Vietnamese spanish names

Lê Hương

HÀ NỘI — Social distancing has not stopped museums in Hà Nội from working hard to prepare exciting new offerings using technology.

The Việt Nam National Fine Arts Museum (VFA), which hosts more than 20,000 pieces displaying the development of Vietnamese fine arts from pre-history to the present day, including nine national treasures, recently launched an app allowing visitors to view the exhibits even amid the pandemic.

Designed by the Việt Nam Mobile Application Software Join Stock Company (VINMAS), the iMuseum VFA app is a multimedia application including high-quality audio, text and photos, helping users visit the museum online or enhancing their in-person experience.

The app can be used on both Android and iOS platforms and allows viewers to watch high-resolution photos, listen to introductions, see the locations of exhibits, view diagrams and see the museum’s rooms.

Visitors download the app and scan QR codes for a virtual visit. — VNS Photo Lê Hương

By buying a ticket containing a QR code for VNĐ50,000 (US$2.1) at the museum or online, viewers can use the app for eight hours. The app is now available in Vietnamese, English, French, Chinese, Japanese, South Korean, Spanish and Italian. German and Russian languages will be added soon.

The app provides interesting stories on the artwork. — VNS Photo Lê Hương

Trần Thị Hương, deputy director of the VFA, told Việt Nam News that the two agencies had developed the app for the past two years as part of the museum’s digital transformation process .

“The product being launched in the present pandemic context is like a reaction of the museum to COVID-19’s impact,” she said.

“We hope during social distancing, the virtual exhibition will lure guests to the museum exhibits in a more special way than before,” she said.

Five months since the app was tested in December last year, 12 per cent of all tickets sold have come through the app.

“We have received positive reactions from the viewers,” Hương said. “They are mostly content with the service. We, however, are trying our best to complete the app.”

Hương said the virtual app is just one of the various ways the museum plans to use digital technology.

Hương said she hopes the same technology will be available soon in all museums nationwide, though many of them have already applied the same technology with different focuses.

For example, the Vietnamese Women’s Museum and the National Museum of Vietnamese History have applied audio guides for their exhibitions.

“Each product will bring the audience new experiences,” she said.

Visitors enjoy the app at the Việt Nam National Fine Arts Museum. — Photo VFA

According to Cai Thái Hoàng Uyên, who is mainly responsible for the project from VINMAS, said the team had faced untold difficulties.

“The app is available in many big museums in the world, but they have large budgets,” she said. “We had to build everything from the first brick.

“We created 160 different versions before reaching the final version, which will be further upgraded.

“Besides, searching for native speakers who are fluent in fine arts to edit the introduction was also challenging,” she said.

The number of guests the VFA welcomed in 2020 accounted for just more than 30 per cent of the figure in 2019. Between January and May this year, the museum received some 8,000 visitors. The total number of guests this year is expected to be the same as last year, or even smaller.

“Digital transformation is a must for museums in this pandemic situation,” Hương said. “We will offer sales on special occasions to some needy audiences like students so that many audiences can use the new app.”

Hương said the museum will launch an electronic library in November to display documents on the culture and history of Vietnamese fine arts.

App user Tạ Diễm Phương said the app is quite useful for visitors.

“I often pay a lot of attention to the details of the artwork displayed,” she said. “The app provides me with sufficient information on the work, history of the work, the author as well as the way the work was gathered in the museum’s stock. It’s quite interesting and easy to use.”

Educating future audience

The National Museum of Vietnamese History has also diversified amid the pandemic.

From July last year until the end of 2020, the museum hosted 88 online history lessons for more than 1,300 children, including some living overseas.

Since the beginning of this year, nearly 30 such lessons have drawn 450 pupils of grade 3, 4 and 5 at primary schools.

Staff prepare for the online history lesson at the National Museum of Vietnamese History. — Photo baotanglichsu.vn

Nguyễn Thị Hà, an employee of the museum, hosts the lessons every Wednesday.

“Even though we are closed to visitors, children can still learn history through Zoom,” she said. “Each lesson often lasts for one hour including a lecture, seeing exhibits, watching a cartoon and a quiz.

“If the children do not like it, no one can force them to focus in front of the computer,” she said. “Other staff and I have learnt children’s psychology and learnt teaching methods from teachers at school to inspire the children.”

