three years ago, the city of Christchurch in New Zealand’s South Island suffered a devastating earthquake. Ellie Dyer returns to the country’s beautiful eastern coast to find a population standing strong despite the natural disaster.

New Zealand is as dramatic as it is beautiful. From the high peaks of the Southern Alps to the lush vines of its wineproducing areas and the deep waters of the Marlborough Sounds, it is filled with aweinspiring vistas that take your breath away.

Such beauty, however, comes at a price. Set on the edge of the Australian and Pacific tectonic plates, “the land of the long white cloud” bears the scars of massive volcanic eruptions and shifts in the earth’s crust.

Nowhere is this more evident than the easterly coast of the country’s South Island — an area renowned for its wine, agriculture and raw beauty.

February 25, 2011, is a date that will live forever in

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the memory of Christchurch residents. It was the day that a major earthquake rocked the coastal city — the second in a matter of months — levelling swathes of the central business district (CBD) and leaving 185 people dead.

The terrible devastation caused by the shallow quake is still evident today. Block after block in the city centre lies empty, with many of the remaining buildings taped off, or left just as they were the moment the quake struck. But if you thought this southeastern town would crumble after such widespread destruction, think again. New Zealanders are made of hardier stuff.

Just look back to 1931, when an earthquake destroyed the

town of Napier in the country’s North Island. The community was subsequently rebuilt into an art-deco architectural paradise. Although the shape of Christchurch’s rebuild has yet to become clear, resilient residents are already bringing the damaged city back to life.

Shipping containers have been converted into avenues of small stores and cafés, with one such area — the Re:START shopping district — providing a cheerful spot of bustling life in the largely flattened CBD. Elsewhere, an impressive temporary church, designed by Japanese architect Sihgeru Ban and featuring cardboard tubing as a major building material, has replaced the imposing 19th century Gothic cathedral

damaged in the quake.

Near the lush Botanical Gardens lies the wellmaintained Christchurch Museum, which provides a fascinating history of New Zealand’s first English settlers.

The facility also features a bizarre paua house. The tiny bungalow was once owned by an eccentric elderly couple who opened it up to the public in 1963 after decorating it with thousands of shiny abalone, or paua, shells in a quirky showcase of the national Kiwiana style.

But ultimately, it’s New Zealand’s stunning landscape that draws many to its windy shores, and the area surrounding Christchurch doesn’t disappoint. The city lies

Photos by Ellie Dyer

close to the Banks Peninsula, an outcrop of land formed by ancient volcanic activity that is characterised by rocky hills and scenic bays.

The picture-perfect village of Akaroa is a one-hour drive from the city and makes a perfect day trip. Once a French settlement, it contains well-preserved clapboard houses set around a long, sheltered harbour — in fact the crater of a long-extinct volcano — watched over by a 19th-century lighthouse, which was moved to its current location from the Pacific coast in the 1980s.

Hop on a two-hour Black Cat boat tour to spot the rare Hector’s dolphins, tiny penguins and fur seals that thrive in the area’s protected

shores and inlets. If the weather is good, the boat will head out into undulating waves of the Pacific Ocean, enabling visitors to look out over an expanse of sea that stretches uninterrupted to South America.

A road trip up the eastern coast is another fantastic way to experience the country’s diverse landscape. The flat agricultural areas of the Canterbury Plains soon give way to dramatic scenery, where drivers twist and turn through mustard-coloured hills and vineyard-filled valleys.

At Kaikoura, two hours from Christchurch, it feels as if the road has been hewn into cliffs.

Sparkling azure waters crash against rocky shores populated by fattened seals. Sperm whales, once hunted off the coast, are

also regularly seen in the area and now form a central part of the settlement’s tourism industry.

The Northerly tip of the island is also home to a stunning natural feature: the flooded valleys of the Marlborough Sounds. Steep green hills dotted with small holiday homes rise straight out of a deep-blue sea. Here, boatowning locals trawl for fresh scallops or dive for paua in the cold waters, as yachts ply the peaceful waterways.

And, no matter where you are in the South Island, you’re never far away from the craggy peaks of the Southern Alps.

The dramatic mountain range stretches up the island and provides skiing opportunities

in winter, as well as magnificent views and trekking opportunities all-year round.

For a taste of this powerful landscape, visit the country station of Castle Hill, 120 kilometres west of Christchurch on the road to Arthur’s Pass National Park. The site is home to fields of limestone rock formations that rise out of the hills like ancient statues.

The Dalai Lama is rumoured to have called the area the “spiritual centre of the universe” in 2002 and a walk among the area’s gigantic boulders, which dwarf any human visitor, is a perfect demonstration of the beauty and power of New Zealand’s awe-inspiring natural environment.

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Eaters of Flowers and Fruits If you’re reading this in the beginning of the month, then Tet is once again in full bloom.

And two things that will be out in abundance are fruits and flowers. Vietnamese love them both. Luscious, fresh tropical fruits are on the table every day. And in most neighbourhoods it seems that every block accommodates a busy florist. Fruits and flowers are especially popular at festive times. The fruits, of course, are for eating. But often so are the flowers. Flowers for the heart?

Sure. Flowers for your love?

No doubt. How about flowers for your table? Your plate, to be exact. Yes, flowers to eat. Both for your gustatory delight, and for your health. Traditional Vietnamese medicine regards certain flowers as part of its pharmacopoeia. Traditional Vietnamese cooks regard them as tasty.

Flowers of the pomelo tree, whose sweet smell perfumes the nights of late spring, can be distilled into an essence that gives an extra dimension to many desserts. The frangipani that grows on temple grounds are used for their anti-hypertension properties and taken as a kind of tea.

Lotus stamens are thought to have medicinal properties good for the treatment of uterine bleeding and ‘loss of libido’. Lotus seeds, which are flowers to be, may be candied, or cooked in syrup, or used as stuffing for chicken, or eaten like peanuts. They are said to have a sedative effect.

Jasmine, the traditional symbol of loose morals, has long

been popular in tea and candy.

White roses steamed with sugar make cough syrup that children are not reluctant to take. Banana flowers are sliced into thin strips and made into a tasty salad. Flowers of luffa (muop) and pumpkin (bi ngo) are often eaten fried in peasant homes. A soup cooked with flowers of the strong-smelling swallow-wort (hoa thien ly) is popular among rice farmers

speak kindly of the ‘King of Fruits’. Durian is melon-like with a yellow, pudding-textured flesh and an odor best described as pig shit, turpentine and onions whirled in a blender and garnished with a dirty gym sock. And I have long said so, in speech and in print. And I mean that quite literally. This isn’t just hyperbole.

That’s what it smells like to me! And it can be smelled from

Durian is melon-like with a yellow, pudding-textured flesh and an odor best described as pig shit, turpentine and onions whirled in a blender and garnished with a dirty gym sock. and is thought to be a good treatment for gout. (Frankly, I’d prescribe whisky, but that’s for another edition).

And then we come to fruit.

And one fruit in particular is worthy of mention: durian, the king, or jester, of tropical fruits, praised and damned in equal measure. You either love it or hate it. Its Vietnamese name, sau rieng, means ‘one’s sorrows’. You may well regret hacking into the armour-like skin of a durian, as the powerful aroma will linger long in your memory. But if you hold your breath you might (I say you might) enjoy the creamy dense flesh and its complex flavour, reminiscent, to speak kindly, of avocado, peanut butter, ripe cheese, and honey.

Now that, of course, is to

many yards away. In fact, it is forbidden by law to carry it on the subway in Singapore, or on any international flight on any airline.

No one can doubt my sincerity in describing the durian.

Especially if you consult the internet. An internet guru recently contacted me with some surprising news. If you Google “durian” you will come up with about 5 million pages. According to the guru, 2.6 million of them include my above quote. I am, according to Google, the most quoted man in the world on the subject of durian. Anthony Bourdain (AKA the Anti Christ) gets about 45,000. Andrew Zimmern gets a lousy 15,000. So my words must ring true somewhere! Happy Tet!

Znap! Cafe Znap! is a café and bistro with a “Zpecial” range of Italian, Chinese, Thai and fast-food cuisine. Next to DeciBel Lounge on Phan Ke Binh, it provides another artsy gathering place, hosting “Znappy Hours” before 9pm. Its quiet interior and laid-back terrace are smart but no-fuss, and conducive to productive lunches or drinks.

Its menu, labelled under more Znap! puns, starts with simple comfort sandwiches, like peanut butter (VND 19,000) or ham and cheese (VND 29,000). Small plates of specialty finger foods are the most expensive, but perhaps the most savoury, and include

A fusion café and bistro in District 3 offering affordable and filling lunch sets. By Ruben Luong. Photos by Fred Wissink.

German sausage (VND 69,000) and deep-fried butter shrimp (VND 89,000).

Every day there are three different options for the lunch set. Lunch sets at Znap! are priced at VND 49,000 (VND 69,000 for a drink combo), such as Thai red curry with roasted duck and rice, tomyam soup with noodles, or pad see ew fried noodles on Fridays.

We sat outside near the drink bar on a Tuesday afternoon, sipping on tall glasses of fresh guava and strawberry juices (VND 29,000-39,000). Choosing from the Tuesday lunch set, consisting of pla pad prik (fish), ka pao kai (chicken), or tomyam

(seafood), we settled on the latter two.

The ka pao kai, stir-fried chicken with basil and crushed peppers, came with rice crowned in an egg prepared sunny side up.

Hues of red, green, and yellow made it appetising on the plate.

Each element of the dish was given the right portion size, which made it not too light and not too filling.

Next, the tomyam seafood soup was a generous bowl filled with mushrooms, vegetables, octopus, and slices of squid all the way to the brim, swimming under a hot and spicy Thai broth. We sipped the broth in leisurely spoonfuls,

and we could feel the burn in our stomachs.

Fortunately, Znap! has a menu of extensive yoghurt drinks or smoothies to help pacify the spiciness, like the Aloe Vera Orange yoghurt drink (VND 39,000) or Tropical Tease smoothie (VND 59,000).

The MixBerry yoghurt drink (VND 39,000) was particularly creamy and refreshing. It was something the Znap! staff would definitely “Znapcommend.”

85 Phan Ke Binh, D1 08 39 10 04 33, delivery available 8am-10pm, seven days Facebook.com/znapcafe asialife HCMC 37

Doraku The theatre-like architecture alone is reason enough to visit Doraku. This Japanese restaurant could be the only one in the world, let alone in Vietnam, where you can eat on oversize “steps” that, at night, become seats from which to watch the event below. It feels like an amphitheatre, and the main floor is the stage where guests can hold press conferences, concerts, or other events.

Behind the “bleachers” is the front wall, made mostly of glass and spanning Doraku’s three floors. As one would imagine, it’s a large facility, able to host 150 guests. Decorations are a-jumble, with strings of red lanterns, a rope net blanketing one wall, and a high-relief stone 38 asialife HCMC

This Japanese-American restaurant makes you feel like you’re eating in an amphitheatre. By Lien Hoang. Photos by Fred Wissink.

sculpture topped with a cowboy hat. Doraku was started in the United States by a JapaneseAmerican whose father founded Benihana, one of the country’s top high-end teppanyaki chains.

With the likes of Bill Murray as patrons, Doraku expanded to Malaysia and now Vietnam.

With a mix of your typical udon, sushi and rice bowls, it’s trying to appeal to a wider audience, including Vietnamese, than the more homogeneous Japanese eateries farther up Le Thanh Ton. Some of the menu items are as unique as the amphitheatre design. Even the simple edamame (VND 55,000) is spruced up with garlic and teriyaki, though it’s only worth trying once.

Otherwise, classic edamame is less oily and doesn’t need to be messed with. Similarly, this is the first place I’ve seen or heard of salmon carpaccio (VND 199,000) embedded in an almost congealed ginger sauce. Salmon sashimi needs no adornment, but the seaweed salad and tobiko on top are good anytime.

I’ve never liked Philadelphia rolls, and I’m guessing Japanese cringe at the thought of cream cheese with their sushi. But the sweet Philly roll (VND 127,000) is another first. Somehow the chef wraps it in crispy sweet potato noodles. Also sprinkled all over the roll, they’re really a sight to see.

Experimentation is to be applauded, but a safer bet is the

emperor roll (VND 197,000).

It’s filled with tuna, salmon, crab, shrimp, bay scallops, and avocado, then deep fried and topped with tobiko. The roll is a bit spicy, but not as much as the fittingly named god of fire roll (VND 155,000). Inside and outside are tuna and most importantly, the Horn of Africa pepper, which the less adventurous should remove before eating.

The restaurant is big, and so is the menu, so if you come with a crowd, there’s probably something for everyone.

125-127 Le Thanh Ton, D1 08 66 54 89 99 11am-midnight, seven days Facebook.com/dorakusaigon

Chuck's Sometimes you just need a taste of home. And for Charlie Ta, that taste comes from American diners and restaurant chains like TGI Friday’s. Tired of all the American options around Ho Chi Minh City not tasting quite right, Ta opened his own version of a diner down an alley in District 1.

But Chuck’s doesn’t look like your average American diner.

Instead, it resembles a typical hole-in-the-wall quan readily found throughout the city. The front of the restaurant is open to the alley and the white walls have four cities — Saigon, New York, Paris and Los Angeles — stenciled in black. The only other decorations are the “house rules” and menus pinned to the

An American brings some classic diner food and barbecue to Saigon. By Chris Mueller. Photos by Fred Wissink.

wall.

This bare-bones set-up was intentional and serves multiple purposes. “I wanted a place where you can eat and just hang out and not worry about being pretentious,” Ta says.

It also keeps the prices surprisingly low. The standard hamburger with fries costs VND 100,000. If you want cheese, that’s an extra VND 10,000 and bacon is an additional VND 10,000. The patties are made with 100-percent imported Australian beef that Ta gets from his uncle, which means he knows exactly what he’s getting, and so does the customer.

I challenge anyone to find a hamburger in Saigon for cheaper while still being this tasty.

These certainly are not gourmet burgers, and they aren’t meant to be, but they are exactly how a good American-style diner burger should be.

Chuck’s is also becoming well-known for its breakfasts.

We tried the stack of three pancakes (VND 60,000), which were light and fluffy. The syrup isn’t real maple syrup (that stuff costs a fortune in Vietnam), but Chuck’s homemade syrup does the trick.

Last month, Chuck’s began a Sunday barbecue from 5-10pm.

It’s then that the restaurant’s open-front design really becomes useful. Tables are set up outside under strings of fairy lights, and the cul-de-sac-like alley turns into a backyard barbe-

cue. In addition to their normal menu, there are also ribs and fries (VND 175,000), bbq chicken with fries (VND 150,000) or a rib and chicken combo (300,000).

All of this can be washed down with some cold beer for as little VND 15,000 a can.

Ta says he’s not just trying to attract customers with things like the Sunday barbecue, but rather create a place for people to relax and have some food. “I tell people they can just come down, even if they don’t want to buy something,” he says.

27/27 Tran Nhat Duat, D1 09 02 11 95 30 10am-10pm, closed Mondays Facebook.com/chucksamericaneatery asialife HCMC 39

The Sidewalk solution Can Vietnam develop economically without losing the sense of community now missing in some advanced countries? Look to where the community gathers: sidewalks. By Lien Hoang.

In the near future, people walking in Ho Chi Minh City could find a strange new decoration on the sidewalks: a red stripe.

The idea is to create a path — painted in red or otherwise marked — that would take tourists and other pedestrians through portions of the city they may not usually see. Traditional travellers might sit in a tour bus, hop off to take a photo of the Post Office, hop back on, ride to the Independence Palace, and so on. But with the redlined route, they would see Vietnamese life up close and on foot, like hem 40 asialife HCMC

and hardware shops, besides just the usual landmark buildings.

Annette Kim proposed the idea as part of a larger push, happening in a variety of cities across the globe, to reclaim public spaces — and the sense of community that comes with them.

“The level of humanity, inclusion is much higher here,” compared with the United States and Europe, Kim said during a talk at the American Centre in January. Kim is a professor of urban design and planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She said Vietnam is “a very valuable case for

the world to understand public space better”.

She returned to Ho Chi Minh City last month to launch an exhibit of photos about local city life, taken by Kim and a group of students. The exhibit had already been shown in Massachusetts, with an eggroll truck to draw visitors and plastic stools to create a Vietnamese experience. It explores a concept more important than photography and tourism, that is: how can we design 21st-century cities to be advanced yet egalitarian, to welcome and mix all people?

This still shot is taken from a video installation that rotates through various photos of the same hem in Ho Chi Minh City, to show how an outdoor community changes over time. Photo courtesy of Annette Kim

Kim believes one overlooked solution is the sidewalk.

“It’s a very humble space, but it’s spread throughout like a network bringing people together,” she said.

Sidewalks belong to everyone, she added, whereas most buildings restrict access.

Urban planners tend to make their designs from a birds’-eye perspective, Kim said, without going to the street level where real people live. Planners see sidewalks as yet another form of transportation, rather than a place where communities gather, eat, work, or park their motorbikes. But that is precisely what happens in Ho Chi Minh City, for now. “What’s really remarkable is all incomes interact,”

Kim said.

Cities risk losing that diversity as they develop. Families grow richer, withdrawing into their gated compounds and leaving the open-air markets or public parks. Private developers, of course, have no incentive to build promenades or public squares because, unlike with luxury condos, they can’t charge for them. It’s up to city planners to have the foresight to work communal spaces into blueprints.

And that comes down to a question of what residents want their city to look like. Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City are struggling with this question, best symbolised by their approach to transportation: both are barreling forward with metro train construction, yet an

influx of private cars seems inevitable after import tariffs dropped by as much as half in January.

Kim also shared images from the Freedom Trail in Boston, which inspired her “red line” proposal for Ho Chi Minh City. The Trail guides tourists through 16 historic sites from the town’s colonial days.

Ho Chi Minh City has accepted Kim’s recommendation to create the red line, though it’s unclear when it’ll go online. She charted two routes, one in District 1, the other in Cho Lon. “What was really wonderful was, when I did the proposal, it really had unanimous support from different departments,” Kim said. “You can’t pay for this line. Everyone can enjoy it.” asialife HCMC 41

At Mayhem Saigon you will find something unique and original, that missing piece your closet desperately needs. Mayhem supplies used (sometimes vintage) clothing, mostly from Japan, but also a bit from everywhere else.

Mayhem.vn

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All clothing from Mayhem 135/10 Le Thanh Ton, D1 Prices range from VND 250,000 to VND 500,000 Styling by Ceridwen Williams and Mike Pham Make-up by Phuong Quynh Models: Leandro Marcelino and Sunny Tran

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ist’s 82-room hotel has a restaurant, swimming pool, tennis court and health club with sauna. Another 30 villas are available in the adjacent sister hotel, a renovated colonial-era administration building. Tours organized by hotel.

listings

hotel & travel

Six Senses Con Dao Dat Doc Beach, Con Dao Dist, Ba Ria Tel: 064 3831 222 www.sixsenses.com/SixSensesConDao The first 5 star resort with 50 villas stretch across a mile-long beach, each villas has its own infinity-edge pool facing the ocean and a stunning restaurant.

DALAT

AIRLINES

Air France 130 Dong Khoi, D1 Tel: 3829 0981 Fax: 3822 0537 www.airfrance.com.vn An airline with a vast and effective global network. Now flies direct to Paris.

Cathay Pacific 72-74 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, D3 Tel: 3822 3203 www.cathaypacific.com Hong Kong-based airline makes three flights daily to HCM City and two flights daily to Hong Kong’s international airport.

Malaysia Airlines Unit G8 Ground floor, SG Trade Center 37 Ton Duc Thang, D1 Tel: 3824 6663 www.malaysiaairlines.com Offers daily flights from Hanoi and HCM City to Kuala Lumpur for about $200 round trip, with four economy class fare levels: low, basic, smart and flex.

Vietnam Airlines Hanoi: 25 Trang Thi, Hoan Kiem Tel: 6270 0200 HCM City: 16th Floor, Sun Wah, 115 Nguyen Hue, D1 Tel: 3832 0320 www.vietnamair.com.vn The domestic route map is extensive, with several flights daily between major and less touristed cities throughout Vietnam. Flies internationally throughout Asia and to Paris, Frankfurt, Moscow, Sydney, Melboure, Los Angeles and San Francisco.

CON DAO

Saigon Con Dao Resort 18-24 Ton Duc Thang Tel: 06 4830 155 www.saigoncondaoresort.com Opened in summer 2009, Saigon Tour-

escape

Ana Mandara Villas Resort & Spa Le Lai, Ward 5, Dalat Tel: 063 3555 888 www.anamandara-resort.com Luxury 35-acre resort encompasses 17 restored early 20th-century villas and 65 rooms set in the rural highlands. La Cochinchine Spa offers wide range of treatments. Le Petite Dalat Restaurant serves Vietnamese and fusion cuisine.

Heated swimming pool, art gallery and cooking classes in organic garden.

