Information on the internet about Vietnam's censorship:

On 27, August, 2009, Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security sent out an official dispatch to prominent internet providers in Vietnam, ordering them to halt their users’ access to 8 websites, including facebook.com. And starting yesterday, two out of ten providers who received the note, namely FPT and Viettel, have started enacting the correspondence. The reason behind this order is explicitly stated in the dispatch: “For security reasons and to fight against propagative activities that oppose the Party and the government, Department of Professional Technology – Office of Security Administration – Ministry of Public Security suggests that the addressed companies to apply technical methods to block thoroughly these following websites.”

When visiting Vietnam, you don't really notice it's a communist country. The only thing you notice are the beautiful landscapes, the welcoming people, intricate and varied gastronomy, shopping opportunities, Unesco world heritage sites...

But when looking closer, the country's economy is pure capitalist. What matters the freedoms, there's a bit of censorship here and there. So, in the end there's nothing wrong at all. The bad thing is that Vietnam only uses the worst of communism AND capitalism. A communist country should have a good social system, but it totally lacks in Vietnam. Besides that, the freedoms are restricted, and the economy is the wild west, going crazy for foreign investments from Japan and South Korea.

Let's hope that one day, we'll all live in peace with nature and ourselves... Which won't be achieved by political parties, but only by every single human on earth.

Greetings from the Socialist Republic of Vietnam!


Self Promotion










Create your own visitor map!

I finally got some time to work on a new journal, so here's the result: some promised features and a tag.

Feature 50 000 Pageviews







Feature 49 000 Pageviews 1






Feature 49 000 Pageviews 2






Tagged by

So here are 10 things about me... Or let's say some things about me and ideas i stand for.

- I live in Vietnam & Cambodia as a tour leader for Best Tours until september 2010. I've no home here, i sleep in 4 & 5 star hotels every night. So i travel for work all the time with my groups. They can be 2 to 40 people. I sell them excursions, try to provide them everything they're looking for, guide them around all the places (sometimes i translate the local guide, sometimes i give all explanations in Dutch & French), i solve problems they might encounter... In other words: a lot of responsability and many hours of work (between 6 to 14 hours a day, and 3 days off per month)

- Politically, i'm a convinced socialist (which is not communism, many people who ain't into it see it as the same... North Americans... Maybe?).

- I smoke a pack of cigarettes a day.

- My future plans would be to work in South America, and if i could choose, it'd be Peru. El más lindo país del mundo!

- I don't really care about what camera or lenses i use. You can make good photographs with any gear, you just have to know how to use it.

- I'm not very religious. I'd see myself as an atheist, even though i believe in certain ideas. Organised religions are only caring about raising money, which is my biggest problem with them. I hope (not believing, nobody ever came back to tell us) in a life after death, i don't believe in allmighty gods, i can't believe in paradise or hell. Let's say im a science person after all.

- I'm pro-abortion (under strict law) and pro-euthanasia (under strict laws)... Why? Just because it's the right of a person to decide for itself what is good or right. Nobody, and certainly not religions have anything to decide about individuals.

- I'm born of French speaking parents, but born in Dutch speaking territory, so i've always spoken French home and Dutch for studies. Meanwhile speaking English and Spanish very well. Some german, but i don't like it a lot. I might study it again if needed for a future job. And some basics of Thai, Khmer and Viet.

- I'm against the way our society works today: wild capitalism, consumentalism, name it. We're not seen as humans anymore, we're just machines that have to work to earn money, and then spend it. But on what? Vegetables and fruits full of pesticides and artificial fertilizers. Fish filled with lead and other healthy additives. MSG's to make our food taste better, but not being good for our health. Or the hype about light products. You take sugars and fat away, but add way more unhealthy products instead. That's why according to researches light products are usually twice as much carcinogen than the original ones (Coca Cola <-> Coca Cola light or Marlboro red <-> marlboro light). Should i go on? We want to make so much money that in the end, we're destroying the earth and ourselves... Just to have a high productivity and higher income. Is it worth it?

Tagging now these 10 people:




Self Promotion










Create your own visitor map!

Hello everyone,

A little feature here of interesting photographs made with Nikon D300's i encountered today... And an announcement for a future feature. As i'm almost reaching the 50 000 pageviews, i'd make a feature for the visitors sending me a print screen of the 49 000th (feature of 3 deviations), 49 500th (feature of 4 deviations) and 50 000th visit (feature of 5 deviations). Good luck!

Features












Self Promotion











Create your own visitor map!

Hello everyone,

A little feature here of interesting photographs i encountered today... And an announcement for a future feature. As i'm almost reaching the 50 000 pageviews, i'd make a feature for the visitors sending me a print screen of the 49 000th (feature of 3 deviations), 49 500th (feature of 4 deviations) and 50 000th visit (feature of 5 deviations). Good luck!

Features













































Create your own visitor map!

A long time ago Ricardas (Rici66) from Lithuania featured me in his journal, participating with the feature chain. I told him i'd feature back, but when wasn't sure. Now it's done, so the people i feature should feature ten people back.



Features























































Create your own visitor map!