Nguyễn An Phương, a parent, said her son looks forward to the lesson every week.

“He is stuck to the computer the whole time,” she said.

Her son, Đinh Tuệ Minh in grade 3 at Lê Ngọc Hân Primary School said he is most excited by the quiz session, during which he earns many stars.

“I hope the pandemic will be controlled soon so that we can take our 10th lesson at the museum,” he said. “At the time, the teacher will give a gift to the ones with most stars.”

Pupils during the online history lessons. — Photo baotanglichsu.vn

The lessons are free. The museum has hosted 12 courses, each consists of 10 lessons with about 20 primary pupils.

“I think it’s a creative way to teach children history, a ‘dry’ subject at school,” Phương said.

According to statistics, the number of guests visiting the museum in the last year fell 93 per cent against the figure before March 2020 when the pandemic hit.

Refreshing period

Staff at Hà Nội Museum, meanwhile, have set up an exhibition area called Hà Nội Nature, one of six topics they will focus on in the next few months.

The area helps visitors understand the rich diversity of the capital’s natural environment through exhibits, photos and modern technology.

“We have consulted scientists, who have done research on history, culture and museums in and outside the country,” said deputy director Đặng Minh Vệ. “We hope to draw more visitors thanks to a new way of approach, display and bring visitors new experiences.”

The Việt Nam Museum of Ethnology has also been preparing for new experiences for children during the summer holiday.

“We have designed a suitable playground for families, where children can play folk games with their parents,” said Trần Hồng Hạnh, deputy director of the museum.

“They can see water puppetry, learn traditional handicrafts at a safe distance,” he added.

Mai Hạnh Ngân, a parent, said she felt safe taking her children to the museum.

Children and parents at a water puppetry show at the Việt Nam Museum of Ethnology. — Photo vme.org

“We often spend half a weekend day at the museum, where there are many green trees, spaces. The staff reminds us of COVID-19 prevention tips,” she said.

In addition, the Việt Nam National Museum of Nature offers virtual exhibitions on the museum’s website.

“We interact with visitors through our website with in-depth pieces of writing and news,” Vũ Văn Liên, deputy director of the museum said. “We plan to promote experience activities aiming at pupils and students like making replicas of insects, dinosaur fossils, sea creatures or making masks of animals.” VNS

MAKE IT LOUD: François Bibbone (left) with members of the Hanoi Brass Community. Photo courtesy of François Bibbone

Bảo Hoa & Ollie Arci

Hà Nội’s Opera House, built by the French colonial administration between 1901 and 1911, is the beating heart of Việt Nam’s classical music scene.

Over the years, it has played host to famed composers and orchestras from around the world, as well as homegrown talents.

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted all sectors of life, but live entertainment has been particularly susceptible to lockdowns and social distancing measures – with musicians unable to travel and large groups of music lovers barred from grand concert halls.

Until vaccines are rolled out comprehensively, the gap between audience and performer could remain wide for some time to come.

One man attempting to bridge that gap is François Bibbone, a documentary filmmaker from France. Bibonne’s connection to the country is familial, as his grandmother is Vietnamese.

With an education in history and prodigious skills on the piano, Bibonne is attempting to mix his skills in telling the story of Việt Nam’s classical music scene, which has its own unique features.

Set to be released in August, Bibonne’s new documentary, Once upon a bridge, in Vietnam , aims to give viewers a taste of the country’s classical music scene and span the distance between East and West.

“This idea of classical music is very different here, because in France, the programmes, we have like Baroque music and contemporary music and classical music and all the stuff, Western classical music. Here they have this, but they also connect that to traditional music and to the Vietnamese folk songs,” Bibonne told Việt Nam News .

MUSIC MAKER: François Bibbone (right) speaks to Nguyễn Văn Cường, owner of the Phạm Pháo Brass factory, for his documentary ‘Once upon a bridge, in Vietnam’. Photo courtesy of François Bibbone

It’s this rich mixture of heritage and diversity, the interplay of age-old traditions and modern trends, that makes the music scene in Việt Nam such a satisfying subject to draw upon. As part of his filmmaking process, Bibonne travelled to a number of provinces and regions around Việt Nam, all with their own musical roots.

