The case for a global currency

Posted on 12th February 2012 in The monuments of world

In “The Accordion Family,” Katherine Newman, a sociologist and dean of the school of arts and sciences at Johns Hopkins University, looks at the dynamics of the boomerang generation – a phenomenon she has dubbed the “accordion family.” Part economic analysis, part ethnography, Newman interviews hundreds of individuals in six different countries (in southern Europe, the Nordic states, Japan and the U.S.), to better understand the international dynamics at work. The major reasons driving adult children back to the nest are economic, she finds: Globalization and the recession are making it harder for new workers to enter the labor force, and the cost of housing is climbing. But other social and psychological factors are at play too. The result is a sometimes rocky, sometimes serendipitous experience for these families as they struggle to redefine adulthood and familial roles in the face of overwhelming global economic forces.

Salon spoke with Newman over the phone about the growing difficulty for young people to find work, how new the idea of being an independent young adult really is, and the surprising emotional benefits of the accordion family.

Is this current generation a bunch of lazy loafers? Your research doesn’t seem to indicate this. 

No. They are a generation that has been caught by a series of unfortunate, overlapping trends that put them at a disadvantage for becoming independent the way their parents did. They’re entering a very unfriendly labor market that is particularly punishing to young workers. With the housing implosion in the United States, they’re still entering a housing system in which owner-occupied housing is very expensive. So, they have lower wages, if they have wages at all; they have high housing cost; and, in the advanced countries, there are ever more demanding credential races to qualify for professional employment. If they’re aspiring to be middle- or upper-middle class, the length of time it takes to pile up the education you need to qualify for the jobs to make that possible is getting longer and longer and more and more expensive. When you put all those things together, it’s not all that surprising that the accordion family has developed the way it has. It’s just a bunch of really bad circumstances that have coincided and affected this generation in ways that have not been the case before.

Money is (maybe obviously) a major reason for this trend. How so?

The recession we’re in has intensified a bunch of trends that were already gathering force, and already pushing people into accordion families. Those trends included a real downdraft in the capacity of young workers to find their way. That has really spread as downsizing has gathered force, as jobs have been outsourced. It’s become a much more competitive labor market, and an employer can be incredibly choosy. That leaves young workers at a disadvantage. And as much as they have a hard time qualifying for those jobs, the jobs themselves have increasingly become short-term, part-time or unpaid altogether. Now, to become a qualified professional, many middle-class American kids are going to have to spend many years in completely unpaid internships. So they finish college, or in the course of going to college, they spend years upon years working in jobs that used to pay money and don’t anymore because this market is so crowded. Well, if you’re going to spend years interning somewhere so that you get the kind of experience that will cause an employer to look at you seriously when there’s a paid position, how in the world are you going to manage if you have no income? You’ve got to live someplace. So, in households that can afford it, parents are making it possible for their kids to gather those credentials that will allow them someday – they hope – to launch at the level they’re expecting.

Is this phenomenon the same for lower classes or are there different reasons driving the accordion family trend in these rungs of society?

In poorer households, these accordion families have always been there. There’s nothing new there, because lower-income people have had to pool their incomes for generations, because to keep the household afloat you had to have everybody working and everybody contributing – and by the way, that was true for many middle-class households before the Second World War.

So this period of time which we come to see as normal – of young people leaving home; and spending time on their own before they marry; and their parents having an empty nest – that’s a phenomenon of the post-Second World War period of great affluence. It created a huge boom in wages, and burgeoning opportunities in the white-collar world. We’re not there anymore and we might not be again. We think of it as normal – and I think this is an important point – because the generations that experienced that “normal” are so huge. They dominate the social scene. They’re the baby-boom generation. That was their normal, but it wasn’t normal before them and it may not be after them.

So is this negative impression we have of boomerang children due to fickle memory?

What people think about, what they regard as normal, what they factor in as explanation for how they got where they are really differs from one country to another. In the United States, I came to find that people forget these huge investments that were made by the whole society in the form of, for example, the GI Bill, which really made a difference in the trajectory of those generations. It allowed them to become homeowners; it allowed them to get a college education – the first in their families ever to do so. They wouldn’t have been able to do either of those things if it were not for huge investments that we made, through government, in their well-being. Now, of course, this was seen as a tribute to soldiers – and it was, of course. But when you interview people [of that generation] and ask them, “How did you manage to become a homeowner?” they almost never mention the GI Bill. It’s not that they would deny it if you asked them, but if you just ask them, “Well, how did this happen?” the account is very much one of: “Well, I worked hard. I saved my money. I didn’t go out to eat. I had very modest tastes. The problem with the next generation is that they’re spending money freely and they have expectations that are too high, and they’re not as disciplined.” It’s all down to the personality of the generation rather than these huge economic structures that really do play a powerful role in determining where any individual or family ends up.

The same thing is true when you look at other countries. The Japanese, for example, tend to be very much like Americans: they think every person is the master of his own destiny. So if his destiny is not working out, then he really is to be despised. [These individuals] are the object of disdain. The Japanese tend to look at that next generation that’s living at home and say, “Well, they’re really lazy,” or, “They’ve lost their way,” or, “They don’t know how to be men like their fathers were,” and, “They’re a defective generation.” But you never hear the Spaniards say that because they have a different history and a different political culture, and they are looking for the ways in which government, or big business, or whatever, is to blame because they see themselves as recipients of those forces.

So these cultures, they subtract and they add pieces of their histories very differently, [even though] they’re all suffering from the same economic pressures.

Is there a place that you’ve studied where the self-perspective is healthier or more accurate?

When I started the project, I thought that Americans were sort of unrealistic in the way they thought about things, but when I started looking at these other countries, I decided maybe that wasn’t the case. That’s because now I can see the extremes on either side more easily. I can see how hysterical the Japanese are about [the accordion family trend]; and I can see how comfortable the Italians are with this, and how they don’t think it’s a problem.

So the United States turns out to be the moderate middle. There are some structural reasons why that is the case. We do have some housing that’s cheap – not homeownership, but we have dormitories on college campuses, we have rental housing that people can share with roommates. You’d think that that’s the way the whole world is organized, but it’s not true. In Spain, in Italy, there are no dormitories, there’s very little rental housing. In Japan there’s almost no rental housing. So, if you don’t have the money or the kind of job that you will need to have for a bank to lend you money for a mortgage, you’re not going to be able to move out because you’ve only got two options: You live at home or you buy a house.

You point out that there are very few accordion families in the Nordic countries. Why?

In Sweden, if you’re still at home after the age of 18, something is really wrong with you. I asked people in Nordic countries why they thought that in places like Portugal and Spain young people stayed with their parents for a long, long time, and I was really intrigued by their answers. Their answers had nothing to do with differences of the welfare state, at all. They said things like, “Well, we think maybe they love their children more than we do,” and, “There’s more attachment and affection in their families.” This led to one of the most surprising parts of the research project that underlies this book.

I thought the Nordic countries would look like paradise. These are the places where the problems that produce the accordion family don’t exist because the state has stepped in and cured them. I was amazed to hear the Nordic interviews talk about people being lonely, feeling separated, like maybe they didn’t love each other enough. It made me realize that the flip side of economic dependence, or need, across generations is a degree of commitment and affection and engagement that really isn’t alive in the Nordic countries in the same way. To them the emotional side is very evident and it causes them to be self-critical about whether they’ve gone too far and made it too easy for families not to care for one another across generations because the state cares for you.

Are you advocating for any social reform in the US?

Investment in higher education has always paid off for the United States as it does in the social democracies.  Increasingly success in the world economy depends upon skill, training, flexibility, and all of the attributes we refer to in using the phrase “human capital.” Sadly, the U.S has been moving away from investing state resources in higher education at precisely the time when some of our competitors are pushing hard to increase their human capital. If we do not provide access to college for worthy students whose families cannot afford to pay the high cost of higher education, we will be wasting our talent base. So yes, I do think that we should be moving in the opposite direction, as we did with one of the greatest pieces of social legislation in the country’s history: the GI Bill.

How do these attitudes break down between ages?

I think what we’re going to see is that something that started out looking like an [age-specific] trend is going to engulf multiple generations. These labor market rules that introduced short-term and part-time jobs have affected one generation of young people when it began, basically in the mid ’80s. But 20 years later, it’s no longer just one generation [that is affected]. And if this keeps going – which I think it probably will – ultimately this will have engulfed the whole society because all the generations that come up from behind will be affected by the same labor laws. Right now, you’ve got two generations side by side with very different economic realities and very different definitions of a normal process of maturation: you’ve got the baby-boom generation [that] was able to be independent, and then you’ve got the generation coming behind them that inherited a completely different economic world. These two groups are now grappling for what is really normal. What should we be doing? Is it my reality or your reality that ought to count? But if you fast-forward another 20 years, when virtually everyone has been affected by this trend toward short-term employment and high housing costs, it’s going to become the new normal and there won’t be a contrast, and it won’t be age-graded because it’ll be everybody.

