Vietnamese, male, 57 years old, director of a travel company
1. What’s the average earnings and basic living costs of food?
| Average salary | 7 000 000 dong/month | $311 |
| Milk, 1 liter | 30 000 dong | $1.3 |
| Rice, 10 kg | 70 000 – 200 000 dong | $3-9 |
| Chicken, 1 kg | 200 000 dong | $9 |
| Pork, 1 kg | 120 000 dong | $5 |
| Beef, 1 kg | 300 000 dong | $13 |
| Eggs, 20 pieces | 50 000 dong | $2 |
| Mango, 1 kg | 70 000 dong | $3 |
| Watermelon, 1 kg | 20 000 dong | $1 |
2. What celebrations and festivals do you have in your country?
| New Year | 1 January |
| Full Moon festival | April, 14th day of each lunar month |
| Independence day | 2 September |
| Labour day | 1 May |
3. What’s the weather like in your country?
Weather in Hoi An
| Hot weather | April – July |
| Cold weather with rains | August – December |
| Cold weather | January – March |
4. What’s the local cuisine and the dish of the day?
Pho (noodle soup) with beef in the morning. Rice with fish/meat in the afternoon and evening.
5. What expectations do you have for your grandchildren?
I wish my grandchildren to be successful and do something useful for Vietnam.
6. How did you furnish and design your place? Is your house big/small?
Conservative style, wooden tables and chairs, big screen TVs, air conditioners.
7. Is there anything unique created with people’s hands in this country?
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8. What pension are you entitled to in this country?
A pension age for a male is 60 years, for a female – 55 years. Pension is 70% of a salary.
9. How much would I be expected to pay for the following: land, house, apartment?
There are no apartments in Vietnam.
| Land, 200 m² | 2 billion dong | $89 000 |
| House, 200 m² | 3 billion dong | $133 000 |
10. How much would I be expected to pay for an apartment + energy bills + internet + other utilities monthly?
| House taxes | 300 000 dong/year | $13 |
| Electricity | 2 000 000 dong/month | $89 |
| Water supply | 500 000 dong/month | $22 |
This house is also a hostel, so the cost of electricity and water is higher (business prices). For a normal house the cost of electricity and water is around 500 000 dong/month ($22) for both.
11. What expectations do you hope to achieve for the future?
I want to have a lot of money for myself and my family. There are no insurances in Vietnam. I want to accumulate money for my old age. It will be possible to do many good and useful things such as charity.