Buying Blu-Ray (HD) Movies in Vietnam [More on Piracy]

Tuesday, February 9th, 2010
Blu-Ray Disc logo

Image via Wikipedia

This blog has never been afraid to discuss piracy openly. (Notice I mention “this blog”. I, however, do not condone piracy in any way or fashion. “This blog” made me do it! I am innocent!)

Some examples: How to be a Digital Pirate in Vietnam, My Torrent Guide for You, The Escapist : Sony Invades Vietnam with PlayStations

Today, I want to share about the world of network media tanks, getting HD-quality movies on the cheap, and how to make this all happen. I won’t talk too much about the situation of piracy, having discussed those in detail in other articles. I also won’t get too technical about the discussion, just what 99% of the people reading this need to know to get things done.

The lowdown: getting HD movies in Vietnam can be quite affordable. Will these movies be the exact same quality as buying a Blu-Ray disc in the US? No. But pretty close for most concerning eyes (if you’re reading this article here of all places, you probably cannot tell the difference. I don’t even know if I can, for that matter, and I have a HD Player and Movies for my Xbox 360)

Getting movies basically gets down to getting a player for them (media tank), the movies (movie copy service), and of course, the TV.

Buying Movies:

3 Steps:

  1. Buy a Media Tank
  2. Buy a Hard Drive to Attach to Media Tank
  3. Buy Movies

Step 1, Buy a Media Tank:

A media tank is like a DVD Player or VCR. You connect it to your TV and it has the ability to play media. I have a WD TV hooked up to a Seagate 1.5 TB Drive. If you want to know more scroll to the bottom of post.

For a full list of Media Tanks available at Halo Shop in Saigon, see here: Media Tank List, Halo Shop. I generally recommend them for any purchases. They can speak English and they’re not so full of BS so you can take their advice for an easier process.

If you’re from Hanoi, sorry, I don’t know of any places in Hanoi, though I’m sure they exist- ask a local Home Theater shop, and they should be able to point you in the right direction.

A few more notes: Don’t bother getting HD movies unless you have an HDTV. There will be no benefit. Also, use an HDMI cable to connect the Media Tank to the HD TV. HDMI Cables should cost less than $10 USD- don’t be tricked into paying more. Lastly, if you’re not going to hook up a 5.1 (or 7.1/8.1/etc.) sound system to your TV, you should make sure the audio will be ok if you connect the Media Tank to your TV. Just ask “Can I use this Media Tank with my TV speakers?” With the WD TV, this isn’t a problem unless you are playing DTS movies, but scroll to the end of this post for more on that.

Step 2, Buy a Hard Drive to Attach to Media Tank:

You can buy these anywhere. I would suggest getting a package deal when you get your Media Tank, minimum 1TB Hard Drive, get 2TB if you can afford it. Remember, movies are 5-10 GB each, so a 1TB Hard Drive will store only 200 movies. Tank + Hard Drive may cost $400 to $500 depending on what you buy. Sounds expensive, but the movies themselves are extremely cheap.

Step 3, Buy Movies:

imageThere are basically 3 types of content: 480P (DVD quality), 720P (Hi Def), and 1080P (Bad ass Hi Def). You, for practical purposes, want 720P content. If you really think you need 1080P, read the section about buying a TV below. I do have a 32” 1080P TV, but I also sit less than 3 feet away from it.

One other thing to consider is that not that many movies are available in 1080P here, so not necessarily worth the extra cash.

There are two places that I consider:

  1. ChepPhim.Net: 199/19 Duong (Street) 3/2 F11 District 10, TPHCM. Movie List, ChepPhim.Net
  2. Halo Shop: 82 Pasteur, District 1, TPHCM. Movie List, Halo Shop

ChepPhim.net is cheap, fast, and has much more content available compared to Halo Shop. You can get 1TB copied for about $10 USD in less than two days. They update their movie list about twice a month and even have TV sets like Lost and Prison Break.

Buying a TV and Home Audio:

TV:

image I’ll make this simple- get a 720P TV. If you really think you may want a 1080P, read this article first: 1080p Does Matter – Here’s When (Screen Size vs. Viewing Distance vs. Resolution). If you have a family or plan to share the TV with someone else, unless you are just rich, get a 720P. A bonus about having a 1080P TV, though, is that you can use it as a 1920 x 1080 PC monitor.

