Day 6 Reflection — Grace, Guang Jun, Kimberly and Lincoln

Q1 ) How is the retail development in HCMC a reflection of the country’s development?

The retail development in HCMC gives tourists and locals the impression of Vietnam’s development, whether good or bad. This is due to the fact that if the country is developed, the retail development would be very advanced and would be similar to retail development in already developed countries, so it would reflect that the country is developed even if the tourists or locals are not sure if the country is truly developed.

Q2 ) How is media use in advertisements for traditional markets and modern markets?

Firstly, there is little or no media usage of advertisements for traditional markets. The organisation of the stalls are messy and packed closely together. Therefore, advertisement may not be the best way to display what the markets are selling since every single corner of the market cannot be spotted easily. Secondly, big posters are placed in front of the market, allowing consumers to see whether they need what they want in the market. Thirdly, media usage of advertisements are widely used and is very common in modern markets. They have huge LCD screens to play and show whatever the market itself offers the consumers. It allow anyone that can see the screen to know more and have a better introduction about the market through the displays. In terms of efficiency, the media usage in advertisement for modern market is much more better as compared to the media usage in advertisements for traditional market as it can target on a larger number of audience and it also bring the message across, visually.

Q3 ) How does the different managements in traditional markets and modern markets work?

In a traditional market, such as An Dong market, goods are pack in garbage bags and tight up using duct tape. Workers will transport the goods around the centre manually. The workers will leave or pick up the goods, depending whether they are for import or export. We assumed that the workers differentiate the different shops with the serial number on their sign board as the shops look roughly the same. The shops in a traditional markets often sell product with not fixed price. The shops are small and the alley are narrow. Often, it can be seen that owners of different store sitting around, eating their meals together.

On other hand, in a modern market, the shops are relatively big and spacious. The shopping mall wide passageway and spaces which allow exhibition and customers to rest. There is rarely any communication between each stores. There is also a reception that serves all the customers.

Q4 ) How does the range of products differ between the retail development in Singapore and Vietnam ?

In Singapore, there is a huge range of products sold, as compared to the retail in Vietnam, which has limited types of products, showing the great difference between the retail development found in Singapore and Vietnam. Example, in Vietnam, products sold were mostly targeted at people going overseas or on a trip, like beautiful shoes, sunglasses, and bags. This is due to the small range of products supplied into their retail stores, thus the kind of products found. In Singapore, however, tons and tons of products are being imported into Singapore from other countries, like China. In Singapore we can see a very very wide range of products, far from what the retail development in Vietnam would be able to show us.

Q5 ) What are the difference between the retail development in Singapore and Vietnam, the comparison between a developed country and a developing country ?

In Singapore, retail outlets are well presented, mostly air-conditioned and goods have fixed prices and are of better quality. In Vietnam’s road stalls, the stalls are usually not air-conditioned, the store is usually messy and some prices can be bargained for. This is usually because some goods were stolen or imitated and given high prices to be sold to tourists and locals. In addition, stalls in Vietnam are not professionally presented even compared to Bugis in Singapore.

Q6 ) What are the environment the Vietnamese trade in?

The Vietnamese trade in a overcrowded environment whereby everything is closely packed together. At the same time, there are people who trade in a comfortable environment whereby every shop itself is organised in a way which allow to use its space to the maximum. This are the traditional and modern environments. Traditional environments are like wet market, family run stores and bazaar stores while modern environment are supermarket, convenience chain stores and online stores. There are 60.6 million consumers and 27.9% of them are people who are from 20 to 29 years old. They spend more and save less.

Overall Learning:

From a day of comparing retail outlets and visiting different types of markets, our group has learnt more about the difference between luxurious retail areas for richer people like tourists and pockets of richer locals ( Lotte Mart ), and wholesale markets with cheaper prices for poorer locals ( An Dong Market ). This allows us to empathize with the poorer locals and realise that nearly all retail outlets in Singapore are like the pockets of luxurious retail areas in Vietnam, which shows how developed Singapore is and how fortunate Singaporeans are.

Reflection : Day 5 , GuangJun , Kimberly , Grace and Lincoln .

Photo 1, a model of the university.
Photo 2, the building of the university.
Photo 3, a model of VSIP 1.
Photo 4, a entrance to VSIP 1.

Introduction of VSIP 1 and 2 :

The Vietnam Singapore Industrial Park (VSIP) is a world-class industrial park that was initiated by the Governments of Vietnam and Singapore. In March 1994, the VSIP project was first proposed by former Vietnamese Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet to his contemporary Singaporean counterpart Goh Chok Tong. Almost two years later, the project was officially launched on January 31, 1996 in Singapore. On 14 May 1996, the two Prime Ministers gathered again at the project site in Binh Duong to attend the groundbreaking ceremony of the first part of the project, VSIP I, (500ha). For the past 14 years of development, VSIP I has become the leading industrial park in Vietnam, and has proven to be a very attractive investment destination, technology transfer and environment protection for many multinational companies for the domestic as well as export markets.