“There’s a village [in Bắc Giang Province]. They all play the violin for like 70 years. It’s like a tradition now, and they all play folk songs there.

“The musicians of the orchestra, they are very aware of their roots. I think more aware than, for example in France. French people, they don’t really know about the music roots. We don’t know what we, what people used to play, before and at school. We don’t know. We don’t learn that too much.

“But here I think the Government plays a very strong role, would you say that music heritage, like ca trù, quan họ, chèo . I mean a lot of stuff. These musicians, they collaborate with young musicians to do a project.”

He’s also impressed with projects run by young artists.

“Despite COVID-19 a lot of musicians launched new projects. Some musicians came back from abroad and managed new stuff here. I think of a young cellist called Phan Đỗ Phúc. We’ve heard [his music event series] ‘Schubert in a Mug’. A Japanese musician, a trumpetist, named Yuki and another trumpetist from VNSO named Su did Hanoi Brass Week with the Goethe Institute.

“There are a lot of projects like that. And it is very interesting to understand the new generation of Việt Nam. So my documentary is from music history, and I want to highlight this new generation to show there is a development of the music scene here.”

It’s this collaborative element that strikes Bibonne as vital to Việt Nam’s classical scene – where events and projects are open to all comers, providing a rich opportunity to learn and develop skills and knowledge.

“I went to Yên Bái Province and [there were] a lot of musicians from the Vietnamese music academy.

“They organised concerts to promote, projects to fundraise for bamboo forests. They all play different styles of music, like classical music, but [also] folk songs, songs from the H’Mong tribe.

“These musicians there come from the VNSO or some of them. So, it’s really very interesting to see that community, which is involved in different programmes like this.”

CLASSICAL CONNECTIONS: François Bibbone (left) speaks to Lyly Tran, director of the Vietnam National Opera and Ballet, for his documentary ‘Once upon a bridge, in Vietnam’. Photo courtesy of François Bibbone

Bibonne’s documentary is an attempt to capture this community, and the deep links between culture, folk traditions and today’s classical music. In telling the tale of classical music in Việt Nam, the young filmmaker also attempts to close that COVID void, and give people back home a better sense of Vietnamese music.

“I want people to travel in Việt Nam, especially during COVID-19, as they cannot come here. I’m not working for a travel agency, but [the documentary] is also a trip. It’s a trip in Việt Nam through music.”

The process of making the documentary was not without its challenges, especially in sourcing interviews during a pandemic on a shoe-string budget. But thanks to the close-knit community of musicians here, Bibbone has managed to attract a number of musicians, performers and experts to talk about their field.

Bibonne wants to draw further on the inspiration he’s garnered here, moving from his documentary film to providing more of a bridge between Vietnamese musicians and classical music worldwide. The first step in this process is of course the film, but also a production company – Studio Thi Koan – named after his grandmother.

“So, one idea of the documentary also is to meet artists in Việt Nam and promote them and maybe bring not better, but new visibility, different visibility.

“I’m thinking maybe I can in the future make a production company for the musicians here and connect them to the music scene abroad, not only in France, but maybe in the US or everywhere they want to play and sell them with the videos and record them.” VNS

BusMap has reached more than two million users to date, becoming Vietnam’s top free public transportation app

A number of tech products and solutions made by Phenikaa Group – a major multifield group with core business lines in technology, industry, scientific research, education and training – have recently been brought into life, marking a watershed in the group’s pursuit of becoming one of the top-tier technological and industrial corporations in the region.

Along with this, a majority of core technologies are reportedly developed by Vietnamese engineers and scientists of Phenikaa Group, especially the young, talented, and passionate ones whose businesses have become parts of the Phenikaa Ecosystem.

The group’s headhunting policy showcases its strategy to promote science and technology development while cultivating young Vietnamese intellectuals and capable talents.

Among the completed deals was the $1.5 million investment in BusMap JSC – the developer of Vietnam’s top free public transportation application BusMap.

The investment was expected to enable Phenikaa Group to keep its promise of nurturing Vietnamese talents and enhance the Phenikaa Ecosystem.

Moving forward, the deal would hasten the sustainable development and construction of smart cities in Vietnam and facilitate the government to implement its policies and achieve set targets through intensive digital transformation.