For the record, I have a 32” 1080P from LG, and like I said before, I have to sit less than 3 feet away from it to take full advantage of 1080p movies, of which there are few. Most video games also max out at 720P.

Retailers:

Home Audio:

This one’s a bit tougher. I can’t really help here in terms of where to buy in Vietnam or what to buy. Try HD Vietnam if you can read Vietnamese. Otherwise, stick with the stereo TV speakers.

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About the Western Digital WD TV: [Quick Review and Tips]

I have the WD TV, the original version.

image

Some notes on it:

  • It’s cheap. I expect the original can be had for about $100 USD now in Vietnam. I don’t think the WD TV is sold at Halo Shop anymore.
  • Supports most video formats, but surprisingly, not .FLV or .WMV. I don’t use it for audio or pictures.
  • Overall, it’s okay. Not great. But a solid value for $100. The HDMI connection on mine is a bit loose, so sometimes there’s no signal, and the remote can be frustratingly spotty. Sometimes, for whatever reason, the machine won’t turn on or off, even when the remove is right next to the sensor. Once the machine starts recognizing the remote that particular day, everything is great.
  • Getting the new version (Western Digital WD TV Live Network-ready HD Media Player) or the original (WD TV Live) is fine for most purposes. The 2 main additions in the WD TV Live are 1) DTS support and 2) Networking support. Networking support means you can hook it up to another computer and stream stuff rather than have to connect a Hard Drive to it. The DTS support, for me, is a bit more important, because many movies that I’ve purchased here are DTS-only and therefore result in no audio when using the original WD TV. There is a fix – you’ll need this to convert those movies with the PopCorn MKV AudioConverter (along with Tutorial for converting audio tracks with HeartWare MKV Audio Converter).
  • There’s an issue with some 1080P movies on the WD TV with movies that have too many Reference (Ref) frames. This is where we get a bit technical. If you run into this issue, you’ll have to re-encode the entire movie, which is a two day process. If you get a 1080P movie that seems to stutter, try to find a 720P version. Or get a different media tank. If you really need help with this, you can find the solution on forums online. My hint: I used a combination of MediaInfo and RipBot264 to fix The Dark Knight. I haven’t fixed any other movies yet.

Links:

  • Official Firmware: WD TV Product Update – you can probably ask whomever you buy this from to install it for you if you are non-technical, but it also isn’t so difficult.
  • Unofficial Firmware: B-RAD (Don’t worry about using this unless you want to spend a lot of time on techie stuff. A note about the unofficial firmware is that I still can’t it to work right with all the extra functionality people have developed for it)
  • More talk about Firmware and Stuff: WDTV Forum Homebrew / Custom Firmware >br>

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Sorry if this post got a bit crazy, but hopefully it’s useful to someone out there. If you have any questions or want to send in your own recommendations and tips, please leave a comment!

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09.02.2010 Movies, Reviews, Tech, Vietnam No Comments

Hard Rock Cafe: Grand Opening, Saigon

Monday, January 25th, 2010

Here I am at another VIP event, somehow:

Ah, so that wasn’t me, that was the very pretty (and tall) model Ha Anh. What, you don’t like looking at pretty girls?

Alright, here’s me at the last Friday’s grand opening of Hard Rock Cafe in Saigon, the first in Vietnam (there have been fakes before):

Thanks to well-connected friends Tommy and Eduard and Jin, I somehow cheated my way into this invite-only party. Main event: DMC from Run DMC! (Yes, this is picky, but a bit disappointing to have just 1 of the 3 people in the group, and yes, I do know that Jay is dead)

Although the event started at 6 PM officially, everyone came much later- we got there closer to 7. DMC was scheduled to go on at 8, but as I expected, it was well after 9 before he got on. Got home at 11ish.

The key points of the night:

- Free booze! Solid mojitos, sponsorship by Coors Light, they even had the cold-activated bottles! (I learned about these on my last trip back to the US) The odd thing is, I don’t think I was aware that Coors Light was sold in Vietnam. Budweiser just came in about a year ago. First drinking of 2010!

