Societal Situation in Hue, Vietnam
Overview
There are several main parts of a social lifestyle that will be covered in the report that follows. Social lifestyle of a place can be broken down into the following:
- Transport
- Food
- Housing
- Cost and Standard of Living
- Environment
- People
Financial Status and Cost of Living
Regarding the financial status of the people in Hue, the people in Hue generally seem to be rather poor. However, that is measured by our standard. The standard of living over in Hue is also lower and the cost of living is also significantly lower than that in Singapore. However, this lack of financial stability is a key factor is affecting the number of Vietnamese that can go overseas to universities to study. This is one of the main reasons as to why many Vietnamese stop their education at only the Junior College level. These are two examples of the differences in living cost in Vietnam and Singapore.
- The cost of an hour in a LAN shop, or an internet cafe is about $1.50 an hour in Singapore, but only about 3000 dong, or 30 cents an hour in Hue.
- A typical Singaporean kid would get about five dollars a day in secondary school, but a Vietnamese student would be considered well off just to have 5000 dong, 50 cents a day.
From these two examples alone, we can easily see the difference in the cost of living in Vietnam and Singapore.
Transport
Regarding the transport system in Hue, it is really rather disorganized. For one, there is no real public transport system other than taxis which are relatively expensive. There seem to be no buses nor train systems other than a single train track that seems to carry cargo rather than passengers. The most common mode of transport therefore is private transport, mostly by either bicycles or by motor cycles. Cars are a rare sight.
Food
The type of food that is commonly eaten in Hue is very similar to the type of food that Singaporeans are used to eating. Rice and noodles are their main staples. As with the cost of living, the cost of food is also low.
- A full meal for a single person would cost about 20000 dong, about two dollars.
Food for home meals is usually acquired from the wet markets. There are very few supermarkets in Hue and only the more financially stable can afford to purchase their food from there.
Environmental Condition
The environment is not too clean. For one, there is an obvious pollution level in the air probably due to the exhaust of the motor cycles. It could be perhaps due to the lack of newer technologies that help in reducing the emissions of these vehicles. Another factor could be that the roads are usually just dirt and the people commuting cause the dirt to be thrown up into the air.