Some of the data you’ve collected on the accordion family phenomenon shows that there are more men staying with their parents than there are women doing so. Why do you think that is?

Women seem to be streaking ahead in educational attainment and occupational prestige. That may be one of the least recognized, but most important changes of our time. As they graduate high school and enroll in college at a higher frequency than men, women at the high end of the skill spectrum are starting to outstrip men in their earnings. This may well translate into earlier independence. Of course, in the past, women left home before men because they married at younger ages. Now, however, skill differences born of educational differences may mean men are less prepared than the women their age.

A number of college grads not having a really clear, defined career path are often returning home to “figure out what to do next.” Is this a privilege of class or reflective of a deeper social or cultural value?  

Class has something to do with it, but there is something else going on. When I [used to] talk to my grandparents, they never thought that work was something that gave you meaning – it was just the way you put the roof over your head. But suddenly in the boomer generation, you have a very different way of thinking about work: It’s to be valuable, meaningful, honorable, enjoyable, a source of identity. That has now become a kind of standard for the way we think work should be. We have accepted the notion that our children ought to have jobs that are meaningful, not just a job that puts a roof over your head. It’s true that are all these powerful economic forces have set in motion the demand for the accordion family, but it isn’t all about necessity: it’s also about desire, values, what people find useful, what they’re proud of. And every one of these cultures has a different way of defining what kind of future is honorable.

How would you summarize parents’ and their adult children’s experiences living together?

There can be a lot of stress and a lot tension because the program isn’t working if the young people are not moving forward to a future [on which] everyone can agree. [There is], of course, a sacrifice of privacy. You do hear parents talk about how their golden empty nest years disappeared because the birds came back to the nest, or that they’re having to spend a lot of money that they would’ve otherwise saved for their own retirement to pay to take care of their kids for many years longer than they expected to. At the same – because nothing is ever simple – there can be a lot of joy in this.

So these parents who remember having to make sure Mary’s home at night, because it’s 12:30, are not thinking like that anymore now that Mary is 25. So they get their kids back in a different form than the way they had them when they were teenagers, and they’re introduced to the pleasure of getting to know your child again as an adult, [someone] with whom you might have a lot in common.

[Marriage has changed too.] I think we’re seeing a return, in some ways, to the way things were before the Second World War with the rising age of marriage and people staying home until they marry. The difference is they’re taking such a long time to get there – much longer than they did even before the war. In 1938 and thereabouts, you had people marrying in their mid-20s, and then it just plummeted. In the 1950s, the age of marriage in the U.S. for women was about 19 or 20. Now it’s gone way back up to 27 or 28.

What do you think future changes will look like?

I think the changes to come will have to do with what happens when this baby-boom generation is really elderly, because a lot of the resources they might have saved to care for themselves will have been spent on their children’s advanced education and on the preservation of the accordion family itself. And there are big changes that may be coming in 10 years or so, when we discover we can’t afford the nursing home solution such as it was for the earlier generation.

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Treasures of Da Nang

Posted on 10th February 2012 in The monuments of world

From its sandy beachside retreats to its grand, historic monuments, Vietnam’s picturesque port city of Da Nang is an adventure through space and time.

MENTION Vietnam, and your friends are likely to start blabbing about their experiences in Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City – of their to-die-for coffee, the chaotic streets, and the honking, raging motorcycles that almost always miss hitting pedestrians by a whisker.

But ask them about Da Nang, and they would probably go: “Where?”

I must admit, I hadn’t heard much about the place myself. Thinking it would be hot and humid, and with Sarah Jessica Parker in mind, I went with a suitcase packed with mostly sundresses and shorts. Big mistake.

I soon found myself shivering, even in a long-sleeved blouse and jeans as cold gusts of December wind stroked my bare neck. I discovered only later that temperatures can go as low as 18°C-24°C in the rainy months, from November to January.

Its drier months are between February and April, with temperatures from 19°C-31°C, while its hottest months are in May, June and July (24°C–34°C). In spite of my wardrobe mix-up, I was determined to make the best of my first trip to Vietnam.

Wedged between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang is the country’s third largest city. Located on the picturesque central coast, it is a major port city. It may have neither the atmosphere of Hanoi nor the heady rush of Ho Chi Minh, but it has its share of sights.

If Ho Chi Minh is marked by its lively ballyhoo, then lush Da Nang is the mellow cousin with lots of R&R to offer. One of its biggest attractions is its beach. The white, sandy coastline lapped by the South China Sea has become a thriving locale for tourists.

Hovering at the edge of the ocean at the luxurious Hyatt Regency Danang Resort and Spa Hotel, I felt the icy-cold air against my skin. Unfazed, I shrugged off my urban shroud and made my way towards the chilly waters. The splashing waves, coupled with the soothingly cool weather as I dipped my feet in the ocean, yielded a calming effect.

Another night at the upscale Nam Hai Villa Resort proved to be a similarly lavish experience. The resort was built on the Hoi An beach based on feng shui principles. There, my travel companions and I (all 18 of us media folks) were chauffered to and fro in golf buggies to our welcome dinner (and what felt unsettlingly like the umpteenth eight-course meal of the day).

Like little kings and queens, we were serenaded by Vietnamese folk tunes throughout. The breezy luxury, amplified by the ocean humming relentlessly outside, made our stay seem somewhat surreal. But the most spectacular beachview in Da Nang, I thought, was the Non Nuoc Beach.

During the Vietnam War (1959-1975), American GI Joes who sought respite at the idyllic coast called the place China Beach. Mist-shrouded and with verdant plains that rolled out to what seemed like infinity, the beach took on the guise of an epic fantasy film. Bamboo boats in quaint, round shapes dotted the shore.

Known by locals as the thuyen thung (pronounced “twin tung”), the boat is an iconic symbol of Da Nang. Today, the humble creation is still used to shuttle fishermen to and from larger vessel anchored in deep waters.

Da Nang’s location also connects travellers to Vietnam’s three Unesco Heritage Sites: Hoi An Ancient Town, the Complex of Hue Monuments and My Son Sanctuary.

Trendy commercial tinsel and old world charms meet beautifully in Hoi An (pronounced Ho Yarn). Nestled about 30km south of Da Nang, Hoi An is a sleepy town with a laidback air. Previously occupied by the Chinese and the Japanese, the town now sees a colourful cross-cultural marriage with its winding lanes of Sino-Japanese styled shophouses. Most are over 300 years old and all still retain their original architecture, with many shops now catering to the tourist trade.

You should really keep a lookout for the made-to-measure shirts, blouses, dresses and suits offered here. It is estimated that there are over 400 such outlets. Me, I got a fitted, lantern-red silk cheongsam that was miraculously completed in just half a day! At US$55 (RM173), it is also comparatively cheaper than the rates in Malaysia.

Another must-see attraction in Hoi An is the Japanese Covered Bridge on the west end of Tran Phu Street. It was built in the early 1600s by the Japanese, roughly 40 years before they made an egress from the city, and was renovated in 1986. The bridge connects two sides of the town and bears numerous Japanese and Chinese influences, including beautifully-carved dragon and phoenix motives.

Come evening, food vendors flock at the stretches on both ends, offering mouth-watering meals of rice noodles and grilled dishes. As the sun sets, Hoi An comes to life as hundreds of glowing, balloon-shaped lanterns light up the facades of homes and shops.

As English is not widely spoken, it’s probably a good idea to engage a tour guide to help you get around. Our guide Hung, a stocky man in his 50s, told us adamantly: “We are not Chinese or Japanese. We see ourselves as purely Vietnamese.”

Then he added cheekily: “But I can speak a little Chinese, like wo ai ni (I love you).”

The Complex of Hue Monuments provides a gateway to the nation’s past. Also known as the Imperial City of Hue, this landmark in the north of Central Vietnam was built by the Nguyen Dynasty in the 19th century. Between 1802 and 1945, Hue was the imperial capital of the Nguyen Dynasty, not to mention the capital of Vietnam until the communist government made Hanoi the capital city.

We arrived at the main entrance called the Ngo Mon Gate on a rainy afternoon and were guided into the Forbidden City – once accessible only to the emperors and his entourage. The punishment for trespassing was death.

The white-stone path led to the administrative areas – the palace of supreme harmony, where coronations and other important meetings took place. The tall, sturdy walls whispered hints of an opulent past. To hobble across the drenched stone-steps in the rain, however, entailed the possibility of tumbling down to a mucky, moss-encrusted death. I treaded with fearful caution, clinging onto my travel companion, a travel writer, for dear life.