The deal made BusMap JSC a member of Phenikaa Group and it provided the former with manpower, organisational structure, and technical fundamentals.

BusMap was then renamed Phenikaa MaaS JSC and the company has made great efforts to rebuild its organisational structure and expand its vision and strategic direction to become the leading developer and provider of products, solutions, and services to drive Vietnam’s transport and city development by applying smart solutions through comprehensive digital transformation.

Distinct growth story of BusMap JSC

In 2013, a group of young, talented technicians led by CEO Le Yen Thanh founded the technological startup BusMap with strong aspirations.

In the early days, the founders wanted to create a charge-free public transportation app for urban bus passengers. The app was designed to help people to optimise their travel routes, saving money and time in comparison to other means of transportation, thus encouraging the use of public transport and reducing traffic congestions and environmental pollution.

From the beginning of a small-scale startup with a handful of employees, BusMap has been constantly growing and improving.

At the moment, the application has reached more than two million users, assisted the completion of more than 50 million trips, and become Vietnam’s top free public transportation app.

The application is based on digital map technology and AI. It uses a consultancy algorithm to offer users the best travel route for the lowest fare and time.

At the end of 2020, the BusMap app came ahead of other popular names to win the first prize for “Smart Cities, Smart Living” at the International Telecommunication Union’s ITU Award 2020 – a worldwide recognition for outstanding technological initiatives in contribution to a better world.

After receiving capital injection, Phenikaa MaaS continues to push up restructuring for development of smart transportation products and services in favour of businesses and organisations

In respect to the deal with BusMap JSC, now known as Phenikaa MaaS JSC, Phenikaa Group spokesperson said: “Phenikaa Group has always sought to work with and foster young talents and projects which are highly disruptive, applicable, and influential for the community. The success of the BusMap app shows that Vietnamese young entrepreneurs can create core technologies and bring them into reality for a smarter, better life.”

Under the strategic direction of Phenkaa Group with long-term assistance, Phenikaa MaaS will use BusMap as the core technology to create “personalised” applications that each user can tailor to their own needs to help with their personal life and professional work.

As a member of Phenikaa Group and part of the Phenikaa Ecosystem, Phenikaa MaaS will continue to restructure its operations and create products and services that are highly applicable and accessible to potential customers.

Phenikaa MaaS will also come up with transportation products and services for local companies, organisations, and communities.

Beyond an ordinary investment project, the investment in the young Vietnamese startup BusMap attests to Phenikaa Group’s commitment to nurturing young Vietnamese entrepreneurs in smart transportation, smart city development, and digital transformation.

The combination of young, passionate entrepreneurs dedicated to technological advancements and a top-tier technological-industrial pioneer will create a smarter and better life for all.

As a member of Phenikaa Group and part of the Phenikaa Ecosystem, Phenikaa MaaS will continue to restructure its operations and create products and services that are highly applicable and accessible to potential customers.

This will enable the company to scale up its market presence in other public transportation segments such as railway and waterway in addition to urban bus networks, accelerating the development of smart transportation through extensive digital transformation.

By Anh Duc

The establishment of Việt Nam News (VNS) more than 30 years ago is recognised as a turning point in the history of Vietnamese journalism. What could you say about this historic decision of the Vietnam News Agency (VNA)?

The first edition of VNS was released in the context of Việt Nam starting the Đổi Mới process and opening up the country. It can be said that at that time, the birth of a national English-language daily newspaper of the VNA was a breakthrough and brought many meanings. As Việt Nam strengthens international exchanges, the need of foreigners to learn about Việt Nam as well as the need to bring Việt Nam’s information to international readers is increasing, VNS is recognised as Việt Nam’s official voice in global press.

The establishment of VNS can also be considered a brave decision of the VNA , because there was no precedent in publishing an English language daily at that time in Việt Nam. However, with the mission of being a national information provider, VNA’s leadership wisely and timely established VNS as an official information channel of Việt Nam in English.

With close association with the VNA , the newspaper has taken advantage of resources from the national news agency, with an abundant source of official domestic and foreign information and a large force of reporters and contributors. With the support of the VNA , the newspaper continuously improves its quality and the efficiency of its work. VNS has covered many major events of the world and of the nation, and has been appreciated by domestic and international readers as a reputable and reliable source of information.

