Ascending 2,967 m high Po Ma Lung in Lang Village, Phong Tho District in Vietnam’s northern mountainous region is infamous for its length and roughness, the first pitstop only accessible after an 8-9 hour trek. Bearing this in mind, our group stayed over in Lai Chau Town before setting out the next morning, when we were joined by fellow adventurers from Hanoi. Two 16-seaters from Lai Chau Town dropped us in Lang Village at 8 a.m following a two-hour drive. After registering with border police as the peak is near the border with China, our group of 24 passed our luggage to local porters and commenced our journey. The first step is the deepest. From Lang Village, we walked approximately 5 km along the hillside before reaching the foot of Po Ma Lung, from which we would climb 20 km before descending. This leg of our journey provided stunning jungle greenery and magical terraced fields, a few small houses dotting the valley below. The road hugged local … [Read more...] about Conquering Po Ma Lung proves peak feat
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Saigon couples might get incentives to have second kid
The Department of Population and Family Planning has proposed subsidizing or waiving hospital fees for the delivery of the second child and offering families having two children soft loans to buy or rent houses. These are meant only for official residents of the city and not migrants, the department said in the proposal, which will be submitted to the administration for drafting the population policy for 2021-25. Other recommendations include extending maternity leave from six months to one year for having the second child and giving the father a month off, increasing the number of days of annual paid leave from 12 for employees having kids under five, and subsidizing kindergarten fees at public facilities for families with two kids. In the last two decades the city's fertility rate has fallen from 1.76 children per woman to just 1.33 against the current national average of 2.1. The rate is "seriously low", and would keep falling without timely intervention, Le Van Thanh, former head … [Read more...] about Saigon couples might get incentives to have second kid