- The venue is pretty nice. I expect it to be pretty damn expensive to eat/drink there, which removes me as a regular customer, but if they become a good booker for international acts, I could definitely see myself heading there pretty often- I might have to ask for a raise though. I heard a rumor that they’re going to try to bring in Billy Joe from Green Day, maybe on an acoustic session. How they can possibly make the finances work out on that, I do not know, but Vietnamese do make decisions on ego (see Hoang Anh Gia Lai’s sponsorship of Arsenal at Emirates Stadium for an example).

- A lot of stars and celebs as you would expect. After all, stars got me in the event in the first place!

- I didn’t think the audio configuration was too good. I had a great spot in the middle of the room, but I couldn’t make out what DMC was saying, even when he was just talking.

- In food, I’ve heard some really good things (Kevin and others) about their chicken wings and nachos. Unfortunately, while there was some solid food throughout the night, neither flagship product came out. Weak!

- No, I do not know why the Hard Rock Cafe has a grand opening with a rap act. Run DMC is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, however. Also, there is no way most people there knew of Run DMC. Even I don’t really know their music that well.

Some more pictures from the event below, see the Gallery on Smugmug for all:

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25.01.2010 Vietnam No Comments

Me at the Clash Red Carpet Premiere [Wannabe Moments] (Bay Rong)

Saturday, January 23rd, 2010

(Thanks to Norey for the pictures, thanks to bigwig Jenny for the invite!)

Somehow, I got lucky enough to sneak my way in (ie Jenny) to the Clash (Bay Rong) Red Carpet Premiere last month. In the picture, I am neither the suave Vinh (left) or hilariously dapper Jimmy (right), but as usual the center of attention alongside Ngo Thanh Van. (btw, despite being very tired from the night, Van was very nice)

After hearing some stories of how not-so-red carpet the red carpet premiere of Johnny Tri Nguyen’s last movie, Nu Ho Than Chet was, I wasn’t expecting a ton, but this was a great event. (Yikes, what a sentence) Not that I would know, being a nobody, but I would be happy to cheat my way in to other events like this in the future.

There was an actual red carpet in front of the Paragon in Q7, people waiting outside (not USA levels, but respectable), pictures at the entrance, gift bags for the VIP attendees (not much inside, though), stars (models, singers, rich people) and wannabees (me), and free Johnny Walker (advertised as Blue Label, given out as Gold) for all with a special (again, thanks to Jenny) invite-only after party at Khai Silk’s Cham Charm (known for the $40 weekend buffet).

The movie itself? Good! It’s action heavy, plot-light, but that’s what you would want and hope for. The movie has good pacing and doesn’t try to do too much, ending when it should. A good mark for Vietnamese cinema, for sure. I gave it a 7/10 on IMDB.

Other pictures from the night: (gallery on Smugmug)

Ah, and trailer for Clash:

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23.01.2010 Movies, Vietnam No Comments

The Escapist : Sony Invades Vietnam with PlayStations

Thursday, January 21st, 2010
New Logo of the PlayStation 3 after the relaun...

Image via Wikipedia

The Escapist : News : Sony Invades Vietnam with PlayStations

This reminds me of Sony trying to sell legit DVDs and Blu-Rays in Vietnam. Sony is trying to sell Blu-Rays for the normal full price in the US (Over $30 USD per movie) in a country where you can have 2TB of HD-quality Movies (average movie is 5GB, so that’s 400 movies!) transferred to a hard drive for less than $20 USD.

So, unsurprisingly, it’s already cheaper to buy imported Sony game consoles than waiting for the “officially authorized” machines.

