Vietnam news: H1N1 & illegal alien workers

According to some newspaper (Saigon Giai Phong): people's committy of every city and province has to declare ("hunt"?) them to the ministry...for what? Paying fees? I guess it doesn't concern good ol' white guys...

The other news of the day is about H1N1. Until today there has been 6.478 infected person with 7 deaths which is only 0.001% casualties. It's kinda weird as usual death rate is more like 1% globally...

Special fashion contest

The increasing popularity of homosexual beauty contests has raised eyebrows, with people asking whether or not such events are legal.

That's how start the magificient article of Thanh Nien News (a bit outdated i have to concede). From my point of view, this article could be much worse. The mix between homosexual, transvestite, transexual, sex change surgery, etc is quite common even in western country.

Anyway, what surprised me in a way is the new regulation about:

Not have undergone cosmetic or sex change surgeries

As far as i know it's the first time the law is considering lgbt...queer people. AFAIK, homosexuality is not forbidden as it just does not exist according to 90% of the population thus nobody bothers with it.

The second surprse for me was the "The Prince Style Contest for lesbians" ! What the hell! Where is the gayz contest? Would lesbians still be glamourous in HCMC while gayz are not? Anyway it's not coming anytime soon in Hanoi (vietnamese time scale though... many things go so fast there).

Aren't they "innocent lil' princess" style?

Children with AIDS in VIetnam

Traditional propaganda
(Ma tuy= drug ; if i remember correctly the message says "it's not ok to try even once)

Here's an interesting article about the situation of aids-infected children in HCMC ("the most progressive region in the country in terms of HIV/AIDS advocacy"):

When classes opened across Vietnam on August 17, few students were as excited — or as nervous — as a group of 15 HIV-positive children who had finally been given permission to attend school. For the past two years, the Ho Chi Minh City orphanage where they live had been lobbying to enroll them in a public primary school. Now that the day had arrived, the children were so excited that many were up before the sun, already dressed in the new clothes the nuns had bought for the special occasion.

Full article by Martha Ann from time.com.

A more friendly poster (bao cao su = condom)

A modern poster about getting tested for free (i think)
There are also young people on this kind of poster...all in all it's much more appealing than traditional one but does it work?

Kebab & traffic light

After 2 boring motorbikes post, here is a funny one (still related to motobikes). I took these pictures a few days ago.

Kebab-bike

Connected traffic light (you can check it on Dai Co viet")

You can find more funny traffic pics @ pinkvn. By the way, don't think it's special pics, i (and all long term expatriate) have seen most of these situations.

Top-notch bikes (2)

I realized i should have done an introduction which i will call "Vietnam and motobikes" as i got too accustomed to vietnamese way of moving. Unfortunately for you, i will do it later!

If you remember, we stopped at a very 'nice' purple minsk... Now let's head toward really cool bikes:

Yamaha Nouvo LX (how stylish!?)

I used to have one and it is one of my favorite bike. It's heavier than smaller bikes but still light (for me), not too expensive, fast, maneuverable (so important in traffic jam) and convenient (it has a box under the seat big enough for my helmet). The only drawbacks are it uses a lot of gas when you go fast and it's "gay" according to my bf (wtf?). Actually it's "gay" for (some) straight as i didn't notice a peculiar use of this bike by gay (though my ex gay housemate rented one >.<).

Yamaha exciter (and not so exciting dude)

This motorbike is faster, more aggressive but has no big box under the seat and is clutch based. It has one advantage and one (big) drawback: you can make it scream and drive n a sporty (deadly?) way but you have no protection for your foot (rain and in case of accident!). I might buy it someday...

After two Yamaha bikes it's time to talk about some Honda. By the way the first one are known to be more aggressive bikes while the latter use generally less gas and people think they age slower.

Honda - Future (no cookie, no dude)

Convenient but clutch based, "so so style" but not ugly, fast enough but gas saving here is the Honda Future. A nice bike if you don't look for something classy but nice for both city and country side (though even the nouvo is able to go countryside... i did a week trip with it next to China). Unfortunately for some vietnamese chicks it's a "xe om motorbike" (it's worth mototaxi).

Honda Air Blade (and a dude but who cares?)

Very nice in my opinion as it has a kinda aggressive look but not too much and it has a convenient seat box, no clutch and it's a honda (thus gas saving). It's the same class of the exciter but looks more "adult": it's not a small bikes looking over aggressive.

That's all folks!
(for the moment)

Top-notch bikes (1)

Part 1: motobikes you should never ride!

As you may know mobile phone and motobike are essential accessories to show your social status.