Dalat Edensee Lake Resort & Spa Tuyen Lam Lake, Zone VII.2, Dalat Tel: 063 383 1515 www.dalatedensee.com Nestled in the heart of the “Black Forest of Vietnam” and discretely hidden along the waterfront of Tuyen Lam Lake, this resort is a perfect launching point for exploring the Highland region. It has two fine-dining restaurants, a cafe and terrace, a cigar lounge, and golfing and tennis.

HANOI

Intercontinental Westlake Hanoi 1A Nghi Tam, Tay Ho Tel: 04 6270 8888 www.intercontinental.com Located on the waterfront with contemporary Vietnamese design, restaurants, business services, fitness centre including exercise classes and pool.

Mövenpick Hotel Hanoi 83A Ly Thuong Kiet Tel: 3822 2800 www.moevenpick-hotels.com Conveniently located in the heart of Hanoi’s business district, a 40-minute drive from Noi Bai International Airport and only 5 minutes from the city centre, Mövenpick Hotel Hanoi is the latest five-star hotel in town, tailored to meet

Ana Mandara Hue is promoting a luxury beach villa for VND 4,400,000 per night, or a pool villa for VND 5,500,000 per night.

During your stay, enjoy a barbecue dinner with a personal chef and waiter and a complimentary 60-minute spa treatment at La Cochinchine Spa. Other amenities include a daily gourmet breakfast, free use of the fitness centre, sauna, and free rental of resort bicycles. Minimum two-night stay, valid for two guests until 28 Feb. Email rsvn@ anamandarahue-resort.com, or call 05 43 98 33 33 for reservations.

Begin the Lunar New Year with an adventure at Victoria Chau Doc. Its three-day adventure package features two-night accommodation in a superior room with 46 asialife HCMC

Sheraton Hotel Hanoi K5 Nghi Tam, 11 Xuan Dieu, Tay Ho Tel: 04 3719 9000 www.starwoodhotels.com “Resort within a city” boasts 299 spacious guest rooms with panoramic views, fitness centre, international restaurant and Hemisphere Vietnamese restaurant.

Sofitel Metropole 15 Ngo Quyen, Hoan Kiem Tel: 04 3826 6919 www.sofitel.com Located downtown. Colonial-style hotel with well-regarded restaurants/bars serving French & Vietnamese cuisine, plus Italian steak house.

HO CHI MINH CITY

Caravelle Hotel 19 Lam Son Square, D1 Tel: 3823 4999 www.caravellehotel.com One of the city’s most prestigious venues. Features a casino, Reflections Restaurant and al fresco 9th-floor Saigon Saigon Bar. Equatorial 242 Tran Binh Trong D5 Tel: 3839 7777 www.equatorial.com/hcm On the intersect of 4 districts, with 333 rooms, Orientica Seafood restaurant and bar, Chit Chat cafe, pool (swim-up bar), gym.

InterContinental Asiana Saigon Corner of Hai Ba Trung & Le Duan, D1 Tel: 3520 9999 saigon@interconti.com www.intercontinental.com/saigon 305 rooms/suites with floor-to-ceiling windows, five restaurants/bars, meeting/ banquet facilities, spa/health club and lounge with panoramic view.

Mövenpick Hotel Saigon 253 Nguyen Van Troi, Phu Nhuan Tel: 3844 9222 www.moevenpick-saigon.com Has 278 well-appointed rooms/suites, five restaurants/bars, meeting/banquet facilities and a shopping arcade as well as a popular e-gaming centre.

New World Hotel 76 Le Lai, D1 Tel: 3822 8888 www.newworldsaigon.com

take flight with travel promotions around the region

Beach and Barbecue Delight

Into the Wild

the needs of discerning guests and especially corporate travellers.

daily buffet breakfast, welcome lunch and candlelit dinner, special Victoria spa treatment, and an exclusive excursion. Guests will embark on a five-hour journey through the Tra Su Cajuput forest, followed by a five-hour exploration of Chau Doc’s river life for VND 4,876,000.

Package valid until 30 Sept.

Email reservation@victoriahotels.asia.

A Wedding Staycation

In light of Valentine’s Day, couples who book their wedding event at the Caravelle Hotel within the first half of 2014 and six months in advance will receive 20 per-

Located in the city centre, with gym, outdoor pool, tennis court, event space and Dynasty Chinese restaurant.

Sheraton 88 Dong Khoi, D1 Tel: 3827 2828 www.sheraton.com/saigon Luxury downtown hotel with Level 23 bar, Mojo cafe, Li Bai Chinese restaurant, fine dining at The Signature on the 23rd floor.

Sofitel Saigon Plaza 17 Le Duan, D1 Tel: 3824 1555 www.sofitel.com/2077 One of the city’s top hotels with in-room Wi-Fi, two restaurants with international cuisine, two bars, six conference rooms, outdoor swimming pool, fitness centre.

Windsor Plaza 18 An Duong Vuong, D5 Tel: 3833 6688 services@windsorplazahotel.com www.windsorplazahotel.com Located in a main shopping hub. Three restaurants, modern discotheque, conference centre, shopping centre, supermarket.

HOI AN & DANANG

Angsana Lang Co Tel: 84 54 3695 800 www.angsana.com Set beachfront on warm sands with a backdrop of the towering Truong Son Mountain Range, Angsana Lang Co is one of the region’s newest five-star resorts. Blessed with brilliant scenes of unspoiled natural beauty, Angsana Lang Co is a contemporary getaway featuring 229 stylish suites (from 52 sqm to 179 sqm), 100 of which come equipped with their own private pools. All suites in every room category feature picturesque mountain, lagoon, or sea views, and incorporate local materials such as bamboo, along with traditional arts with a contemporary twist, lanterns and elegant framed calligraph.

Banyan Tree Lang Co Tel: 84 54 3695 888 www.banyantree.com The resort is inspired by the artistic heritage of Vietnamese dynasties past, features 32 lagoon pool villas, 17 beach pool villas, an array of eclectic dining experiences from modern Thai cuisine to French specialties, 18-hole championship course designed by Sir Nick Faldo,

cent off their wedding reception menus and drinks. Or, couples who get married before 30 Jun with a party of up to 200 guests will receive the Romantic Stay gift, a complimentary two-night stay in the hotel’s most coveted suite and a couples’ spa package at Kara Salon & Spa (offers cannot be combined). For more information email hanh.ta@caravellehotel. com.

delivers a golfing experience that can be enjoyed by skilled and novice players alike.

Boutique Hoi An Resort Tel: 84 51 03 93 91 11 www.boutiquehoianresort.com This resort is located on Cua Dai Beach in Hoi An, just five minutes from the Old Town and 30 minutes from the Da Nang airport. The property has 82 rooms and villas, all with private balconies or terraces facing the ocean, a swimming pool and a wide range of cuisine from around the world.

InterContinental Danang Sun Peninsula Resort Bai Bac, Son Tra Peninsula Tel: 0511 093 8888 danang.intercontinental.com A world of poetic experiences and jungleclad romance in a place that cloaks you with luxury. The mastery of traditional Vietnamese design meets modern architectural flair in this distinctive retreat within the dense rainforest of mythical Monkey Mountain.

HUE

Vedana Lagoon Resort & Spa 112 Minh Mang Tel: 054 3830 240 www.vedanaresort.com Nestled on the shore of a peaceful and serene lagoon, vedana lagoon resort & spa is ideally situated between the two cities well-known as world heritage sites: hue and hoi an. The resort designed with a stylist harmony between the local traditional culture and a modern art concept with 27 villas, bungalows and 2 houseboats.

NHA TRANG

Six Senses Ninh Van Bay Ninh Van Bay, Ninh Hoa, Khanh Hoa Tel: 058 3728 222 www.sixsenses.com/hideawayanamandara An island hideaway accessible only by boat, 58 private pool villas, international and local restaurants, wedding services, water sports and scuba diving.

Evason Ana Mandara Nha Trang Beachside, Tran Phu, Nha Trang Tel: 058 3522 222 www.sixsenses.com/evasonanamandara Beachside resort set in 26,000 square metres of tropical garden, with 74 guest villas, three restaurants, Six Senses Spa. Mia Resort Nha Trang Bai Dong, Cam Hai Dong, Cam Lam, Khanh Hoa Tel: 58 398 9666 www.mianhatrang.com Ultimate luxury resort with 50 rooms divided into villas and condos, catering by wel-known restaurant Sandals and Mojito's bar.

PHAN THIET Villa Aria Muine 60A Nguyen Dinh Chieu, Mui Ne Tel: 062 3741 660 www.villaariamuine.com Villa Aria Muine is a boutique beach resort in Phan Thiet, Binh Thuan province. Set on a beautiful beachfront in the middle of the Mui Ne strip, the villa combines modern tropical style and French country luxury.

Princess D’Ânnam Resort and Spa Khu Hon Lan, Tan Thanh, Ham Thuan Nam, Binh Thuan.

Tel: 062 3682 222 www.princessannam.com Located on Ke Ga Bay with 57 exclusive villas, eight swimming pools, two restaurants and 1,800 square metres spa complex.

The Sailing Club 24 Nguyen Dinh Chieu, Mui Ne, Phan Thiet Tel: 062 3847 440 www.sailingclubvietnam.com Open bar overlooking the sea, spacious rooms, restaurant, swimming pool and day spa.

restaurants, high-tech meeting space, an exclusive VIP area, as well as a variety of beach-front recreation activities. The first 541-room tower of this development opened in July 2013 with its casino including 90 live tables and 614 electronic game positions. The second 559-room tower is on track to open in 2015. The Grand will be the initial component of The Ho Tram Strip, the largest integrated resort complex in Vietnam.

TRAVEL AGENTS Been In Asia www.beeninasia.com info@beeninasia.com

Exotissimo HCMC: 20 Hai Ba Trung St, D1 Tel: 3827 2911 infosgn@exotissimo.com HANOI: 26 Tran Nhat Duat St,

Hoan Kiem Tel: 04 3828 2150 infohanoi@exotissimo.com www.exotissimo.com French-owned agency specializing in flight bookings, package holidays and a range of well-run cultural and historical tours of Vietnam and Southeast Asia.

CHUDU24 hotel booking service 11th floor, 36 Bui Thi Xuan St, D1 Tel: 1900 5454 40 info.en@chudu24.com www.en.chudu24.com Chudu24.com - the locally famous Vietnam hotel booking website now has an English version. The company is known for having the best local prices and reliable service. It has been the number 1 Vietnam hotel booking service for Vietnamese since 2008.

Vietnam

Book online Cambodia

Laos

SCUBA DIVING

Note: AsiaLIFE only lists dive centres recognized by international dive training programs, such as the Professional Association of Dive Instructors (PADI) and Scuba Schools International (SSI).

We strongly advise against diving with unaccredited dive centres in Vietnam.

Rainbow Divers 55 Nguyen Dang Giai, An Phu, D2 Tel: 3744 6825 www.divevietnam.com Diving tours and career/instructor development offered by Vietnam’s first PADI centre. established in the mid-90s. Operates dive centres in Nha Trang, Whale Island, Hoi An and Phu Quoc.

Octopus Diving 62 Tran Phu, Nha Trang 058 826 528 www.divenhatrang.com PADI/SSI dive centre based in Nha Trang and affiliated with the Sailing Club Co. with additional centres in Mui Ne and Hoi An. Offers a range of services.

VUNG TAU

The Grand-Ho Tram Strip Phuoc Thuan Commune, Xuyen Moc District, Ba Ria Vung Tau Tel: +84 64 3788 888 www.thegrandhotramstrip.com The Grand - Ho Tram Strip is Vietnam's first large scale integrated resort and ultimately will include an 1,100-room five-star hotel, a world-class casino,

www.beeninASIA.com

LINH‘S WHITE PLEASANT LIVING MINIMALISM 37 THAO DIEN (OPPOSITE AN PHU SUPERMARKET) 67 XUAN THUY - DISTRICT 2 PHONE: (84) - 62819863 - 62818488 E : linhnguyen@hbdecor.com.vn

- www.linhfurniture.com

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One of Pham Ngu Lao’s favourite watering holes, Le Pub also has a good menu of well-executed pub grub and international favourites. Hearty breakfast is available all day and specials are offered daily.

listings

Mogambos 50 Pasteur, D1 Tel: 3825 1311 This restaurant has been around since the mid-1990s, which offers an insight into its enduring quality. Specializes in American grain-fed steaks, hamburgers and salads served in a pleasant atmosphere. 

food & drink BAR RESTAURANTS Bernie’s Irish Pub 19 Thai Van Lung, D1 www.berniesirishpub.com This authentic Irish pub in downtown Saigon has a large wine list, a wide selection of single malt whiskey and local and imported beers, including widgets of Guinness. It also has a western and Asian menu.

Buddha Bar 7 Thao Dien, D2 Tel: 3744 2080 An Phu institution serves up tasty meals and good drinks in a friendly, chilled environment. Plenty of room to relax inside or out, plus a pool table on premise.  Corso Steakhouse & Bar Norfolk Hotel, 117 Le Thanh Ton, D1 Located in the chic Norfolk Hotel Corso Steakhouse & Bar is well known for its steak imported from the US and Australia.

La Habana 6 Cao Ba Quat, D1 Tel: 3829 5180 www.lahabana-saigon.com This charming little place has seating indoors and outdoors, upstairs and downstairs to fit your dining pleasure.

Relaxed environment with frequent live music. Offers Spanish and Cuban fare including paella and a tapas fiesta comprising three plates. Open late daily.

Le Pub 175/ 22 Pham Ngu Lao, D1 www.lepub.org

feast

Phatty’s 46-48 Ton That Thiep, D1 Tel: 3821 0705 www.phattysbar.com Jaspa’s Steve Hardy and Ben Winspear’s sports bar has five widescreen TVs, a large drop-down screen and lots of pub grub and beer for fans looking to take in a game or two.

Red Bar 70-72 Ngo Duc Ke, D1 Tel: 08 22 29 70 17 Tucked behind the Bitexco building, Red has one of the longest happy hours in the city (draught beer for VND 25,000 from 9am until 9pm). This, its international food menu and nightly live music makes it one of the liveliest bars around.

The Tavern R2/24 Hung Gia 3, Bui Bang Doan, D7 Tel: 5410 3900 Boasts good international food, a pool table, dartboards and sports coverage on large screens. Outdoor seating on mutiple levels. Second floor sports lounge hosts DJs at the weekends.  Vasco’s Bar 74/7D Hai Ba Trung, D1 Tel: 3824 2888 Chic bar decked in deep reds that gets packed to capacity on weekends. Open Monday to Saturday with live music on Fridays. Food menu by chef with over 10 years experience at La Camargue.

Also does excellent pizza. 

CAFES Cay Da Cafe

Love is in the air at Orientica restaurant at Hotel Equatorial. The restaurant is offering a sumptuous six-course set dinner menu, with salmon rolls, caramelised scallop and foie gras, cream of asparagus soup, poached black grouper with tiger prawn, sous vide US beef medallion, and a surprise dessert. Each diner will also receive free gifts after their meal. Dinner runs 6.30pm10.30pm, VND 990,000 per person. Hotel Equatorial is at 242 Tran Binh Trong, D5.

Select the best fish swimming at the trendy Japanese restaurant, Iki, with the “Fish Your Way” offer, currently running at a special price of VND 399,000. Customers can choose the method of preparation to their liking. Plus, there’s an “all-you-can-drink sake” package priced at VND 125,000, which pairs well with the fish. If sushi

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Ming Dynasty 23 Nguyen Khac Vien, Phu My Hung Tel: 5411 5555 Decorated in Ming Dynasty-style; offers 100 dim sum varieties and 300 dishes prepared by a chef from Hong Kong.

The restaurant’s Imperial Buffet includes free flow of wine.

Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf 12-14 Thai Van Lung, D1 94 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, D3 Nowzone, 235 Nguyen Van Cu, D5 Metropolitan Bldng, 235 Dong Khoi, D1 International café chain with a wide variety of coffees and teas, as well as light snacks and food. Also sells freshroasted coffee beans and tins of whole leaf tea. 

Ngan Dinh Chinese Restaurant Windsor Plaza Hotel, 18 An Duong Vuong, D5 Tel: 3833 6688 Beautiful wood paneling, colourful hanging lanterns and a sparkling mineral gallery make for a relaxing dining experience at the Windsor. Feast on roasted Pi Pa duck, giant grouper and steamed king prawns. Be sure to check out monthly specials.

Mojo 88 Dong Khoi, D1 www.sheratonsaigon.com A top-end cafe with an attractive interior, outdoor terrace at street level and comfortable lounges upstairs. Good business coffee or lunch venue.

That’s Café Rivergarden, 170 Nguyen Van Huong, D2 The Crescent, 103 Ton Dat Tien, Phu My Hung, D7 Hailing from the U.S., That’s Café is a new Khai Silk initiative. Claiming to provide the best coffee in town in a comfortable and friendly atmosphere, it’s a great place to hold a business meeting or catch up with friends.

CHINESE

Li Bai Sheraton Hotel, 88 Dong Khoi, D1 Tel: 3827 2828 Imperial-styled restaurant named after a famous Chinese poet. Excellent lunch time dim sum buffet for USD $17.00.

Nightly à la carte menu with dishes going from 100,000 VND. Lotus Court 1st floor, Moevenpick Hotel Saigon 253 Nguyen Van Troi, Phu Nhuan Tel: 3844 9222 ext. 168 www.moevenpick-saigon.com Dim Sum and exciting Cantonese cuisine in a unique and elegant setting.

broaden your palate with promotions around town

Valentine’s Day at Orientica

Fish Your Way

Ground floor, Moevenpick Hotel Saigon 253 Nguyen Van Troi, Phu Nhuan Tel: 3844 9222 ext. 118 www.moevenpick-saigon.com Stocks the Moevenpick’s chef’s most delicious cakes, pastries, ice cream and sandwiches.

is mainly your thing, consider the “Sushi Blast” offer Wednesday and Sunday for all-you-caneat sushi and miso soup at VND 199,000. Iki is located at Möevenpick Hotel Saigon, 253 Nguyen Van Troi, Phu Nhuan district.

Two-for-one Cocktails at ZanZBar

ZanZBar is running a promotion for twofor-one cocktails from 7pm until closing.

Customers who “Brave the Dirty Dozen”, and try the promotion’s list of 12 cocktails will receive one free bottle of house wine on their next visit. The cocktail list consists of drinks like the Salty Dog (Bombay sapphire gin, pomelo juice and a pinch of salt) or Saigon Fizz (vodka, lemon juice, gomme, passion fruit, apple juice and creme de framboise). Cocktails are VND 160,000.

ZanZBar is at 19-21 Dong Khoi, D1.

Shang Palace Restaurant Norfolk Mansion, 17-19-21 Ly Tu Trong, D1 Tel: 3823 2221 www.shangpalace.com.vn An upscale Chinese restaurant with a spacious and welcoming atmosphere.

The menu boasts a wide range of Hong Kong Cantonese cuisine, including both dim sum, a la carte and set menus, regularly changed by the creative chefs.

Yu Chu InterContinental Asiana Saigon, corner of Hai Ba Trung and Le Duan, D1 Tel: 3520 9099 dine@icasianasaigon.com Specializing in authentic Cantonese and Peking cuisine. Award-winning chef prepares dishes including handmade noodles, dim sum and wok-fried items.

Wide selection of live seafood. Five interactive kitchens.

FRENCH

Camargue 74/7D Hai Ba Trung, D1 Tel: 08 35 20 48 88 One of the first western restaurants in Saigon, Camargue offers a great selection of French food and wine in a romantic, rustic French villa.

Le Bouchon de Saigon 40 Thai Van Lung, D1 Tel: 3829 9263 This French diner-style restaurant has an emphasis on hearty home cooking, courteous service and a relaxed

street gourmet

27 Dong Du, D1 Tel: 3822 7317 D1-23 My Toan 3, D7 Tel: 5410 1093 400 Nguyen Trai, D5 Tel: 3838 3840 www.alfrescosgroup.com Theme restaurant boasting a range of Tex-Mex, Italian and Australian-style BBQ dishes. Huge portions and tasty Australian ribs coupled with a good atmosphere and helpful staff. Good lunch menu.  Amigo Grill 55 Nguyen Hue, D1 Tel: 3824 1248 Outstanding steaks made with Australian, U.S. and Argentine beef, served in a cosy, family-friendly environment with large tables and banquette seating.

Dishes like leg of lamb and seafood are also on the menu. Open 11 am to 11 pm.

Bun Bo Bun bo, a Hue delicacy, boasts a delicious broth prepared by simmering beef bones and shank with lemongrass. The broth is then seasoned with fermented shrimp sauce, sugar and spicy chilli oil.

Bun bo Hue includes thin slices of boiled beef shank, tender chunks of oxtail, Vietnamese sausage and

atmosphere. Chef David Thai is a wellknown industry figure, and this venue can hold its own among the city`s many French restaurants.

INDIAN

Saigon Indian 73 Mac Thi Buoi, D1 Tel: 3824 5671 Popular venue with an enormous menu.