Ho Chi Minh City (TPHCM/Saigon), Halo Shop:

  • Playstation 3: 6,750,000 VND ($360 USD compared to $532.57 from Sony)
  • Playstation 2: 3,200,000 VND (longer, full coverage warranty from shop) / 2,700,000 VND ($172 or $145 compared to $239.37 from Sony)
  • Playstation Portable: 5,000,000 VND (longer, full coverage warranty from shop) / 4,600,000 VND ($270 or $194 compared to $319.33 from Sony))

Hanoi, XGame:

  • Playstation 3: 6.499.000 VND ($350 USD compared to $532.57 from Sony)
  • Playstation 2: 2.499.000 VND ($134 USD compared to $239.37 from Sony)
  • Playstation Portable: 3.899.000 VND – 4.099.000 VND (colors) ($210 – $216 compared to $319.33 from Sony)

A friend made the point that people will pay more for officially authorized products, for support and warranty reasons. This is possible, however:

  • You’re looking at 50-80% premiums from buying something new (gray market imported from another country) for the same thing, also new, just officially authorized.
  • You cannot pirate games for the PS3, so you would be buying real games and therefore, a warranty claim is legit. However, if you have a PSP or PS2, there is no one here, absolutely no one, who is buying legitimate software for those consoles. So if you’re hacking your console, you will have invalidated your warranty anyway. Even rich people (I know of some) will just pirate- and why wouldn’t you?
  • The most popular, trustworthy shops who are selling these modded systems and pirated software also do repairs themselves, and are quite experienced at it.
  • Sony sells authorized DVDs and Blu-Rays, but they’re extremely difficult to find, either in terms of information online, and in shops. I only know of one place that sells them here, and I just saw them by chance. Sony obviously won’t let a Halo Shop or XGame sell authorized consoles next to imported ones and pirated game discs, so where are you going to find these systems?
  • If they’re selling games, they’re going to sell non-localized games? Most Vietnamese do not read or understand spoken English that well (couldn’t handle a Final Fantasy game, for example), so non-localized games makes the value of buying legit even lower.

The reason why XBox’s and Wii’s are not officially sold here is because you can easily pirates games for those two systems. Microsoft (maybe not at this point in the product cycle, I guess) takes a loss on each system sold, trying to make it back through software, so if all software is pirated, not such a big reason to sell it officially here. I don’t even know of any places to buy legitimate 360 software. The Wii is profitable on the hardware, but overall, Vietnam is not such a big market for video games (consoles) as it is for PC games, in which companies make money off online games in which they can restrict piracy.

PC games are much more accessible to the normal Vietnamese youngster because the cost to play is so much lower. Players can rent a seat at an Internet cafe and play free games, paying only for microtransactions while a console + accessories investment is well over an average Vietnamese monthly income, perhaps even double the monthly income.

Sony Invades Vietnam with PlayStations

Greg Tito posted on 20 January 2010 1:09 am

image

Sony announced that it is now selling its PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 2 and 3 consoles in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

As of January 16th, 2010, citizens of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam will be able to purchase Sony videogame consoles in their country. Vietnam is now the eighth Asian nation in which Sony sells its videogame hardware. PlayStation Portable is 5,990,000 Vietnamese Dong or US $319.33. The PlayStation 2 will retail for 4,490,000 Vietnamese Dong (US $239.37), while the PlayStation 3 is being sold for 9,990,000 Dong ($532.57). Any way you cut it, that’s a lot of Dong.

The PlayStation 3 model being sold in Vietnam is the “slim” model with a 120gb hard drive which was released last year. “While inheriting the sleek curved body design of the original model,” Sony said. “The form factor of the new PS3 system features a new meticulous design with textured surface finish, giving an all new impression and a casual look.”

Previously, if you wanted a PlayStation in Vietnam, you were forced to import it yourself. There is no mention as to why Sony did not sell its consoles in the country before, or why the sales are now allowed in the Socialist nation.

The Escapist : News : Sony Invades Vietnam with PlayStations

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21.01.2010 Video Games, Vietnam No Comments

Vietnam Needs Stable Economy, Better Dong Sentiment, IMF Says – BusinessWeek

Tuesday, January 12th, 2010

Growing pains of the “tiger”
.

Vietnam Needs Stable Economy, Better Dong Sentiment, IMF Says

January 11, 2010, 10:24 PM EST


By Jason Folkmanis

Jan. 12 (Bloomberg) — Vietnam needs to improve its balance of payments and increase confidence in the dong to strengthen economic growth to at least 6 percent this year, the International Monetary Fund said.