Most of the original structure still stands, including furniture, the throne and four red lacquer columns. The private quarters of the Forbidden City, however, show evidence of structural damage from the wars. Though it paints a tranquil picture today, the site has seen darker times.

In 1968, Hue witnessed a massacre when it was controlled by the Viet Cong for 28 days. In the months and years that followed the bloody battle, dozens of mass graves were discovered in and around Hue. Victims were found bound, tortured and sometimes, buried alive. Hue suffered further damaged when the Americans bombed the city in an effort to recapture it from the Viet Cong.

Another one of Vietnam’s monumental relics is My Son (pronounced Mei Sheng, which means “beautiful mountain”). Located at the Quang Nam province 69km southwest of Da Nang, My Son is a cluster of abandoned and partially ruined Hindu temples constructed between the 4th and the 14th century by the kings of Champa. However, due to the incessant downpour, we did not get to go there.

Nevertheless, here is the lowdown on majestic My Son – its temples were dedicated to the worship of Shiva, or Bhadresvara to locals. While My Son served as a site for religious ceremonies for the kings of the ruling dynasties, it was also a burial ground for Cham royalties and national heroes.

At the height of the Champa dynasty, over 70 temples, as well as numerous stele bearing historical inscriptions in Sanskrit and Cham, graced the site. The temples sat on a 2km-wide valley surrounded by two mountain ranges. Today, it is hailed as the longest inhabited archaeological site in Indochina, though a large part of its architecture was destroyed by US carpet bombing.

My Son is often compared to other historical temple complexes in South-East Asia, like Borobudur, Angkor Wat, Bagan and Ayutthaya. Adding to its mystique, archaeologists have discovered that the Champa did not use mortar at all to glue the bricks together. Their building secrets remain a ancient mystery.

As a whole, Da Nang makes the perfect escapade. Its laidback culture and voluminous landscapes bode especially well for urban dwellers who just want to kick back and relax. From its pristine shores to its grand, historical relics, Da Nang takes the traveller on an breezy adventure through space and time.

AirAsia flies from Kuala Lumpur to Da Nang, Vietnam, four times per week. For more details, log on to www.airasia.com. The writer’s trip was at the invitation of AirAsia.

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Drenched in old-world charm

Posted on 26th January 2012 in The monuments of world
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The beach near Nam Hai Hotel in Hoi An

The beach near Nam Hai Hotel in Hoi An

The Goddess of Mercy looms large at Linh ung Pagoda complex

The Goddess of Mercy looms large at Linh ung Pagoda complex

A woman sells her tasty skewered meat in Hoi An

A woman sells her tasty skewered meat in Hoi An

A view of the Japanese Covered Bridge in Hoi An

A view of the Japanese Covered Bridge in Hoi An

A hawker in Danang

A hawker in Danang

A view from the Citadel

A view from the Citadel

THE waves are ominous but I am drawn to them. Danang’s China beach, which faces the angry South China Sea, is my idea of paradise on earth. The wind and the waves rant and roar, a magnificent audio backdrop to the pristine beach. There are zero tourists around and I am glad for that. With the wind in my face and the hypnotic sounds of the crashing waves, I could just stay there forever.

Danang is the third largest city in Vietnam, home to almost a million people. Holidaymakers come mostly for the endless beach and the nearby Marble Mountains. Thankfully, it still remains relatively untouched by the crass commercialism that has afflicted Ho Chi Minh City.

Flashback a couple of decades ago. I remember the tiny airport at Danang and the old plane I boarded from Ho Chi Minh City to wearily get there. Danang today boasts an international airport and AirAsia now flies there four times a week, so access is a breeze.

The best time to visit Danang is from January to August as the rainy season starts thereafter, but there’s no stopping our media group from trekking through Danang, neighbouring Hoi An and Hue — in disposable raincoats, no less.
 
More than just the beach

The incessant rain makes sightseeing difficult. It’s Day 1 of the tour but our spirits are not dampened. Peering through the window as the bus lurches its way through the thoroughfares of the city and beyond, we try to take in whatever sights we could and take a shaky shot or two with our cameras.

The Goddess of Mercy can be seen in the the distance, gradually looming above us as we make our way to the Linh ung Pagoda complex in Son Tra province. At over 600 metres above sea level, the complex offers great views of the city and the adjacent beach. The Goddess herself is 67 metres tall, a sight to behold. Inside her are apparently 17 stories and 21 Buddhas but we never got to go in.

After playing tourists, we are soon herded back onto the bus for our next destination, Marble Mountain, but not before spotting a middle-aged female visitor doing the unthinkable in the distance — pulling down her pants in broad daylight and peeing in a drain. Wow, I thought such sightings are only possible in rural China!

It is late afternoon when we reach Marble Mountain but the huge lift, specially constructed for the weary (read: lazy tourists) is closed so going up by foot is the only option. However, this too is ruled out, thanks in huge part to the downpour that continues unabated. We console ourselves with browsing at a couple of nearby shops selling pricey marble handicraft.

A bit of history

Danang was apparently first settled by the Indonesians. Initially a part of the Champa Kingdom that ruled much of southern Vietnam until the 15th century, Danang played an important part in Vietnamese history for many centuries.

Colonised by the French in 1858 along with Hanoi, Saigon, Haiphong and Hue, it was considered one of Indochina’s five major cities.

In more recent history, Danang is best known for its role in the Vietnam war. The air base there was a major American hub, used both by the Americans and the South Vietnamese army.

Nearby China Beach, named after its beautiful china-white sand, was where wounded and weary American soldiers came to recuperate and recover.

Onward we march

I never knew the skies could contain so much water. It is still raining when Day 2 of my Danang adventure dawns. Our AirAsia organisers want it to be extra special, so our bus takes the Hai Van pass, a winding narrow road that snakes up a mountain, instead of comfortably zooming down a new highway, en route to our next destination, Hue.

This Hai Van pass is a 5km mountain route which takes up 1,500km above sea level, a veritable challenge for drivers due to the twisting and arduous route. Being a left-hand-drive vehicle makes it extra daunting but I suppose the attraction of braving the route are the scenic views of the coastline at every other turn.

We arrive in Hue after three long hours and guess what? It’s still raining! Do your worst, I mutter under my breath as I struggle with my raincoat, camera, bag and dignity. We all look like bloated whales in our colourful raincoats and I think we media folks — all 18 of us — make quite an impression descending on the Citadel.

The imperial complex

In Vietnam’s ancient history, Hue was once its capital, with the palace complex located on the north bank of the Perfume River. Commonly called the Citadel, the complex was built in 1804 and completed in 1833. It is huge — covering an area of 520 hectares — so it’s an intimidating prospect for travel journalists. We make do with visiting some old rooms and pretend to understand what the Vietnamese guide is mumbling in the rain.

To cut a long story short, the Citadel contains feudal relics of immense architectural and cultural values, showcasing the traditional and classical side of Vietnam. Just so you know.

Finally, the rain stops

It’s Day 3 and our official duties (the itinerary proper) ends today. Our guide senses our exuberance as he lets us off in Hoi An, a village-cum-tourist area boasting Vietnamese, Chinese and Japanese-style old buildings. The sky is clear and it is a good day to, what else, shop! Like a bunch of excited students on their holiday break, we fan out looking for cheap souvenirs and hawker fare. It’s a good time to practise our haggling skills. With 100,000 Vietnamese dong the equivalent of RM15, calculating the price of anything can be mind-boggling. One guy goes in search of the loo and refuses to pay the 3,000 dong fee, until we point out that it’s only 30 sen-lah. Another female journalist posts on Facebook that she’s spending 83,000 on a item, eliciting numerous queries on whether it’s a branded bag! One thing’s for sure, it does feel good to be millionaires in Vietnam.

Hard to say goodbye

Vietnam has undergone much changes since it opened its doors to tourists 20 years. Then, I went through immigration under the watchful eyes of soldiers brandishing M16s. Today, officers in smart attire man counters and efficiently wave you through. While Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi have, unfortunately, morphed into expensive touristy places, Danang still retains that old-world, simple charm that is quite irresistible.

I will never forget the innocent smiles, the quizzical looks we encounter over language, and the simple folks we meet in Hoi An, Hue and elsewhere. Danang, for me, is on the verge of modernisation and yet not quite there. That is as good a reason for anyone to visit it now before the innocence is lost. As my plane takes off, I take a last longing look at Danang and tell myself that I will be back.

Where to go

Marble Mountains
One of Vietnam’s most popular attractions, they consist of five marble and limestone hills (each named after one of the elements) not far from Danang. Climbing them is challenging but rewarding as there is a panoramic view of the beach and the surrounding countryside. The lazy ones can always opt to take the lift, a huge contraption that looks so oddly out of place with the natural surroundings.
Several Buddhist sanctuaries can also be found within the mountain.
The area is famous for its stone sculptures but rock extraction from the mountains has been banned, with materials now sourced from quarries elsewhere.
 