As one of 11 units and publications for foreign service of the VNA, in the past three decades, VNS has grown tremendously. How do you evaluate the development of the newspaper?

Under the direction of the Board of Directors of the VNA, VNS plays an important role in the field of English-language media, providing official information through its print, electronic and multimedia products. In its 30 years of development, the leading daily English-language newspaper of Việt Nam has gradually become a prestigious publication in the region. Together with other units in the VNA, VNS contributes to form a large and effective external information front of the VNA .

From the very beginning, with only four modest black and white pages, VNS has constantly developed, increasing to eight pages and then 28 pages, and printed in colour. In 1998, VNS was one of the first newspapers in Việt Nam to go online, marking a new stage of development of the newspaper in the digital age. Over the past decade, multimedia products of VNS appear more and more online and are enthusiastically received by viewers. Up to now, its multimedia channels such as Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, etc. have become popular with millions of views and interactions weekly.

Now, Việt Nam News is not just the name of the printed newspaper. It is associated with a system of popular, quality, timely and accurate communication channels, widely trusted and loved by domestic and international readers.

VNS has made its mark in the field of international cooperation. In 1998, VNS became one of the five founding members of the Asia News Network (ANN) , with the aim of creating an information exchange network; strengthening press cooperation; organising and sponsoring international events; and cooperating in journalism training among leading newspapers in the region. This event has enhanced the position of the VNA and VNS in the domestic and international press environment.

In your opinion, what is now the most important things for VNS in development? What message do you want to share with the team for the future?

In order to have a strong development over the past 30 years, it is impossible not to mention the first people who laid the foundation for the newspaper. These are also the senior journalists of the VNA , such as the late journalist Đỗ Phượng, former General Director of the VNA , the first Editor-in-Chief of the newspaper; journalist Nguyễn Công Khuyến, Editor-in-Chief, who shouldered the main responsibility during the difficult first decade of the newspaper; the first deputy editors-in-chief such as journalists Nguyễn Quốc Trung, Hà Tuân, etc. Editor-in-Chief Trần Mai Hưởng, who is also former General Director of VNA , and the current Editorial Board who have continued to lead VNS .

Starting with just a few staff when it was first established, the VNS has now grown strong with hundreds of reporters, editors and employees in the North, Centre and South. The team also include enthusiastic international copy-editors, who have always stood by their Vietnamese colleagues throughout the development process.

VNS has played an important role in disseminating the Government’s guidelines, policies and laws; timely and comprehensively reporting on all aspects of the country, as well as major international and regional issues. With these achievements, the newspaper has been several times honoured by the State with noble orders.

In the future, VNS needs to further develop a team of talented and dedicated journalists; modernise it’s technical facilities; strengthen the development of new media to better perform assigned tasks and serve the country. The newspaper must become a weighty voice, contributing to preserving peace, stability and development in the region and in the world. — VNS

The hamlet, located in An Giang Province’s An Phu District, has got an unsurprising nickname: the “Twins Hamlet.”

Pham Ngoc Liep, who has two twin grandchildren in the hamlet, said: “Almost every household here has a pair of twins. Come to think of it, it’s a bit unusual.”

The hamlet has 17 pairs of twins who have rhyming names, including a pair called An Phu and An Giang, named after the district and province, and another called Lu and Lut ( lu lut means heavy flood in Vietnamese) since the twins were born during a historical flood that struck the region in 2000.

Kim Ly and Kim Yen are named after two big gold shops in the Chau Doc Town in the hope that the two girls will grow up and own gold shops one day.

The first twins are 80 years old – Bay Nghi and her younger brother Tam Nghia; and the youngest twins, Ngoc Nhu and Ngoc Y, are 8 years old. The remaining twins include those in the 40s and those born between 2000 and 2013.

Loi Pham and Loc Pham, sons of Cao Thi Diem and Pham No Han, play games with each other. Photo by VnExpress/Ngoc Tai.

Cao Thi Diem, 39-year-old mother of 9-year-old twin boys, said that she and her husband had no plans to have many children since they are laborers and often struggle to make ends meet. After having a boy and a girl, they wanted another daughter and then stop having kids.