Essential Question :

Q1 ) Why is it important for Singapore and her citizen to venture out ?

Singapore is a small island, and has no resources. This means that if she is to develop and expand, we have to venture out of Singapore. At other countries, like how we buy water from her neighboring countries, example being Malaysia. To develop, we need materials to build, we need to improve the economy. That is why we need to venture out, and not just focus on Singapore alone, to actually be able to properly get the resources and help needed to improve Singapore. Also, due to the size of Singapore, the human population is not big enough, and the expertise needed may not be around. This will mean that she has to venture out and get help from the people of other countries, which might have the talents that Singapore needs to develop.


2) What did Singapore do to develop her local talents?

Ministry of Education opened up serval schools to cater to potential people of different fields. For example, MOE open up School of Science and Technology to developed more professionals to increase the percentage of quaternary industry, increase the number of suitable people in research work.

The increase of research will increase the amount of knowledge the Singaporeans has. Singapore exchange the information they obtain with other countries, improving the relationship between the countries. Better relationship will allow Singapore to participate in trade with other countries easier, obtaining natural resources from them which we do not have.

The school focus more on innovation and entrepreneurship so that the students can adapt to the work environment will they grow up. The school also focus on communication skills so that the students can communicative with the locals and people from other countries. Effective communication will allow better partnership with other countries.

3) How does this integrated industrial park spanning a land area of 500 hectares with full infrastructure facilities and conducive operating environment operates ?

The total area of 2,545ha in the south, since 2007, after 10 years of operation, VSIP has announced its expansion to the north with two projects: VSIP Bac Ninh Township and Industrial Park Complex of 700ha (200ha for Township and 500ha for IP); and VSIP Hai Phong Township and Industrial Park Complex of 1,600ha (1,100ha for Township and 500ha for IP). Talking about the expanding investment of VSIP into township, Ms. Low, a representative of VSIP, said, "After 10 years of success in developing infrastructure for industrial parks, we have realized the investors’ demand for township infrastructure. Therefore, VSIP has decided to develop these two infrastructure projects to create the best investment environment for investors."


4) What are the unique features, purpose and design of VSIP ?

In comparison to the VHIP, the design of the industries in the VSIP area is a reflection of the industries and factories in Singapore, whether it is the roads or the signs. The area is also well planned and the factories have enough space and are not packed closely together. The roads are wide and have enough space to let trucks and large machineries to go to and fro. The purpose of the partnership between Singapore and Vietnam is to make a foundation to develop a part of Vietnam so that Vietnam would have an idea to what she can do to become a developed country like Singapore. The partnership has a few phases and as time goes by Singapore realised that there is a need to set a more steady foundation besides the factories and made master-plans for Universities and layout for the factories, residential areas and study areas.


5) What are the difference between VSIP and SIP ?

In terms of availability of the land usage , VSIP which is located in Vietnam will be able to make good use of the huge span of land to develop and construct different infrastructures for the Industries purposes. This enable the Industries to carry out their production more efficiently. However, availability of land is very limited in Singapore. Therefore, factories and building were built vertically to maximise the usage of the land. In terms of population, VSIP has more workers since they have a larger size as compared to SIP. Therefore, the productive rate may be much more faster and efficient.

Advantages :

The advantages of VSIP 1 and 2 is the 500 hectares of land, it is a large amount of land spaces used to construct and develop infrastructure facilities. So, more factories and industries can be constructed in VSIP to allow a larger production line to reduce cost spent on various aspects. Also, it provides a full range of infrastructures which allow many industries and factories to make good use of.

Learning Objectives :

This trip to VSIP 1 and 2 is to allow us to learn about the need for Singapore to develop her human and other capital in order to ensure her survival in the future.

What we have learnt :

From this trip to the VSIP we have learnt that even though we are two different countries, we can help each other to develop and the partnership improves the relationship between Singapore and Vietnam and this also widens Singapore's network. During the short drive through the VSIP, we observed that this small area is nearly a split image of Singapore, whether it is the roads or the arrangement of factories. Even the trees at the side of the road can be found at the side of most roads in Singapore.

We also found out that Singapore is helping to set the layout for a developed country and Vietnam would improve their country based on these small changes made by Singapore. From this we learnt that even though Singapore is a small country, we are developed and is able to help other countries as they have helped us. We learnt that to become a self sustainable city, it have to be well planned. The factories will provide jobs for the citizens. However, the workers will not want to travel a long way to his or her workplace. There will be a need to have housing provided for them. When they have a job and a house, they will need some entertainment in their daily life. Thus, the government will need to include greenery and facilities for entertainment purpose. If the workers are to move to the city with their family, health facilities and school will need to be included in the design of the city. The government will have to planned the location of each facilities so that it will be convenient for all.