Serves both southern and northern Indian dishes like tandoori, biryani, dosa and idly snacks, plus a wide range of vegetarian dishes. Offers a set lunch menu. Cater service is available. 

pork knuckle. Having trouble identifying the firm brown or maroon cubes present in the mix? You’re looking at congealed pig blood. Enjoy Bun bo Hue, ranging from VND 20,000 to 50,000, with lime wedges, cilantro sprigs, green onion, raw sliced onions, chilli or spicy chili sauce, sliced banana blossom or

Tandoor 74/6 Hai Ba Trung, D1 Tel: 3930 4839 www.tandoorvietnam.com Part of a chain of restaurants covering Hanoi and Saigon, Tandoor features a large selection of standard northern Indian dishes, including a good vegetarian selection. Excellent cheap set lunches and reasonable prices all around.

Will organize catering for events. 

INTERNATIONAL

Al Fresco’s 21 Mac Dinh Chi D1 Tel: 3823 8427

Au Parc 23 Han Thuyen, D1 Tel: 3829 2772 Lavishly decorated brasserie borrowing from Moroccan and French styles and popular during lunchtime with expats.

Specializes in Middle Eastern and North African food. The salad menu is a favourite, and a great range of lush smoothies and juices are on offer.  Black Cat 13 Phan Van Dat, D1 Tel: 3829 2055 Tiny but popular District 1 restaurant serving up an excellent selection of Western and Vietnamese fare and an extensive range of sandwiches and burgers.  BoatHouse 40 Lily Road, APSC Compound, 36 Thao Dien, D2 Tel: 3744 6790 Riverside restaurant with umbrellashaded tables spread across outdoor deck and small indoor dining room.

Serves remarkably fresh and inspired dishes made with choice local and imported ingredients—favourites include the sirloin burger and pan-fried fish and chips.

Boomarang Cresent Residence 2-3-4, No. 107 Ton Dat Tien, PMH, D7 Tel: 3744 6790 An Australian bistro on the scenic promenade at the Crescent in Phu My Hung that serves authentic cuisine from down under, including steaks, burgers, seafood and fish and chips.

Cafe Saigon Ground floor, Moevenpick Hotel Saigon 253 Nguyen Van Troi, Phu Nhuan Tel: 3844 9222 ext. 234 www.moevenpick-saigon.com

An international buffet with unique food concepts that is perfect for gathering family and friends.

The Deck 38 Nguyen U Di, D2 Tel: 3744 6632 Serves upmarket takes on regional specialties made with fresh local and imported products. Well-designed, minimalist dining space and bar on the river are a serious draw.

The Elbow Room 52 Pasteur, D1 Tel: 3821 4327 elbowroom52@yahoo.com American-style bistro offering a wide range of appetisers, soups, salads, sandwiches, mains and desserts, plus an extensive wine menu. Open daily 7.30 am to 11 pm. Breakfast served all day.

Hog's Breath 02 Hai Trieu, D1 Tel: 3915 6006 The popular Australian eatery's first foray into Vietnam. Centrally located on the ground floor of the Bitexco Financial tower. The legendary Prime Rib steaks are the centrpiece of the menu which also includes burgers, seafood and bar snacks.  Jaspa’s 33 Dong Khoi, D1 Tel: 3822 9926 www.alfrescosgroup.com Unpretentious brasserie-style restaurant specializes in Australian-influenced international fusion cuisine. Full range of drinks including Australian and French wines and good cocktails.

Hosts monthly Spam Cham networking event.  JJ’s Brazilian BBQ Restaurant and Bar 275-277-279 Pham Ngu Lao, D1 Tel: 08 38 38 88 33 Situated in Pham Ngu Lao, JJ’s offers traditional Brazilian churrasco every night, with a wide range of meats barbecued over a charcoal flame. The restaurant is split into three areas: the bar, an outside terrace overlooking the park, and a more formal upstairs dining room.

The Loop 49 Thao Dien, D2 Tel: 08 36 02 63 85 A contemporarily styled restaurant that serves the An Phu community some healthy trattoria-style dishes, refreshing drinks and premium Italian coffee. The menu includes homemade breakfast specialties, and a wide selection of sandwiches and salads.

asialife HCMC 49

street gourmet

By Michael Kloster

imbibe Banh Tieu

Wine Myths Wine probably has more lore following it than any other beverage. While I appreciate the tradition, pomp and circumstance surrounding my favourite beverage, I must say, there is a whole lot of BS associated with it. There are tons of myths and archaic traditions when it comes to wine, and I’d like to dispel a few here.

Older wine is better Nope. Approximately 95 percent of the wines produced today are meant to be consumed within five years. And with most, the sooner the better.

Almost every red wine you will find is ready for you to drink.

Most of these have been made in such a way that renders them relatively well balanced and ready to serve. In red wines, the balance of fruitiness and tannin has been achieved at bottling. In white wines the balance of acidity and fresh fruit flavour peaks at bottling and it only loses freshness from there.

Don’t worry too much about the 5 percent that are meant to age. Chances are, none of those will be in your cellar.

Use a wine chiller Wrong. Wine chillers are meant for long-term wine storage. If you have a few bottles of agedesigned wine, then you need a place to keep them that is cool (around 15 degrees), dark, humidity controlled and still.

Fine aging wines need to rest to work toward a flavour balance. Wine doesn’t want to be disturbed by movement (hence

50 asialife HCMC

these fancy refrigerators have a special compressor which doesn’t vibrate like the fridge in your kitchen). Most fine wines are still bottled with corks, so wine chillers normally regulate the humidity to help the corks stay moist and prevent too much air from getting in. For normal storage, simply keep your wine in a cool place. You’ll be drinking it soon anyway.

The punt Ever look at the bottom of a wine bottle? Some are flat.

Some are not. This dimple, or punt, is a historical remnant of the days when wine bottles were hand blown. They do serve a purpose. In the 5 percent of wines that are meant to age, the smaller surface area at the bottom of the bottle serves to consolidate the wine’s sediment. And when making Champagne (or other traditional method sparklers like Cava from Spain) the punt serves as a grip to turn the bottles during a process called “riddling”, which slowly moves unwanted sediment to the top of the bottle. It’s also a nice handle for a skilled waiter when pouring. But is the punt an indicator of quality? No. In fact, I know more than one producer that spends more on the punterrific bottle itself than the plonk inside.

Michael Kloster is the senior sales executive at Magnum Wine Cellars. He can be contacted at michael@magnumwinecellars.com.

Banh tieu, very popular in Vietnam, actually hails from China. The cake is made from flour, sugar and sesame, and then fried with hot oil. An optimal cake is one that has just been picked out of the oil pan, is still slightly heated, soft and brittle. Banh tieu contains just enough sugar to be sweet, yet the

Market 39 InterContinental Asiana Saigon Ground Floor, Corner Hai Ba Trung and Le Duan, D1 Tel: 3520 9099 dine@icasianasaigon.com Seven interactive live kitchens offering French, Vietnamese and Southeast Asian cuisines, including a bakery, French patisseries, pancakes, tossed salads, grilled steak, seafood, wok-fried items, noodles and pasta dishes.

Mekong Merchant 23 Thao Dien, D2 Tel: 3744 4713 Set in a courtyard, this rustic Australianstyle brasserie has brought modern international cuisine to suburban An Phu. Popular for weekend brunches.

Weekly specials and seafood flown in from Phu Quoc.  Pacharan Tapas and Bodega 97 Hai Ba Trung, D1 Tel: 3825 6024 This tapas restaurant and bar serves up superb Spanish fare crafted from authentic imported ingredients. The exclusively Spanish wine list is extensive and Sangria is half price during happy hour from 5 pm to 7 pm and all day Wednesday.

The Refinery 74/7C Hai Ba Trung, D1 Tel: 3823 0509 Authentic bistro with cane furniture outside, informal indoor restaurant section and a bar area. Cuisine is light, modern European. The menu spans a price range to suit most budgets.

Reflections Caravelle Hotel, 19 Lam Son Square, D1 Tel: 3823 4999 Contemporary fine dining that combines Asian flavors with classic Mediterranean cuisine in an ambiance of understated elegance and European style. Special culinary events include guest chefs from Michelin-star establishments around the

taste is not overbearingly saccharine — unlike many other pastries. Banh tieu is covered with fragrant sesame seeds, whose scent mingles with the aroma of fried flour. Snap up one of these Chinesestyle cakes for the bargain price of VND 2,000 or 3,000.

Khoa Nguyen

world. Private rooms are available.

Scott & Binh’s 15-17 Cao Trieu Phat Street, Phu My Hung, D7 Tel: 094 890 14 65 Bizuhotel.com A friendly, laid back restaurant in Phu My Hung that serves “comfort food with a twist”. Run by American chef Scott Marquis, this small joint offers classic favourites that are consistently well prepared, making it a popular stop for expats and visitors.

Skewers 9A Thai Van Lung, D1 Tel: 3822 4798 www.skewers-restaurant.com Rustic Mediterranean restaurant where subtle colours and exposed brickwork combine with jazzy tunes. Serves tabouleh, falafel, couscous and kebab.

Highly rated for its grilled meats, bread and dip combos, soups and pastas. 

ITALIAN

Basilico InterContinental Asiana Saigon, Ground Floor, Corner Nguyen Du and Hai Ba Trung, D1 Tel: 3520 9099 dine@icasianasaigon.com Contemporary and casual trattoria-style restaurant specializing in authentic Italian dishes and homemade desserts.

Wood-fired pizza oven and a wide selection of Italian wines.

Casa Italia 86 Le Loi, D1 Tel: 3824 4286 www.casaitalia.com.vn Serves home-style Italian cooking including pasta and pizza as well as a selection of steak and seafood dishes.

Open daily 10 am until late.

Good Morning Vietnam 197 De Tham, D1 Tel: 3837 1894 Popular authentic Italian restaurant with

additional outlets around the country.

Specializes in thin-crust pizza, pasta and a range of Italian dishes. Good selection of Italian wines.  La Hostaria 17B Le Thanh Ton, D1 Tel: 3823 1080 Rustic eatery specializing in top-end traditional cuisine from various regions in Italy. Main courses from 130,000 VND with daily specials on offer. Serves excellent pizza. 

JAPANESE Kissho 14 Nguyen Hue, D1 Tel: 3823 2223 Fax: 3823 3343 kissho.wmcvietnam.com Saigon’s newest Japanese restaurant boasts a multi-concept cuisine set in a cutting edge interior. Specialties include teppanyaki, yakiniku, sushi and sashimi crafted by expert chefs. The freshest imported meats and seafood round out the menu, accompanied by an extensive selection of fine wines and Japanese spirits. Open 11.30 am to 2 pm and 5.30 pm to 10 pm.

Iki Ground floor, Moevenpick Hotel Saigon 253 Nguyen Van Troi, Phu Nhuan Tel: 3844 9222 ext. 127 www.moevenpick-saigon.com A Japanese restaurant that turns the notion of the common hotel sushi eatery on its head thanks to an affordable menu and a fun atmosphere.

Nishimura Mövenpick Hotel Saigon, 253 Nguyen Van Troi, Phu Nhuan Tel: 3844 9222 Exquisitely prepared sushi and sashimi from a globetrotting chef with three decades’ experience. A wide range of cooked dishes and monthly meal promotions are also available.

The Sushi Bar 2 Le Thanh Ton, D1 Tel: 3823 8042 3A Ton Duc Thang, D1 Tel: 3911 8618 This brightly lit Japanese-style restaurant serves over 40 varieties of sushi at reasonable prices. Sit at the sushi bar or in private rooms upstairs. Open until 11.30 pm, delivery available on request. 

KOREAN

25 Si 8A/6D Thai Van Lung, D1 Tel: 3824 6921 Traditional Yasik-style drinking restaurant. Winter and summer scene murals fill the walls of this dual level eatery. Large menu with favs like budae jjigae, a mix of chilli paste, Spam, hot dog and tofu, as well as super spicy duruchigi.

Hana 8 Cao Ba Quat, D1 Tel: 3829 5588 Japanese-Korean fusion in the heart of District 1. Contemporary decor with a private, yet open feel. Broad menu including cooked and raw fish and traditional hot pot with fish eggs, rice and vegetables.

Kim Bab Chun Gook R4 42 Hung Phuoc 2, Phu My Hung Tel: 6296 9057 Korean boonshik/snack food eatery serving up a wide variety of light but substantial foods including dumplings, rameyon and fish cakes.

SOUTHEAST ASIAN Lac Thai 71/2 Mac Thi Buoi, D1 Tel: 3823 7506 An elegant restaurant tucked in an alleyway and decorated with artdeco furniture. Authentic Thai cuisine prepared by two Thai chefs. Food is

tasty but less spicy than you’d find in Thailand.  Little Manila S2-1 Hung Vuong 2, Phu My Hung, D7 Tel: 5410 0812 Small, no -frills eatery with outdoor and indoor seating located on a quiet street.

Serves a range of dishes from the Philippines (pictured on menu for those unfamiliar) and draught San Miguel.

VEGETARIAN

An Lac Chay 175/4 Pham Ngu Lao, D1 Tel: 3837 0760 Apropos of the backpacker district, this little restaurant offers no frills and a vast menu. Though meat dishes are available, it specializes in vegetarian Vietnamese and quirky “backpacker favourites.”  Hoa Dang 38 Huynh Khuong Ninh, D1 Swish vegetarian restaurant on a quiet street that serves up nutritious dishes, including meatless versions of bun bo, pho and steamboat. Cosy bar serving non-alcoholic drinks, fruits and other sweets.

Saigon Vegan 378/3 Vo Van Tan, D3 Tel: 3834 4473 Rustic vegan restaurant with extensive menu of healthy food at moderate prices. Lots of tofu dishes and soya chicken/beef, soups, banh bao and more. Also has a kids menu.

Viet Chay 339 Nam Ky Khoi Nghia, D3 Tel: 3526 5862 Upscale vegetarian restaurant specializes in fake meat dishes. The attractive dining room is suffused with natural light. Located within the walls of Vinh Nghiem Pagoda.

VIETNAMESE

Grillbar 122 Le Thanh Ton, D1 Tel: 08 38 22 79 01 A Vietnamese restaurant with a focus on charcoal-grilled meat brings classic Vietnamese street food indoors to a modern, clean environment.

Quan Bui 17A Ngo Van Nam, D1 Tel: 08 38 29 15 15 From the team behind Quan Bui, the popular casual Vietnamese eatery on the north edge of District 1, is this fourfloor fine-dining restaurant in downtown Saigon. The chic design and ambience, as well as its rooftop garden, are designed to attract a more up-market clientele.

Temple Club 29 – 31 Ton That Thiep, D1 Tel: 3829 9244 This high-end restaurant attached to an elegant lounge bar is a must-try for its art deco atmosphere as much as for its food. Mains go around 80,000 -150,000.

nightlife BARS & LOUNGES

See bar restaurant listings for more popular watering holes.

Cloud 9 2bis Cong Truong Quoc Te, D3, HCMC (Corner of Turtle Lake Roundabout & Tran Cao Van), Tel: 0948 445544 Recently opened with beautiful déco, this rooftop lounge bar has its stunning views at night. Live DJ, great cocktails and desserts. Open 6pm till late. 

you have a big dinner party planned , your kid’s birthday, your anniversary party,

in your

We cater any event, kitchen or our kitchen

Call us 0126 937 0461 asialife HCMC 51

sides. Delivery only via vietnammm.com The Library InterContinental Asiana Saigon, corner of Hai Ba Trung and Le Duan, D1 Tel: 3520 9099 dine@icasianasaigon.com Unwind with a glass of wine or a cup of tea. The Library provides a welcoming atmosphere for those in search of calm, comfort and personalized service.

Purple Jade InterContinental Asiana Saigon, corner of Hai Ba Trung and Le Duan, D1 Tel: 3520 9099 Chic lounge blends the stylistic influences of contemporary design and opium dens. Hosts live music and serves special drinks, including Shaoxing and Maotai rice wines and an exclusive selection of luxury spirits.

Local Eats

By Tristan Ngo

A Tet Feast As the Year of the Snake comes to a close, people across Vietnam are eager to take their long-awaited week(s) off to embark on their journey back to their hometowns where they will ring in the Year of the Horse.

To celebrate Tet in Vietnam is to an Tet, literally to “eat Tet”, which shows the importance of food during the holiday. Some of the food served during Tet is eaten year-round, while other dishes are particular to this time of year. It is also common to see vegetarian dishes during the holiday because many believe eating them is good luck.

Hoang Yen restaurant has had a healthy following from the Vietnamese and Viet Kieu community for years. They have in recent times opened up an array of restaurants such as their buffet, hotpot and seafood-style places around the downtown area. Despite all the new additions and recent renovation, the 7 Ngo Duc Ke location is still considered the standard for a southern (mien nam) family-style meal.

Opened in 1980, it’s a perfect place for families to have their Tet feast.

Our normal family feast includes coconut root salad (goi cu hu dua), which is a blend of shrimp, carrots, onions, basil, cilantro and, of course, coconut root. They are all marinated 52 asialife HCMC

Saigon Saigon Bar 9th floor, Caravelle Hotel, 19 Lam Son Square, D1 Tel: 3823 4999 Popular bar usually packed out with tourists and business travellers searching for some delicious cocktails and a great view of the city skyline. Cuban band Warapo plays every night except Monday from 8.30 pm until late.

at home BAKERIES

in fish sauce, with shrimp chips served on the side. Stir-fried ‘thousand mile’ flowers with garlic (hoa thien ly xao toi) is another common dish found on the family table. The flower buds are used in southern Chinese, Vietnamese and northern Thai cuisine, where they are stir-fried or boiled in soup.

Grilled eggplant (ca tim nuong mo hanh) with spring onions and marinated fish sauce is a simple yet wonderful dish.

Main dishes are comprised of bitter melon stir-fried with eggs (kho qua xao trung) and sour soup with a choice of shrimp or fish (canh chua).

Canh chua is the standard when it comes to soup in the south of Vietnam, and it pairs perfectly with any caramelised clay pot dish. This particular soup blends the taste of sour, spicy and sweet. The sourness comes from tamarind, starfruit, pineapple and tomato. Another dish, mudfish caramelised in clay pot served with a side of pickled cabbage and steamed rice, is an altogether unique way to end the meal.

If you’re stuck in Saigon for Tet, or if you’re looking for a good southern Vietnamese meal, then check out Hoang Yen. Happy Year of the Horse!

Hoang Yen 7 Ngo Duc Ke, D1 +84 83 82 34 564

Harvest Baking 30 Lam Son, Tan Binh Tel: 3547 0577 harvestbaking@yahoo.com This authentic bakery offers a range of specialty baked goods for delivery.

Offering bagels, scones, breads, desserts,cakes, tarts and more.

Chocolate fudge cake and cinnamon rolls with cream cheese icing highly recommended.

Pat A Chou 65 Hai Ba Trung, D1 25 Thao Dien, D2 The home of the long and crusty baguette. Supplies many restaurants but also sells wholesale. The miniature patisseries such as crème brulée and cheesecake are worth a taste.

Tous Les Jours 180 Hai Ba Trung, D3 Part of the Korean bakery chain, Tous Le Jours stocks a superb range of freshly baked good from sugary treats like pain au chocolat to superior quality baguettes and loafs.

Voelker 17 A7 Le Thanh Ton, D1 Tel: 7303 8799 39 Thao Dien, An Phu, D2 Tel: 6296 0066 Small bakery turns out sweet and salted pies and mousses in addition to baguettes and a range of Western sweets.

DELIVERY

Food Panda www.foodpanda.vn Online delivery service with over 500 popular restaurants available. www.vietnammm.com A free website that allows users to order delivery from dozens of restaurants in Ho Chi Minh City.

Simply provide your address and phone number and pay the delivery driver in cash when he arrives Willy Woo’s www.vietnammm.com Southern American fare including skillet fried chicken, Belgium waffles and BBQ foods, red beans and rice, Jalapeno corn bread, and other classic southern

GROCERIES

Annam Gourmet Market 16-18 Hai Ba Trung, D1 Tel: 3822 9332 41A Thao Dien, D2 Tel: 3744 2630 SB2-1 My Khanh 4, Nguyen Duc Canh, D7 Tel: 5412 3263 / 64 www.annam-gourmet.com Boutique grocer with wide selection of foreign foods; Annam-brand coffee, tea and spices; and household products.

Wine and premium beer, full deli counter, produce, dairy-frozen and baked goods on second floor.

Big C Floor B1, Cantavil An Phu Building, D2, Tel: 3740 7105 202B Hoang Van Thu, Phu Nhuan 138A To Hien Thanh, D10 792 Nguyen Kiem, Go Vap 1/1 Truong Chinh, Tan Phu 212 Thoai Ngoc Hau, Tan Phu 1231 National Road 1A, KP5, Binh Tan www.bigC.vn This ‘supercentre’ offers a clean, comfortable shopping environment with a wide assortment of goods, including fresh food and home accessories, available at reasonable prices.