“I got pregnant again when my second child was only 10 months old. So I asked him whether to keep the baby or not. He said I should keep the child, adding that we should be responsible for making the baby,” she said.

She could not afford an ultrasound, but an accident, when she was hit by a car, turned out to be a blessing in disguise. The person responsible for the accident paid for an ultrasound and she learned that she was pregnant with twins. She gave birth to two beautiful boys.

Even though she had to raise four small children, Diem did not take any “maternal leave” and kept working while her husband Pham No Han worked as a hired laborer from dawn to dusk everyday without a break.

But the couple broke their “plan” and went on to have another daughter and are now raising five children.

The lily connection

“No one can explain why this stretch of road has many twins. Locals assume that this phenomenon was caused by eating water lilies harvested from a nearby lake. About 10 years ago, the lake was drained and converted into farming land. After that, the hamlet stopped recording twins,” Diem said.

Some locals also believe that having twins is determined by genetics. No Han, for instance, has younger twin brothers – Phan Van Chien and Phan Van Thang. They are 32 years old now. After getting married in 2008, Chien’s wife gave birth to two identical girls, before Han and his wife had their pair.

However, most of the remaining families with twins are not related, so the genetics argument was not widely accepted. It also appears that no social or biological scientist has studied the unusual phenomenon.

While the hamlet’s residents do not have a solid explanation, the families with twins are happy to have them.

Ta Thi Thu Thuy, 43, mother of three daughters including a pair of twins, continues to cuddle, hug and kisses all of them. “It took a lot of hard work for me to raise them this big,” she said. Sometimes, looking from behind at the twins, Thuy often gets their names mixed.

Furthermore, instead of feeling the burden of having to nurture and educate three children, the couple are so pleased that they are growing up into hard working and bright students that they are eager to have even more children.

Twin sisters Kim Ngan and Kim Ha study at home. Photo by VnExpress/Ngoc Tai.

“I will have more kids if I know for sure that I will have another pair of twins. Since that is not certain, we decided to stop,” said another father of two twin sisters, smiling.

After hearing of the hamlet with many twins, people from other localities have flocked to the place to “learn the experience.”

Catch the man

While mothers having twins just laugh and say, “It’s God’s blessing,” some of the husbands humorously assert it is their doing.

Since most of the married women here are from another commune, “If you want to have twins, get married to men in this hamlet”, joked the father of a pair of twins.

Ha Thi Huyen Giao, a doctor at Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Tam Tri Dong Thap General Hospital, said the rate of having twins in the world is currently about 1-1.5 percent, double that of 40 years ago.

In the past, Vietnam had a lower rate of twins than the world, but now it is not much different due to people having access to and success in infertility treatment.

The cause of have so many natural twins in the hamlet has not been identified by researchers, but having twins depends on factors such as age of pregnant woman, number of births given and other factors. For instance, some factors such as skin color, ethnicity and living environment have been reported to increase the likelihood of twins, but this is not a common occurrence.

According to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM), the chance of having twins via genetics from the maternal side is 1.66 percent, while the figure for men is only 0.8 percent.

Twins can be inherited by skipping a generation, with grandparents have twins, parents having normal births and their offspring having twins.

Le Thi Bich Thuy, chairwoman of Phuoc Hung Commune People’s Committee, said that all 17 cases of twins in Phuoc Khanh Hamlet were born to women who became pregnant naturally.

She said no one knows until now why the hamlet has so many twins. “The senior citizens here all say they didn’t follow any special diet or pray for twins.”

Over the past month, Olivia Taylor (name changed), an Australian residing in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), has been living in “a state of nervousness.”

She’s been informed that authorities were going to stop renewing both tourist visa and business visa extensions.

Taylor, who has a tourist visa, has been waiting for Vietnam’s borders, closed over Covid-19, to open up for everyone. She has been in Vietnam for nearly two years and works as an English teacher. She is not planning to return to Australia because it will be expensive for her to stay in quarantine there (more than $2,300). Furthermore, she loves being in Vietnam, where she has felt safe during the pandemic, and wishes “to be part of” the life here.

So she asked her school where she teaches to apply for a work permit which would cost her around $1,000. Taylor has 10 days left, “but I still don’t know if my application will be accepted or not. I hope that everything will work out for me.”