Concerning motobikes you have a few options:

Honda Dream and a kinky pilot (or not)

First, the honda dream which is the traditional countryside or low salary worker... definitely the worst choice!

Honda wave and a 'cookie'

If you go for wave you will even loose the surprised looks about the redneck bike of yours, it's because wave are the most basic city bikes here...but well if you are Mr Dan Danuwong, you might draw some attention...

Finally if you are a real adventurer, here is what you need:

Minsk's fine art

So with a minsk you will definetly loose any attention... you can't be part of "people like us"! unless you go full throttle on color:

If you wonder, i do have a point with this post but the original one was too long so i cut it into 2 pieces. Thus i can talk a bit more:

• Helmet on the first photo is typical from countryside
• The outfit is also typical (kinda countryside style but not only)
• Wave & dream cost barely the price but dream are considered more reliable while wave are more 'trendy' (less grandpa's motobike to speeak nicely)
• Minsk were so cool for expat a few years ago when it was nearly impossible to get a real motobike in Vietnam (taxes problem etc).
  
• There is still a minsk club but i think they are fading
  

Ps: i might look like denigrating country side but i'm not! ^_^ (should do a post about VN city vs countryside)

VN Photoblog

Though I am not really fond of the guy, I do like the photography. Probably because of the mix (imho) of fragility and determination. I just wonder wether this guy is the (kinda cute) dj I saw at the Hanoi Sound Stuff festival or not. He reallly look the same even glasses (except clothes!).

The rest of photoblog is at the same time amateur and a bit kinky. Nevertheless this photoblog is new and I hoped it will improve... and i wonder if he would photograph westerner living in Vietnam as well?

The photograph also has a photoblog about fashion (LINK COMING LATER)

A final bonus photo from the HSS (I guess I missed some action there)

Help Vietnam : be gay!

According AFP Vietnam is facing the same problem as many Asian country: there are too many boys... so help them by having a vietnamese boyfriend or if you are vietnamese just be gay (it's ok!...)!

The article:

HANOI (AFP) — Officials in Vietnam have warned that too many boys are being born and said the country should learn a lesson from its Asian neighbours, state media reported on Tuesday.

Vietnam produces 112 boys for every 100 girls, a gender imbalance that will leave about three million men with difficulty finding wives by 2030 if it continues, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan told an online conference of officials, according to Vietnam News Agency.

He said Vietnam could learn big lessons about gender imbalance from China, Japan and South Korea, and asked people's committees to raise awareness through the mass media.

"Strengthening the dissemination of news and information on the issue is necessary," Nhan said.

In the country's commercial capital, Ho Chi Minh City, there are 113 boys for every 100 girls, said Nguyen Thi Thu Ha, deputy chairman of the People's Committee, the local government body.

According to Vietnam News Agency, Ha said many books, newspapers and the Internet provide information on prenatal gender selection, violating state policy on minimising prenatal gender inequality.

Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Ba Thuy was quoted as saying the number of families with three children has continued to rise and gender imbalance is becoming very apparent.

In late 2007 a UN Population Fund report highlighted "growing concern that the sex ratio at birth is becoming unbalanced in Vietnam", while the international ratio at birth was about 105 boys for every 100 girls.

Reasons for Vietnam's unbalanced sex ratio included pressure to adhere to a two-child policy, a preference for sons, and ready availability of ultrasound and abortion, said the report.

Although Vietnam in 2003 banned foetal sex selection, many doctors tell parents-to-be if they are expecting a boy or girl.

Men in Vietnam have traditionally carried on the family lineage, inherited homes and land, cared for elderly parents and overseen funerals and ancestor worship rituals.

China, where most parents are banned from having more than one child, has faced a marriage squeeze.

Sex training in Da Nang

Sex education in Vietnam?

It seems it finally happened! Even more it is a "Sex Training Tour" according to this article. Extract:

"Young people in Da Nang, Vietnam are enthusiastically taking a Sex Training Tour jointly organized by the Da Nang Youth Union and the Viet Da Tourism JS Company to learn about sex from health workers and consultants." 

How can they be not enthusiastic? Anyway what follows is more interesting:

"Unlike other tours, the sex training tour that began in mid-March at the Cham Museum in Da Nang is based on the Cham culture’s worshipping of sex organs and imparts sex education to youth through the precepts of the Cham culture."

I always knew Cham people were much nicer person than Kinh...too bad they lost the war against them.

Cham towers

A country i love to hate

I came accross a blog entry a while ago. The subject is not really genuine but i have to say that i agree on many points on the subject: "reasons to hate Vietnam", like:

• Dual pricing
• Noise
• Vietnamese language
• Traffic
• Architecture
• ...