Hue
The imperial capital of the Nguyen Dynasty and was also the capital of Vietnam until the communist government made Hanoi as the capital city. Hue houses the Imperial Citadel and within it is the Forbidden City where emperors and concubines cavort. While the city stood majestically during the reign of the emperors, it also witnessed a massacre when it was controlled by the Viet Cong during the war. Hue also suffered damage when the Americans bombed the city in an effort to recapture the city.
One of the main attractions of Hue is the Thien Mu Pagoda, which also serves as the symbol of the city. Other sites that should not be missed are the tombs of several emperors.

My Son Sanctuary
This is a Unesco World Heritage Site, and considered to be the Angkor of Vietnam. Located about 70km west of Danang, it was an imperial city of the Champa kingdom. Expect a large complex of ruined or abandoned Hindu monuments constructed between the 4th and 14th century.

Hoi An
Located near Danang, Hoi An oozes charm and history. This sleepy village is definitely a tourist spot these days, with souvenir shops, bars, and tailors every step of the way.

The weather

February to April
Spring: cool and dry: Great time to stroll about

May to July
Summer: Warm and dry

August to October
Autumn: Cold and wet

November to January
Winter: Occasional thunderstorms and generally rainy

Getting there

The Danang International Airport is 2.5km southwest of the city centre. AirAsia flies to and from Danang every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Call 03-8660 4541 or 03-8660 4333 for more details.
 

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Google Funds Dissent as Oprah Speaks, Rushdie Sparks Anger

Posted on 24th January 2012 in The monuments of world

January 24, 2012, 4:58 PM EST

By Ruth David and Ketaki Gokhale

(For more Bloomberg Muse, click on MUSE .)

(Updates with Rushdie video event cancellation, starting in ninth paragraph.)

Jan. 24 (Bloomberg) — Google Inc., which is opposing censorship around the world, is funding discussions about dissent as celebrities including Oprah Winfrey and MTV founder Tom Freston attend Asia’s largest literary festival.

The five-day DSC Jaipur Literature Festival, in the Indian city known for its pink monuments and forts, has attracted some 100,000 people, organizers said, the most since it began. Politicians, bankers, Bollywood actors and students have been discussing everything from music to gardening.

“The core theme of this festival is freedom of expression, which is also a core value of Google,” said Paroma Chowdhury, a spokeswoman for the company in the city of Gurgaon. “We don’t try to influence the choice of panelists, but we obviously indicated the kinds of themes we would like to support.”

Google is sponsoring six sessions, including three on the theme of dissent and a panel on the Arab Spring. The company, owner of the world’s most popular Web search engine, has led online protests against a U.S. anti-piracy bill.

Along with Facebook Inc., Google is also fighting a lawsuit in India against a court ruling to remove content deemed offensive by the government. It filed a challenge in the Delhi High Court after a judge ordered top executives to be present at a trial on March 13. The lower court warned that India may follow China’s example of blocking websites that fail to comply with government requests.

Lost Tourists

The festival’s beginnings were in 2004 when author William Dalrymple tried reading his work in public. He had an audience of 14 people, five of whom were Japanese tourists who had lost their way.

“While we have some of the most difficult and complex authors talking, we also have ‘chick lit,’ people talking about music, about sex, politics, history,” Dalrymple said in an interview. “We create a sort of carnival atmosphere in the evening with music, we put out streamers and bunting.”

Indian-born author Salman Rushdie canceled his visit to this year’s event, saying intelligence sources had said paid assassins were on their way to Jaipur to “eliminate him.” He said a day later on his Twitter Inc. account that the police had lied to him.

Rushdie was supposed to address the festival via video link today. His talk was prevented at the last minute by the owner of the 150-year-old Diggi Palace hotel, the festival venue.

Violence Threat

“There are a large number of people averse to this video link inside this property. They have threatened violence,” Ram Pratap Singh told the crowds that had assembled to listen to Rushdie. The cancellation was for everyone’s safety, he said.

Rajasthan’s police had told organizers that crowds were marching to the building intent on violence if Rushdie’s address went ahead, festival producer Sanjoy Roy said. Calling the drama of the last three weeks an “idiotic situation” and its climactic end today a “disgrace,” Roy walked off the stage in tears.

“The idea of freedom of expression is severely under attack,” said Sri Lankan-born poet Cheran during the earlier dissent discussion with Prasoon Joshi, the Indian head of McCann Worldgroup, and three other writers. “The space for dissent is narrowing all around the world.”

‘Satanic Verses’

Hari Kunzru and other authors didn’t need Google’s backing to rebel. They planned to recite parts of Rushdie’s “The Satanic Verses.” India, home to the world’s third-largest Muslim population, has banned the novel that some Muslims find blasphemous and some complained to the police. Kunzru read two passages before officers arrived and asked him to stop. The organizers issued a statement distancing themselves from the authors.

Winfrey focused on India’s spiritual prowess, amid jabs at the country’s culture. She also talked about her book club and election prospects for President Barack Obama.

“I think the world forgot that we were in the brink of a depression in our country,” and Obama helped the U.S. avoid the economic downturn, Winfrey said. “His next four years are going to be even more successful and it’s a really good thing that he remains in office.”

Clad in a green Indian kameez, or long shirt, with large earrings, the media mogul parried the moderator’s questions for an hour, came with an army of handlers and didn’t take any audience questions even as crowds jostled to listen to her.

Proulx, Shriver

This year’s lineup also included Annie Proulx, the author of “Brokeback Mountain,” Ben Okri, Kiran Nagarkar, Lionel Shriver and Sri Lanka-born Michael Ondaatje.

DBS Group Holdings Ltd.’s Chief Executive Officer Piyush Gupta flew in from Singapore, joining bankers from Hong Kong and Mumbai. European tourists rubbed shoulders with New Delhi socialites in the hotel.

Pearson Plc’s Penguin Books India unit head and Sula Vineyards Chief Executive Officer Rajeev Samant held open-air soirees where celebrities huddled around coal-fired heaters and feasted on smoked salmon and devilled egg canapes.

Penguin Party

Glenlivet whisky flowed freely at Penguin India’s 25th anniversary party where bankers discussed India’s economy, which expanded at its slowest pace in more than two years in the three months ended Sept. 30 last year.

“A lot of the global investor community has stepped back” from India, said Gokul Laroia, managing director and head of institutional equity for Asia at Morgan Stanley. “Not because they are not interested but because they want to see resolution on policy issues.”

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s efforts to bolster the Indian economy have been hampered by corruption scandals, inflation and the decision last month to stall the easing of foreign investment rules in multibrand retail.

“Whether the country can engineer sustained growth is a function of the policy action they take,” said Gupta of DBS. “The bigger issue is the global economy. India’s fortunes this year are going to be fairly closely tied to it.”

Most delegates were optimistic about economic growth.

“The whole world is in this recession and growth in India has declined by a few points,” said MTV’s Freston. “It’s still better than anywhere else. They do have problems, like corruption. I’m optimistic about India though. It’s the greatest show on earth, isn’t it?”

The festival, which started on Jan. 20, is sponsored by companies including Bank of America Corp., Coca Cola Co. and Tata Steel Ltd. This year it raised 50 million rupees ($99,349), up from 4 million rupees last year, said festival producer Sanjoy K. Roy, managing director of Teamwork Films.

“We aren’t selling anything, we’re not listed,” said Manhad Narula, a director at DSC Ltd., builder of India’s largest toll plaza and the main sponsor. “There is a brand benefit associated with the high profile of attendees.”

The DSC Jaipur Literature Festival at Diggi Palace, Jaipur, runs though today, Jan. 24. Information: jaipurliteraturefestival.org/

–Editor: Mark Beech, Arijit Ghosh, Farah Nayeri.

To contact the reporters on this story: Ruth David in Mumbai at rdavid9@bloomberg.net Ketaki Gokhale in Mumbai at kgokhale@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Manuela Hoelterhoff at mhoelterhoff@bloomberg.net.

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Google Funds Dissent as Delegates Jostle to Hear Oprah in India

Posted on 23rd January 2012 in The monuments of world

January 23, 2012, 5:55 PM EST

By Ruth David and Ketaki Gokhale

Jan. 24 (Bloomberg) — Google Inc., which is opposing censorship around the world, is funding discussions about dissent as celebrities including Oprah Winfrey and MTV founder Tom Freston attend Asia’s largest literary festival.

The five-day DSC Jaipur Literature Festival, in the Indian city known for its pink monuments and forts, has attracted some 100,000 people, organizers said, the most since it began. Politicians, bankers, Bollywood actors and students have been discussing everything from music to gardening.

