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Negative things about Vietnam
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isabel



Joined: 07 Mar 2003
Posts: 510
Location: God's green earth

PostPosted: Tue Dec 25, 2012 1:04 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

This is indeed a festive time of the year. December 21st is the winter solstice, and is recognized as a special time by most peoples. It marks the true turning of the year- in the Northern hemisphere, it means the slow return of the sun. In the far north this is especially welcome.

No one knows, especially the Bible, the date of Jesus' birth. At that time, birthdays weren't celebrated. By the way, the Prophet Mohammad's birthday is marked, but very little celebrated, and not at all in Saudi Arabia. Funnily enough, The Buddha's birthday is widely celebrated.

Why is Jesus's birthday now 25 December?

Here is one explanation: "December 25th might have also been chosen because the Winter Solstice and the ancient pagan Roman midwinter festivals called 'Saturnalia' and 'Dies Natalis Solis Invicti' took place in December around this date - so it was a time when people already celebrated things.

The Winter Solstice is the day where there is the shortest time between the sun rising and the sun setting. It happens on December 21st or 22nd. To pagans this meant that the winter was over and spring was coming and they had a festival to celebrate it and worshipped the sun for winning over the darkness of winter. In Scandinavia, and some other parts of northern Europe, the Winter Solstice is known as Yule and is where we get Yule Logs from. In Eastern europe the mid-winter festival is called Koleda.

The Roman Festival of Saturnalia took place between December 17th and 23rd and honoured the Roman god Saturn. Dies Natalis Solis Invicti means 'birthday of the unconquered sun' and was held on December 25th (when the Romans thought the Winter Solstice took place) and was the 'birthday' of the Pagan Sun god Mithra. In the pagan religion of Mithraism, the holy day was Sunday and is where get that word from!"

http://www.whychristmas.com/customs/25th.shtml[/url]
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Tigerstyleone



Joined: 26 Mar 2010
Posts: 181

PostPosted: Tue Dec 25, 2012 2:28 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Its Christmas in Paradise, Paradise, and I'm off with pay today.
Paradise, paradise.
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isabel



Joined: 07 Mar 2003
Posts: 510
Location: God's green earth

PostPosted: Tue Dec 25, 2012 2:56 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Tigerstyleone wrote:
Its Christmas in Paradise, Paradise, and I'm off with pay today.
Paradise, paradise.


Now that's the attitude! Happy Christmas in Paradise.
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Prof.Gringo



Joined: 07 Nov 2006
Posts: 2236
Location: Dang Cong San Viet Nam Quang Vinh Muon Nam!

PostPosted: Tue Dec 25, 2012 6:07 pm    Post subject: Mass in HCMC for X-Mas Reply with quote

I really enjoyed the Vietnamese language Roman Catholic Mass tonight at Duc Ba Notre Dame Cathedral in the heart of D-1 HCMC.

The large variety of religions, churches, opinions and open discussion about religion shows that Vietnam has true freedom of religion.

I actually prefer the more "laid-back" approach to Buddhism or the Catholic church here in VN, but some misunderstood my comments.

In the past week I've been to Mass in a Roman Catholic church, a Mosque, 2 Buddhist Pagodas, a Hindu temple...

Happy Holiday Cheer to ALL!

Religion in VN in all it's forms and incarnations fulfills an important roll in the society & culture of Vietnam.
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douglas1969



Joined: 21 Sep 2012
Posts: 30
Location: Canada

PostPosted: Wed Dec 26, 2012 2:45 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

skarper wrote:
I for one would appreciate a circle of westerner friends to chat with and occasionally have a drink.

But given the downright creepy nature of some expats prowling SEASIA I'm very reticent about making casual contacts with passing foreigners. I'm also busy and value my privacy. I think this is natural among expats who've lived a while in Vietnam - if they were outgoing mixer types they'd have left long ago.


