IQBAL - User contributions [en]

Amazing Halong Bay

2018-06-21T15:03:51Z

JonnaRoque34403:

�� We chose the Valentine since the pictures of the boat, rooms, and common areas looked stunning. At least they did in the pictures. We were told that some boats the look nice in the pictures are very old but they use the pictures from when they first sailed. We also liked that this boat only had 5 cabins for a maximum of 10 people when some alternatives had as many as 25 cabins and 50 people. One other positive was that the boat supposedly would be away from other boats when it was time to sleep and that it had it's own private dock away from the hoards. When we first boarded the boat I was in awe. The boat was just as promised and only a couple of months new. We took a small boat to reach the Valentine and I thought it was a little bizarre that no one else was on this boat. It turns out that Stacy and I were the only guests on the entire boat (there was also a travel agent inspecting the boat). As a result they gave us the Presidents suite which we were told was the biggest cabin in all of Halong bay. It was huge with a Jacuzzi tub and separate marble bathroom and rain shower. The walls were made of thatched bamboo and dark wood that glistened in the sun. The ceiling was almost high enough for a second floor! The top deck had 6 gorgeous teak loungers that we had to ourselves. Soon after we arrived on the boat the ship began to sail and we sat down to our 5 course lunch. I only wish I knew it was 5 courses so I could have paced myself. Delicious soup, papaya salad that looked too good to eat, perfect lemongrass shrimp, thai chicken, and dessert were some of the items. After lunch we visited an island that had several steps leading up to a sweeping view of Halong Bay. After snapping too many pictures we were soon back on the boat sailing some more and then off to a secluded bay for a little kayaking. Nearly the entire time sailing we only saw the 3 other boats the company owned (Ginger, Jasmine, Indochina) but at this bay it was just our boat. It was so great to be the only guests, they completely worked around our schedule and asked us what we wanted to do of all the options. Kayaking was a highlight of the trip. No one else around and the water so still that it looks like glass. The reflection of the rock formations and trees looked nearly identical whether looking at them straight on or it's reflection in the water. Back on the boat for some [http://en.Wiktionary.org/wiki/relaxation relaxation] and then we had dinner. Another meal with too many courses, this time we joined the travel agent (Simon) and an employee of the company. Later after dinner we took the small speed boat to the Indochina sails to listen to some live traditional Vietnamese music and eat squid that was caught just 15 minutes before we [http://Www.Automotivedigitalmarketing.com/main/search/search?q=arrived arrived]. May have been the best I have ever tasted. When we got back on our boat, I grabbed a fishing pole and tried my best at catching some squid. This is [http://www.vtr.org.vn/cam-nang-du-lich-bac-kinh-5-ngay-4-dem.html vtr.org.vn] more fun than normal fishing because you can see the squid in the bright light that was shining on the water and once you see the squid close to the lure you pull up to catch it. I caught one but surprisingly it was during one of the only times I wasn't actually trying to catch one. It was nearly 12:30P when I went back to the cabin to sleep. I didn't want to go to bed since I knew that I would wake up with the main part [http://www.vtr.org.vn/cam-nang-du-lich-bac-kinh-5-ngay-4-dem.html du lịch Bắc Kinh] of the trip already over. Plus, I wanted to make it to the 6:30A kayaking adventure. Source: TravelPod

Japan s tiny refugee community urges Tokyo to open doors wider

2018-06-21T13:52:14Z

JonnaRoque34403:

By [http://search.Huffingtonpost.com/search?q=Kiyoshi%20Takenaka&s_it=header_form_v1 Kiyoshi Takenaka] YOKOHAMA, Japan, Nov 29 (Reuters) - Hitoshi Kino, a bespectacled clerical employee at a university near Tokyo, doesn't stand out. Only a slight Vietnamese accent betrays his past, as he speaks in Japanese about being stranded on a rickety boat in waters off his war-torn homeland in 1980, starving with 32 others and left by pirates with nothing but his underpants. Kino, who was then Ky Tu Duong, is one of more than 11,000 refugees that Japan took in over [http://www.vtr.org.vn/cam-nang-du-lich-bac-kinh-5-ngay-4-dem.html vtr.org.vn] the three decades to 2005 in the aftermath of the Vietnam War, under a little-remembered open-door policy which has never been repeated on such a scale. Now, Kino and other "boat people" who have resettled in Japan believe Tokyo should again open its doors and let in some of today's asylum seekers, including those from Syria, not just for those in distress but for Japan's sake as well "Japan should open up a little to them to align itself with the international community," Kino, who became a Japanese citizen in mid-1980s, said over Chinese dumplings and stir-fry at a restaurant near his home west of Tokyo. "It could be just 100, or 50. But it would be better than doing nothing." Japan took just 11 of 5,000 asylum-seekers last year, or 0.2 percent, the lowest acceptance rate in the club of rich nations, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. In contrast, France took 22 percent and Germany 42 percent. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has offered nearly $2 billion to help other nations manage the flood of refugees from Syria's civil war, but his government has virtually shut the door on those fleeing Europe's worst migrant crisis since World War Two. This month's attacks in Paris, in which 130 people were killed in mass shootings and suicide bombings blamed on Islamic State, could make any public discussion of accepting refugees into Japan even more difficult. The government's reluctance to accept refugees shows that opening up to immigration is still politically unpalatable, despite an alarming shrinkage in the country's population. After the 2011 nuclear disaster caused by earthquake and tsunami, "foreigners scrambled to leave Japan. But few of us former refugees fled", Kino said. "Japan helped us and took care of us. We would not desert such a country." Indochina refugees speak not only of gratitude toward their adopted country but also of difficulties they have faced trying to fit into society, which prides itself on its homogeneous culture. Foreigners make up only 2 percent of the population. On the job, some Japanese "assume we don't understand things easily and we are not smart", said Hoai Takahashi, another refugee from Vietnam who changed his name from Hoang Drong Hoai. "They even say things like 'This job should not be left to these people,' in our very presence." Banri Kawai, formerly Nguyen Van Ry, works at a facility in eastern Japan that houses five former Vietnamese refugees with mental illness. He said they had been bullied by their Japanese seniors at work. "They lost sleep and developed mental conditions," he said after attending Sunday service with Takahashi at a Catholic church north of Tokyo. Chrisna Ito, who arrived in Japan at the age of 15, says she was rebuked at a factory dorm for using the communal bath before others had finished. She assumed they thought she was dirty because her skin was darker than that of a [https://www.Sportsblog.com/search?search=typical%20Japanese typical Japanese]. Ito, a 43-year-old nursery school worker who was Cheth Chan Chrisna before fleeing Cambodia, had to start working at the rubber factory [http://www.vtr.org.vn/cam-nang-du-lich-bac-kinh-5-ngay-4-dem.html du lịch Bắc Kinh] to support her family after six months of language and other adjustment training. It was only after she married and had children - now in high school and college - that she fulfilled her aspiration to go to junior high and high school. [http://www.vtr.org.vn/cam-nang-du-lich-bac-kinh-5-ngay-4-dem.html du lịch Bắc Kinh] Asked how she feels about the government support she received, Ito reflected for a moment. "I am grateful. But at the same time, I cannot help wondering if Japan could have done a little better." (Additional reporting by Thomas Wilson; Editing by William Mallard and Mark Bendeich) Advertisement

