From Value One, Spring 2005 No. 08

Ho Chi Minh City Liaison Office, Hanoi Liaison Office, Vung Tau Liaison Office

Painful memories of learning Vietnamese and the formidable pronunciation barrier

Vietnam, situated in the eastern half of Indochina, is shaped like an "S" from north to south. Because of this geography, there are wide differences in climate across the territory of Vietnam. Its northern part, bordering China and Laos, has four distinct seasons, as in Japan, while the southern part adjoining Cambodia has rainy and dry seasons. The official language is Vietnamese. Six different tones covering 11 kinds of short vowels and three diphthongs make it a language that is extremely difficult for foreigners to pronounce. When I was a trainee, I entered a restaurant and asked the waiter for "thuc con" (menu), but his response was "???" I stubbornly tried to make myself understood and finally, after 20 fruitless attempts, I wrote it down on a piece of paper. The waiter burst into laughter, and said, "Is this what you want? Why didn't you say so in the first place!" My pronunciation was so miserable. In today's Vietnam, there is an English language fad. You can say "Menu, please" from the outset, and you can make yourself understood anywhere.

Vietnamese is basically written in Roman letters, but if you use English pronunciation, it is almost certain you will not be understood.

An amazing number of motorcycles floods the street!

Anyone visiting Vietnam will first be amazed by the tremendous number of motorcycles. (Incidentally, 1.4 million motorcycles are manufactured a year as opposed to only 40,000 four-wheeled cars.) The number of cars has also increased in recent years, but most ordinary people still rely predominantly on the motorcycle for moving around. And not only in the morning and evening rush hours on workdays, but on festival days and after international soccer matches you will also see motorcycles overflowing in the streets. It's a spectacular scene.

Riding together on a motorcycle is commonplace. A family of five riding a single motorcycle is nothing unusual.

The right way to taste pho, typical Vietnamese food

Pho is typical eat-out breakfast food for Vietnamese people consisting of noodles made of rice in beef-bone or chicken-stock soup, usually with pieces of beef or chicken added. You can spice it up with coriander, lime, miso (soybean paste) or pepper sauce as you like. Personally, I prefer to eat the first third without adding anything to the soup. Then I add green chili and finish the final third with lime and coriander. It also is a great favorite of business travelers, some of whom even order another serving.

Pho, typical Vietnamese food. The Vietnamese are also noodle lovers.

Metal One's 11 Vietnamese staff work hard every day

Vietnam is an energetic nation. GDP is growing at more than 7% annually and steel demand is also increasing yearly. In this country, we have liaison offices under the umbrella of Metal One Asia Pte. Ltd. (Singapore). Altogether there is a total of 11 employees: three in Hanoi in the north, seven in Ho Chi Minh City in the south, and one in Vung Tau in southeastern Vietnam, where an oil drilling base is located. The whole staff is committed to further improving business performance and expanding the scale of business. We are looking forward to your visit, either on business or as tourists.

The view from our office over the Saigon River.

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