“The core theme of this festival is freedom of expression, which is also a core value of Google,” said Paroma Chowdhury, a spokeswoman for the company in the city of Gurgaon. “We don’t try to influence the choice of panelists, but we obviously indicated the kinds of themes we would like to support.”

Google is sponsoring six sessions, including three on the theme of dissent and a panel on the Arab Spring. The company, owner of the world’s most popular Web search engine, has led online protests against a U.S. anti-piracy bill.

Along with Facebook Inc., Google is also fighting a lawsuit in India against a court ruling to remove content deemed offensive by the government. It filed a challenge in the Delhi High Court after a judge ordered top executives to be present at a trial on March 13. The lower court warned that India may follow China’s example of blocking websites that fail to comply with government requests.

The festival’s beginnings were in 2004 when author William Dalrymple tried reading his work in public. He had an audience of 14 people, five of whom were Japanese tourists who had lost their way.

Sex, History

“While we have some of the most difficult and complex authors talking, we also have ‘chick lit,’ people talking about music, about sex, politics, history,” Dalrymple said in an interview. “We create a sort of carnival atmosphere in the evening with music, we put out streamers and bunting.”

Indian-born author Salman Rushdie canceled his visit to this year’s event, saying intelligence sources had said paid assassins were on their way to Jaipur to “eliminate him.” He said a day later on his Twitter Inc. account that the police had lied to him and he may address audiences via video link.

“The idea of freedom of expression is severely under attack,” said Sri Lankan-born poet Cheran during the dissent discussion with Prasoon Joshi, the Indian head of McCann Worldgroup, and three other writers. “The space for dissent is narrowing all around the world.”

‘Satanic Verses’

Hari Kunzru and other authors didn’t need Google’s backing to rebel. They planned to recite parts of Rushdie’s “The Satanic Verses.” India, home to the world’s third-largest Muslim population, has banned the novel that some Muslims find blasphemous and some complained to the police. Kunzru read two passages before officers arrived and asked him to stop. The organizers issued a statement distancing themselves from the authors.

Winfrey focused on India’s spiritual prowess, amid jabs at the country’s culture. She also talked about her book club and election prospects for President Barack Obama.

“I think the world forgot that we were in the brink of a depression in our country,’’ and Obama helped the U.S. avoid the economic downturn, Winfrey said. “His next four years are going to be even more successful and it’s a really good thing that he remains in office.’’

Clad in a green Indian kameez, or long shirt, with large earrings, the media mogul parried the moderator’s questions for an hour, came with an army of handlers and didn’t take any audience questions even as crowds jostled to listen to her.

Proulx, Shriver

This year’s lineup also included Annie Proulx, the author of “Brokeback Mountain,” Ben Okri, Kiran Nagarkar, Lionel Shriver and Sri Lanka-born Michael Ondaatje.

DBS Group Holdings Ltd.’s Chief Executive Officer Piyush Gupta flew in from Singapore, joining bankers from Hong Kong and Mumbai. European tourists rubbed shoulders with New Delhi socialites in the 150-year-old Diggi Palace hotel.

Pearson Plc’s Penguin Books India unit head and Sula Vineyards Chief Executive Officer Rajeev Samant held open-air soirees where celebrities huddled around coal-fired heaters and feasted on smoked salmon and devilled egg canapes.

Penguin Party

Glenlivet whisky flowed freely at Penguin India’s 25th anniversary party where bankers discussed India’s economy, which expanded at its slowest pace in more than two years in the three months ended Sept. 30 last year.

“A lot of the global investor community has stepped back” from India, said Gokul Laroia, managing director and head of institutional equity for Asia at Morgan Stanley. “Not because they are not interested but because they want to see resolution on policy issues.”

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s efforts to bolster the Indian economy have been hampered by corruption scandals, inflation and the decision last month to stall the easing of foreign investment rules in multibrand retail.

“Whether the country can engineer sustained growth is a function of the policy action they take,” said Gupta of DBS. “The bigger issue is the global economy. India’s fortunes this year are going to be fairly closely tied to it.”

Most delegates were optimistic about economic growth.

“The whole world is in this recession and growth in India has declined by a few points,” said MTV’s Freston. “It’s still better than anywhere else. They do have problems, like corruption. I’m optimistic about India though. It’s the greatest show on earth, isn’t it?”

The festival, which started on Jan. 20, is sponsored by companies including Bank of America Corp., Coca Cola Co. and Tata Steel Ltd. This year it raised 50 million rupees ($99,349), up from 4 million rupees last year, said festival producer Sanjoy K. Roy, managing director of Teamwork Films.

“We aren’t selling anything, we’re not listed,” said Manhad Narula, a director at DSC Ltd., builder of India’s largest toll plaza and the main sponsor. “There is a brand benefit associated with the high profile of attendees.”

The DSC Jaipur Literature Festival at Diggi Palace, Jaipur, runs though today, Jan. 24. Information: jaipurliteraturefestival.org/

–Editor: Arijit Ghosh, Mark Beech, Farah Nayeri.

To contact the reporters on this story: Ruth David in Mumbai at rdavid9@bloomberg.net Ketaki Gokhale in Mumbai at kgokhale@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Manuela Hoelterhoff at mhoelterhoff@bloomberg.net.

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Google Funds Dissent as Oprah Speaks, Rushdie Novel Sparks Anger in India

Posted on 23rd January 2012 in The monuments of world

A crowd outside IDFC Durbar Hall at the Jaipur Literature Festival at Diggi Palace in Jaipur, India. Photographer: Ketaki Gokhale/Bloomberg

Indian born author Salman Rushdie cancelled his appearance at the Jaipur Literature Festival saying intelligence sources had told him that paid assassins were on their way to Jaipur to “eliminate him.” Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg

Google Inc. (GOOG), which is opposing censorship around the world, is funding discussions about dissent as celebrities including Oprah Winfrey and MTV founder Tom Freston attend Asia’s largest literary festival.

The five-day DSC Jaipur Literature Festival, in the Indian city known for its pink monuments and forts, has attracted some 100,000 people, organizers said, the most since it began. Politicians, bankers, Bollywood actors and students have been discussing everything from music to gardening.

“The core theme of this festival is freedom of expression, which is also a core value of Google,” said Paroma Chowdhury, a spokeswoman for the company in the city of Gurgaon. “We don’t try to influence the choice of panelists, but we obviously indicated the kinds of themes we would like to support.”

Google is sponsoring six sessions, including three on the theme of dissent and a panel on the Arab Spring. The company, owner of the world’s most popular Web search engine, has led online protests against a U.S. anti-piracy bill.

Along with Facebook Inc., Google is also fighting a lawsuit in India against a court ruling to remove content deemed offensive by the government. It filed a challenge in the Delhi High Court after a judge ordered top executives to be present at a trial on March 13. The lower court warned that India may follow China’s example of blocking websites that fail to comply with government requests.

The festival’s beginnings were in 2004 when author William Dalrymple tried reading his work in public. He had an audience of 14 people, five of whom were Japanese tourists who had lost their way.

Sex, History

“While we have some of the most difficult and complex authors talking, we also have ‘chick lit,’ people talking about music, about sex, politics, history,” Dalrymple said in an interview. “We create a sort of carnival atmosphere in the evening with music, we put out streamers and bunting.”

Indian-born author Salman Rushdie canceled his visit to this year’s event, saying intelligence sources had said paid assassins were on their way to Jaipur to “eliminate him.” He said a day later on his Twitter Inc. account that the police had lied to him and he may address audiences via video link.

“The idea of freedom of expression is severely under attack,” said Sri Lankan-born poet Cheran during the dissent discussion with Prasoon Joshi, the Indian head of McCann Worldgroup, and three other writers. “The space for dissent is narrowing all around the world.”

‘Satanic Verses’

Hari Kunzru and other authors didn’t need Google’s backing to rebel. They planned to recite parts of Rushdie’s “The Satanic Verses.” India, home to the world’s third-largest Muslim population, has banned the novel that some Muslims find blasphemous and some complained to the police. Kunzru read two passages before officers arrived and asked him to stop. The organizers issued a statement distancing themselves from the authors.

Winfrey focused on India’s spiritual prowess, amid jabs at the country’s culture. She also talked about her book club and election prospects for President Barack Obama.

“I think the world forgot that we were in the brink of a depression in our country,’’ and Obama helped the U.S. avoid the economic downturn, Winfrey said. “His next four years are going to be even more successful and it’s a really good thing that he remains in office.’’

Clad in a green Indian kameez, or long shirt, with large earrings, the media mogul parried the moderator’s questions for an hour, came with an army of handlers and didn’t take any audience questions even as crowds jostled to listen to her.