Foreigners are at beach in Mui Ne, Binh Thuan Province, March 2020. Photo by VnExpress/Viet Quoc.

In a worse situation, Robert Miller (name changed), an American, said he’d just lost his second job as an English teacher when his employer, an English teaching center in Bac Giang, closed as the northern province became the country’s new Covid-19 epicenter.

Miller had already given up his main job in the IT sector.

Without any income, unable to afford paying rent in Hanoi, he moved to Da Lat in the Central Highlands to live with his friends.

Describing his predicament as an “impossible situation” in terms of getting a work permit, Miller said he had just days left on his visa. He was advised to pay for a Temporary Residence Card (TRC) but agents have increased the price. It used to be around $1,600 and now they require much more.

Miller, like Taylor, loves being in Vietnam and wishes to find a job to settle down here. But the pandemic has made getting a new job extremely difficult.

Miller does not want to return to the U.S. as “the vaccine doesn’t solve the issues of mutant strains.

“I don’t know what to do right now.”

Miller and Taylor are one of the few people who agreed to share their plight. Meanwhile, many expats in different groups on social media have expressed their worries about Vietnam’s so-called new visa policy. Most of those posting their concerns were very busy finding a way to extend their visa.

Undue haste

Miller felt the authorities had “hurried” in issuing the new regulation on visas. He suggested that foreigners should be given more time, around a few months, instead of a few weeks to prepare to change.

Vietnam can try to create a better system to root out illegal workers while allowing people on legal visas to extend their stay during the Covid-19 crisis, he said.

Concurring with Miller on the advisability of “longer preparation”, Taylor said she would like the Vietnamese government to give people who want to submit new visa applications around three months time. With that, they could find a way to save money for their tickets to return to their home countries, or explore job opportunities in other countries. Then there would be more people with legal work permits and visas in Vietnam.

Taylor said that many of her friends had lost their jobs because of social distancing regulations in various provinces. They were having to use their savings, which would otherwise be spent on plane tickets or visa extension, to buy food and pay rent. In other words, they can’t afford to leave or start again with other plans because they are financially constrained without enough work.

“It has been a very hard time, it’s like running around in circles. People feel very stuck.”

Taylor hoped that in the next six months, Vietnam eases regulations thanks to vaccines, so that foreigners can have enough money and leave safely.

Alternative destinations

At present, many foreigners were discussing the chance of going to Mexico as they could not extend their visas in Vietnam, Taylor said. Mexico had a similar cost of living in Vietnam and people could become part of the society there too, she added.

People were also considering other places like Croatia and Portugal that offer special visas for those who can prove that they make online incomes. It’s called a visa for digital nomads, she said.

“However, I don’t know if making a big change like that (going to other countries) would be a very wise decision.”

As a person who has been stuck in Vietnam due to Covid-19, William Wilson (name changed), also felt that the new regulation on visas was issued in haste.

Wilson, who did not want to reveal his nationality, said that the issue now is that there were not enough flights for foreigners to leave. He estimated that planes had very limited capacity for reservations, around 30 percent. Therefore, if people can book a ticket to go home they should be given a visa until that time, which is “not that hard.

“The solution is not that complicated, let them buy a ticket and leave,” he said, adding that he has a family back home and wanted to see them.

Choosing an option to leave Vietnam at the end of May, Curtis Edmonds, a retired veteran American, said he had come in on a tourist visa as he traveled to different parts of the world. He didn’t plan to stay as long as he did, but “he fell in love with the place.”

Edmonds lived in Vietnam since 2018 and conducted a visa run every 90 days. Later, his agent offered him a business visa that would allow him to stay an entire year without doing visa runs.

“I said yes! I had no clue it was illegal or under a shell company, until this new wave started.”

One day, his agent informed him that he should try to find a sponsor or get a job before his visa expired on June 1, 2021. After examining the situation, Edmonds knew it was his time to leave Vietnam for good. Though he had never done anything illegal in the country, “finding that I was living there illegally was a very scary situation.”

He and his girlfriend and her family were heartbroken as they said goodbye. Later, he found that it would take a minimum of one year for her to be able to go to America.

But Edmonds remained upbeat. “I hope I will be back in Vietnam by 2022.”