Barcamp Mekong aka Barcamp Can Tho

Vietnam is getting its third location for a Barcamp (after Hanoi and Saigon), this time further south in Can Tho, the capital of the Mekong Delta. With German efficiency and Vietnamese enthusiasm Hong Phuc, Mario and their team organized the Barcamp for May the 8th an the Can Tho University.

Form the website:

Good topics are topics you are passionate about. Previous Barcamps in Vietnam were held in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City with an incredible range of topics. We feel that the “unconference” style of Barcamps are a great chance to share and learn and bring the community of the Mekong Delta together. Some of the topics we would like to see are:

Copyrights and Creative Commons for education
Making educational videos
Google Maps and Google Earth in education
Collaborative tools, microblogging tools, classroom polling tools
Virtual Worlds in education
Making better presentations
Digital Photography
Making themes and setting up CMS like Joomla, Drupal and Wordpress
Storytelling
Ideas on using social networks with students
Finding the right job
Marketing in Vietnam
The “camp” however, is not restricted to these topics and we encourage everyone to suggest topics and lead sessions. We want to invite the wider community in the Mekong Delta to participate.

Together with my buddy Dylan I will do a iPad presentation. Expect a lot of fun!

Repair Vietnamese style

repair vietnamese style
Originally uploaded by thomaswanhoff

This is a lamp in the park next to us. Children are playing around, dogs as well. Sometimes it's wet, because of rain or watering the plants. I guess the lamp was reported broken and this is the way things getting fixed in Vietnam. That is also the reason why a girl got electrocuted recently using a ATM. That's why boys last year died when loose cable hit them.
With very very fews exceptions (the camera repair shop in the antique street, apple future world and my Yamaha Dealer) I haven't seen any proper fixing or repair in Vietnam. It's always very poor standard, no sense of craftsmanship.
Some of my friend told me that this is the way things are done in Vietnam. I can't accept this. First, everyone can always improve. Second, people die because of this so called fixing culture. It's actually just the laziness to do things properly, and the lack of a desire to do better.
That's what actually, on a larger scale, will keep Vietnam on the current level of economy.

IKEA Dining table for sale

IKEA Dining table for sale
Originally uploaded by thomaswanhoff

I am selling a IKEA dining table with extension with 6 chairs. If you are interested, please give me a call 0122 350 4593 or send an email thomas.wanhoff(at)gmail.com

Also for sale: a computer desk http://www.flickr.com/photos/wanhoff/4527077159/

Colonial building

Colonial building
Originally uploaded by thomaswanhoff

I am in Bac Lieu for a project and I am kind of surprised about some gemstones in architecture I found. One is this huge french colonial villa. It's a hotel and a restaurant now, but it was used to be the living place of a playboy (at least that's what my assistant told me), who was the son of a rich family and did partying with girls all the time. These days of parties are definitely over in Bac Lieu - there is not much to do beside working.

Eating place Hoi An

Eating place Hoi An
Originally uploaded by thomaswanhoff

I wonder what idiot set this up in Hoi An??? That destroys the whole image of the old town. It seems greediness is border-less this days. (Of course all stalls offer the same, nothing nice decorated, staff is shouting on you - a tourists nightmare)

Springrolls at River Lounge in hoi an

Springrolls at River Lounge in hoi an
Originally uploaded by thomaswanhoff

I can really recommend the River Lounge in Hoi An, located across the bridge on the new part, opposite to Cargo Club and Mango Rooms. The food is delicious, beautiful presented and for a reasonable price!

My Blog in Laos

Even I will move to Laos this blog about Vietnam will still be alive. If you want to know more about my life in Laos, check out http://wanhoffs-laos.blogspot.com. Since my company in Vietnam still exists I will be on and off in the next years, so still a lot to blog about this country.
Why I leave? Because my wife got a new job. Why I still come back? Because I really like Vietnam, and I don't give up hoping that it will improve more.

Ho Chi Minh song contest launched in Laos

Vietnam’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Lao Culture and Information Ministry on April 2 jointly launched a contest on composing songs about Vietnamese President Ho Chi Minh in Laos.
The contest was held in celebration of the 120th anniversary of the late Vietnamese leader’s birthday (May 19).

All amateur and professional composers holding Lao nationality can send in works in the Vietnamese or Lao language from April 2 through the end of May.
The winners will be announced in early June.

According to the organising board, the contest is a good opportunity for Lao artists to express their sentiments toward President Ho Chi Minh, the symbol of Vietnamese heroism and someone who made great contributions to fostering the special friendship between Vietnam and Laos. via VOVNEWS