The economy grew at a decade-low pace of 5.3 percent last year. The country recorded a trade deficit of $12.25 billion in 2009 after posting a surplus in the first quarter, and was forced to devalue the dong as Vietnamese increased buying of dollars and gold.

Growth this year will be partly determined by Vietnam’s balance of payments, Benedict Bingham, the IMF’s Hanoi-based senior resident representative in Vietnam, said in an interview today.

“If they re-establish stable macroeconomic conditions, and generate more positive sentiment towards the dong, then I think they can certainly achieve 6 percent growth,” he said.

A government stimulus package hurt Vietnam’s balance of payments last year, threatening the country’s economic stability, the Washington-based IMF said last month.

“What was causing pressure on the balance of payments was a combination of a widening trade deficit and weak sentiment towards the dong, especially by Vietnamese investors,” Bingham said.

The dong traded at 18,474 against the dollar as of 10 a.m. in Hanoi, compared with about 19,280 in the black market. The government only allows the dong to fluctuate 3 percent on either side of the official reference rate that it sets daily.

Dong, Exports

The central bank devalued the dong in November after the gap between official and black-market rates increased ten-fold to more than 11 percent.

Vietnam’s exports should strengthen this year, in part because of a more competitive exchange rate, Johanna Chua, head of Asia economic research at Citigroup Inc., said in a note to investors this month.

Overseas shipments rose 12 percent in December to $5.25 billion from $4.69 billion in November. Garment exports gained 12 percent to $820 million, while shipments of shoes jumped 22 percent to $420 million.

Exports performed “reasonably well” in December, and imports were lower than anticipated, helping to improve the trade gap, the IMF’s Bingham said. December’s shortfall narrowed 38 percent from November to $1.3 billion, according to preliminary figures from the government statistics office.

Deficit Moderates

Last month’s export gains were “due in part to rice and coffee, but encouragingly non-commodity exports also seem to be recovering,” Bingham said. “We will have to see whether this moderation in the trade deficit will be sustained.”

Inflation in Vietnam accelerated to 6.52 percent in December, from 4.35 percent the prior month, as economic growth quickened to 6.9 percent in the fourth quarter, from 6.04 percent in the previous three months.

“The authorities need to keep a close eye on inflation, especially if commodity prices continue to firm this year,” Bingham said. “Although much of the recent increase in the consumer price index is due to rice and fuel prices, the seasonally adjusted three-month rate of inflation is currently running at an annual rate of over 10 percent, which is high.”

Vietnam Needs Stable Economy, Better Dong Sentiment, IMF Says – BusinessWeek

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12.01.2010 Vietnam No Comments

How to Avoid the Facebook Block/Ban in Vietnam

Sunday, November 29th, 2009

HotspotShieldRecently, I’ve heard a huge hoopla over whether the Vietnamese government is blocking Facebook. Along with that, I read and hear people scrambling to find a solution to access it.

Here’s an easy fix that’s also free, Hotspot Shield. It’s ad supported (you’ll see an ad while you browse on the top of the window), and while that may turn off some, at least you can guess how it might be making money. For those complete free/no-ad solutions, how secure can you really feel that they’re not making ends meet by selling your data? Another solid use for the software is when you’re using a public wireless internet connection, like at a hotel or coffee shop. Normally, it’s easy for someone to spy on you and see what you’re doing online (see what you’re writing, where you’re browsing), but Hotspot Shield and other VPN software can shield you. Nevertheless, this is not a solution for protection in hiding illegal activities, but it is useful for accessing Facebook and avoiding IP detection (some sites don’t let let access them if you’re not in the US).

To access Facebook, here’s what to do:

Part 1:

  1. Download Hotspot Shield: http://hotspotshield.com/ (or you can try a direct link, http://hotspotshield.com/downloads/thank-you-VN/?type=na&p=ftp&)
  2. Install it (it’s a small file)
  3. Run it

In Windows, you’ll see icons like the ones below: (you want Hotspot Shield Launch)

2009-11-29_23-33-41-906

Part 2:

  1. When you run it, Hotspot will open your browser (or a new tab if it’s open) and you’ll see a  message like the one in the screenshot below. You’ll also see a icon2009-11-29_23-35-11-875 in your taskbar (the lower right corner of your screen). The icon will show red if it’s not connected (cannot access Facebook yet), and green if it is (that means GOOD!)