Classic Fine Foods 17 Street 12, D2, Tel: 3740 7105 www.classicfinefoods.com Luxury food primarily imports for wholesale, but also takes orders for its range of dry goods, cheese, meat, poultry and seafood from private clients.

Kim Hai Butchery 73 Le Thi Hong Gam, D1 Tel: 3821 6057 or 3914 4376 Excellent chilled imported beef, lamb, veal and other meats sold at reasonable prices.

Metro Anphu An Phu, D2 Tel: 3740 6677 www.metro.com.vn Warehouse wholesaler located just off the Hanoi Highway in D2 between the Saigon Bridge and the tollbooths. Sells bulk food, fresh fruit and vegetables and meat, as well as paper products, cleaning supplies, housewares--basically everything.

Veggy’s 29A Le Thanh Ton, D1 Tel: 3823 8526 Sky Garden Pham Van Nghi, Bac Khu Pho, D7 Riverside Apartments 53 Vo Truong Toan, Thao Dien, D2 Popular expat market with a huge walk-in fridge area stocked with fresh fruit and vegetables, dairy products and a range of meats. Imported canned and dried foods, wines, beers, soft drinks, spirits and snacks also available.

LIQUOR & WINE

The Warehouse 178 Pasteur, D1 Tel: 3825 8826 www.warehouse-asia.com One of the city’s premier wine distributors, The Warehouse is an aptly named, stylish wine store that stocks a full range of both New and Old World wines, sparkling wines, Champagne, spirits, imported beers and accessories.

Wine Embassy 13 Ngo Duc Ke, D1 Tel: 08 38 24 78 27 With more than 30 wines by the glass and 100 vintages from all over the world, Wine Embassy offers an excellent place to discover wines in a relaxing and entertaining atmosphere. The resident sommelier and knowledgeable staff can also provide information on each type, perfect for neophytes and experts alike.

listings

culture CLASSES

AngelsBrush by Vin Tel: 0983377710 Shyevin@mac.com Oil painting course gives learners the opportunity to work from the different objects; explore different mediums, materials and techniques; and interpret line, tone and colour. Instructor works with students on individual basis.

Helen Kling Oil Painting 189/C1 Nguyen Van Huong, Thao Dien, D2 Tel: 0903 955 780 hk.painter@gmail.com/helenkling@ yahoo.com www.helenkling.com Helene is a French painter who teaches beginners (children and adults) various techniques and the art of working with different mediums. She is also a fantastic tool for advanced artists who are looking to increase their creativity. Both day and night courses are available. Helene has a permanent exhibition at FLOW, located 88 Ho Tung Mau, D1.

Printmaking alphagallery@bluemail.ch Classes are held at Alpha Gallery taught by the gallery owner Bernadette Gruber, who offers the chance to learn monotype, intaglio and etching techniques.

CINEMAS

Bobby Brewer’s Movie Lounge 45 Bui Vien, D1 Tel: 3610 2220 86 Pham Ngoc Thach info@bobbybrewers.com Popular top-floor home cinema showing movies five times a day on a large screen. Email for the latest schedule.

CGV cinema Vietnam Hung Vuong Plaza, 126 Hung Vuong, D5 Tel: 08 2222 0388 CT Plaza, 60A Truong Son, Tan Binh Tel: 6297 1981 Crescent Mall, Phu My Hung, D7 Pandora City, 1/1 Truong Chinh, Tan Phu www.cgv.vn State-of-the-art cinema complex screening the lastest blockbusters with plush, reclining seats. All movies shown in original language with Vietnamese subtitles.

Cinebox 212 Ly Chinh Thang, D3 Tel: 3935 0610 240 3 Thang 2, D10 Tel: 3862 2425 Cinebox cinemas show both original language films with Vietnamese subtitles and the dubbed versions.

Future Shorts futureshortsvietnam@gmail.com www.futureshorts.com/vn Vietnam branch of the international network screens foreign and local short films around town. Events often incorporate other media and elements, including live music, performances, installations and discussion. Submissions accepted.

Galaxy Cinema 116 Nguyen Du, D1 Tel: 3822 8533 230 Nguyen Trai, D1 Tel: 3920 6688 www.galaxycine.vn Large, modern cinema that shows the latest foreign releases in English (with Vietnamese subtitles).

IDECAF 31 Thai Van Lung, D1 Tel: 3829 5451 French cultural centre and cinema theatre. Showcases French movies with English and Vietnamese subtitles. Also hosts movies and documentaries from a number of overseas film festivals.

Lotte Cinema Diamond Plaza, 34 Le Duan, D1 Tel: 3822 7897 LotteMart, 469 Nguyen Huu Tho, D7 Tel: 3775 2520 www.lottecinemavn.com Modern cinema with four-way sound system. D7 location houses luxury theatre Charlotte with 32 seats and eight sofas. me phim HCM City-based film initiative that provides support to local filmmakers and hosts regular film screenings/discussions. Email dduukk@gmail.com for information or join the Facebook group.

GALLERIES

a little blah blah OUT-2 STUDIO, L6 FAFILM Annex 6 Thai Van Lung, D1 albbsaigon-2010.blogspot.com Operates as an engine for contemporary art by organizing projects, exhibitions, screenings and talks. Runs one major art project each year and a reading room with more than 1,000 texts on art, design and creative culture. Free for everyone and open Tue to Sat 10 am to 6 pm.

Blue Space Contemporary Arts Center 97A Pho Duc Chinh, D1 Tel: 3821 3695 bluespaceart@hcm.jpt.vn www.bluespacegallery.com Busy, working gallery with easels propped up outside situated in the grounds of the beautiful Fine Arts Museum. Holds regular exhibitions by local artists.

Duc Minh Gallery 31C Le Quy Don, D3 Tel: 3933 0498 Housed in an opulent colonial mansion, private museum and art gallery showcases the private art collection of Vietnamese business tycoon Bui Quoc Chi. Containing more than 1,000 pieces that range from traditional to contemporary.

Galerie Quynh 65 De Tham, D1 Tel: 3836 8019 www.galeriequynh.com The city’s only international standard gallery, housed in a modern, two-floor space. Organizes regular exhibitions featuring established, emerging local/ international contemporary artists, publishes original catalogs in both English and Vietnamese.

Ho Chi Minh City Fine Arts Museum 97A Pho Duc Chinh, D1 Tel: 3829 4441 btmthcm@hotmail.com Institution housing contemporary/traditional works by Vietnamese and foreign artists. Pieces date from as early as the 7th century. Includes Vietnamese antiques, art crafted by the Cham and Funan peoples.

San Art Independent Artist Space 3 Me Linh, Binh Thanh Tel: 3840 0898 hoa@san-art.org www.san-art.org Artist-run, non-profit exhibition space featuring contemporary work by young Vietnamese artists. San Art hosts guest lecturers and curators. A reading room of art books and magazines is open to the public.

TuDo Gallery 53 Ho Tung Mau, D1 Tel: 3821 0966 www.tudogallery.com Hosting permanent exhibitions of works by the city’s artists, Tu Do deals in oils, silk paintings and lacquerware. More than 1,000 pieces on show.

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listings

sports & leisure By Phil Kelly

fitness Dining Without Reservations I am a firm believer that if you truly want to be healthy and lean you need to prepare your own food. But we all are social creatures, after all, and not eating out now and again at the many amazing restaurants around Saigon would be sacrilege. So if you still want to enjoy a meal at a restaurant while making sure it’s healthy, here are some tips for you.

Choose dishes that are not deep fried. At the very basic level, fried foods are unhealthy because they are high in bad fats and calories. Furthermore, deep-frying robs foods of nutrients and is associated with the onset of chronic health conditions.

Forget the fries and instead ask to replace them with a portion of fresh vegetables.

Vegetables, especially the green leafy variety, act to provide us with energy and detoxify our systems from harmful substances. Vegetables should be the star of every meal.

Avoid rich and creamy sauces. They all contain high sugar, bad oil/fat content and, because we live in Asia, they could contain MSG. Therefore, these sauces aren’t just calorie-laden, they promote inflammation and destroy neural transmitters.

Replace dressings with fresh lemon or lime juice. Another great option is virgin olive oil and dry spices. Alternatively, ask for dressings to be brought separately so you can decide how much to apply.

Avoid the tempting pre-meal nibbles. You don't need to fill 54 asialife HCMC

up on ordinary bread when you're paying good money for a meal. Simply ask for it to be taken away so you’re not even tempted.

Don’t feel that you have to have dessert. If you are craving something sweet, ask for a small piece of fruit. It will help satisfy the sweet craving as well as provide fibre and healthy antioxidants.

Stop ordering drinks. A glass of wine has between 125 and 200 calories, soda contains 10 teaspoons of sugar, beer has estrogenic properties due to the fermentation of yeast within it and will dramatically halt your ability to burn stomach fat.

Beverages can easily take your overall calorie consumption through the roof, making what could be a small meal an exercise in overeating. Alcohol also disrupts sleep patterns, putting your internal system under stress and therefore promoting a fat storing state.

If you really want to enjoy eating out while at the same time tackling a health or weight concern, then look first at where you eat, second what you eat, and third how you eat.

Eating should be enjoyable and, when following sound principles, it will foster great health, appearance and wellbeing.

Phil is a health practitioner and expert in body transformation.

His services are available at Star Fitness (Starfitnesssaigon. com), online or at your home.

Contact him though Phil-kelly. com.

Sport Street Huyen Tran Cong Chua, D1 between Nguyen Du and Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Services include mending and restringing broken tennis rackets. Products range from badminton birdies and rackets to basketball hoops, free weights, roller blades, scooters, soccer jerseys and all manner of balls.

CRICKET

Saigon Cricket Assocation Social cricket league plays 25 overs a side matches Sunday mornings at RMIT’s District 7 pitch. Season runs November through May, with friendly games throughout the pre-season. Practice on Saturdays and Sunday afternoons.

Australian Cricket Club Terry Gordon terrygordoninasia@yahoo.com.au saigonaustraliancricketclub@yahoo.com www.saigoncricket.com English Cricket Club Richard Carrington Richard.carrington@pivotalvietnam.com info@eccsaigon.com www.eccsaigon.com Indian Cricket Club Manish Sogani, manish@ambrij.com United Cricket Club Mr. Asif Ali, asif@promo-tex.net keshav.dayalani@rmit.edu.vn

DANCING DanCenter 53 Nguyen Dang Giai, Thao Dien, District 2 Tel: 3840 6974 www.dancentervn.com Purpose built studio with foreign trained dance instructors. Classes in jazz, ballet, tap, hip hop, yoga, zumba, belly, hula, capoiera and more. Kids can start from 4+ and adults of all ages and levels are welcome. Schedule and news on events available on-line.

Salsa Dancing at La Habana 6 Cao Ba Quat, D1 www.salsaigon.com salsaigon@gmail.com Six-week salsa package at 350,000 VND for single persons and 550,000 for a couple, run by Urko. Lessons every Tuesday (beginners L.A. style at 7.30 pm; intermediate L.A style at 8.30 pm).

Registration required.

FITNESS & YOGA

AIS Sports Centre 36 Thao Dien, An Phu, D2 Tel: 3744 6960, ext 126 sportscentre@aisvietnam.com www.aissportscentre.com Features six-lane, 25-metre pool, basketball and netball courts, astroturf hockey/football area and outdoor gym equipment. Available for party hire, with BBQ included on request. Membership packages available. Kids swim club and adult masters programmes. Rainbow Divers offers scuba diving courses for

children and adults. Free morning yoga.

California WOW Xperience Parkson Plaza, 126 Hung Vuong, D5 28/30-32 Le Loi, D1 Tel: 6291 5999 The world’s biggest fitness centre chain is one of Saigon’s most modern places to get your sweat on. Located in Hung Vuong Plaza, CWX offers a huge workout area and all kinds of classes including spinning, KickFit, yoga and more.

Caravelle Club Spa 19 Lam Son Square, D1 Tel: 3823 4999 Modern and stylish gym with lots of cardiovascular machines and free weights.

The swimming pool is a great place for a dip, and the massage parlour, sauna, steam room and jacuzzi are there for winding down.

Equinox Fitness & Leisure Centre Equatorial Hotel, 242 Tran Binh Trong, D5 Tel: 3839 7777 Decent-sized 3rd-floor gym with modern cardio and weights machines, sauna, steambath, jacuzzi, and large 4th floor pool great for swimming laps.

Hollywood Fitness World H3 Building, 384 Hoang Dieu, D4 Tel: 3826 4639 One of the latest & best workout environments in the city, suitable for all ages and fitness levels. Personal training is offered.

L’Apothiquaire Fitness Centre 64A Truong Dinh, D3 Tel: 3932 5181 www.lapothiquaire.com Internationally-certified teachers offer daily classes in Sivananda, Iyengar, Power, Yoga, Abdo-Pilates, Taebo and Aqua-Aerobics. Peaceful swimming pool, sauna and steam room.

La Cochinchine Rex Hotel, 146 Pastuer, D1 Tel: 3825 1812 (ext 7477) New and affordable fitness centre located in the heart of the city. This gym has a wide range of weight machines, as well as many cardio machines, including treadmills, cross-trainers and bikes. A good variety of classes are available, including yoga and aerobic dance.

NTFQ2 Spa 34 Nguyen Dang Giai, D2 Tel: 3744 6672 Therapeutic massage with a focus on sports massage to increase circulation, remove lactic acid build-up, restore flexibility and relieve back pain.

Sheraton Fitness Level 5, Sheraton Saigon Hotel & Towers, 88 Dong Khoi, D1 Tel: 3827 2828 sheraton.saigon@sheraton.com www.sheraton.com/saigon Sheraton Fitness features a team of trained professionals and new Technogym equipment. Members have full use of leisure facilities and receive discounts at hotel bars and restaurants and Aqua Day Spa. Star Fitness Gym Manor Apartments, 91 Nguyen Huu Canh, Binh Thanh Tel: 3514 0255 This 1,600sqm gym is apparently the biggest in Vietnam. Has a good range of machines for any type of workout.

Membership involves one time entry fee plus monthly subscriptions and gives free access to regular fitness classes.

Sofitel Saigon Plaza Fitness Centre 17 Le Duan, D1 Tel: 3824 1555 Small but well-equipped gym with helpful staff and quality equipment. Also runs a number of fitness classes including yoga.

Park Hyatt Fitness Centre 2 Lam Son Square, D1 Tel: 3824 1234 Luxury health centre with the full range of facilities including swimming pool, steam room, jacuzzi and fitness centre.

Renaissance Hotel Health Club 8-15 Ton Duc Thang, D1 Tel: 3822 0033 Stylish health club with gym, swimming pool, steam room, massage parlour, pool-side bar and an outstanding view of the city.

Saigon Fitness Club New World Hotel, 76 Le Lai, D1 Tel: 3822 8888 The modern Nautilus-equipped gym is staffed by highly-qualified instructors to cater for your fitness needs. Features a swimming pool, floodlit tennis court, golf driving range, jogging track, sauna, and massage rooms.

Saigon Yoga Tel: 090 835 2265 info@saigonyoga.com www.saigonyoga.com A yoga centre with highly qualified instructors offering hot yoga, Hatha Flow, restorative yoga, kids’ yoga, pre and postnatal yoga and injury rehabilitation.

Also does corporate team building and yoga teacher training as well as organising yoga retreats.

FOOTBALL & RUGBY

Australian Rules Football Tel: 093 768 3230 www.vietnamswans.com vietnamswans@gmail.com The Vietnam Swans play regular international footy matches around Asia. Training sessions are held weekly in HCM City (2.30 pm Saturday, RMIT D7) and Hanoi (midday, Saturday, UN International School, Ciputra). All skill levels and codes welcome.

RMIT Vietnam sports.recreation@rmit.edu.vn A new player on the SIFL scene with a team made up of students from the University. They have their own football ground on-site consisting of two brand new pitches. Contact Landon Carnie.

Saigon Raiders jon.hoff@saigonraiders.com Sociable football side who are always on the lookout for new talent for their weekly matches and training sessions. The team participates in the Saigon International Football League and also has regular fixtures against local teams in the outlying provinces and also participates in international tournaments.

Saigon Saints chris@saigonsaints.com www.saigonsaints.com Expat football club of all ages, which has been running since 1995 and plays in the SIFL. Regularly venture on international tours especially to Bangkok and Manila and play in other local and international tournaments. The players train weekly, and new players are encouraged to join.

GOLF

Dalat Palace Golf Club Phu Dong Thien Vuong, Dalat Tel: 063 3821 101 dpgc@vietnamgolfresorts.com The most beautiful course in Vietnam, combining the crisp mountain air with an environment of stately pine trees.

Overlooking Xuan Huong lake, the 7,009yard course is an enjoyable challenge for golfers of all levels.

Dong Nai Golf Resort Trang Bom Town, Trang Bom Tel: 061 3866 288 / 3677 590 www.dongnaigolf.com.vn Large golf resort with 27 holes, plus a villa complex, bar, sauna. jacuzzi and billiards. The resort sits on 160 hectares of land in Dong Nai Province, about 50 kilometres from the city.

Ocean Dunes Golf Club 1 Ton Duc Thang, Phan Thiet Tel: 062 3821 995 odgc@vietnamgolfresorts.com Designed by Nick Faldo, the 6,746-yard par-72 course winds through seaside dunes, with the variable coastal breezes changing its character each day. An enjoyable and eminently playable course and has become a favourite venue for expatriate tournaments.

LEISURE

Phun Runner info@phun-run.com Social running group that meets Saturdays at 7 am for a scenic run around Saigon before breakfast. Great way to explore the city, meet fellow runners and get fit for future events. Check website for rendezvous points.

Saigon International Dart League www.thesidl.com A highly popular group in town, the darts club runs a competitive year-long league for 16 pub-based teams. There are some excellent players in this sociable and international group. See website for details Saigon Pony Club Lane 42, Le Van Thinh, D2 Tel: 0913 733 360 A standout facility offering pony rides, riding lessons, horse clinics and pony rentals. Also hosts events and birthdays.

Ultimate Frisbee RMIT, 702 Nguyen Van Linh, D7 www.saigon-ultimate.com Join in this exciting popular sport every Sunday afternoon from 3pm to 5pm in Saigon South. Pan-Asian competitions also organised for the more experienced.

Contact David Jensen at 0909458890 X-Rock Climbing Phan Dinh Phung Sport Centre 75 Nguyen Dinh Chieu, D3 Tel: 6278 5794 503A Nguyen Duy Trinh, D2 Tel: 2210 9192 www.xrockclimbing.com Offering safe and professional climbing for anyone aged 4 and up. Featuring mountain climbing routes rated from beginner to advanced, climbing and belay-safety courses and training, birthday parties, corporate team building.

Excellent facilities for children and annual membership for kids.

For the health of your family, choose CMI !

Saigon South Golf Nguyen Van Linh, Tan Phu, D7 Tel: 5411 2001 sgs.golf@yahoo.com.vn Nine-hole mini golf course and driving range set amongst attractive gardens just behind FV Hospital. Club, shoe and umbrella hire is also available.

SaigonSports Academy League Tel: 093 215 3502 greg@saigonsportsacademy.com www.saigonsportsacademy.com 12-week, 5 a side community football league with Adult, U18, U14, U10 and U7 divisions. Matches held at Thao Dan Stadium in District 1. Corporate, local and expat teams compete in adult division with cash prize for champions.

Song Be Golf Resort 77 Binh Duong Blvd, Thuan An Tel: 0650 3756 660 info@songbegolf.com www.songbegolf.com Located 22 kilometres from the city centre, the premier golf course in the area features an 18-hole, 6,384-metre course.

Also has tennis courts, a swimming pool, and a gymnasium.

Vietnam Golf and Country Club Long Thanh My Village, D9 www.vietnamgolfcc.com This facility consists of two courses of 18 holes each, one of which is designed in a more traditional Asian style, and the other in international style. Has other attractions such as boating, tennis and a restaurant area.

Psychomotor therapy Cardiology

General and tropical pratice

lya is from Malaysia and grew up in Kuala Lumpur, a city which she fondly describes as spectacular and modern. Her family relocated to Vietnam less than 2 months ago, after a few years of living in Jakarta, Indonesia. The similarities in culture and lifestyle between Indonesia and Malaysia meant that Alya felt ‘at home’ in Jakarta, so, initially, she resisted the move to Ho Chi Minh City and tried to persuade her parents to change their minds about relocating. Despite

pleasantly cool evening in the middle of July,

Psychology Homecare

Paediatrics Speech and language therapy Gynaecology Psychiatry Ophtalmology Childbirth education courses Osteopathy

To choose CMI is also choosing to support the Alain Carpentier Foundation and the Heart Institute of Ho Chi Minh City.

Since 1992, thanks to the Foundation and to the CMI, the Heart Institute has saved more than 4,000 Vietnamese children who suffered from heart disease.

All the revenues of CMI are decicated to those children.

