Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia

VIETNAM

During the last thirteen years, vietnamese has been featured on tv settings and newspapers around the world on a daily basis as a violent war that has been fought between the communist led north of the country. When the war finally came to an end in 1975, with the northern forces victorious, most of Vietnam's population was desperate to leave the country because it had been ravaged by years of conflict. The communist government's strategy of allowing foreign firms to invest in new industries contributed to the slow rebuilding of the economy over the course of several years, despite the fact that it took the government years to recover. These days, an unprecedented number of people are choosing to take their vacations in this picturesque nation. In spite of these advancements, the vast majority of Vietnamese people are still living in poverty.

RUSH HOUR ON A BICYCLE

In the majority of the world's largest cities, automobiles are the dominant mode of transportation; yet, in Vietnam, the bicycle is the dominant mode of transportation. Because so few people have the financial means to buy a car, the only mode of transportation that everyone in this community uses to get to and from work and run errands is a bicycle. During the morning and evening rush hours in Ho Chi Minh City, streets like this one are filled with cyclists who ring their bells and shout to warn pedestrians and other bikers to move out of the way. Other riders are also on the road. \n

Families in Vietnam celebrated a child's survival rather than the child's birth for the first month of their child's life due to the high infant mortality rate in the country. This tradition is still followed in modern times. The Thoi Noi holiday is celebrated by the family when the child reaches the age of one year. The small child is shown a platter that has things on it. Regardless of which one the kid chooses, it gives an indication of the line of work that they will eventually pursue, such as a pen if they want to be a teacher or scissors if they want to be a tailor.

Following the cessation of hostilities, many Vietnamese nationals made attempts to leave the country, either in quest of better opportunities elsewhere or to avoid being persecuted at home. They go on boats for the ocean in the hopes of reaching the Western world by way of Singapore, Malaysia, or Hong Kong. About half a million individuals had departed their homeland by 1980. The influx of refugees was greatly reduced when neighboring countries began returning their citizens.

Rice is grown on flooded fields in Vietnam, which is why two-thirds of the country's arable land is underwater for at least part of the year. However, the flooding of the fields is intentional. Throughout the course of the wet season, the fields will gradually become inundated with rainfall, which will be contained by the low earth dikes. Soon after that comes a succession of paddy fields that are very low and dirty. Women are responsible for the planting of rice by hand. It can take anywhere from two to three months for the plant to achieve its full potential before it can be harvested.

COMMUNITY LIFE

In Vietnam, the majority of the population lives in rural areas. In fact, four out of every five individuals call the countryside home. The majority of them will never go to Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City since there are not enough automobiles or railroad links to get them there. The vast majority of people live and work in rural communities, either as farmers or employees. People live in humble dwellings made of brick, concrete, or — more typically — wood, straw, and palm leaves. These materials are used to construct the residences. A typical house consists of two rooms: one for living and dining, and the other for sleeping. There is no running water in the house. The water is taken from a well located in the backyard. \n

CAMBODIA

Cambodia is one of the few countries to have undergone as much sorrow as it has.

In 1970, it became entangled in the conflict that was going on in the neighboring country of Vietnam. After that, the country was ruled by Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge, a revolutionary group that was responsible for the deaths of nearly a million Cambodians during their reign from 1975 to 1979. In 1979, Vietnam invaded Cambodia in an attempt to topple Pol Pot. This action sparked a civil war that continued in Cambodia until 1991. Cambodia's once-thriving civilization is in the process of being piecemeal reconstructed at the moment. \n

DANCE IN VARIOUS CULTURES

Inside the temple of Angkor Wat were sacred dances that were performed by royal dancers. These dances were based on two Indian epic stories called the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. To perfect the beautiful movements of this highly stylized form of classical dance, one needs a lot of experience and a lot of practice over a long period of time. Before each performance, the dancers had to have their costumes, which were exceedingly tight and covered in elaborate embroidery, sewed onto them.

For a considerable amount of time, the enormous Angkor Wat temple complex remained hidden away in the jungle located in the north of Cambodia. It was formerly the administrative capital of a huge empire, and it was created in the 12th century as a monument to the Hindu god Vishnu by the Khmer King Suryavarman II. After the Khmers had lost control of the area, Angkor Wat was abandoned and the surrounding jungle slowly swallowed the monuments, leaving them in ruins. The location of the site was uncovered in the previous century.