2009-11-29_23-34-32-141

If you’re done connecting, right click on the taskbar icon and choose “Disconnect/OFF” You can then close Hotspot Shield or reconnect later.

2009-11-29_23-43-11-826

And that’s all there is. One more note, if you find you can’t connect to Hotspot Shield, try downloading the newest version- there’s no autoupgrader, and new versions usually solve connection issues.

Good luck!

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29.11.2009 Tech, Vietnam 3 Comments

Free Microsoft Software for Students in Vietnam!

Thursday, August 20th, 2009

DreamSpark Vietnam02 Pretty cool for students in Vietnam, students can download licensed Microsoft Software for free to help them learn. Of course, it’s not really a charitable thing, it’s good for Microsoft’s business as well. To access the DreamSpark site and find out more regarding your school, go to: https://www.dreamspark.com/wayf/wayf.aspx. I’d love a crack at XNA Game Studio myself, wish I had more free time to retackle programming. I’d copy the list of Vietnamese schools supported here, but I couldn’t figure out how. Information from Labnol.org:

What software programs do I get with DreamSpark?

Once you join the DreamSpark program, you will have to option to download the following Microsoft software tools for free :

  • Expression Studio 3
  • Windows Server 2008 Standard Edition
  • Visual Studio 2008 Professional Edition
  • SQL Server 2008 Developer Edition
  • .. and more – see full list.

Additionally, DreamSpark also offers free ebooks, up to 22 hours of free e-learning courses on Microsoft technologies and 1 free Microsoft certification exam.

Will Microsoft ship the software DVDs?

Unlike MSDN or TechNet, Microsoft won’t ship you DVDs but you can download the software installers from the DreamSpark website itself. If you are located in India, you can also walk into your nearest Aptech or NIIT center and request the software on a DVD.

Ok, but isn’t there a catch?

Microsoft licenses the software to you for educational use. This means that you can use the software without restriction for school assignments or personal projects. If you write or design something that you wish to sell, however, you need to purchase a standard licensed copy of the Microsoft software before you sell your product.

Is the software like a trial that will expire when I graduate?

No! The software from DreamSpark is the full version, and according to Microsoft, “You may continue to use the Software you obtained prior to termination of your student status subject to the terms of this license.”

This is taken from the license agreement that you accept before you download the software, so you can be sure that any software that you download via DreamSpark will be free for personal and non-commercial use forever.

When you graduate, however, your DreamSpark membership will terminate so you won’t have access to new software release but the software that you may have already downloaded will continue to work.

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20.08.2009 Tech, Vietnam No Comments

GI Joe Promotions at Megastar, Hanoi [And Movie Review]

Sunday, August 16th, 2009

For the launch of GI Joe in Vietnam (Friday, August 14). Megastar hired models dressed as the characters to pose on stands at the theater. They had to hold their poses for 10-15 minutes a time, like statues, great for people to take pictures. It was a pretty unique promotion, I haven’t really seen anything like it where the models (also called PGs/Program Girls- PBs for guys I guess) stay still instead of interact with the crowd. I saw GI Joe at Vincom yesterday with Jimmy and Ha, and while Jimmy liked it, I thought the second half of the movie was just boring. I can’t imagine wanting to see sequels of this, and I’m disappointed how Destro and Cobra Commander came out. Even the movie’s special effects weren’t so good- I’m not sure if I’ve just become eagle eyed over the last few months but bad special effects or green screen work is becoming so obvious and annoying to me now.

Anyway, I thought GI Joe was a 5/10. Strangely though, while Jimmy liked GI Joe, Jimmy hated Transformers 2 (like most people). I actually enjoyed it more than the first one, so I am no judge on quality either.

To see all the pictures, visit my album on Smugmug. (Thanks to Ha for the pictures.)

    

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16.08.2009 Movies, Vietnam No Comments

That is Weird [The Uncomfortable]

Wednesday, August 5th, 2009

Just saw this in my e-mail. I assume it’s not just generic spam since he talks about Hanoi, but Outlook (smartly?) put it in my junk e-mail.