CENTRE MEDICAL INTERNATIONAL - ALAIN CARPENTIER FOUNDATION 1 Han Thuyen, D1, Ho Chi Minh City. info@cmi-vietnam.com. www.cmi-vietnam.com Tel : (84.8) 38.27.23.67 - (84.8) 38.24.58.74 - Fax : (84.8) 28.27.23.65

Settling in Ho Chi Minh City... as a student

A

Traditional oriental medecine

Dietetics

moved into a luxury modern apartment in District 2 and Alya, together with her siblings, started at their new school immediately after the Eid celebrations. School was one of the predominant factors that had changed Alya’s outlook. She attributes her ability to quickly settle in Ho Chi Minh City to school life, where

support that she receives from her teachers and friends. She is also learning new things at School, not only from a host of exciting subjects like French and Design & Technology, which were

not available at her previous school, she is also learning more about the Vietnamese culture that is helping her to appreciate the country she is in.

As a tip for other young people coming to Ho Chi Minh City, Alya suggests: “Just be yourself, try your best to leave your comfort zone. Make yourself approachable and make new friends because this will help with the settling in process.”

Meet Alya at our Open Day on Saturday 15 March 2014 www.aisvietnam.com/openday

+84 8 3742 4040

enrolments@aisvietnam.com | www.aisvietnam.com

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ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE

listings

American Chiropractic Clinic 161 Hai Ba Trung, D3 Tel: 3939 3930 www.vietnamchiropractic.com A chiropractic, physiotherapy, foot care clinic staffed by American-trained chiropractors speaking French, English, Chinese, Vietnamese and Korean. Treats back pain, neck pain, knee pain, also specializing in sports injuries, manufacture of medical grade foot orthotics.

health & beauty

Institute of Traditional Medicine 273-275 Nguyen Van Troi, Phu Nhuan Dr. Le Hung is the man to see at this wellestablished traditional hospital & training

centre. He speaks good English and provides excellent treatments in a clean environment

DENTAL

Accadent 39 Le Duan, D1 Tel: 08 6267 6666 A clinic that brings leading German dentistry to Vietnam. All dentists here were trained in Germany and all equipment comes from Germany to ensure proper hygiene and quality.

European Dental Clinic 17 - 17A Le Van Mien, Thao Dien, D2 Tel: 0918 749 204/08

3744 9744 Expat English and French-speaking dentist. Performs full range of dental treatment including whitening, aesthetic fillings, porcelain crowns, full ceramics, veneer and orthodontic treatment. 24hour emergency line: 0909 551 916 or 0916 352940.

Starlight Dental Clinic Dr. Philippe Guettier & International Team of Dentists 2Bis Cong Truong Quoc Te, D1 Tel: 3822 6222 With 14 years’ experience providing dental treatment to expat and Vietnamese patients, this well-known dental surgery is staffed by both foreign & local practitioners. Au fait with the latest treatments and techniques, the surgery prides themselves on their high standard of equipment & sterilization.

MEDICAL

Centre Medical International (CMI) 1 Han Thuyen, D1 Tel: 3827 2366 www.cmi-vietnam.com Located downtown next to the cathedral, the centre provides a high standard of medical care from qualified French and Vietnamese physicians. Its range of services include general and tropical medicine, cardiology, gynaecology, osteopathy, pediatrics, psychiatry, speech therapy and traditional Eastern medicine.

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Family Medical Practice HCMC Diamond Plaza, 34 Le Duan, D1 Tel: 3822 7848 95 Thao Dien, D2 Tel: 3744 2000 www.vietnammedicalpractice.com Leading international primary healthcare provider, with a 24-hour state-of-the-art medical centre and highly-qualified multi-

GERMAN

HIGH-TECH DENTAL CLINIC ACCADENT DENTAL CLINIC Kumho Asiana Plaza 39 Le Duan Street, District 1 Ho Chi Minh City | Vietnam phone +84 (8) 62 67 66 66 E-Mail: info@accadent.com www.accadent.com.vn

AC C A DE N T In t er national V ie t nam C omp any L imit e d DE N TA L C L INIC

lingual foreign doctors. Extensive experience in worldwide medical evacuations with car and air ambulance on standby.

Also in Hanoi and Danang.

HANH PHUC International Hospital Binh Duong boulevard, Thuan An, Binh Duong.

Tel: 0650 3636068 www.hanhphuchospital.com The 1st Singapore Standard Hospital in Vietnam. 260 –bedder, provide a comprehensive range of quality healthcare services: Obstertrics, Gynaecology, Paediatrics, Immunization, IVF, Health checkup, Parentcraft, Woman Cancer, Cosmetic Surgery… Just 20- minute driving from HCMC. HANH PHUC International Hospital Clinic 97 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, D1. Tel: 3925 9797 www.hanhphuchospital.com The 1st Singapore Standard Hospital in Vietnam. The clinic is located at the center of Dist. 1, provides a comprehensive range of services specializing in Obstertrics, Gynaecology, Peadiatrics, Immunization, General Practice and Emergency. Open hours: Weekdays: 8am to 5pm; Saturday: 8am to 12pm.

International SOS 167A Nam Ky Khoi Nghia, D3 Tel: 3829 8424 www.internationalsos.com Globally-renowned provider of medical assistance and international healthcare.

Specializes in offering medical transport and evacuation both within and outside of Vietnam for urgent medical cases.

Victoria Healthcare 135A Nguyen Van Troi, Phu Nhuan

Tel: 3910 4545 79 Dien Bien Phu, D1 Tel: 39104545 Well-regarded clinic offering general examinations and specializing in pediatrics, digestive diseases, cardiology and women's health. Offers a membership program and cooperates with most insurance companies in Vietnam and abroad.

Open with doctors on call 24/7.

SKINCARE

The Body Shop www.thebodyshop.com.vn International cosmetics retailer with strong commitment to environment sources natural ingredients from small communities for its line of more than 600 products.

Belli Blossom 4F-04 (4th Floor) Crescent Mall, Nguyen Van Linh Parkway, Phu My Hung, D7 Tel: 5413 7574 12 Mac Dinh Chi, D1 Tel: 3822 6615 www.belliblossom.com.vn contactus@belliblossom.com.vn Belli Blossom catering to moms and babies with imported brands of maternity and nursing wear and accessories, infant clothes, baby bottles and feeding products, strollers, high chairs, slings, baby carriers, diaper bags, and many others.

Brands available include: Mam, Mamaway, Quinny, Maclaren, Debon, Luvable Friends, Gingersnaps.

listings

family ACTIVITIES DanCenter 53 Nguyen Dang Giai, Thao Dien, D 2 Tel: 3840 6974 www.dancentervn.com Children and teenagers from age 4+ can enjoy jazz, ballet, tap, hip hop, acro dance and break dance classes at this professionally run, newly built dance studio. Schedule and news on events available on-line.

Helene Kling Painting helene_kling@yahoo.com Offers classes in oil painting to both children and adults for 150,000 VND and 300,000 VND respectively. Classes are paced to suit each student.

Briar Jacques bjacques123@gmail.com Cel: 0122 480 8792 Helping families, individuals, couples, children and teens. Caring and confidential counselling to address issues such as expat adjustment, depression, anxiety and substance abuse. We take a holistic approach to enhance wellbeing on mental, emotional and physical levels.

Saigon Pony Club Lane 42, Le Van Thinh, D2 Tel: 0913 733 360 Close to X-rock climbing centre, kids from three and upwards can ride one of the stable’s 16 ponies. Lessons with foriegn teachers last 45 minutes and cost 350,000 VND for kids from age six.

Tae Kwondo BP Compound, 720 Thao Dien, D2 and Riverside Villa Compound, Vo Truong Toan, D2 phucteacherkd@yahoo.com Private and group classes are run after school three times a week by the friendly Mr. Phuc. Anyone over the age of five is welcome to join in the course, which costs USD $50 for 12 classes/month with a $25 fee for non-members. Contact Mr. Phuc directly on 0903 918 149.

BABY EQUIPMENT

Maman Bebe Vincom Center, 70/72 Le Thanh Ton, D1 Tel: 3825 8724 www.mamanbebe.com.vn Stocks an assortment of modern strollers and car seats. Also sells various utensils and practical baby products. Small selection of clothing for ages newborn to 14 years.

Me & Be 230 Vo Thi Sau, D3 40 Ton That Tung, D1 141D Phan Dang Luu, Phu Nhuan 246 Nguyen Dinh Chieu, D3 101-103 Khanh Hoi, D4 287A Nguyen Van Troi, Phu Nhuan The closest thing to Mothercare the city has to offer. Stocks a substantial range of apparel for babies including bottles and sterilizers, cots (including travel cots), clothing, toys, safety equipment and more, all at reasonable prices.

Me Oi 1B Ton That Tung, D1 A small shop adjacent to the maternity hospital bursting at the seams with everything you need for your baby. Clothing, footwear, bottles, nappies, nappy bags and toys all at reasonable prices.

CLOTHES DLS Paris 17/5 Le Thanh Ton, D1 Diamond Plaza, 34 Le Duan, D1 Saigon Centre, 65 Le Loi, D1 Vincom Center, 70/72 Le Thanh Ton, D1 A superb range of unique and beautiful clothing for young children (from newborns to pre-school age) at high to midrange prices. The quality compensates for the price. Bedding, baby equipment and furniture and organic and natural supplies also kept in stock.

Ninh Khuong 44 Le Loi, D1 Tel: 3824 7456 www.ninhkhuong.vn Well-known hand-embroidered children’s clothing brand using 100% cotton. Newborn to 10 years old (girl) and fourteen years old (boy). Also stocking home linens. Prices are reasonable.

EDUCATION

German International School 730F-G-K Le Van Mien, Thao Dien Tel: 7300 7257 www.gis.vn The German International School offers an English language curriculum based on the internationally recognized Primary Program (PYP), Middle Years Program (MYP) and IB Diploma Program of the International Baccalaureate (IB) System.

The mission of the school is to educate global citizens in a multilingual und multicultural learning environment in the setting of an educational village that focuses on international as well regional students

The Australian International School Xi Campus (Kindergarten) 190 Nguyen Van Huong, D2 Tel: 35192727 Thao Dien Campus (Kindergarten & Primary School) 36 Thao Dien, D2 Tel: 3744 6960 Thu Thiem Campus (Kindergarten, Primary, Middle & Senior School) 264 Mai Chi Tho (East-West Highway) An Phu ward, D2 Tel: 3742 4040 www.aisvietnam.com The Australian International School is an IB World School with 3 class campuses in District 2, HCMC, offering an international education from Kindergarten to Senior School with the IB Primary Years Programme (PYP), Cambridge Secondary Programe (including IGCSE) and IB Diploma Programme (DP).

International School HCMC 28 Vo Truong Toan, D2 Tel: 3898 9100 www.ishcmc.com One of 136 schools around the world to be accredited as an IB World School.

Offers all three of the IB programmes from primary through to grade 12. The school is fully accredited by CIS and NEASC and has a strong focus on community spirit and fosters an awareness of other languages and cultures.

ABC International School 2,1E Street, KDC Trung Son, Binh Hung, Binh Chanh Tel: 5431 1833 abcintschoolss@vnn.vn www.theabcis.com UK standards-based curriculum awards diploma with IGCSE’s & A Levels certified

by Cambridge Universit examinations board. From playgroup to pre-university matriculation. Served by 80+ British teachers. Good facilities and extra-curricular activities.

British International School Primary Campus 43 - 45 Tu Xuong, D3 225 Nguyen Van Huong, D2 Secondary Campus 246 Nguyen Van Huong, D2 Tel: 3744 2335 www.bisvietnam.com BIS is the largest international school in Vietnam operating from three purpose built campuses in HCMC catering for students from pre-school to Year 13. The school operates within the framework of the National Curriculum for England and is staffed primarily by British qualified and trained teachers with recent UK experience. Students are prepared for both IGCSE & the IB Diploma programmes.

BIS is a member of FOBISSEA & is fully accredited by the Council of International schools ERC 86-88-92 Huynh Van Banh, Phu Nhuan Tel: 6292 9288 www.erci.edu.vn ERC Vietnam is a member of ERCI Singapore. Founded by a group of successful business leaders around Asia Pacific. Our primary objective is to groom and mentor a new generation of business leaders in Vietnam equipped with skills to analyze and solve real-world business challenges of today.

Settling in Ho Chi Minh City... as a student

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yaka Toida is from Saitama, in Japan, which she describes as a sophisticated city with great shopping and very clean. She and her family relocated to Ho Chi Minh City a year ago due to the development of

she could not speak a word of English.

After 12 months of being enrolled at the Australian International School where she has made friends from all over the world and is supported by native English-speaking

teachers, Ayaka now speaks beautiful English She took a leading role in last year’s School Production of ‘Grease the Musical’, where she performed in front of hundreds of parents and students. Ayaka is currently undertaking the IB Diploma Programme, which is a prestigious, world-recognised international pre-University challenges and the way students like her are

KinderStar Kindergarten 08 Dang Dai Do, Phu My Hung, D7 Tel: 5411 8118/9 Offering bilingual preschool program with capacity up to 900 students with the most updated international standard.

Montessori International School International Program 42/1 Ngo Quang Huy, D2 Tel: 3744 2639 Bilingual Program 28 Street 19, KP 5, An Phu, D2 Tel: 6281 7675 www.montessori.edu.vn Montessori utilizes an internationally recognized educational method which focuses on fostering the child’s natural desire to learn. The aim is to create an encouraging environment conducive to learning by developing a sense of self and individuality. A wide array of curriculum/ extra-curricular activities are on offer including Bilingual programs.

Renaissance International School 74 Nguyen Thi Thap, D7 Tel: 3773 3171 www.rissaigon.edu.vn IB World school, one of Vietnam’s international schools operating within the framework of the British system. RISS provide a high quality English medium education in a stimulating, challenging and supportive environment. The purpose built, modern campus has excellent facilities.

RMIT 702 Nguyen Van Linh, D7 Tel: 3776 1369

taught. “Here, your opinions matter. Teachers encourage you to think independently and creatively.” When she graduates from Senior School in 2015, Ayaka will return to Japan to study at a Music college. She says: “AIS has given me a strong academic foundation and helped me to develop many invaluable skills that I will cherish for the rest of my life.”

Meet Ayaka at our Open Day on Saturday 15 March 2014 www.aisvietnam.com/openday

+84 8 3742 4040

enrolments@aisvietnam.com | www.aisvietnam.com

asialife HCMC 57

By Dr Claire Uebbing

SOS Clogged Arteries Do you have high cholesterol?

There is a good chance that you do, but don’t realise it. According to the World Health Organisation, almost 40 percent of the world’s adult population is affected with it. This matters because high cholesterol is a leading cause of heart disease and is responsible for a third of all the deaths due to ischemic heart disease worldwide.

The body uses cholesterol for the structure of cell walls, membranes, and the production of hormones. In someone with high cholesterol, however, the excess circulates in the bloodstream and lines the inside of blood vessels.

Clogged blood vessels are easily blocked, leading to heart attacks and strokes.

Elevated levels of cholesterol result when a person has a genetic predisposition combined with a poor lifestyle (high fat diet, lack of exercise and obesity). About 70 percent of the problem is due to genetics, and 30 percent lifestyle.

You cannot feel high cholesterol and there are no symptoms, so the only way to know if your levels are elevated is by blood test. Doctors check cholesterol levels after you’ve fasted for 12 hours, measuring four parts: total, HDL, LDL and triglycerides.

HDL is known as the “good cholesterol” because it removes cholesterol from the bloodstream and stores it back in the liver. Having a high HDL (>60 mg/dl) is protective against blood vessel disease.

LDL is “bad cholesterol”, since 58 asialife HCMC

it is deposited along the insides of your blood vessels. LDL of greater than 160 mg/dl is a risk factor for disease.

Triglycerides represent free fat, broken down from the foods you eat, circulating in the blood stream. Levels greater than 150 mg/dl also contribute to blood vessel disease.

If you have a family history of heart attack, stroke or blood vessel disease, you should begin testing early at the age of 20. Everyone else should begin at 30 years of age and repeated yearly if elevated. If your levels are elevated, you can help to decrease them by eating a low cholesterol diet*, exercising and losing weight.

After trying for three to four months, the levels can be checked again. If the levels are still very high, the doctor will often begin medication to lower cholesterol.

Once you have blood vessel disease, it is difficult to reverse it, so an emphasis is placed on prevention. If you have already had a heart attack or stroke, it is even more important to keep the levels down to prevent progression of the disease.

Visit your doctor soon to find out your cholesterol status.

Begin eating a healthy diet and exercise to ensure yourself a healthy, long life free of excess cholesterol. *Nhs.uk/ipgmedia/national/ heart%20uk/assets/dietsheet. pdf Dr Claire Uebbing is a doctor at International SOS clininc in Phnom Penh.

Australian university located in District 7, offers a highly regarded MBA and undergraduate courses in various fields.

SmartKids 1172 Thao Dien Compound, D2 Tel: 3744 6076 26 Street 10, D2 Tel: 3898 9816 www.smartkidsinfo.com An international childcare centre that provides kindergarten and pre-school education for children aged between 18 months and 6 years. A fun and friendly environment, the school focuses on learning through play.

Saigon Star International School Residential Area No. 5, Thanh My Loi Ward, D2 Tel: 3742 STAR Fax: 3742 3222 enroll@saigonstarschool.edu.vn www.saigonstarschool.edu.vn Offers a British primary curriculum approved by Cambridge University and integrated Montessori programme for nursery and kindergarten. Qualified, experienced teachers and small class sizes cater to individual needs and abilities.

Saigon South International School Nguyen Van Linh Parkway, D7 Tel: 5413 0901 www.ssis.edu.vn An International school environment offering an American/international program in a large, spacious campus, to children from age 3 to grade 12. Great facilities, extra-curricular activities and internationally trained teachers giving unique opportunities to learn.

Singapore International School (SIS) No.29, Road No.3, Trung Son Residential Area, Hamlet 4, Binh Hung Ward, Binh Chanh District Tel: 5431 7477 The Manor, 91 Nguyen Huu Canh, Binh Thanh. Tel: 3514 3036

www.kinderworld.net Students play and learn in an environment where the best of Western and Eastern cultures amalgamate to prepare KinderWorld’s students for today’s challenging world drawn from both the Singapore and Australian curriculum. The school offers International Certifications such as the iPSLE, IGCSE and GAC.

ENTERTAINMENT

Gymboree Play & Music Somerset Chancellor Court 21-23 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, D1 Tel: 3827 7008 www.gymboreeclasses.com.vn The Gymboree Play & Music offers children from newborn to 5 years old the opportunity to explore, learn and play in an innovative parent-child programmes.

PARTIES

Beatrice’s Party Shop 235 Le Thanh Ton, D1 A lovely little shop selling everything you need to throw your little ones a good party. A catalogue of entertainers showcases a number of party favourites such as magicians, circuses and more.

Nguyen Ngoc Diem Phuong 131C Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, D1 A curious shop stocking a range of handmade fancy dress costumes such as masks, superman outfits and much more.

The stock changes seasonally, so this is a good place to stock up on Halloween, Christmas and other holiday-specific party costumes.

Bibi Clown - Chu he Bibi Tel: 0933 131 012 bibiclown.blogspot.com Does exactly as his name suggests.Great service has earned him a reputation for turning up almost instantly with a superb selection of balloons and games in both English and Vietnamese.

listings

living

11 Le Cong Kieu, D1 An authorized service centre for Nikon camera that also specializes in repairing all camera makes. Measurement equipment and spare parts also available.

Shop 46 46 Nguyen Hue, D1 Small shop run by photographer and collector. The owner’s more collectible pieces are pricey, but entry-level manual focus SLRs from the 70s and 80s are affordable.

COMPUTERS BUSINESS GROUPS

Computer Street Luong Huu Khanh, D1 between Nguyen Thi Minh Khai and Nguyen Trai This stretch of District 1 is literally wall to wall with small shops selling computers, printers, monitors and everything computer related, more so toward the NTMK end of the drag.

AusCham TV Building, Suite 1A, 31A Nguyen Dinh Chieu, D1 Tel: 3911 0272 / 73 / 74 www.auschamvn.org

iCenter 142A Vo Thi Sau, D3 Tel: 3820 3918 Professional, polished Apple retailer and repair centre with an attractive showroom featuring some of the latest in accessories and audio. English-speakers on staff.

Honours Apple service plans.

AmCham New World Hotel, 76 Le Lai, D1 Business Centre, Room 323 Tel: 3824 3562 www.amchamvietnam.com

British Business Group of Vietnam 25 Le Duan, D1 Tel: 3829 8430 execmgr@bbgv.org www.bbgv.org CanCham New World Hotel, 76 Le Lai, D1 Business Centre, Room 305 Tel: 3824 3754 www.canchamvietnam.org Citi Bank 115 Nguyen Hue St, D1 Tel: 3824 2118 Citibank Vietnam offers a wide range of banking services to both consumer and corpo-rate. Services include Corporate and Investment Banking, Global Transaction Services, and Consumer Banking.