Proulx, Shriver

This year’s lineup also included Annie Proulx, the author of “Brokeback Mountain,” Ben Okri, Kiran Nagarkar, Lionel Shriver and Sri Lanka-born Michael Ondaatje.

DBS Group Holdings Ltd. (DBS)’s Chief Executive Officer Piyush Gupta flew in from Singapore, joining bankers from Hong Kong and Mumbai. European tourists rubbed shoulders with New Delhi socialites in the 150-year-old Diggi Palace hotel.

Pearson Plc’s Penguin Books India unit head and Sula Vineyards Chief Executive Officer Rajeev Samant held open-air soirees where celebrities huddled around coal-fired heaters and feasted on smoked salmon and devilled egg canapes.

Penguin Party

Glenlivet whisky flowed freely at Penguin India’s 25th anniversary party where bankers discussed India’s economy, which expanded at its slowest pace in more than two years in the three months ended Sept. 30 last year.

“A lot of the global investor community has stepped back” from India, said Gokul Laroia, managing director and head of institutional equity for Asia at Morgan Stanley. “Not because they are not interested but because they want to see resolution on policy issues.”

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s efforts to bolster the Indian economy have been hampered by corruption scandals, inflation and the decision last month to stall the easing of foreign investment rules in multibrand retail.

“Whether the country can engineer sustained growth is a function of the policy action they take,” said Gupta of DBS. “The bigger issue is the global economy. India’s fortunes this year are going to be fairly closely tied to it.”

Most delegates were optimistic about economic growth.

“The whole world is in this recession and growth in India has declined by a few points,” said MTV’s Freston. “It’s still better than anywhere else. They do have problems, like corruption. I’m optimistic about India though. It’s the greatest show on earth, isn’t it?”

The festival, which started on Jan. 20, is sponsored by companies including Bank of America Corp., Coca Cola Co. (KO) and Tata Steel Ltd. (TAYA) This year it raised 50 million rupees ($99,349), up from 4 million rupees last year, said festival producer Sanjoy K. Roy, managing director of Teamwork Films.

“We aren’t selling anything, we’re not listed,” said Manhad Narula, a director at DSC Ltd., builder of India’s largest toll plaza and the main sponsor. “There is a brand benefit associated with the high profile of attendees.”

The DSC Jaipur Literature Festival at Diggi Palace, Jaipur, runs though today, Jan. 24. Information: http://jaipurliteraturefestival.org/

To contact the reporters on this story: Ruth David in Mumbai at rdavid9@bloomberg.net Ketaki Gokhale in Mumbai at kgokhale@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Manuela Hoelterhoff at mhoelterhoff@bloomberg.net.

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Indy offers fans big attractions, compact space

Posted on 17th January 2012 in The monuments of world

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indianapolis won’t ever be mistaken for Miami’s South Beach or New Orleans’ Bourbon Street, but visitors headed to the Circle City for the Super Bowl will find plenty of attractions, great restaurants and interesting taverns — not to mention some uniquely Hoosier experiences.

The same can-do spirit and public-private partnerships that delivered the Colts from Baltimore in 1984 and won hosting rights for this year’s Super Bowl have transformed a once-sleepy city center into a vibrant, pedestrian-friendly district filled with office towers, shops, eateries, bars, museums, theaters and historic churches.

The city nicknamed the Crossroads of America has turned out such cultural icons as writer Kurt Vonnegut, comedian David Letterman and the Indianapolis 500. It boasts one of the world’s largest children’s museums, an infamous shrimp cocktail and jazz and blues at a legendary venue with roots in the Underground Railroad.

And even though the weather in the first week of February can be unpredictable, as apt to produce highs in the 60s as 6-inch snowfalls, tourism officials are confident Indy has something to offer everyone descending for the Feb. 5 game at Lucas Oil Stadium.

FOOTBALL FESTIVITIES: Though this is its first Super Bowl, Indianapolis is no stranger to major sporting events: Lucas Oil Stadium three years ago hosted the sixth NCAA Men’s Final Four held in downtown Indianapolis, and the Super Bowl Village took a trial run as a tailgating zone during the Big Ten football championship game Dec. 3. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway draws thousands of fans each year for the 500 and Brickyard 400.

One of the city’s selling points as a Super Bowl site was the abundance of hotels and attractions within easy walking distance of the stadium.

That accessibility will be on display at the free, family-friendly Super Bowl Village opening Jan. 27, with more than 80 national, regional and local bands performing on two stages and Tailgate Town, featuring tailgate competitions, football turf and interactive games. Thrill-seekers willing to brave the elements can pay $10 to race 650 feet down Georgia Street, the heart of the Super Bowl village, on one of four zip lines strung 80 feet above ground.

The NFL Experience interactive theme park in the Convention Center bordering the west end of the village is expected to draw 200,000 fans paying $25 ($20 for kids under 12) to attend football clinics and autograph sessions, what’s billed as the largest football memorabilia show ever and a replica of an NFL locker room as it appears on game days. The NFL also will let 5,000 fans buy tickets to attend Super Bowl Media Day on Tuesday, Jan. 31, at Lucas Oil Stadium just two blocks away.

EATING OUT: Bars and restaurants ring the stadium, but none as historic as the Slippery Noodle at Meridian and South streets, where bars have operated since 1850. It served as a stop on the Underground Railroad during the Civil War, as a hangout for John Dillinger’s gang during Prohibition (Dillinger is buried in Crown Hill Cemetery a few miles away) and as a bordello up until 1953. Today, the venue is a tour stop for regional and national blues acts.

A can’t-miss for steak fans is St. Elmo Steak House, an Indianapolis fixture since 1902. But here, the steaks are often upstaged by its famous shrimp cocktail with hot and spicy sauce.

Another popular eatery is the Red Key Tavern, featured in Indianapolis-born author Dan Wakefield’s “Going All the Way” (the 1997 movie based on the story starred Ben Stiller and Jeremy Davies). Be sure to check out the model airplanes hanging from the ceiling.

HOOSIER HYSTERIA: It wouldn’t be Indiana without the basketball mania that’s referred to as “Hoosier Hysteria.” Sports fans seeking a diversion from football can explore some of the greatest temples of hoops tradition in Indiana.

Must-sees include Hinkle Fieldhouse on the Butler University campus on the city’s north side, the longtime home of the single-class state high school finals and featured in the final scenes of “Hoosiers.” The Bulldogs, the NCAA runners-up for two years running, have home games there Feb. 2.

The NCAA’s Hall of Champions downtown features a replica of a 1930s basketball gymnasium.

The Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame, about an hour’s drive to the east in New Castle, celebrates the state’s basketball heritage from the late 1800s with interactive exhibits, memorabilia from past state championship teams and a courtyard containing more than 6,000 engraved bricks arranged in the shape of Indiana. The bricks feature the names of the teams, coaches, players, and others who have been a part of the state’s basketball tradition.

Those just wanting to see a game can catch the Indiana Pacers in action with home games at Banker’s Life Fieldhouse Jan. 31 and Feb. 4.

UNIQUELY INDIANA: White River State Park immediately west of the Convention Center provides a greenway connecting the Indianapolis Zoo and White River Gardens, an IMAX theater, the NCAA Hall of Champions Museum, the Indiana State Museum and the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art.

The Central Canal linking the museums runs past two of the downtown area’s many military monuments, the Medal of Honor Memorial and another honoring the crew of the USS Indianapolis, which was hit by three Japanese torpedoes and sank in shark-infested waters of the Pacific Ocean on July 30, 1945, after delivering components for the atomic bomb that would be dropped on Hiroshima. The Indianapolis’ death toll of 880 from a crew of nearly 1,200 men is the U.S. Navy’s worst single loss of life at sea.

Four blocks east of the USS Indianapolis Memorial is the Indiana War Memorial Plaza Historic District, home to two museums and 24 acres of monuments, statues and sculptures and the national headquarters of the American Legion. The monolithic War Memorial’s upper floor is the 110-foot-tall Shrine Room, symbolizing peace and unity and made of materials from across the world because of the global nature of the “Great War.” The city’s nickname, Circle City, derives from the circular street surrounding the Soldier and Sailors’ Monument.

During World War II, 20-year Kurt Vonnegut joined the Army and was captured by the Germans at the Battle of Bulge. He and other prisoners survived the Allied firebombing of Dresden because they were housed underground in a former meat locker and slaughterhouse, but the experience marked him forever and inspired his novel “Slaughterhouse-Five.”

The year-old Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library, tucked into a storefront between the canal and the War Memorial, is small but fascinating for literary lovers. It contains a Nazi sword he brought back to the U.S. and a letter his father sent to him, but which he hadn’t opened because he was in German hands at the time. The walls are covered with portraits and photos of the author, his artwork, his typewriter from the 1970s, and recreation of his writing den.