My top 5 vietnam hate list would be:

• Foreigner scamming: even when you speak vietnamese they try to scam (huge price or else)...though sometimes you have no choice and get scammed knowing it...
• Road stupidity: while driving people often don't bother to look at where they go  even when they are changing directions, same goes for walking (crossing big avenues).
• Noise: everything is so loud, karaoke, food stall, car horn, mobile phone (in cinema).
• Food: so overrated, at least the north one.
• Weather: so hot for 6 months, so cold a few weeks in winter and always so humide.
• ... and let's forget: quite narrow minded on homosexuality but not only (get married by 25, make baby within 1 year, treat like shit people socially low, etc) and it also seems to bother some of my friends (mainly the south vn ones).

I globally agree with the author though i think i am more accustom to the country. I would also conclude with his word: "a country i love to hate".

Addendum

In my previous i wrote about photobucket and flickr and i had in my mind to give you a link to a nice vietnamese model. Unforntunately i could not find the link again. Fortunately i just found it.

So gay ?

Although you will have to dig the gallery a little to find neat pics like:

Please enjoy La Ngoc Duy flickr...

nb: reminds me i should tell you that he is not typical of the vietnamese physionomy.

Back from holydays

The trip was great*, incredible foggy landscape:

But since my come back i'm drowned in work...

*: no real cuties seen but some potential, too bad.

Holydays

It's becoming cold ( less than 20°), the sky is grey, it might rain any day... it's the perfect time for a motobike trip! 

I'm going north with some friends for a week...i'll bring back some photos... will there be any cuties?

Sniff me!

On friday evening i and a (female) colleague were invited at my boss' house to say hi to his baby (less than 2 months old)... and...

Incredible: 

• I hold her (the baby not the colleague!), that was a first time for me
  
• She was deeply fascinated by my face
• She cried when it was time for me to go!

Anyway, that's a bit too bloggish for an anonymous blog. The interesting point is that my colleague sniffed several times the baby... If you are a reader of rqd you already know that thay boy sniff often instead of kissing.

Thus i wonder if vietnamese people do that too? From my experiences... never but i have some explanations. First, it could be for babies only. Indeed, when my bf kiss me he often jokes about doing "viet-kiss" (closed lips kiss... or smack i call that). Second, gays might be naughtier and dare to do the frecnh kiss (not all the time ^_^ ). Finally, i may smell really bad even after a shower >.< 

Still... it's so cuuuuuuute!

Final question: i wonder if gay people do that in thailand or is it the norm for every couple?

answer is no :

Wow - what an effect!

Photography

Usually i am very scathing with vietnam but i'm the type who criticizes what/who i like (and just don't bother with the rest).

Today is different because i found a vietnamese photographer whom i really like: Vamp. I don't think he's professionnal yet but he is definitely close to have the skills already.

An example, i really appreciate:

which is my desktop picture at the moment. The only problem of vamps is his habit to over-photoshop them or he has crazy skills taking photographies! :p

He has a lot of different styles of photographies: touristic photos like this one, the one i'm jealous of, one not shirtless boy (and not cute >.<) and an improbable gay couple... Just go check his collections.

In the future you may get some more images like this one (which is not from vamp):

(naaaaaaah this blog will not turn into shirtless boyz blog style 0:) )

(and yes this guy is vinameat :p)

Hook up online?

To meet guys there are a few places in Hanoi (bars, park, etc) as i previously wrote. The other alternative is on the web.

I found one main website to hook up online: gaydar  though gay.com (i tried...not so many guys) or gayromeo (never tried) but also vietsingle. I'm quite surprised by the last one as it is a "local only" dating site and it's operated locally. 

In contrary to what i know from field (bar) there are some lesbians too! Although after a quick check there is none from Ha Noi and most of them are from Saigon... what a shame for Ha noi! :p

Anyway, this post is just a little introduction for another one coming much later... :p

Coming out status

I had two purpose with this blog:

1. An outlet: at the very beginning i wanted to make a personnal diary to express all the things i could not.
2. Share my (gay) life in Hanoi: later on, the first purpose was quite left aside and i wanted to talke how it is to be gay in such a city.

Recently, i have talked only about number 2 but today is number 1...mostly.

I am officialy-to-myself gay since around june 2007 while i met my bf in late July (yeah we both forget the exact date -_-). Actually it is thanks to a housemate: she told me "it's weird, usually, i don't get along with boys like these appart gays" and then i told her (and myself) that i may have some questioning on the subject. 