Subject:computer software

From: jason [triga@bigpond.net.au]

Hey hows it going, i like your thread. I am an australian and looking to buy a large qunatity of both computer software and TV series box sets. I have been to Hanoi in June this year but didnt really look into it. I want to find someon who can can look after my ongoing needs in Hanoi to mail me everything i need. Emnail me back if you are interested and we can talk about money and what you can get.

I really hope this guy isn’t teaching English to little kids- I’m uncomfortable with how he used “ongoing needs” and his spelling is terrible.

At least I try to use spell check!

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05.08.2009 Random, Vietnam No Comments

Typical Vietnamese [Definition]

Tuesday, July 14th, 2009

One mission in my life right now is get people to use “Typical Vietnamese” in their daily lives. It’s almost like an FML type of word. I even registered it on Urban Dictionary, the same definition you see below, but it got rejected (no reason stated, so unhelpful), probably because it’s too long, and I don’t feel like editing it.

Embrace it, use it, but don’t enjoy it, because you can’t.

Typical Vietnamese:

«Bullshit» an der ETH

Image by Daniel Gasienica via Flickr

(n, adj) A Vietnamese person that exemplifies the worst of Vietnamese bullshit. An easy way to recognize this person if you are somehow at fault for something, when it is not actually your fault. Even when the other person has admitted fault, and yet, you are still at fault. If you are ever are talking to someone and wanting to ask him “What the fuck is wrong with you?”, you may have encountered a Typical Vietnamese.

  • Example A: You go into a restaurant and eat your meal. After requesting the bill, you patiently wait about 30 minutes and go through a few more requests for the bill. You receive the bill and pay for it, and make you way towards the door. Right when you get to the door, the staff calls you back and says you paid the wrong amount. You paid the amount on the bill. But, the bill isn’t correct, you were given the wrong bill. The manager blames his young staff and looks at you with his “I don’t care” eyes and his empty “sorry, but you have to pay the bill even though I have provided horrendous customer service for you today. I may be the manager, but it’s okay if you never come back". This is somehow your fault and thus, you pay the bill, 40 minutes after you first asked for it. Typical Vietnamese.
  • Example B: You go into a restaurant and order. They bring out an appetizer. You didn’t order it, but it’s probably a sample on the house, which is nice, and you check it out. 5 minutes later, after you’ve finished it, the waitress comes out and tells you, “Ah, we accidentally gave you that dish”. You respond, “Ah, I thought it was a free dish.” She replies, “Please understand, there are no free dishes” and looks at you, standing there, telling you that this is your fault with her eyes. Typical Vietnamese.
  • Example C: You are in a taxi. You give the driver the destination and the street and he drives. Halfway through the ride, he asks, is this the place by (some street or thing). You say, “yes”. He says, “why didn’t you say so? I could have taken the other street, and it would have been so much faster”. You think to yourself, what is this guy talking about? I did tell him the place. Am I supposed to give him, the driver, Google Map directions? He repeats this (“why didn’t you tell me earlier?”) about 5 more times on the twenty minute ride to emphasize how this is your fault. Typical Vietnamese. Later, you realize you are lucky, as on the way home, you get into another taxi and give directions. He looks a bit perplexed, so you ask, “Do you know this place”. He says, yes. “Are you sure?” “Yes, no problem.” Ten minutes later, he calls his friend to ask about the destination- you’ve wasted $5 on the meter, ten minutes getting lost, and your tolerance for bullshit. Typical Vietnamese.

Can also be used to describe a situation that involves “Typical Vietnamese” characteristics, especially those occurring in Vietnam, and be used in a verbal sandwich in angry moments as “Typical Fucking Vietnamese”.

  • Example D: There is a repaving project on a busy street. It seems to be a simple job, yet takes about 4 weeks too long and when you go by, you see 1 person working, and 6 others watching him work. The next time, you don’t see anyone, period. The project blocks traffic, causing massive traffic jams, worsening an already poor traffic situation. The project finishes, but when they finally let normal traffic flow again, the paving looks terrible. One week later, the paving project starts over again. Typical Fucking Vietnamese.
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14.07.2009 Vietnam 5 Comments