Vonnegut’s grandfather, second-generation German-American Bernard Vonnegut, designed the Athenaeum, once one of the largest social clubhouses in the U.S. with an auditorium, gym, and restaurant, the Rathskeller. It’s part of downtown’s Mass Ave cultural district, a collection of galleries, shops restaurants and bars that also includes the Chatterbox, a tiny jazz club once visited by Mick Jagger when the Rolling Stones were in town. A giant mural of Vonnegut looms over the 300 block of Massachusetts Avenue.

“I don’t know what it is about Hoosiers,” Vonnegut wrote in the novel “Cat’s Cradle.” ”But wherever you go there is always a Hoosier doing something very important there.”

_____

Online:

Super Bowl: http://www.IndianapolisSuperBowl.com

Indianapolis Tourism: http://visitindy.com/

Indianapolis Downtown: http://www.indydt.com

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Kim Jong Un 'won't last long' says older brother (but he's not jealous)

Posted on 17th January 2012 in The monuments of world

  • Kim Jong Nam claims his half brother is a ‘joke to the outside world’
  • 40-something says real power will be held by military elite and top party officials
  • Kim Jong Il’s eldest son fell out of favour after being caught trying to sneak into Japan on fake passport
  • ‘Playboy’ son known for his love of casinos

By
Wil Longbottom

Last updated at 3:55 PM on 17th January 2012

Former North Korean leader’s eldest son has said the new regime will ‘not last long’ under the rule of his half brother, it has been reported.

South Korea’s Chosun Ilbo newspaper said that in an email Kim Jong Nam described the succession of power to Kim Jong Un as ‘a joke to the outside world’.

And he said his half brother would be ‘just a nominal figure’, adding: ‘The members of the power elite will be the ones in actual power.’

'A joke': Kim Jong Nam, Kim Jong Il's eldest son, claims his half brother will not last long in power in North Korea

‘A joke’: Kim Jong Nam, Kim Jong Il’s eldest son, claims his half brother will not last long in power in North Korea

Kim Jong Un was only announced as Kim Jong Il’s successor in September 2010 and he was thrust into leadership with the ‘great leader’ died last month.

The 27-year-old has little experience of leadership or dealing with alliance-making necessary to holding on to power in the notoriously reclusive state.

‘Without reforms, North Korea will collapse, and when such changes take place, the regime will collapse,’ the newspaper quoted Kim Jong Nam as saying.

‘The Kim Jong Un regime will not last long.’

Sibling rivalry: Kim Jong Nam is said to have fallen out of favour with his father after he was caught trying to sneak into Japan with a fake passport in 2001

Sibling rivalry: Kim Jong Nam is said to have fallen out of favour with his father after he was caught trying to sneak into Japan with a fake passport in 2001

Power struggle: New leader Kim Jong Un will be a 'peripheral' figure in North Korea, according to his half brother

Power struggle: New leader Kim Jong Un will be a ‘peripheral’ figure in North Korea, according to his half brother

North Koreans have been told their new leader studied at Kim Il Sung Military University and was involved in military operations including the November 2010 artillery attack on a South Korean island that saw four people killed.

He is seen as most like his father in manner and personality – crucial for the personality cult which is used to suppress opposition.

Kim Jong Nam, aged around 40, is known for his playboy lifestyle and love of casinos.

He is believed to have fallen out of favour with his father after he was caught trying to enter Japan on a fake passport in 2001, claiming he wanted to visit Disney’s Tokyo resort.

He told the newspaper: ‘Because I was educated in the West, I was able to enjoy freedom from early age, and I still love being free.

Dictator in training: Kim Jong Il inspects Huichon power station in May last year, along with generals and his son

Dictator in training: Kim Jong Il inspects Huichon power station in May last year, along with generals and his son

Rise to prominence: Despite being relatively unknown 15 months ago, Kim Jong Un was appointed a four-star general and an vice chairman in the North Korean communist party

Rise to prominence: Despite being relatively unknown 15 months ago, Kim Jong Un was appointed a four-star general and an vice chairman in the North Korean communist party

Cult of personality: Since he took over as leader of North Korea, the country's military has been keen to play down his lack of experience with bombastic displays like this one in Pyongyang

Cult of personality: Since he took over as leader of North Korea, the country’s military has been keen to play down his lack of experience with bombastic displays like this one in Pyongyang

AP OPENS NEW BUREAU IN NORTH KOREA – INSIDE ‘STATE-RUN’ AGENCY

The Associated Press has become the first international news organisation to establish a full-time presence in North Korea.

In a ceremony a month after the death of long-time ruler Kim Jong Il, AP president and chief executive Tom Curley inaugurated a new office inside the headquarters of the state-run Korean Central News Agency in Pyongyang.

The bureau expands the agency’s presence in North Korea, following a breakthrough in 2006 when it opened a video office in the capital.

Exclusive video from AP was used by media outlets around the world following Kim Jong Il’s death.

It marks an important gesture after decades of being off-limits to international journalists.

AP, an independent 165-year-old news cooperative founded in New York, has operations in more than 100 countries and employs nearly 2,500 journalists.

Mr Curley said: ‘Beyond this door lies a path to vastly larger understanding and cultural enrichment for millions around the world.

‘Regardless of whether you were born in Pyonyang or Pennsylvania, you are aware of the bridge being created today.’

‘The reason I visit Macau so often is because it’s the most free and liberal place near China, where my family lives.’

The South Korean newspaper said a Japanese journalist, Yoji Komi, exchanged almost 100 emails with Kim Jong Nam between 2004 and December last year.

It comes as a senior North Korean party official dismissed concerns about Kim Jong Un’s readiness to lead.

Politburo member and family confidante Yang Hyong Sop said the country’s people were in good hands with their new leader.

He said: ‘We suffered the greatest loss in the history of our nation as a result of the sudden, unexpected and tragic loss of the great leader Kim Jong Il.

‘But still, we are not worried a bit,
because we know that we are being led by comrade Kim Jong Un, who is
fully prepared to carry on the heritage created by the great General Kim
Jong Il.’

White mourning
bouquets and massive portraits of the deceased leader have been cleared
from capital Pyongyang’s main buildings and monuments.

After
Kim Jong Il’s death, streets and squares in Pyongyang were filled with
hysterical people weeping and crying out in apparent anguish.

His son’s rapid ascension to power has
raised questions about how ready he is to inherit rule over the
24million population with a nuclear programme as well as chronic trouble
feeding all its people.

Mr
Yang added: ‘It’s not a secret that he has helped the great general in
many different aspects – not only in military affairs but also the
economy and other areas as well.’

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Seoul: NKorea raises security, has troops on alert

Posted on 21st December 2011 in The monuments of world

PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) — North Korea has tightened internal security and put troops on alert since the announcement of leader Kim Jong Il‘s death in moves to consolidate power behind his young son and heir, South Korean intelligence indicated Wednesday.

Concerns over what will happen next in the unpredictable communist enclave — which has a 1.2-million troop military, advanced ballistic missiles and a nuclear weapons development program — have sharply raised tensions around northeast Asia.

Kim Jong Il ruled the country for 17 years after inheriting power from his father, national founder and North Korean hero Kim Il Sung. His chosen heir — Kim Jong Un — only entered the public view last year and remains a mystery to most of the world.

But South Korean parliament member Kwon Young-se said Seoul’s National Intelligence Service believes the North is now concentrating on consolidating Kim Jong Un’s power and that the country has placed its troops on alert since Kim Jong Il’s death.

North Korea on Monday announced Kim, 69, died of a massive heart attack.

Kwon said the NIS has told the parliamentary intelligence committee, of which he is a member, that senior military officials have pledged allegiance to Kim Jong Un, but police security has been tightened in major cities across the country.

Initial indications coming out of North Korea suggest the transition to Kim Jong Un was moving forward.

The young Kim, who is still in his twenties, led a procession of senior officials Tuesday in a viewing of Kim Jong Il’s body, which is being displayed in a glass coffin near that of Kim Il Sung.

Publicly presiding over the funeral proceedings was an important milestone for Kim’s son, strengthening his image as the country’s political face at home and abroad.

State media said Kim Jong Un also received mourners, including foreign envoys, in the Kumsusan Memorial Palace as he stood with a “guard of honor by the sides of the bier together with members of the National funeral Committee.”

The report in KCNA did not specify which foreign countries the envoys represented.

According to official media, more than five million North Koreans have gathered at monuments and memorials in the capital since the death of Kim Jong Il. Hundreds of thousands visited monuments around the city within hours of the official announcement that Kim had died over the weekend.

The North has declared an 11-day period of mourning that will culminate in his state funeral and processions through the capital on Dec. 28-29.