Lastly, the VSIP project is a very huge project, and it is the collaboration between Singapore and Vietnam, to provide jobs for people in Ho Chi Minh City. That is due to the lack of jobs that can pay sufficient money to the citizens, thus the need for factory jobs like the ones in the VSIPs, which can help to increase their pay. The university built in the new city for the rich is going to accept 1000 students in the first phase of the construction, which has 3 phases. This university is built so that the graduates from the university would be able to find a job easily in the VSIPs.

Source : http://www.vsip.com.vn/default.aspx?pid=0002&mid=0002&mdl=1&lang=end

Day 4 Reflection - Chong Guang Jun

Waiting to board the ferry

Jellyfish

Planted mangrove shoots

What I have learnt: 

Can Gio Biosphere — Can Gio is not connected to the city, it is an island by itself, and can only be accessed via the sea. The island is huge, a very large swamp, filled with mangrove trees and the wildlife that lives in it. An example would be the mudskippers, hopping around on mud.

Some trees found in the Can Gio Biosphere have their roots sticking out of water. This serves as thorns that birds living in the trees use to protect their children from being stolen by other animals. We could also see poisonous trees which poison most probably comes from the sap.

There were residents living in the Biosphere, and they were paid to take care of a certain area of the biosphere, per hectare. They built their houses on water or on the mud, with wood and some with leaves. We interviewed the owner of a house, and found out that the money they earned was enough to support the whole household, which includes paying for petrol, water, and electricity. I felt quite sad for them, but from the owner's face, he looked very calm and there was a hint of cheerfulness in him.

Day 3 Reflection - Chong Guang Jun

Cao Dai Temple, interior

Floor tiles in Cao Dai Temple

What I have learnt:

Cao Dai Temple — Caodaism is a religion which incorporates 3 other religions – Taoism, Buddhism and Confucianism. The temple itself was built without using any plans at all, by farmers. The plans were only made after the building was completed. Also, it can be seen from the design of the whole temple that there was art deco in it. 

4 animals in the design of the temple itself represents different things. The 4 animals, dragon, phoenix, turtle and unicorn are found around the whole temple. Dragon symbolises power of the king, the phoenix representing beauty, the turtle representing longevity and the unicorn represents prosperity.

Chu Chi Tunnel — The chu chi tunnel is made by the vietnamese who used these tunnels to hide from the americans and prepare for war. These tunnels were small, and were built this way as americans were bigger than the vietnamese, which prevents them from entering a tunnel, even if they could find the hidden entrances. Also, the tunnel is self-sustaining, as they had entire facilities in the rooms in the tunnels. Also, air holes were found above ground. The people building these tunnels made the air holes, so that even underground, in a place where oxygen is not easy to get, people can live normally. There were also many different kinds of traps that the war fighters used, mainly trying to kill them by piercing them with bamboo thorns attached to the trap.

Day 2 Reflection - Chong Guang Jun

In Saigon, motorcycles are very common.

Wires found above ground in Saigon.

Temple in Saigon.

What I have learnt:

Rocket Houses — They are designed this way so that the amount of tax needed to be paid is lesser. this is due to the influence from France, where the tax for houses depend on it's width. This means that the wider the house, the more expensive it is. Thus, the people of Vietnam thought of an ingenious way of solving this issue, houses with shorter widths and longer lengths, to reduce tax and increase space.

Motorcycles — In Vietnam, motorcycles are very very common, and the citizens prefer it over cars or other vehicles, as they are faster and not too bulky.

Structures — The structures found in Saigon/ Ho Chi Minh City had resemblance to those of France, which had the same kind of pattern that was found in the temples, city hall in Saigon.

Day 2 Reflection ( Lincoln Chu & Chong Guang Jun)

Photo 1 , a picture taken at a temple we visited. The layouts and structure is similar to the temples we have in Singapore.
Photo 2 , a picture taken at a church we visited . The material used was all imported from France.
Photo 3 , a picture of Mother Mary, aka Virgin Mary.

The 3 things that I've learnt are the concepts of rocket houses , influence of the french on various architectural structures and designs and the variation of different religion.

1) Rocket houses are designed to reduce the amount of tax they have to pay. The Vietnam government working system is influenced by the French. Therefore, the amount of tax a shop owner has to pay will increase as the width of the shop increase. So, people have shorter widths and longer lengths of the shop houses to prevent being heavily taxed. These rocket houses are packed closely together

2) The buildings in Vietnam are similar to the ones you can find in oldern France. There are patterns like spirals, curves, etc. The materials used were also imported from France . ( Photo 2 )

3) The variation of religion is pretty unique. One can find all kind of religious here, in Vietnam. In Vietnam, there is all the way from Taoist to Christianity.