In Vietnam for 15 years, Citibank has a presence in both HCMC and Hanoi.

Eurocham 257 Hoang Van Thu, Tan Binh Tel: 3845 5528 www.eurochamvn.org German Business Group 21-23 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, D1 www.gba-vietnam.org Singapore Business Group Unit 1B2, 21-23 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, D1 Tel: 3823 3046 www.sbghcmc.org Swiss Business Association 42 Giang Van Minh, Anh Phu, D2 Tel: 3744 6996 Fax: 3744 6990 Email: sba@hcm.vnn.vn www.swissvietnam.com Hong Kong Business Association New World Hotel, 76 Le Lai, D1 Business Centre, Room 322 Tel: 3824 3757 / 3822 8888 www.hkbav.com NordCham Bitexco Building, 19-25 Nguyen Hue, D1 Tel: 3821 5423 www.nordcham.com

CAMERAS

Hung Hai 75 Huynh Thuc Khang, D1 A good place to purchase hard-to-find gear and some rare equipment, mainly auto focus lenses.

Le Duc 5B Huynh Tinh Cua, D3 A shop for all your professional accessory needs. From lighting equipment to tripods and reflectors, the shop offers the best equipment and service in HCM City.

Pham The

Future World 240 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, D3 Authorized reseller of Apple computers and products, as well as some off-brand items like headphones. Excellent service and English-speaking staff. Accepts credit cards.

Phong Vu Computer 264C Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, D1 Tel: 3933 0762 www.vitinhphongvu.com The biggest and busiest of the PC stores in town. Known for good, efficient service, in-house maintenance and aftersales repair on the second floor.

SYS Vi Tinh Saigon 96C Nam Ky Khoi Nghia, D1 www.vtsaigon.com A superb place with an excellent reputation for after-sales service with competent English speaking staff and a wide range of products and services.

Freeware and shareware also available on the store website.

CONSULTING

Concetti 33 Dinh Tien Hoang, D1 Tel: 3911 1480 www.concetti-vn.com Consulting and research company for technology transfer and investment.

Embers Asia Ltd. 4th floor, 04 Nguyen Dinh Chieu, D1 Tel: 3822 4728 www.embers-asia.com As the first team building provider established in Vietnam, Embers specializes in making teams better in globally competitive markets. Embers' HR performance management services include: team building excursions, strategic planning retreats, conference facilitations and training workshops.

Ernst & Young Saigon Riverside Office Center, 2A-4A Ton Duc Thang, D1 Tel: 3824 5252 www.ey.com Professional service firm specializing in advisory, assurance, tax, transactions and strategic growth markets.

Grant Thornton Saigon Trade Centre, 37 Ton Duc Thang, D1 Tel: 3910 9100 www.gt.com.vn International business advisors specializing in auditing, management consulting, corporate finance, risk management and information technology.

IF Consulting IBC Building, 3rd Floor

By Greg Ohan

Neighbourhood Watch Office Space The Ho Chi Minh City skyline has featured a couple of very obvious white elephants since the first day I set foot in Vietnam three years ago. Projects like what was meant to be the exciting Le Meridien hotel and office development on Ton Duc Thang Street, and Saigon One, an office and apartment project at the foot of Khanh Hoi bridge at the border of Districts 1 and 4, may never see the light of day.

So while the cranes have gone down and those that remain resemble what was Beirut in the 1970s, it has left many with a misconception that in fact there is an over-supply of commercial office construction, which, to be honest, could not be further from the truth. Well, for the next 18 months anyway.

A failed legacy of what was the golden years of real estate saw tightened lending to the property sector off the back of skyrocketing inflation in 2011.

This put a freeze on developers and their access to cash, which meant projects literally stopped dead in their tracks.

So as the bills came in, the developers could no longer pay and the cobwebs began to gather.

As a result, what then transpired, at least in the office development market, was very limited new supply of office space availability and rising demand from companies already in Vietnam that continued to grow.

Today in Ho Chi Minh City, only five Grade A buildings can provide over 1,000 sqm of contiguous space in one row, which has put considerable pressure on office rental levels.

Hence no surprise that after Myanmar and Singapore, Ho Chi Minh City is in third place as one of the most expensive office markets in Southeast Asia.

So what does this all mean for you white-collar folks out there? If you have an office, are looking for one, or just want to get in the good books of your CFO, plan ahead. At least until next year there will be very limited office space availability.

The decision you make now will affect your operations and bottom line. The longer you leave it, the fewer options to choose from and the more expensive you can expect office space to become. So while we are now seeing construction speeding up for many projects that were eyesores, the progress will take time. At least for the next year and a half, expect to see more cranes, trucks and construction sites.

We are on the long road back to real estate recovery but there will be speed bumps along the way.

Greg Ohan is the national director of CBRE, a Fortune 500 real estate services provider.

Email your questions to greg. ohan@cbre.com or visit Cbrevietnam.com. asialife HCMC 59

1A Me Linh Square, D1 4th Floor, 5 Ba Trieu Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi Tel: 3827 7362 Fax: 3827 7361 Email: pascal@insuranceinvietnam.com Private insurance and finance.

Indochine Councel Han Nam Building, 65 Nguyen Du, D1 Tel: 3823 9640 www.indochinecounsel.com Business law firm specializing in legal services to corporate clients in relation to their business and investment in Vietnam.

By Elizabeth Png

HOME IMPROVEMENT Feng Shui for the New Year It’s 2014, and a new set of energies, or qi, are flowing into homes. Practising the ancient art of feng shui involves adjusting your surroundings to encourage the flow of positive energies into your environment. With the beginning of the new year, it’s time to take a look at optimising your home to receive these new energies.

Clean up and out Decluttering the home doesn’t just have positive effects on your feng shui, but benefits you physically and psychologically, too.

The entrance to the home is important for inviting in both guests and positive energies, so try to avoid the clutter of shoes, umbrellas, keys and other items near the door.

Invest in storage cabinets if needed, and put out some plants if there is space. This gives people a sense of welcoming and happiness as they enter.

Another significant part of the home is the dining area, which should feel spacious, clean and inviting in order to ensure a good flow of qi within the house. Any knick-knacks should be kept in the living room.

The stove area in the kitchen is an especially important area. It represents health and well-being for every inhabitant of the home, so it needs to be kept clean and shiny at all times. The surface of Electrolux Brio’s range of cooking hobs is made of safety glass, which makes it easy to clean 60 asialife HCMC

with a damp cloth. The Brio’s Easy Fit brass caps also make taking out and cleaning the various parts of the burner a breeze.

Leave the space in front of desks free of clutter, with plenty of space for arms and elbows. Stacks of papers or books on a workspace can be obstacles to positive qi entering the space, so clear it out.

Look to the southwest Try to focus on the southwest in 2014 for overall success.

Favourable energies are concentrated in this direction for the year. Encouraging the right energies here will strengthen your fortunes in health, wealth and relationships.

Metal and water feng shui elements are favourable in the southwest direction this year, with good colours being black, blue, charcoal gray and white. Versatile appliances like the Electrolux Ergorapido are made to be displayed, and come in a variety of colours.

This makes them suitable for storing and charging in the southwest part of the home.

Avoid having fire, wood or earth elements and colours in this area; this includes red, purple, hot pink and orange.

Water elements like miniature fountains or images of aquatic animals can help this year.

Elizabeth Png is the brand and consumer communications director for Electrolux Vietnam.

She can be contacted at elizabeth.png-reade@electrolux. com.

Inspired Image 42/2A Ho Hao Hon, D1 Tel: 091 635 2573 www.inspiredimage.co.uk Image consultant and personal stylist.

Previous clients include business leaders, TV presenters and busy professionals.

International Management Initiative for Vietnam (IMIV) info@imiv.org www.imiv.org The International Management Initiative for Vietnam (IMIV), a non-profit initiative within VinaCapital Foundation that promotes excellence in business leadership and management by bringing to Vietnam proven international executive education and professional development programmes.

Kiko Flame OIIC Building, 248-250 Nguyen Dinh Chieu, D3 Tel: 0902 636 950 www.ngonluakiko.com Recently established graphic design studio employing highly skilled, well disciplined artists, graphic designers and web developers. We specialize in creative design for print media and web, offering you reliable and very affordable design services.

Phuong Nguyen Consulting TPC Business Center, 92-96 Nguyen Hue, D1 Tel: 3829 2391 www.pnp-consulting.com Specializing in business facilitation, conferences, education counselling, market-entry research and IT/business consulting.

TMF Vietnam Company Limited Unit 501, 5th Floor, Saigon Trade Center 37 Ton Duc Thang, D1 Tel: 3910 2262 ext. 113 Fax: 3910 0590 www.tmf-group.com With headquarters in Amsterdam and Rotterdam, TMF Vietnam specializes in accounting outsourcing and consulting.

Total Wealth Management 66/11 Pham Ngoc Thach, D3 Tel: 3820 0623 www.t-wm.com Specialists in selecting and arranging tax-efficient savings and pension plans for expatriates. Offers councel on private banking services, wealth protection in offshore jurisdictions, currency risks and hedging strategies.

Towers Watson Vietnam (formerly Watson Wyatt and SMART HR) Sun Wah Tower, 115 Nguyen Hue, Suite 808, D1 Tel: 3821 9488 Global HR consulting firm specializing in executive compensation, talent management, employee rewards and surveys, HR effectiveness and technology, data services and total rewards surveys.

DECOR

Antique Street Le Cong Kieu Street, D1 between Nguyen Thai Binh and Pho Duc Chinh A variety of antiques and faux antiques from Thailand, China and Vietnam

including silverware, compasses, lighters, brass knockers, urns, vases, abacuses, religious and pagan statues, candlestick holders, furniture and watches.

Aquarium Street Nguyen Thong Street, D3 between Vo Thi Sau and Ly Chinh Thang Dedicated street has everything one needs to display fish: tanks, decor, feed, filters and the fish themselves.

Budget Housewares Street Corner of Pasteur and Nguyen Dinh Chieu Stock up on shower heads, kitchen supplies (juicer, spatula, grater, etc.), coat racks, clothes hangers, pots, pans, champagne flutes, bowls, coolers, trash bins, ironing boards, magazine racks and the like.

Chau Loan 213 Dong Khoi, D1 Tel: 3825 7991 Gallery based in a colonial shophouse stocking mainly Vietnamese-themed oil paintings and images of Buddha. Also deals in better-known reproductions.

Decosy 112 Xuan Thuy, D2 Tel: 6281 9917 Producer of a large selection of European styled furniture and interior fittings, specializing in wrought iron and patine (distressed) wood finishes. Also stocks a wide-range of decorative accessories, crockery and fixtures. Custom design services available upon request.

Dogma 175 De Tham, D1 Tel: 3836 0488 www.dogmavietnam.com Located upstairs from Saigon Kitsch, this art gallery deals in Vietnamese propaganda posters, apparel, accessories and random paraphernalia. Large prints are sold at USD $60 each and small prints cost $25.

Minh Boutique 15 Nguyen Thiep, D1 Lacquerware pieces, tea boxes, teapot warmers, ice buckets and sake drinking sets all handmade in Vietnam. Also sells a range of silverware, egg holders and ice tongs.

OUT-2 STUDIO L6 Fafilm annex 6 Thai Van Lung, D1 Tel: 3825 6056 STUDIO@OUT-2.com www.out-2.com Studio space for independent designers to showcas their wares, sell their work and meet with clients. Open Monday t Saturday 10 am to 6 pm.

Phuong Mai 213C Dong Khoi www.phuongmai-gallery.com Gallery specializing in original oils by Vietnamese artists. The works here are a mish-mash of styles but do contain some standouts, particularly well-known local artists La Hon, Quy Tam and Pham Trinh.

Sapa 125 Ho Tung Mau, D1 Offers a better selection of hill tribe handicrafts than most of its rivals.

Concentrates mainly on the hand-woven clothing of the indigenous tribespeople of the region. There is also a line in ladies’ shoes and the standard range of silk wraps and bags.

Unity 12 Dang Tran Con, D1 Tel: 3823 9375 info@unitycompany.com www.facebook.com/unitycompany Located opposite Galaxy cinema, Unity offers accessories that are designed to seamlessly blend in with your life. Familiar basics are given a contemporary update with the use of modern, alternative materials like silicone, rubber, and brushed aluminum. From orbital lamps and eggshell-white china, to wire-clasped water bottles, each individual piece complements the others in the collection

to give your home a sense of Unity.

ELECTRONICS

Hi End Audio 84 Ho Tung Mau, D1 A standout that stocks the very latest and greatest in home entertainment.

Retails in everything from giant plasmascreen TVs to audio equipment. Most top brands are available. iDEAS Shopping Centre 133-141AB Cach Mang Thang Tam, D3 The largest of the electonics stores along the street, the three-storey iDEAS sells every type of electronic and home appliance imaginable. Offers proper warranties. Staff speaks some English.

Nguyen Kim Shopping Centre 63-65 Tran Hung Dao, D1 Tel: 3821 1211 www.nguyenkim.com Stocks DVD/CD players, cameras, TVs, hi-fis and more from Sony, Sanyo, Panasonic, Philips and other major manufacturers. Also a good place to pick up electronic kitchen supplies like coffee makers and rice cookers, as well as large and small appliances, from hot water heaters to regrigerators.

Phong Vu 125 Cach Mang Thang Tam, D1 Tel: 6290 8777 www.vitinphongvu.com Two-storey electronics store retails in international products conveniently grouped by brand. Carries computers, home audio, printers, hard drives and more, as well as a variety of mobile phones, handheld electronic devices and accessories.

Savico 117 Ho Tung Mau, D1 Tel: 3821 7993 One-stop electronics and home appliance superstore. All products have a one to three-year warranty.

Tech Street Huynh Thuc Khang Street between Ton That Dam and Nguyen Hue, D1 Sells compact discs, DVDs, electronic money counters, video games and systems, Discmans, mp3 players and portable DVD players.

FURNITURE

Appeal 41 Ton That Thiep, D1 Tel: 3821 5258 A small, upscale shop that offers modern accents for the sleek dining room. The colours of the over-sized vases and fruit bowls are either glistening red or lacquered black.

AustinHome 20 Thao Dien, D2 Tel: 3519 0023 Outstanding quality and style for your home. The shop says its products are hand-picked by an American furniture expert from the best factories in Vietnam.

Upholstery, accessories, antiques and more.

Catherine Denoual 15C Thi Sach, D1 Tel: 3823 9394 Beautiful showroom with clean lines and a sumptuous array of bedroom products including bedside lamps, linens, pillowcases and duvet covers.

Decosy 112 Xuan Thuy, D2 Tel: 6281 9917 Producer of a large selection of European styled furniture and interior fittings, specializing in wrought iron and patine (distressed) wood finishes. Also stocks a wide-range of decorative accessories, crockery and fixtures. Custom design services available upon request.

Esthetic 11 Nguyen Huu Canh, Binh Thanh Tel: 3514 7371/7372 Fax: 3514 7370 esthetic@vnn.vn www.estheticfurnishing.com.vn Design and manufacture as order with a mixture of antique and modern furniture.

Friendly staff speak excellent English.

Furniture Outlet 3A Ton Duc Thang, D1 Tel: 2243 7955/3911 0104 Wide selection of well-crafted and carefully constructed pine wood pieces at good prices, aimed at customers craving a taste of Europe.

Furniture Street Ngo Gia Tu, D10 between Ly Thai To and Nguyen Chi Thanh Very affordable furniture can be found on this stretch: couches, mattresses, desks, chairs, etc. It often takes some looking to find a gem. A connected sidestreet, Ba Hat, features woodworkers’ shops.

Gaya 1 Nguyen Van Trang, D1 Tel: 3925 1495 www.gayavietnam.com Four-floor store featuring the work of foreign designers: home accessories and outdoor furniture by Lawson Johnston, linens by Corinne Leveilley-Dadda, furniture and lighting by Quasar Khanh, laquerware decor by Michele De Albert and furniture and decor by vivekkevin.

LINH‘S WHITE

37 Thao Dien, D2 Tel: 6281 9863 Furniture shop that focuses on solid wood furniture and decorative items ranging from pillows and lamps to bedding. Also offers kids’ furniture and custom pieces.

Rare Decor 41 Hai Ba Trung, D1 Tel: 3822 2284 137/1 Nguyen Huu Canh, Binh Thanh Tel: 3840 6304/5 Leading home furnishings company in

asialife HCMC 61

Vietnam, supplying high quality, unique products. Also offer custom made furniture, accessories and lighting for commercial projects and home use.

The Furniture Warehouse 3B Ton Duc Thang, D1 Tel: 6657 0788 namtran121@yahoo.com, ttpnam@ webtnl.com Offers a range of reasonably priced Italian, European and French colonial sofas, indoor/outdoor wooden furniture, lighting and interior décor, as well as custom designs based on clients’ specifications.

By Gary Woolacott

People matter Customer Service Gone Wrong A couple of months ago I arranged to meet a friend at a new hotel bar. I arrived on time, the space looked good and the views were stunning. It was empty, being only 6pm, and there were plenty of staff. Things looked promising.

I chose my spot and one of the staff came over with three menus: beers, cocktails and wine. I explained that I was waiting for someone and that we would have one drink By now my friend had texted saying he would be late. Beer didn’t appeal, cocktails looked too fancy, so I decided on a glass of wine. But the wine menu was empty, the pages had fallen out. I sat patiently for a few minutes with all the menus closed until one of the staff came over. I showed her the inside of the menu and asked for another. I might as well have been asking her to fly to the moon: it took a couple of minutes to get the message across.

Eventually I was presented with another menu, with details of the wine on offer, except that it was only bottles. I waited again for a staff member to reappear.

During this whole exchange, about eight staff members gathered around the bar getting a pep talk from the manager. Remember, I’m still the only customer, so I asked to speak with him.

I explained to the manager that I wanted a glass of 62 asialife HCMC

wine, but since I had been there 15 minutes and had yet to be given an appropriate menu, I wouldn’t bother.

I thanked him for his time and said I was hoping my complaint would encourage them to improve. He listened politely, apologised and asked for my business card. Oh, I thought, he’s going to send me an email tomorrow saying sorry, and asking me to come back again. But no email, nothing.

That manager totally failed on service recovery.

A quick thinker would have offered me a glass of wine then and there and fetched it himself. Instead, I’m left disappointed at having wasted my time. Yes, this is very small in the overall scheme of life, but if a hotel bar can’t serve a customer with a glass of wine in a timely manner, what incentive do I have to go back or recommend it?

The same goes for any business. There are so many options these days and if you’re in the service industry (as we are) then you need to make sure you are at the top of your game or you are going to miss out on customers.

Gary Woollacott is the CEO of Opus executive search in Vietnam and Thailand. He can be reached at +84 8 3827 8209 or via gary@ opusasia.net. Opus is a partner of Horton International.

The Lost Art 31 Nguyen Cong Tru, D1 Tel: 3829 0134 Extensive product range as well as comprehensive interior design service, from initial conceptualization to design, manufacture and installation of unique products.

LEGAL

Allens Arthur Robinson Saigon Tower, 29 Le Duan, D1 Tel: 3822 1717 www.vietnamlaws.com Australian law firm for law translation services and legal advice on foreign investment and business in Vietnam.

Baker & McKenzie Saigon Tower, 29 Le Duan, D1 Tel: 3829 5585 www.bakernet.com International law firm providing on-theground liaison and support services to clients interested in investigating, negotiating and implementing projects in Vietnam.

Frasers International Saigon Centre, 65 Le Loi, D1 Tel: 3824 2733 www.frasersvn.com Full service commercial law firm providing international and Vietnamese legal advice to both foreign and local clients specializing in transactions in Vietnam.

Indochine Counsel Han Nam Building, 65 Nguyen Du, D1 Tel: 3823 9640 www.indochinecounsel.com Business law practitioners specializing in mergers & acquistions, inward investment, and securities & capital markets.

Phillips Fox Saigon Tower, 29 Le Duan, D1 Tel: 3822 1717 Full service law firm providing legal services in healthcare, education, crime, banking and hospitality among others.

Pricewaterhousecoopers Legal Saigon Tower, 29 Le Duan, D1 Tel: 3823 0796 www.pwc.com/vn Part of a network of international legal and financial advisors, PWC gives both specialist and general legal advice with a focus on mutli-territory projects.

Rödl & Partner Somerset Chancellor Court 21-23 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, D1 Tel: 3824 4225 www.roedl.com European legal firm assisting foreign investors with structuring/establishing companies, investment projects, and mergers & acquistions.

LIGHTING

Luxury Light 1483 My Toan 1, Nguyen Van Linh, Phu My Hung, D7 For those who really want to bring a touch of luxury to their homes, this place deals with Italian imported lighting from the ultra - modern to the traditional Murano style chandeliers. Extremely expensive reflecting the quality of the design and workmanship.