After being with my bf, quickly all the housemates have been told about it. The last one, a boy, could not understand what i said and though for a few days it was joke but then he understood. It was no problem COs as we were young westerners “opened to the world".

A bit later on, a new housemate arrived, a very posh and not very resourceful guy. I knew, it would be a problem but we were not getting along so we didn't met so often. Althoug, once we've  been at the nightclub at the same time, quite drunk, and he told me: 

"i have something to tell you..." (why we don't get along etc) 

so i answered him 

"Nice, me too i have something to tell you, i prefer boyz and i know you can't take it". 

His answer is memorable:

"No, You, you don't take that" (like to take drugs), 5 times in a row!

That is the worse reaction to my CO so far though i had no pressure for this one.

Later on (last winter), i finally decided to tell my best friend about it. I did it using skype late at night, it was not easy to say the words without seeing the person but finally it came out. His reaction was "ah ok" which is quite ok ;) but what suprised me is that he already had a MSM experience and it was his first time but it was not his type... I asked him not to tell our shared friends as i was not ready yet.

A bit before summer, a friend came to Vietnam and i decided to tell him though i knew if i tell him, most of my friends will be informed. After many tries, i finally succeed to say:

 "ok wanna have a drink after dinner" 

- "no i'm tired"

- "you are sure?"

- "yes i'm really exausted"

5min later

- " well i want to take a drink because i have something to tell you"

This time it was difficult because he was in front of me but finally i succeeded and he had the  "ah ok" reaction. After that he met my bf and we chatted a bit. He stayed one more week in Vietnam so i had this time to prepare my friends back home.

As often, i was lazy and i call just 2 before his coming back and the rest after that. All of them were surprised, but had the "ah ok" reaction, but not shocked and wished me"be happy together".

The final CO was eventually to my family. That was the most difficult and still going on...but may evolve toward a good end.

Today, i got the idea that it may be the time for me to start my COs with vietnamese people. Shortly, there are two (maybe 3) categories of vietnamese i know who i may do a CO.

Colleagues

When i say "colleagues" it is only the young ones that may be able not to kick me right away. I tried to do a few jokes like "well i'm not very good at getting a girlfriend so maybe i show go for boyfriend?", their answers were a big minute long silence. Although, i think the women may take it quite ok while i think the men will take it quite bad.

Friends

I don't have so much friends that are not my colleagues but they are more open minded people (in my opinion). Actually, according to my dear friend N., one of them, a girl, may have guessed already...too bad she's one of the few i'd like to try again *** with 0:-)

Why doing a coming out to vietnamese?

The first reason is that there is a lot of gossip about me (like anyone else though especially singles) and one includes a former "affair" (i use to try to date) with a girl. It's some time i don't think about her (Hey i've been with my BF more than 1 year now) but some people still think i'm depsaired about her.

Another reason is that i would like to be free to say "yeah i'm not single anymore" and "sure, i'll come with bf"...sweet but impossible i think.

The last reason is that it would such a great pleasure to make them understand "you liked me but i was sucking dicks...so what do you think now? Will you fuck up your mind thinking i was a just an asshole since the beginning or try to accept it?" ... that would be nice!

It's more likely not to happen anytime soon but stay tuned!

Condom in Vietnam

Unlike Thailand, with its 7-11, it's not easy to find (good) condoms in Vietnam (Hanoi).

When i arrived and i started to need some i luckily found some western (durex) quality checked condoms in the Vincom maul as long as lubricant. Unfortunately, the stock was out in a few weeks.

Often supermarkets have some big arrival of western stuff

 then nothing anymore, i guess it's some discarded stuff.

Though, i am a bad foreigner who likes to have some westerner delicacies once in a while (a bit more often indeed), i know some westerner oriented shops and there i found the precious stuff to have safely some local delicacies ;). Thus i advise you to go to so

me westerner oriented shop or grocery they are much likely to have western quality condoms. 

The other place, i  have yet to check, is condomviet which has a website with a bit of english. While searching again for this website in order to do this post, i happen to find this: sexshopviet. Unfortunately it seems to be only in HCMC not in Hanoi... 

By the way i tried Vietnamese condoms called

 "Romantic".... it's a bit rough/thick, that is why i thought this issue deserve a post here.

Konheo

Con Heo means (the) pig in Vietnamese but it's not its sole meaning. In slang it designates also the porn stuff.  Why do i talk about that? because of this : konheo.com. 

It's a vietnamese design t-shirt shop. They make a lot of playwords in vietnamese (that i don't understand)  and they have some cute (straight) couple's t-shirts:

Ok they are not really good to do sexy photo yet but they are working on it ;)