Sapa

Tonight I travel to Sapa, on the overnight train.

It is a small mountain town near the Chinese border. Thuc Anh says, it is a very sensitive province. The people who live there are ethnic minorities such as the Dzao, H'mong, Tay and Thai people. There are quite a few different groups that are clustered together under the definition of Hill tribes. They are sometimes referred to as Montagnards which is French for Highlanders, apparently.

Phuong just came back from there and he confirms that the Hill tribes don't speak Vietnamese and don't like Vietnamese people.

Action plan for the MDE

Today is my last day attending the MDE.

I spent the last two days developing an action plan for them to use to continue work on the loans scheme. I've made a lot of good contacts and there is a lot of willingness in the AID community which supports the idea of development of financial services.

I hope they are successful and I hope to stay in touch with everyone I've met since being here.

I've enjoyed my time here and certainly had some interesting experiences. Volunteering is a really worthwhile way to make a contribution to others and learn about other cultures.

Tonight I take the sleeper to Sapa, a village in the mountains near the Chinese border.

Move over Les Mills

Apparently pre dawn aerobics is becoming popular in Hanoi.

I haven't made it to the park before 5am to join in the Tai chi, but now the women of Hanoi have discovered aerobics.

Not all the men approve, apparently.

This article says it all.

Good news for TV lovers in Vietnam.

The price of a flat screen has dropped by 25%-40% following the ASEAN free trade agreement. Now even low income earners don't have to put up with those curved screens anymore.

The article is here.

Elders Association

The Vietnam Elders Association met in Hanoi earlier this week to set their goals for 2006. One of their goals is to recruit more members. Another is for elderly people to enhance their household income.

The Elders Association works to serve the interests of elderly people.

The association has 6.5 million members, 8000 of them are over 100 years old.

World Bank Seminar

Tonight the MDE will host a seminar at the World Bank. The guest speaker is Martin Rama, an economist who will explain the World Bank Vietnam Development Report for 2006.

The focus of the report is going to be business. It follows from previous years where the governance and poverty were the central issues.

Vietnam still faces many constraints regarding business development. The lack of access to finance and poor infrastructure mean that small business means family business. There is a gulf between these small entrepreneurs and state run business.

I look forward to hearing what Martin Rama has to say about this.