In a dreamlike scene captured by Associated Press Television News, Kim’s coffin appeared to float on a raft of “kimjongilia” — the flowers named after him — with his head and shoulders bathed in a spotlight as solemn music played. Various medals and honors were displayed at his feet.

The bier was located in a hall of the Kumsusan Memorial Palace, a mausoleum where the embalmed body of Kim Jong Il’s father and North Korean founder Kim Il Sung has been on view in a glass sarcophagus since his death in 1994. Kim Jong Un wore a black Mao-style suit, his hair cropped closely on the sides but longer on top, as he walked with much older officials in suits and military uniforms.

South Korea has put its military on alert and Japan has ordered extra vigilance from its Coast Guard. US President Barack Obama has been in close contact with his South Korean and Japanese counterparts, and has reassured them that Washington will stand by its allies.

China, meanwhile, appears ready to deal with Kim Jong Un.

President Hu Jintao offered his condolences at North Korea’s embassy in Beijing on Tuesday as the government hinted at an early invitation for a visit by Kim Jong Un.

China’s response to Kim Jong Il’s death highlights the government’s growing emphasis on North Korean ties despite its annoyance at the North’s refusal to reform its listless economy and its recurring provocative acts against South Korea that raise tensions in the region.

But how much clout Beijing carries isn’t clear.

“China’s influence on North Korea is often overstated,” said David Reeths, a senior adviser with IHS Jane’s Consulting. “While it’s true that China is their most important ally and patron, North Korea remains fiercely independent and harbors tremendous suspicion about China’s ultimate aims. … China’s ability to react decisively and coherently to fast moving events may also be hampered by their own ongoing generational change in leadership.”

Whether the younger Kim would depart from his father’s political approach also remains a mystery.

Unlike Kim Jong Il, who had 20 years of political grooming under his charismatic father, Kim Jong Un only emerged publicly as Kim’s heir about a year ago. Very little is known about him — even his age isn’t certain, although he is believed to be 27.

South Korean’s Unification Ministry spokesman Choi Bo-seon said it is Seoul’s understanding that Pyongyang is trying to raise the image of Kim Jong Un as next leader through developing a personality cult and that the North is seeking to unite the country by repeatedly touting Kim Jong Il’s feats and showing dramatic scenes of mourning and grief.

The U.S. State Department said late Tuesday that further discussions were needed to assess food needs and on monitoring aid, which would be possible only after the 11-day official mourning period for Kim ends.

“We’re going to have to keep talking about this, and given the mourning period, frankly, we don’t think we’ll be able to have much more clarity and resolve these issues before the New Year,” spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told a news conference.

___

Reported from Pyongyang by Associated Press Television News senior video journalist Rafael Wober. Associated Press writers Foster Klug, Hyung-jin Kim, Sam Kim and Eric Talmadge in Seoul, as well as Korea bureau chief Jean H. Lee, contributed to this story.

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Kim Jong Il’s Death ‘Won’t Hurt’ Russia Ties

Posted on 20th December 2011 in The monuments of world

By Alexander Bratersky

The St. Petersburg Times

Published: December 21, 2011 (Issue # 1688)



DMITRY ASTAKHOV / AP / RIA NOVOSTI

Late North Korean leader Kim Jong Il (l) with President Dmitry Medvedev during a summit in Siberia in August this year.

MOSCOW — The sudden death of maverick North Korean strongman Kim Jong Il cast a cloud over the future of the world’s last Stalinist state, but Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Monday that it should not affect relations between the two countries.

Analysts agreed that Russia is likely to remain an important trading partner of North Korea, but only if the country is not plunged into chaos by feuding clans — which, they said, is a more likely consequence of Kim’s death than a gradual democratization of the closed country.

As hundreds wailed in the streets of Pyongyang in a show of mourning for the “dear leader,” Asian markets reeled and South Korea readied its army, fearing provocations from the tentative successor, Kim’s youngest son, Kim Jong Un.

Kim Jong Il died in his armored train Saturday, the country’s official news agency KCNA reported Monday. He was 69.

The cause of death was the “great mental and physical strain” that he had endured on the job, said a North Korean television anchor, who burst into tears as she wrapped up her remarks.

No details were provided, but some news reports said he had suffered a heart attack. His father and predecessor, Kim Il Sung, died after a sudden heart attack at age 82. News media have reported about Kim Jong Il’s health problems since 2008, when he suffered a cardiac arrest. His penchant for cigars and fine cognac has done little to help his condition, the news reports said.

Kim will be succeeded by his third son, Kim Jong Un, believed to be in his late 20s. KCNA referred to him as “the great leader” for the first time in a Monday report, Itar-Tass said.

Photographs from North Korea showed crowds of people weeping in public over Kim’s death, many of them kneeling before monuments of the leader.

President Dmitry Medvedev has offered his condolences, but neither he nor Prime Minister Vladimir Putin have been invited to the funeral on Dec. 28, which will be a strictly domestic affair with no foreign dignitaries attending.

Kim is expected to be buried in the Kumsusan Memorial Palace in Pyongyang, where the embalmed body of his father is on display and maintained by the same Russian experts who maintain the body of Vladimir Lenin in the Red Square mausoleum in Moscow. It is unclear whether Kim’s body might be put on display as well.

“We hope that this loss of the Korean people will not affect the development of our friendly relationship,” Lavrov said, RIA-Novosti reported.

Ties between Moscow and Kim’s regime run deep. Kim was, in fact, born on Russian soil in 1941, while his father was fighting in the Soviet army against Japanese forces in World War II. A Soviet birth certificate identified him as Yury Irsenovich Kim born in a village near Khabarovsk.

Russia is one of the few countries that Kim has visited, last touring it in his armored train — his only mode of foreign transportation — in August. He and Medvedev discussed economic ties at a meeting near Lake Baikal.

Bilateral trade has plummeted since Soviet times and now stands at about $100 million a year, making Russia the third-biggest trade partner for North Korea after China and South Korea.

Russia has been trying to step up its involvement in politics on the divided Korean Peninsula through economic means, proposing, among others, to create a trans-Korean gas pipeline and restore a railroad link between the two Koreas.

The pipeline deal remains under negotiation, but Russian Railways in October commenced work on the 10,000-kilometer rail line, which starts in the North Korean port of Rajin.

Hundreds of North Korean workers are also employed in the timber industry in Russia’s Far East. Some of them have seized their chance to flee their home country, voicing plans to never return to North Korea.

The Russian government has criticized the Kim dynasty, which has “preserved Stalinism in its worst forms,” since the 1960s, but that has not prevented Moscow and Pyongyang from collaborating, said Yevgeny Kim, a senior researcher at the Institute of the Far East with the Russian Academy of Sciences.

“We will be ready to work with any regime,” Kim said by telephone from Moscow.

Kim, who has visited North Korea several times, said the country, despite its near-isolation from the outside world, is undergoing slow change, allowing limited Internet access at universities and some forms of private entrepreneurship.

A South Korean businessman working in Moscow said he hoped Kim Jong Il’s death would bring about change. “We want to see who will hold the real power in the country,” said the businessman, who spoke on condition of anonymity, citing the sensitivity of the issue.

Many analysts said they also wondered who would really hold power and voiced doubts that it would be Kim Jong Un, given his lack of charisma and government experience. Kim Jong Il began grooming him for succession around 2009, after losing faith in his two other sons. But Kim Il Sung spent more than a decade preparing Kim Jong Il to take over when he died in 1994.

“Kim Jong Il has been working to put in place a group of people who should facilitate the succession process for his son … and to establish multiple power centers to provide support and guidance to the heir-apparent should he suddenly pass away,” said analyst Sarah McDowall of the IHS Janes Dence weekly.

But “there is now a heightened risk of an upturn in factional tensions within the North Korean political elite as senior political figures, doubting the capabilities of Jong Un, could initiate a power struggle,” she said in e-mailed comments.

North Korea held a missile test on Monday, reports said, though it remained unclear whether it was a pre-planned exercise or a show of force.

South Korea put its 500,000-strong army on high alert on Monday and held talks with Tokyo and Washington, two other opponents of Pyongyang.

Regional markets slid over concerns about possible destabilization in the region, with Korea’s KOSPI losing 4.1 percent, Shangai’s SSE Composite down 2.5 percent and the Australian S&P/ASX down 2.3 percent, Reuters reported.

“Much will depend on whether outside forces will exert pressure on the country,” said researcher Yevgeny Kim, referring to the United States and South Korea. Neither country made any demands to Pyongyang on Monday.

Raising a parallel with the Soviet Union, Kim said the possible emergence of a figure similar to progressive Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev could lead to the “destruction” of the North Korean regime.

But Pavel Leshakov, a Korea expert at Moscow State University, said the Soviet example has taught the North Korean elite not to embrace outright reformism, Gazeta.ru reported.

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