As a direct consequence of its protracted civil conflict, Cambodia is currently in a vulnerable state. The road and rail infrastructures have both completely broken down, and industry is on the verge of extinction. It is thought that there could be as many as 3 million mines hidden deep within the earth. In spite of the efforts of mine clearers like the one depicted in this shot, the majority of mines are not discovered until after someone accidentally steps on one. As a direct consequence of this, there are around 20,000 persons who are unable to function normally.

LAOS IS A COMMUNIST STATE IN ADDITION TO BEING ONE OF THE POOREST AND MOST ISOLATED COUNTRIES IN THE WORLD. Three quarters of the population is comprised of farmers, the majority of whom grow only enough food to satisfy the requirements of their own households. The majority of the land is mountainous and unfit for agriculture, with the exception of the fertile Mekong Valley. On the other hand, Laos is a country that is abundant in gold and other minerals, in addition to timber and coffee.

Laos's inaccessible mountainous regions have long been home to ethnic groups like the Hmong, who have lived there for centuries. They also cultivate corn and rice for personal consumption in addition to growing opium poppies for commercial purposes. However, the battles that have taken place in this region have had a significant negative impact on this traditional way of life, and as a result, many Hmong have fled the country and moved in Thailand or the United States. \n

MALAYSIA

Malaysia is a multi-ethnic country that is located in Southeast Asia and borders the South China Sea. On the island of Borneo to the east are the states of Sarawak and Sabah, while a portion of the country is located on the Malay Peninsula, which hangs off the corner of mainland Southeast Asia. Both Borneo and the Malay Peninsula are in Southeast Asia. The ever-growing cities on the peninsula are home to the vast majority of the nation's roughly 24 million people, who have made them their permanent abode. Every five years, the role of monarch in Malaysia is rotated among nine sultans, each of whom is responsible for the administration of one of the states that comprise Malaysia.

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THE MALAYSIAN POPULATION

Over half of the people living in Malaysia belong to the Malay ethnic group, just like this family. The remainder, which accounts for around one-third of the population, are either members of indigenous tribes or the descendants of settlers who originally came from the Indian Subcontinent. The coming together of peoples from different backgrounds has historically given rise to racial tensions.

Off the coast of Sarawak are enormous oil and gas reserves, which are just one of the many natural resources that Malaysia is blessed with in abundance. The nation is the leading producer of palm oil, which is used in soap and cooking, and the third largest producer of natural rubber in the world. Both of these products are exported around the world. The rain forests of Sarawak are densely forested, but there is concern among experts that the logging industry is cutting down trees at a rate that is greater than the rain forest's ability to regrow them.

Latex, a milky-colored fluid that is necessary for the production of natural rubber, is exuded by the rubber tree and is stored within the bark of the tree. Planting a rubber tree on the lower slopes of the mountains that span the length of the Malay Peninsula, where the temperature is consistently high and there is an abundance of rain, would produce the highest quality rubber. The latex is transported to a manufacturing facility that is located nearby. After mixing the rubber with water and acid in a large pan, it is either smoked or hung up to dry so that it can be used.

The first car to be manufactured in Malaysia was the Proton, which was produced for the first time in 1985 just outside of the capital city of Kuala Lumpur. Over 90 thousand Protons are manufactured each year at this time, the majority of which are shipped to the United Kingdom, Singapore, and Indonesia. After the success of the Proton came the turn of the Perodua, which was the second vehicle project to be successful. The electronic industry relies heavily on Malaysia as a hub due to the country's status as the world's largest producer of computer disk drives.

The residents of the area came up with an ingenious solution to the problem of building on river banks or in areas close to the ocean, and that solution was to construct their homes on stilts. You'll find kampungs, also known as villages made up of these types of houses, all over Southeast Asia. The wooden homes are built on raised platforms that are sufficiently above the water to protect them from the threat of flooding. Additionally, the elevated floors and numerous windows ensure that the homes receive adequate ventilation.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia

Tin prospectors set up a camp in the area where the Kelang and Gombak rivers converged in 1857. The area is now known as Kelang Gombak. They got in touch with their Kuala Lumpur, whose name translates to "muddy meeting place" in Malay, has grown both in size and prominence as a center for the tin mining and rubber industries. With a population of approximately 1.5 million people, it has grown to become the most populous metropolitan area in Malaysia.