Viet Nam News by Hồ Anh Thái Not only did Hốt finally manage to buy a television, it was even a colour set. One evening his two brats went to visit their grandparents and his wife slunk off to meet her boss, the manager of the Bần Tộc government hotel. Hốt wondered why she was sneaking in and out of the house so often these days. The campaign against corruption was in full swing across the country. Maybe the two of them were covering something up. Left alone in the house, he turned on the television and grabbed a novel. He read inattentively, listening with half an ear to the TV. His eyes swept up from the book when a fashion show came onto the screen. The models appeared to be amateurs, their movements exaggerated and artificial, their arms flapping loose. They tripped clumsily over their own feet like puppets jerked by strings. The last model was a girl in a two-piece bathing suit. She threw a clumsily seductive look at the camera, turned to … [Read more...] about The Goat Meat Special
How early can you get morning sickness
Pilgrims Crossing Mê River
Viet Nam News by Cát Lâm After an early dinner, I washed up then went to bed. Yet, I was unable to sleep straight away. I tossed and turned on bed for a long while like I was sick. Whenever I returned to my native village I felt as if I had taken ill. Strangely enough, leaving the place I returned to normal again. I kept this a secret because I was afraid it would make my mother worried. “Why does my summer vacation last so long?” I asked myself. Since the days I went to district boarding-school and then worked for a provincial establishment I had rarely come home for nearly a decade. I thought it might be unwise due to the generation gap between her and me. Whenever facing her I got an impression that I stood on the other side of the wide Mê River without bridges spanning its two banks. When I felt stressed due to work, I stayed in town for months partly because of her and due to being afraid of living in the country. Then suddenly one morning … [Read more...] about Pilgrims Crossing Mê River
Urban drama: Thu Thiem residents fight for their homes after urban planning map goes missing
Over 30 people from Ho Chi Minh City have been shacked up in a guesthouse in Hanoi since April 30, paying VND1.8 million ($80) per night in total for four rooms. Nguyen Thi Hong, 73, and three other women were poring over a black-and-white map, which spanned the length of their bed, in one of those rooms one day in early May. Hong occasionally reached for another document scattered around the room for cross-examination. Across the room, five other people were having their mid-day siesta after spending a morning knocking on authorities’ doors to find out the fate of their homes, 2,300 kilometers (1,400 miles) away. The group originally lived in houses that were caught in the crosshairs of HCMC's plans to build the Thu Thiem new urban area in District 2. The area is touted to eventually become one of the biggest international financial and commercial centers in Southeast Asia. However, the story doesn’t stop there. Some families claim their houses were not included in … [Read more...] about Urban drama: Thu Thiem residents fight for their homes after urban planning map goes missing
Urban drama: Thu Thiem residents fight for their homes after planning map goes missing
Over 30 people from Ho Chi Minh City have been shacked up in a guesthouse in Hanoi since April 30, paying VND1.8 million ($80) per night in total for four rooms. Nguyen Thi Hong, 73, and three other women were poring over a black-and-white map, which spanned the length of their bed, in one of those rooms one day in early May. Hong occasionally reached for another document scattered around the room for cross-examination. Across the room, five other people were having their mid-day siesta after spending a morning knocking on authorities’ doors to find out the fate of their homes, 2,300 kilometers (1,400 miles) away. The group originally lived in houses that were caught in the crosshairs of HCMC's plans to build the Thu Thiem new urban area in District 2. The area is touted to eventually become one of the biggest international financial and commercial centers in Southeast Asia. However, the story doesn’t stop there. Some families claim their houses were not included in … [Read more...] about Urban drama: Thu Thiem residents fight for their homes after planning map goes missing
Saigon citizens on quest for lost planning map to save homes from new urban area
Over 30 people from Ho Chi Minh City have been shacked up in a guesthouse in Hanoi since April 30, paying VND1.8 million ($80) per night in total for four rooms. Nguyen Thi Hong, 73, and three other women were poring over a black-and-white map, which spanned the length of their bed, in one of those rooms one day in early May. Hong occasionally reached for another document scattered around the room for cross-examination. Across the room, five other people were having their mid-day fiestas after spending a morning knocking on authorities’ doors to find out the fate of their homes, 2,300 kilometers (1,400 miles) away. The group originally lived in houses that were caught in the crosshairs of HCMC's plans to build the Thu Thiem new urban area in District 2. The area is touted to eventually become one of the biggest international financial and commercial centers in Southeast Asia. However, the story doesn’t stop there. Some families claim their houses were not included in … [Read more...] about Saigon citizens on quest for lost planning map to save homes from new urban area