Mosaique 98 Mac Thi Buoi, D1 One of the best and most diverse selections of lamps in town with everything from the ordinary decorative lotus silk lamp to more inventive and original designs in lacquer and silk.

MOTORBIKES

Automotive Street Ly Thai To Street, D10 starting at Dien Bien Phu and running southeast Services include mending motorbike seats and sound system installation.

Products range from zebra print motorbike seat covers to car and motorbike tyres, hubcaps, rims, subwoofers and sound systems by Xplode.

Bike City 480D Nguyen Thi Thap, D7 Luxury motorcycle shop carries a range of accessories, including apparel. Sells Vemar helmets, a brand that passes rigorous European Union standards.

Protec Helmets 18bis/3A Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, D1 248C Phan Dinh Phung, Phu Nhuan 417B Nguyen Dinh Chieu, D3 American nonprofit manufacturer makes helmets with densely compressed polystyrene shell with ABS, PVC or fiberglass exterior, available with polycarbonate shatter-proof shield. Options for kids.

Zeus Helmets Founded in Taiwan to manufacture cool, comfortable helmets that meet worldwide safety standards. Basic models feature thermo-injected shells constructed from lightweight ABS composite with interiors lined with moisture-absorbant brushed nylon. Shops selling authentic Zeus helmets are located on Pham Hong Thai near Ben Thanh Market.

REAL ESTATE

Ava Residence 40/10 Nguyen Van Huong, Thao Dien, D2 Tel: 6281 8440 www.avaresidence.com Modern serviced apartments located 5 minutes from the British International School and Australian International School. Affords a great view over the Saigon River. Many facilities available including a swimming pool, Jacuzzi and gym.

CB Richard Ellis Me Linh Point Tower, 2 Ngo Duc Ke, D1 Tel: 3824 6125 www.cbre.com International property consultants and developers with both commercial and private properties for sale, lease and rent.

Diamond Plaza 34 Le Duan Street Tel: 3822 1922 lntdung@diamondplaza.com.vn Located in the heart of District 1, connected to Diamond PLaza. Services 1- to 4-bedroom apartments with gym, swimming pool and panoramic views of the city.

EasySaigon.com www.easysaigon.com Real estate website helps expats find apartments in HCMC. InterContinental Asiana Saigon Residences Corner of Hai Ba Trung & Nguyen Du, D1 Tel: 3520 8888 saigon@interconti.com www.intercontinental.com/saigonres Contemporary residential space in the heart of the major business and cultural area in District 1. There are 260 one, two or three-bedroom units plus health club and outdoor swimming pool.

Namhouse Corporation

48A Tran Ngoc Dien, Thao Dien, D2 Tel: 0989 007 700 www.namhouse.com.vn Provides rental properties, construction services and interior decorating.

Supports professional services and after-sales.

Thao Dien Village 195 Nguyen Van Huong, D2 Tel. 3744 2222 A riverside complex of international-standard hospitality and F&B outlets with a boutique hotel, four restaurants featuring Italian, Thai, Japanese and Vietnamese cuisine, an event house, meeting rooms and a day spa with well-equipped health-club.

Diamond Island Luxury Residences No 01 – Street No.104BTT, Quarter 3, Binh Trung Tay Ward, District 2, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam T: (84) 968 293 388 / 3742 5678 F: (84-8) 3742 3232) www.the-ascott.com Diamond Island Luxury Residences offers 68 fully-furnished apartments, ranging from two- to four-bedroom units with private balconies providing panoramic views of the stunning surroundings in one of the most spectacular sceneries in the city. Each apartment comes with a fully-equipped kitchen, en-suite bathrooms, separate work and living areas.

Each lavish space features plush interiors, modern amenities, elegant furnishings and carefully chosen trimmings and fixtures, creating a luxurious harmony of comfort and sensorial tranquility that will have you relaxed and recharged, and functioning at peak performance.

Savills Viet Nam Level 18, Fideco Tower, 81-85 Ham Nghi, D1 Tel: 823 9205 www.savills.com.vn Savills Viet Nam is a property service

provider that has been established in Vietnam since 1995 offering research, advisory services, residential sales, commercial leasing, asset management, retail advisory, valuation, investment advisory and more.

Sherwood Residence 127 Pasteur St., D3 Tel: 3823 2288 Fax: 3823 9880 Hotline: 0917470058 leasing@sherwoodresidence.com www.sherwoodresidence.com Sherwood Residence is a luxury serviced apartment property and the first property certified by the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism. Modern living spaces meet prime location, comfort and class with 5-star facilities and service.

Snap Tel: 0989 816 676 www.snap.com.vn Online Real Estate service providing information on rental properties exclusively in District 2. Full listings online.

RECRUITMENT

First Alliances #609, Saigon Trade Center 37 Ton Duc Thang, D1 Tel: 3910 2080 Fax: 3910 2079 www.firstalliances.net cv@firstalliances.net As Vietnam’s most established recruitment consultancy, First Alliances operates across all major industry sectors and at all levels of seniority. Also providing HR outsourcing solutions for staffing and payroll,overseas employment and education services.

Navigos Group 130 Suong Nguyet Anh, D1 Tel: 3825 5000 www.navigosgroup.com Recruitment agency offering a complete

Being there, or being ‘there’ Crown’s people are always with you.

Preparing you before you go, and helping you settle‐in when you arrive.

Relocating should be exciting and rewarding for everyone.

Our experience and knowledge of worldwide relocations, is shared by all our people in more than 200 locations.

Ho Chi Minh City Tel: +84 8 3840 4237 hochiminhcity@crownrelo.com Da Nang Tel: +84 908 426 427 danang@crownrelo.com Hanoi Tel:+84 4 3936 6742 hanoi@crownrelo.com

And we’ll always be there to help you get the most from your relocation.

Go knowing

www.crownrelo.com/vietnam

portfolio of HR services including executive search, HR advisory, training, online recruitment, and print recruitment advertising.

Opus Vietnam 5F, Vitic Building 6B Nguyen Thanh Y, D1 Tel: 3827 8209 www.opusasia.net Established in HCMC in 2005, Opus services local and multinational companies seeking to recruit high quality personnel.

An Associate of Horton International, one of the world’s leading search groups with over 30 offices worldwide. For more info contact info@opusasia.net.

Smart HR Capital Place Building, Suite 601, 6 Thai Van Lung, D1 Tel: 3823 5828 www.smarthrvietnam.com Human resource consultants specialising in job search and selection, and human resource management.

TMF Vietnam Saigon Trade Center, Unit 2811, 37 Ton Duc Thang, D1 Tel: 3910 9229 / 9222 hang.bui@tmf-group.com www.tmf-group.com With more than 3,300 professionals working out of 86 offices in 65 countries, TMF provides independent accounting and corporate secretarial services to companies worldwide.

Vietnamworks.com 130 Suong Nguyet Anh, D1 Tel: 5404 1373 www.vietnamworks.com Excellent section on advice for jobseekers focusing on topics such as resume writing, cover letters, interview technique and more.

RELOCATION AGENTS Crown Worldwide Movers

48A Huynh Man Dat, Binh Thanh Tel: 3823 4127 www.crownrelo.com hochiminhcity@crownrelo.com Not just International or local moving and storage. Crown Relocations offer a wide range of services including orientations, immigration, home search, intercultural training through to pet relocation. Call the team on the above number and check out our website for more information.

UTS Saigon Van Intl’ Relocations 1st Fl, 214 Nguyen Van Huong, D2 Tel: 3744 7102 www.saigonvan.com Full service relocating agency with warehousing, handyman, insurance & claim, orientation an partner career support services also availble.

Santa Fe Relocation Services 8th floor, Thien Son Building, 5 Nguyen Gia Thieu, D3 Tel: 3933 0065 www.santaferelo.com info@santaferelo.com.vn With over 150 offices around world, Santa Fe offers local & international moving, pet transportation, relocation services including home search, orientation, cultural training, immigration & records management.

STATIONERY

Pi-Channel 45B Le Thanh Ton, D1 Tel: 3822 0253 www.pi-channel.com Boutique shop carries up-market collections of pens and notepads, as well as desktop organisers, clocks, calendars and frames. Corporate services offered.

Stationary and Printing Street Ly Thai To Street, D3 More than 25 stores providing photocopying services, from business cards to flyers and colour prints to invitations.

listings

fashion By Christina Yu

FASHION RULES Mixing Colours When I was flipping through all the latest fashion magazines recently, I noticed that colours are key for this upcoming spring summer collection.

Chanel has its classic black and white, and everything from mixing pastels and clashing bright colours seem to be all the rage from clothes to accessories. So, are there any rules as to what colours should or should not be mixed?

One colour combo that is frowned upon, but shouldn't be is brown and black. People disliked it in the ‘50s or ’80s, when power dressing was in fashion. Remember the movie Aviator? A symbol of the elite class was that everything worn is supposed to revolve around one colour. In most cases, it indicates wealth, since one has the power to buy the whole set of everything in one colour and it will look good.

But actually black and brown are the Bonnie and Clyde of today’s fashion, especially for fall/winter. It is one of the most common colour combinations you will see on the catwalks.

Similarly, black and navy, traditionally a no-no, are now a red-carpet favourite, thanks in part to the recent collection of LOEWE. One of their key items on the FW 2013 runway is a leather patchwork top in black, navy and cream. The colour combination of black and navy is now seen as opulent and quirky.

If black indeed goes with everything, what about bright colours such as red and 64 asialife HCMC

pink, or red with orange, or even red and green? One is not supposed to wear these clashing colours, but in today’s fashion — where the emphasis is on individuality, quirkiness and eccentricity — very few people actually adhere to the rules anymore. Wearing clashing colours can be a fashion statement if the mix and the styling are right. For a fashion amateur, the safe course is to wear contrasting colours with similar hues and tones to avoid looking like a clown.

The same goes for bags and shoes. The days of matching sets are gone; the look is too ‘contrived’ and it gives the impression you are trying too hard. The best way to get it right is to pick a colour in your outfit and to match it with your shoes or bag, but never both. Women’s bags come in all sorts of crazy colours, fabrics and sizes now, so it is too hard to get complementing shoes anyway.

If there is only one element in your outfit you should match, it is your jewelry.

Experts say to never mix silver and gold jewelry and that it is much better to stick with one metal for your earrings and your necklaces. Otherwise it just reminds us of too much tinsel on a Christmas tree.

Christina Yu is the creative director and founder of Ipa-Nima, an award-winning accessories brand. Email your questions to Christina@ipanima.com or visit Ipa-nima. com.

ACCESSORIES

Accessorize Vincom Center, 70/72 Le Thanh Ton, D1 www.monsoon.co.uk/icat/accessorize Fashion-forward accessories including necklaces, handbags, wallets, flip-flops, sunglasses, hair accessories, belts and more.

Banana 128 Ly Tu Trong, D1 Women’s accessories and more, from bags, clutches and belts to clothes and jewellery, all at reasonable prices.

Coconut 100 Mac Thi Buoi, D1 Bags of all shapes and sizes rule the roost in this small shop. Made of silk and embroidered to the brim, these unique bags start at about USD $30, and many are suitable for both day and night.

Creation 105 Dong Khoi, D1 Tel: 3829 5429 A two-storey shop selling scarves, intricate handbags (from USD $30), tailormade silk dresses and tops. Has a wide range of materials on the second floor.

Ipa-Nima 71 Pasteur, D1 Tel: 3824 3652 77 Dong Khoi, D1 Well-known Hanoi-based fashion brand.

Founder Christina Yu is a former lawyer turned designer who produces eclectic and eye-catching handbags. Also stocks costume jewellery and shoes.

Laura V Signature 11 Dong Du, D1 Tel: 7304 4126 www.laurav.net Vintage designs aplenty with everything from jewellery and hair accessories to funky styled sunglasses, umbrellas and colourful maxi dresses.

Louis Vuitton Opera View, 161 Dong Khoi, D1 Tel: 3827 6318 Designer brand name housing traditional craftsmanship of luxury leather goods for men and women. An array of bags, wallets, cuff links and watches are available.

Mai O Mai 4C Dong Khoi, D1 Tel: 3829 4007 A superb little place with beautiful jewellery and accessories to suit all budgets.

Silver necklaces, bracelets, rings and more in both classic and imaginative designs, as well as gorgeous handembroidered bags.

Mont Blanc Diamond Plaza, 34 Le Duan Notable for fine writing instruments, Mont Blanc also houses cuff links and other male accessories Scorpion Vincom Center B1, 70 - 72 Le Thanh Ton, D1 Tel: 3993 9889 www.scorpionbag.com Selling high-end leather products for both men and women, including shoes, handbags, belts and other accessories.

Features a variety of leather in bright colors and styles.

Umbrella 35 Ly Tu Trong, D1 and 4 Le Loi, D1 Tel: 6276 2730 www.umbrella-fashion.com Sophisticated boutique showcasing a diverse range of imported women’s accessories. Also houses women’s garments from office wear to cocktail and party creations.

ACTIVE WEAR

Roxy and Quiksilver Parkson Plaza, 39-45 Le Thanh Ton, D1 The original active living and extreme sports brands, Roxy and Quiksilver products combine form and function. Choose from outdoor gear to cool indoor clothes.

TBS Sports Centre 102 Nguyen Van Troi, Phu Nhuan This store stocks a range of good sports clothes and equipment from big name brands such as Puma, Adidas, Ecco, Nike and Converse.

Volcom Diamond Plaza, 34 Le Duan, D1 Chic and funky ladies’ apparel brand from America. Lots of tank tops, minis and shorts for day tripping with girlfriends or lazing on the beach.

READY TO WEAR unisex

FCUK 127 Le Thanh Ton, D1 Diamond Plaza, 34 Le Duan, D1 Saigon Centre, 65 Le Loi, D1 Vincom Center, 70/72 Le Thanh Ton, D1 Tel: 3914 7740 www.frenchconnection.com Trendy UK brand with a selection of fashion-forward dresses for women and smart workwear and funky casual wear for men, all at middle-market prices.

Ginkgo Concept Store 254 De Tham, D1 Tel: 0905 493 148 www.gingko-vietnam.com A unique shopping space that offers an original and creative mix of made-inVietnam clothing from local designers, artisans and brands that stay true to the company’s environmentally friendly principles.

L’Usine 151/1 Dong Khoi, D1 Lifestyle store and cafe housed in a period building restored to evoke the aesthetic of an early 20th-century garment factory. Carries an exclusive, frequently refreshed line of imported men’s and women’s fashion, including T-shirts and footwear, and a range of unique accessories. Entrance via the street-level Art Arcade.

Runway Vincom Center, 70/72 Le Thanh Ton, D1 Tel: 3993 9988 runway.sg@global-fashion.vn Massive and minimalist design-led interior lets ultra high-end designer garments stand out. Carries men's, women's and children’s clothing, swimwear, shoes, accessories along with home décor. Brands include Chloe, Marc Jacobs, Balenciaga, Sergio Rossi and Eres.

Versace 26 Dong Khoi Designer brand in men’s formal wear.

Houses suit jackets and trousers, shirts as well as an array of men’s accessories.

Also stocks womens clothing and shoes.

men

Lucas 69A Ly Tu Trong, D1 Tel: 3827 9670 Fashion store housing contemporary designs in casual, office and evening wear imported from Hong Kong.

Massimo Ferrari 42-A1 Tran Quoc Thao, D3 Tel: 3930 6212

Bespoke menswear shop also boasts its own brand of contemporary preppy attire tailored for the tropics. Carries a line of European-quality shoes, bags and accessories designed in-house, as well as exclusive Orobianco unisex bags, designer fragrances and eyewear.

Timberland Parkson Plaza, 39-45 Le Thanh Ton, D1 Sells everything the brand is known for, from heavy-duty boots to tops and trousers that are both smart and casual.

The emphasis is on muted tones and unobtrusive logos for men who don’t like to show off.

women BCBG MAXAZRIA Vincom Center, 70/72 Le Thanh Ton, D1 American brand sells women’s day dresses and tops, evening gowns and wear-to-work attire in many prints and colours. Also carries a small selection of accessories, sunglasses and watches.

ER-Couture Boutique 43 Thao Dien, D2 Tel: 3744 2411 www. er-couture.com erolskov@er-couture.com Exclusive Scandinavian brand offering designer garments. Versatile fashion for women in European sizes 34-44. Each style is released in limited quantities and can be tailored to individual taste.

Esprit 58 Dong Khoi, D1 Outpost for the international brand of colourful, preppy men’s and women’s casual wear.

Geisha Boutique 85 Pasteur, D1 Tel: 3829 4004 enquiry@geishaclothing.com Facebook: Geisha Boutique Australian fashion label offering a contemporary range of casual and evening wear with an Asian influence. Printed tees, singlets, shorts, skirts, jeans, summer scarves, dresses, silk camisoles and satin maxi dresses.

Mango 96 Mac Thi Buoi, D1 Tel: 3824 6624 Saigon Centre, 65 Le Loi, D1 Vincom Center, 70/72 Le Thanh Ton, D1 A favourite with fashion-conscious women, this mid-range store stocks clothes from simple tees and jeans to evening wear.

Marc Jacobs Rex Hotel, 155 Nguyen Hue , D1 Tel: 6291 3580 This spacious shop with high-ceilings carries up-market clothes, shoes and accessories from the internationally recognized designer brand.

Valenciani Saigon Centre, 65 Le Loi, D1 Tel: 3821 2788 66-68 Nguyen Trai, D1 Tel: 7302 4688 valenciani.sg@gmail.com www.valenciani.com Homegrown luxury boutique carries silk dresses, velvet corsets, chiffon shawls and a range of accessories, all designed in-house.

SHOES

Aldo 157 Dong Khoi, D1 Offering a wide selection of affordable footwear from mid- to high-range prices.

Carries office-appropriate and partyready heels and flats, as well as a range of accessories and bags.

Charles & Keith 10 Mac Thi Buoi, 18-20 Nguyen Trai Tel: 3925 1132 Vincom Center, 70/72 Le Thanh Ton, D1 www.charleskeith.com Singapore brand housing youthful and trendy shoes of a contemporary, high fashion design.

Converse 186 Hai Ba Trung, D1 148 Nguyen Trai, D1 122 Ba Thang Hai, D10 Tel: 3827 5584 www.converse.com.vn Sells iconic Chuck Taylor, Jack Purcell and All-Star sneakers and Converse brand clothing and accessories. Also at department stores around HCMC. Dr. Marten’s 173 Hai Ba Trung, D3 Tel: 3822 4710 Air Wair sandals and shoes here feature the classic yellow stitching and chunky rubber soles. Also stocked with clothes and accessories by Replay and Kappa tracksuit tops.

Footwear Street Ho Xuan Huong Street, D3 between Cach Mang Thang Tam and Ba Huyen Thanh Quan Le Thi Hong Gam in D1 between Pho Duc Chinh and Calmette Selection ranges from leather loafers to plastic thongs and everything in between.

Nine West Saigon Centre, 65 Le Loi, D1 Vincom Center, 70/72 Le Thanh Ton, D1 Stocks an extensive range of designer footwear for women. Handpicked by a global community of independent trendsetters and stylists.

Sergio Rossi 146AB Pasteur, D1 Rex Hotel, 141 Nguyen Hue, D1 World-renowned Italian brand stocks a diverse European-style collection of upmarket shoes and bags made of quality materials, from crocodile and python skin laterals to garnishings of Swarovski crystals and colourful beads.

Star Polo 97B Nguyen Trai, D1 Mix of imported shoes and locally made footwear crafted from Australian leather for men and women as well as imported ones. Sizes from 38 to 42 for men, and from 34 to 40 for women.

TAILORS

Dieu Thanh 140 Pasteur, D1 Tel: 3824 5851 www.dieuthanh.com Experienced tailor shop specializes in swimwear and cotton clothing, as well as business suits, evening dresses, luxury fabrics and accessories.

Dzung 221 Le Thanh Ton, D1 One of the most reliable and respected men’s tailors in town with prices and production time to reflect the quality of the workmanship. Shirts start from US $30.

Fabric Street Hai Ba Trung, D1 across the street from Tan Dinh Market.

Spools upon spools of fabric manufatured locally and abroad, with more than ample variety of textures, colours and materials to choose from.

Massimo Ferrari 42-A1 Tran Quoc Thao, D3 Tel: 3930 6212 Traditional Italian sartorial techniques are employed to offer a full wardrobing service and custom tailoring for men.

Stocked with imported fabrics primarily from Italy. In-office and workplace fittings available.

Uyen 13 Nguyen Thiep, D1 An excellent option with English-speaking staff and a good selection of fabrics (although the price takes a dip if you bring your own) and some off-the-rack staples to copy. Reasonable prices.

asialife HCMC 65

Michelin-star chef Christopher Coutanceauat at the Caravelle

Al Fresco's Wheelchair Distribution

Photos by the Caravelle, Jonny Edbrooke, Teddy Kim and Cloud 9 Production.