Railway to ruin: Hanoi train factory fades from glory

2018-06-19T16:33:33Z

JonnaRoque34403:

The Gia Lam train factory in Hanoi was the first in [http://www.vtr.org.vn/cam-nang-du-lich-bac-kinh-5-ngay-4-dem.html tour bắc kinh từ hà nội] the then-French territory established to bolster the expanding rail network of the time Built by the French to fix trains for their fast-developing Vietnamese colony, the Gia Lam factory later churned out weapons to fuel the country's independence fight, and then survived the onslaught of American bombers during the war. But the storied Hanoi plant is now in decline, a victim of the rising consumer power of Vietnam's middle classes as passengers turn from trains to planes. The storied Hanoi plant is now in decline, a victim of the rising consumer power of Vietnam's middle classes as passengers turn from trains to planes "In the past, I was proud to work here because this factory was the biggest in Indochina," repairman Au Duy Hien told AFP. Opened in 1905, Gia Lam was the first train factory in the then-French territory, which spanned modern-day Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. Mechanics used the base to first fix and then assemble the engines and carriages that served the region's rapid push toward industrialisation. The factory was taken over by the Vietnamese in the 1940s, expanding production to make bazookas and grenades for revolutionaries fighting the colonial rulers who were finally thrown out in 1954 The factory was taken over by the Vietnamese in the 1940s, expanding production to make bazookas and grenades for revolutionaries fighting the colonial rulers who were finally thrown out in 1954. And then [http://www.vtr.org.vn/cam-nang-du-lich-bac-kinh-5-ngay-4-dem.html tour bắc kinh từ hà nội] it continued to make weapons during the Vietnam War -- even as it was bombed by US planes targeting Communist-backed revolutionaries in northern Vietnam. - [http://edition.cnn.com/search/?text=Running Running] out of steam - Output at the factory is down more than 90 percent since its 1990s heyday and it is now mostly used to repair old trains, with little demand for new carriages on the country's vast but outdated rail network But today, output is down more than 90 percent since its 1990s heyday. It is now mostly used to repair old trains, with little demand for new carriages on the country's vast but outdated rail network. The industry is struggling to keep pace with the lure of low-cost air travel. For many, the choice between a clanging, slow-moving train or a quick -- and cheap -- plane is a no-brainer. In 2015, 31 million people travelled by air, more than double the number in 2010, according to official statistics. Train use remained steady at 11 million for the year. Today, some companies are seeking to revive the colonial romance of rail travel, offering first-class trips, wood-lined cabins with restaurant car. The air travel industry in Vietnam has taken off in recent years, aided by the launch of low-cost airlines offering cheap tickets. In 2015, 31 million Vietnamese took to the skies, more than double the number who flew in 2010 "If rail transportation isn't developed, then the railway industry cannot be revived," union boss Nguyen Anh Tuan told AFP. Some lawmakers recently called for private investment into the state-controlled sector, and the [http://www.search.com/search?q=country%27s%20parliament country's parliament] is currently considering revising the law. But unless the [http://www.vtr.org.vn/cam-nang-du-lich-bac-kinh-5-ngay-4-dem.html vtr.org.vn] industry sees a major upturn in fortunes, Gia Lam employees fear it will soon run out of steam. Advertisement

User:JonnaRoque34403

2018-06-19T16:30:23Z

JonnaRoque34403: Created page with "Hi there! :) My name is Jonna, I'm a student studying Biology from Krakow, Poland. Also visit my page :: [http://www.vtr.org.vn/cam-nang-du-lich-bac-kinh-5-ngay-4-dem.h..."

Hi there! :) My name is Jonna, I'm a student studying Biology from Krakow, Poland. Also visit my page :: [http://www.vtr.org.vn/cam-nang-du-lich-bac-kinh-5-ngay-4-dem.html tour bắc kinh từ hà nội]