What do you mean by creepy nature? Just socially awkward or ??
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TRH



Joined: 27 Oct 2011
Posts: 340
Location: Hawaii

PostPosted: Wed Dec 26, 2012 3:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Prof.Gringo wrote:
It feels so odd being in a mostly athiestic society where the average Vietnamese now worships wealth more than any ancestor... Lip service religions here, where the VN just show up and burn some incense sticks to fix their karma Rolling Eyes Yet they have the audacity to celebrate a Western Church Holiday and laugh all the way. Try doing that with a Jewish, Muslim or any other religion's main holidays and imagine the backlash!
You may not see it in District 1 but on the street where I live at least 3/4 of the people are Catholic and I don't mean just nominal Catholics. The bell rings outside my window at 4:30 AM every day and people go to mass. You may accuse my neighbors of being materialistic, although I don't see that in all of them, but they surely are not atheistic. I also know that although Buddhism does not demand active involvement, a lot of Buddhists here take their religion very seriously.
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Mr. Kalgukshi
Mod Team
Mod Team


Joined: 18 Jan 2003
Posts: 6613
Location: Need to know basis only.

PostPosted: Wed Dec 26, 2012 7:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Several inappropriate postings have been deleted for being derailing, contentious, insulting, off-topic or focusing on religion. The latter is not permitted on this board.

If the inappropirate postings continue, the following will happen in an incredibly short period of time:

The thread will continue absent the inappropriate postings along with the members who chose to ignore this warning and posted such comments.


Members observing problematic postings are requested to promptly advise the Mod Team by PM or Report Post.

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Dekadan



Joined: 09 Dec 2011
Posts: 95

PostPosted: Wed Dec 11, 2013 4:15 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Wow, this thread derailed pretty quickly. There was another thread related to this on here but I can't seem to find it right now.

I'm contemplating a return to Vietnam and was reading this to remind myself of why I'd left in the first place. I remember being bothered by the traffic (especially rush hour), pollution and the constant calls by motorcycle taxis, but have been nostalgic lately and find myself seriously considering a return. Do I consider this because it's got a lot going for it, or is it because I've had my memories fade about the things that aren't so good?

I'd appreciate people chiming in, but hope that it doesn't deteriorate again!
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kurtz



Joined: 12 Mar 2008
Posts: 518
Location: Phaic Tan

PostPosted: Wed Dec 11, 2013 12:10 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Dekadan wrote:
Wow, this thread derailed pretty quickly. There was another thread related to this on here but I can't seem to find it right now.

I'm contemplating a return to Vietnam and was reading this to remind myself of why I'd left in the first place. I remember being bothered by the traffic (especially rush hour), pollution and the constant calls by motorcycle taxis, but have been nostalgic lately and find myself seriously considering a return. Do I consider this because it's got a lot going for it, or is it because I've had my memories fade about the things that aren't so good?

I'd appreciate people chiming in, but hope that it doesn't deteriorate again!


Don't do it. I occasionally drift by this forum for a bit of a laugh, but perish the thought of returning, to Hanoi at least . Might be something about the terrible weather, aggressive vendors, traffic, purile students, dishonest landlords and the expat community at large who seem to have a narcissistic personality disorder. People who keep coming back as they are unemployable elsewhere, all for less than $1800 a month.

Keep Vietnam as a memory or vacation destination; move on as the world is a big place.
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Dekadan



Joined: 09 Dec 2011
Posts: 95

PostPosted: Thu Dec 12, 2013 1:09 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks for your input, Kurtz. I suppose I should be more specific, I'd be potentially looking to be in HCMC, not Hanoi - I dislike the cold! Where have you moved on to? I hope life's treating you well there!
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RustyShackleford



Joined: 13 May 2013
Posts: 449

PostPosted: Thu Dec 12, 2013 1:52 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

douglas1969 wrote:
skarper wrote:
I for one would appreciate a circle of westerner friends to chat with and occasionally have a drink.

But given the downright creepy nature of some expats prowling SEASIA I'm very reticent about making casual contacts with passing foreigners. I'm also busy and value my privacy. I think this is natural among expats who've lived a while in Vietnam - if they were outgoing mixer types they'd have left long ago.