66 66 asialife asialife HCMC HCMC

Project: Sci-Fi awards at Cargo

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DISTRICT 4

radar Learn anything

Curious.com Want to learn how to brew beer? How about finally learning the guitar? Then head to this website, which has thousands of instructional videos on how to do almost anything. Curious is a nine-month-old site that brings together teachers of all kinds with students from around the world. Most of the videos are free, but some require a $1 to $3 fee. For the videos that cost money, 70 percent of the funds goes to the teachers and the rest goes to supporting the website. Probably the best feature is the slot machine-like wheel that randomly selects three videos for you to choose from. Who knew you wanted to learn the basics of beatboxing?

Breath of fresh air

Aeon.co Tired of drowning in the constant onslaught of information created by today’s mainstream news outlets? Aeon Magazine is here to help. The one-year-old site focuses on long-form stories about nature, science, culture and ideas and only publishes one essay each weekday (for free). The story is always related to that day’s theme — Monday is for “World Views”, for instance — and are written by professional journalists or experts in their respective fields. Each essay is edited by Aeon’s team, which has experience at a number of top publications, including The Daily Telegraph, Los Angeles Review of Books and The Atlantic. The site also recently launched Aeon Film, which screens short documentaries.

Funny or depressing?

Literallyunbelievable.org Everyone knows ‘America’s finest news source’ — the satire website the Onion, famous for poking fun at even the most serious of issues. Well, I guess not. This website catalogues the daily, hilarious reactions from the many people across Facebook who are duped by the Onion’s headlines and ‘news’ stories. How anyone could really think that ‘Planned Parenthood opens $8 billion abortionplex’ or ‘Ex-pedophile shares tips on how to make your kids less attractive’ could be real news stories, is beyond comprehension. It’s not clear whether this site is a nod to the genius of the Onion’s deadpan humour or a depressing insight into the intelligence of many and how real news sites have gotten out of control.

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soundfix album review

Kevin Morby Harlem River The Harlem River is a strait that divides the boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx. It’s also the namesake of Kevin Morby’s solo debut, an EP created as an ode to New York City. Rather than salute the frenetic nature of the Big Apple, Morby’s soothing acoustic captures that sensation of feeling alone in the middle of a crowd. His lyrical content can seem melancholic, but his delivery denotes bittersweet acceptance, a sense of freedom gained from introspective wanderings. Bassist for Brooklyn-based bands Woods and the Babies, Morby is a seasoned indie musician. ‘Slow Train’, a duet with Cate Le Bon, highlights a gift for combining his talents with those of others.

But the rest of his album proves that he can also go it alone.

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by Mai Lynn Miller Nguyen

Sharon King and the DapKings Give the People What They Want Behold an artist who recognises that gratifying an audience comes by being herself. With her fifth album, soul singer Sharon King sets out to give the people what they want. What King’s fans want is exactly what she delivers: 10 timeless tracks, filled with emotion that will both warm and break hearts. Her songs are fun because of how much she seems to be enjoying herself, even when she’s singing a woeful ballad. The release was stalled by King’s pancreatic cancer diagnosis and subsequent treatment and the record’s recent distribution shows the force of her indomitable spirit. King’s irresistible vibrancy comes through in recordings, but the stage is where she shines — and fortunately, her illness isn’t stopping her from an upcoming tour schedule. That’s even more reason to celebrate the celebratory quality of her music.

Ejecta

Angel Haze

Dominae

Dirty Gold

It took me a few times to listen to Ejecta’s ‘Eleanor Lye’ before I realised why it sounded so hauntingly recognisable.

Remember Diana Ross’s ‘If We Hold On Together’, featured in 1988 animated dinosaur film The Land Before Time? Layered with a discotheque-targeting production, Ejecta’s chorus has an eerie resemblance to Ross’ ballad. A collaboration between Leanne Macomber of Neon Indian and producer Joel Ford, Ejecta showcases poignant electronic pop on debut Dominae. Macomber writes the songs and provides wispy vocals, whereas Ford contributes bubbly synthesised rhythms. A good comparison is disco project Sally Shapiro, along with myriad New Wave influences. There’s a familiarity to many of the record’s tracks, which doesn’t mean Ejecta is dull. Au contraire, any album that makes me both want to dance and reminisce about my favourite childhood classic is destined for repeat play.

When Angel Haze’s label delayed the sale of her debut, the rapper used social media to leak the album and force the label into bumping up the release date. Thus, the Detroit-raised 22-year-old, born Raykeea Angel Wilson, established herself as someone who breaks rules. Although her rhymes are dexterous and some lyrics have pointy edges, Wilson doesn’t come across too hardcore. Confessional voiceovers appear throughout the sprawling collection of tracks, with sound bites such as, “I’m making it for people who just wanna get lost” and “my home is the music”. Anthemic choruses show off her singing voice, which is decent but suffers in juxtaposition to vocalist Sia’s appearance on ‘Battle Cry’.

The girl’s got talent, but for the moment, she may be better described as having potential.

endorsed

xoneFM top ten Hot 10 this last title week week 1 2 3 4

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NEW NEW NEW NEW 9 7

The Fox One More Sleep The Monster Where Did The Party Go Heart to Heart Are You For Real Walking On Air Roller Coaster Maybe You're Right Blue

artist YLS Leona Lewis Rihanna Feat Eminem Fall Out Boy James Blunt David Murray Katy Perry Justin Bieber Miley Cyrus Beyonce

UK Top 10 this last title week week 1 2

2 1

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Counting Stars The Monster Feat Rihanna Timber Feat Ke$ha Demons Burn Stay The Night Feat H.Williams Do What U Want Feat R.Kelly Story Of My Life Let Her Go Wake Me Up

artist One Republic Eminem Pitbull Imagine Dragons Ellie Goulding Zedd Lady Gaga One Direction Passenger Avicii

AUSTRALIA Top 10 this last title week week 1 2 3 4 5

1 6 8 9 10

Happy Trumpets Rude All Of Me Free

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Swing Timber The Monster Like A Drum I See Fire

artist Pharrell Williams Jason Derulo Magic!

John Legend Rudimental Feat. Emeli Sande & Nas Fletcher Feat Savage Pitbull Feat Ke$ha Eminem Feat Rihanna Guy Sebastian Ed Sheeran

House of Cards

By Chris Mueller I rarely like TV shows, movies or books about fictional politicians. It’s hard for any fictional account to top the likes of drug-using Toronto mayor Rob Ford or the temper tantrums of morbidly obese New Jersey governor Chris Christie.

But after watching the first episode of American political drama House of Cards, I was hooked. The show is set in present-day Washington DC and follows Frank Underwood (brilliantly played by Kevin Spacey) a leading Democrat in the House of Representatives. In the beginning of the first episode, Underwood is passed over for appointment as secretary of state. Feeling betrayed, Underwood and his equally power-hungry wife vow to take revenge on the president through strategic political maneuvering.

In the first season, Underwood ruthlessly wields his power and knowledge of the very corrupt and easily manipulated American political system. Step by step, he moves the right players into position to get exactly what he wants. From using a fellow congressman who has a drug and alcohol problem to taking advantage of a cub reporter’s desire to get a story at any cost, Underwood slowly and

diabolically stacks the cards for his own gain.

What makes the show so exciting to watch is that it constantly feels like Underwood’s plan could come tumbling down at any moment. And what is more interesting is how most viewers don’t want to see him fail. Underwood is the personification of everything wrong with politics the world over. He is a corrupt liar who is only concerned about gaining more power and will use anyone or anything to get what he wants. But the character is fascinating nonetheless, perhaps because it is one of the few honest portrayals of a modern-day politician.

Throughout the show, Underwood breaks the fourth wall, explaining directly into the camera both why he is doing something and how the political system works. House of Cards has charted new territory for online shows, by winning Emmy and Golden Globe awards. If you aren’t familiar with American politics, just keep Wikipedia handy and you should be fine. Each season is released in its entirety on Netflix, so you’ll likely be watching it on your computer anyway.

The entire second season will be released on 14 Feb.

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boxoffice

Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit

The Nut Job

3 Days to Kill

The Legend of Hercules

Based on the character created by bestselling author Tom Clancy, Jack Ryan follows a young Jack (Chris Pine) as he uncovers a financial terrorist plot. The story takes him from 9/11, through his tour of duty in Afghanistan, and into his early days in the modern CIA where he becomes an analyst, under the guardianship of his handler, Harper (Kevin Costner). When Ryan believes he's uncovered a Russian plot to collapse the US economy, he goes from being an analyst to becoming a spy.

An animated comedy where Surly (voiced by Will Arnett), a curmudgeon, independent squirrel, is banished from his park and forced to survive in the city. Lucky for him, he stumbles on the one thing that may be able to save his life, and the rest of his park community, as they gear up for winter — Maury's Nut Store. The mischievous squirrel, and his rat friend Buddy, plan a nut store heist of outrageous proportions and unwittingly find themselves embroiled in a much more complicated adventure.

In this action-thriller, Kevin Costner is a dangerous international spy, who is determined to give up his high stakes life to finally build a closer relationship with his estranged wife and daughter, whom he's previously kept at arm's length to keep out of danger. But first, he must complete one last mission, even if it means juggling the two toughest assignments yet: hunting down the world's most ruthless terrorist and looking after his teenage daughter for the first time in 10 years.

Kellan Lutz stars as the mythical Greek hero — the son of Zeus, a half-god, half-man blessed with extraordinary strength — in this origin story. Betrayed by his stepfather, the King, and exiled and sold into slavery because of a forbidden love, Hercules must use his formidable powers to fight his way back to his rightful kingdom. Through harrowing battles and gladiator-arena death matches, Hercules embarks on a legendary odyssey to overthrow the King and restore peace to the land.

Opening Dates CINEMAS CGV CGV.vn

Galaxy cinema Galaxycine.vn

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Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (7 Feb) The Nut Job (21 Feb) The Legend of Hercules (28 Feb) Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (7 Feb) The Nut Job (14 Feb) 3 Days to Kill (21 Feb) The Legend of Hercules (21 Feb)

The information on this page was correct at the time of printing. Check cinema websites for screenings.

bookshelf The Scent of Pine: A Novel Lara Vapnyar Simon & Schuster Approaching the age of 40, Lena finds herself feeling adrift.

Her marriage to a fellow Russian émigré is in a state of stagnancy and mutual irritation. Her career reaches a plateau with a position as an adjunct professor at a community college. While attending an academic conference, Lena becomes intimate with another lost soul, Ben. As the affair progresses, she begins to open up about her coming of age in the Soviet Union, recalling a summer spent as a camp counsellor 20 years earlier. The secrets of Lena’s past come to light, while the present reaches a point of no return.

Moral Tribes: Emotion, Reason, and the Gap Between Us and Them Joshua Greene Penguin Press Combining philosophy and psychology, Joshua Greene explores how our brains deliberate moral behaviour. As the director of Harvard University’s Moral Cognition Lab, he incorporates neuroscience findings to explain the brain’s processes. Greene likens our minds to cameras, with automatic settings for instinct and emotions and manual mode for consideration and reasoning. The automatic functions push our brains to focus on serving a select community, creating an Us versus Them mentality that may manifest in racism, sexism, homophobia and other sources of conflict. But, Greene argues, by switching on our more nuanced manual mode, we can use reasoning to make moral decisions that benefit the greater good.

The Gifts of the State and Other Stories: New Writing from Afghanistan Adam Klein Disquiet Experience Afghanistan beyond the conflict scenes shown on the evening news. In this collection of stories, Afghan writers reveal the complexities of their country through their own voices. The anthology emerged from creative writing workshops run by Adam Klein, an English professor at the American University of Kabul. Encouraging young writers to share stories that non-Afghans wouldn’t know, Klein gathered together a selection of bold and original writing. These are tales of horror, hope and humanity, narrated through a variety of literary genres. In the midst of war, the line between life and death can be close in Afghanistan. These writers show the many dimensions of what it means to live in their country.

On Such a Full Sea Chang-rae Lee Riverhead Books The America of Chang-rae Lee’s On Such a Full Sea is a harsh place. Set somewhere in the near future, the novel envisions a country torn apart by class division, excessive capitalism and climate change. Fan is a young fishtank diver, part of a community of labourers brought over from China to sustain wealthy villages. When her boyfriend disappears without a trace, Fan sets out to find him. Her journey takes her on a tour of the Open Counties, where she encounters a cast of unusual characters. As Fan becomes a symbol for the people she left behind, her story also serves as an allegorical folk tale for readers.

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ODD ONE OUT Dana Filek-Gibson wants everyone to know she’s kind of a big deal, at least in her own mind.

For the first time in my life, professional homelesness is an attractive quality.

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If you're reading this, I'd like to begin by saying thank you.

Perhaps you overshot the page number on this month's feature or opened the magazine upside-down, but whatever brings you to the section with my face on it, I am sincerely grateful for your readership.

Each month fives, maybe even tens, of inquisitive people wonder what comes after those listings for furniture and childcare, and while you may see your consideration as a small and insignificant act, this simple gesture provides me with great encouragement, not to mention an inflated sense of self.

The Year of the Horse now underway, I feel these are important things to voice, mostly because 2014 is shaping up to be a big year for me.

There's no telling what the next few months will hold. But the way things are going I soon could be on par with Anthony Bourdain or Bear Grylls or one of those guys from Top Gear, and I plan on having the ego to match, so it's best to get these feelings out now before fame turns me into a greedy, soulless monster.

It all started last August when I landed a guidebookwriting job. After throwing all my most valued worldly possessions into a backpack, I hit

the road and have since been aggressively feeling up hotel beds across Vietnam, interviewing every bowl of pho I can find and generally asking too many questions. For the first time in my life, professional homelessness is an attractive quality. I get to wear backpacker casual to work, have an occasional drink in the name of ‘research’ and collect enough Vietnamese business cards to rebuild a tree. None of these are things I ever imagined as part of my daily life, and yet here we are.

But perhaps the most impressive development of 2014 is this: after years in the shadows, my career as a foreigner is finally taking off. Not only do I have the local population intrigued — more than one person has asked me if my parents are Vietnamese, a question I take as both a compliment and a sign of the speaker's poor eyesight — but the local media, too, has cashed in on this freckled, ginger-haired, easily-sunburned circus show, inquiring about my motorbike-driving skills and my thoughts on local food, among other things. Last month, a reporter friend was kind enough to write me up in an online newspaper. And on New Year's Eve, though both the language barrier and the reception quality on my phone

made it difficult to understand, I received a phone call from a man I don't know and may or may not have given an interview for local radio. Whatever it was that happened that night, people are paying me attention in a way that no one really has before.

This is, of course, flattering, but I'm beginning to understand how Bieber and Susan Boyle lost control. As a middle child, this level of attention is beyond my experience; I can barely handle birthday parties, let alone a sustained line of questioning. People are fast discovering that I talk too much when I know someone's listening. It's the same for everyone, I assume: you start with an interview here and there, a couple photographs, and before you know it you're practicing fake talk show appearances in your hotel room. Like all notable and accomplished celebrities, I plan to ride my delusional fame all the way up to the heights of local news coverage in the coming months. But before I soar off into Vietnamese stardom, please take this as one final, humble scrap of evidence that I was once a down-to-earth and vaguely reasonable person.

Dana Filek-Gibson is a Canadian expat living in Ho Chi Minh City.

A Libertine Abroad

JW Sherman ponders the march of the golden arches

Fast food giant McDonald’s is slated to arrive in Vietnam this month, with the first store located at the top of Dien Bien Phu Street in District 1 and another at the intersection of Tran Hung Dao and Pham Ngu Lao. There have been numerous stories over the years as to why the chain has not entered the Vietnam market, from securing supplies to issues around their buy-and-lease-back property business model. The company itself said they have been waiting to find the right local partner to be the master franchisee.

Well, they certainly have that now, and, regardless of the reasons for the time it has taken, the fact is they are the latest entrant in a burgeoning fast food market. Look around, there seems to be a KFC on every other corner, Burger Kings have sprouted up all over Saigon seemingly overnight, Carl’s Jr, Popeye’s, Texas Fried Chicken and even Dunkin’ Donuts all have restaurants in Vietnam.

And yet the arrival of McDonald’s here has been greeted in some quarters as if it were the coming of the four horsemen. I’m not sure why this is. I mean, there is

no shortage of international corporations doing business here. My only guess is that it is kind of a default reaction of the chattering classes who like to use McDonald's as the symbol for all corporate evil.

All the while chatting away on their Apple products made in Chinese sweatshops.

Sure, there are health concerns about eating too much fast food, but there is already enough food here, both western and Vietnamese, that must be consumed in moderation. There is a place for fast food, it’s convenient and we all indulge from time to time. It also just tastes good. Whenever my good wife and I touch down in another country we always make for a Mickey D’s to grab a burger. And it sure tastes a damn sight better than what you get at Lotteria.

But, it’s a treat, a once-in-awhile thing. I’m a believer in personal choice and personal responsibility, and, as such, I think people should be able to have a cheeseburger if they want. In the same way, if you over indulge, get fat, clog your arteries and have a heart attack, then you need to take responsibility for that.

Right about now some of

you will be asking the ‘kids’ question. So, what about the kids? Last time I checked parents were responsible for their kids, so same goes. Keep it to an occasional treat and there isn’t really a problem.

There is also a somewhat troubling element to the criticism of McDonald’s coming to Vietnam, particularly from the expatriate community.

Even if it is unconscious, the argument that McDonald’s is ”bad for Vietnam” carries the implication that the people of this country are not capable of managing the responsibility of living in an environment with corporatised fast food, and therefore are better off not having the choice in the first place.

I can’t help but detect a whiff of condescension in such arguments. If some folks overdo the fast food and suffer the consequences, well, Vietnam will be no worse or better than every other country in the world where these establishments operate. But the people should be free to choose.

JW Sherman is an American management consultant who has been living in Southeast Asia for more than 20 years.

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pub quiz Lovers 1. Where did Shakespeare’s “starcrossed lovers” live?

2. In Arthurian legend, who became Queen Guinevere’s lover?

3. Whose lover was Oliver Mellors?

4. According to Paul Simon, how many ways are there to leave your lover?

5. Who wrote Sons and Lovers?

Roses 6. Which film, written and directed by Roman Polanski, starred Mia Farrow?

7. Which English county is represented by a red rose?

8. The Rosetta Stone provided the key to the modern understanding of which writing system?

9. The Rose Bowl stadium in California hosted the 1994 Fifa World Cup Final. In which city is the stadium?

10. The Mary Rose, raised from the sea in 1982, was part of the navy of which English king?

Red 11. According to the sagas, Erik the Red founded the first Norse settlement on which island?

12. How is the butterfly Vanessa atalanta better known?

13. Whose thoughts were contained in the Little Red Book?

14. How is the sports club Crvena Zvezda Beograd known in English?

Thoâng tin du lòch vaø vaên hoaù ôû Vieät Nam ASIALIFE HCMC

Twenty-nine 21. Which couple got married on 29 July 1981?

22. What happened on Black Tuesday in 1929?

23. Which Australian cricketer scored 29 test centuries and averaged 99.94?

24. Which now annual race first took place on the River Thames in 1829?

25. On 29 April 1945, whose dead body was hung upside down from an Esso petrol station in Milan?

Literalisms What phrase or saying is represented by these pictures?

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Publishment Manager: Vuõ Quoác Khaùnh Editors: Phöông Lam Giang Traàn Ngoïc Thöông Designed by: ASIALIFE MEDIA JSC Cover & content by: ASIALIFE MEDIA JSC VIETNAM NEWs AGENCY PUBLISHING HOUSE 116 - 118 Nguyeãn Thò Minh Khai, Q3 Thöïc hieän lieân keát xuaát baûn: Coâng ty CP TT QC AsiaLIFE Media In laàn thöù nhaát, khoå 20,5cm x 27,0cm GPXB soá: 1454 - 2013/CXB/04- 25/ThT Ngaøy 21/01/2014 In taïi Coâng ty ITAXA, ñòa chæ 126 Nguyeãn Thò Minh Khai, Q.3.

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1) Verona 2) Sir Lancelot 3) Lady Chatterley 4) 50 5) DH Lawrence 6) Rosemary's Baby 7) Lancashire 8) Egyptian hieroglyphs 9) Pasadena 10) Henry VIII 11) Greenland 12) Red admiral 13) Mao Tse Tung 14) Red Star Belgrade 15) 15 16) Nights 17) Green 18) New South Wales 19) Frank Sinatra 20) Roquefort 21) Prince Charles and Lady Spencer 22) The Wall Street Crash 23) Sir Don Bradman 24) The (Oxford and Cambridge) Boat Race 25) Benito Mussolini 26) All thumbs 27) A woman's work is never done 28) A bed of roses 29) Sitting duck 30) Between jobs

16. What was in “White Satin” according to rock band The Moody Blues?

17. What colour was opposite blue on the original Rubik’s cube?

18. In which Australian state are the Blue Mountains?

19. Who came out of retirement with the 1973 album Ol’Blue Eyes is Back?

20. Which blue cheese from France is made from ewe’s milk?

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