What do you mean by creepy nature? Just socially awkward or ??


old thread but I'll chime in. I have found the Vietnamese people. on the whole, to be a good-natured folk. Certainly you get a lot of bull you'd rather not deal with but at least you know where you stand emotionally with them as opposed to the CJK countries where you're never quite sure unless you're real intimate.

With that, I find that the Expats I've met tend towards being an even more closed off and arrogant bunch than in Japan. It's interesting though - in Japan it was almost like a competition to see who had gone more native and here it's.... I'm not sure really. To be fair, my coworkers and such had all been great and even the more "scary" foreigners (like this one guy who was teaching and looked like the world had decided to crash on him one day) have been decent folk to talk to despite some of these disquieting vibes with the exception of one who literally threatened my life and probably would have gone through with his threat (he was brandishing a weapon) had it not been for having someone save me from it. That last case I'd say qualifies for creepy and also would give people second thoughts of hanging out Westerners.
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kurtz



Joined: 12 Mar 2008
Posts: 518
Location: Phaic Tan

PostPosted: Thu Dec 12, 2013 2:28 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Dekadan wrote:
Thanks for your input, Kurtz. I suppose I should be more specific, I'd be potentially looking to be in HCMC, not Hanoi - I dislike the cold! Where have you moved on to? I hope life's treating you well there!


Greetings. I am in the tropics getting well-paid and treated well. Nothing wrong in going to Vietnam, but to return there isn't for me. You have to ask yourself why you left in the first place, and you might find the answer why you shouldn't go back.
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cb400



Joined: 27 Sep 2010
Posts: 274
Location: Vientiane, Laos

PostPosted: Thu Dec 12, 2013 6:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I left Vn after 7 years because of:

1. Traffic. Every year it gets worse and worse. The Vn have no regards for human life and the idea of waiting for a major accident everything I go out is insane.

2. Noise. Honking all the time, yelling into cell phones...general lack of any type of manners.

3. Rude Locals. The Hanoians are the rudest people in Asia bar non. The Southern folk are generally better but the recent rush to urbanize has forced alot of people into cities creating an aggressive atmosphere.

4. Pollution. Absolutely disgusting. People throwing garbage anywhere, men and ladies pissing everywhere. Why do I want to be surround by filth all the time?

When I do get the nostalgic feeling I ll type in 'Vietnam traffic' on youtube and it reminds me of why I left.

Unfortunately it is only getting worse and not better... with out factoring the lowering of teachers' salaries
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psychedelicacy



Joined: 05 Oct 2013
Posts: 180
Location: Beijing

PostPosted: Fri Dec 13, 2013 6:20 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

kurtz wrote:
Dekadan wrote:
Wow, this thread derailed pretty quickly. There was another thread related to this on here but I can't seem to find it right now.

I'm contemplating a return to Vietnam and was reading this to remind myself of why I'd left in the first place. I remember being bothered by the traffic (especially rush hour), pollution and the constant calls by motorcycle taxis, but have been nostalgic lately and find myself seriously considering a return. Do I consider this because it's got a lot going for it, or is it because I've had my memories fade about the things that aren't so good?

I'd appreciate people chiming in, but hope that it doesn't deteriorate again!


Don't do it.


Spot on.
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JustinC



Joined: 15 Mar 2013
Posts: 138
Location: The Land That Time Forgot

PostPosted: Fri Dec 13, 2013 9:58 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

kurtz wrote:
Don't do it. I occasionally drift by this forum for a bit of a laugh, but perish the thought of returning, to Hanoi at least . Might be something about the terrible weather, aggressive vendors, traffic, puerile students, dishonest landlords and the expat community at large who seem to have a narcissistic personality disorder. People who keep coming back as they are unemployable elsewhere, all for less than $1800 a month.

Keep Vietnam as a memory or vacation destination; move on as the world is a big place.


QFFT. I only stayed there four days, traveling through, which was quite enough.

OTOH Nha Trang and Hoi An were extremely pleasant.
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