All media guide in Vietnamese

HANOI: Up until the second day of SEA Games from the opening ceremony the English version of the Media Guide books were not yet available.

Journalists could only find books in Vietnamese.

"Is this a Vietnamese SEA Games or ASEAN SEA Games," a Thai journalist said in jest.

"Sorry, tomorrow they will be ready," a girl in charge of the Main Press Media Center (MPC) said on Friday, apologetically. Actually that has been the response since Wednesday.

However, other media sources in cutouts and bulletins are abundant. --JP

Motorcycle taxis offer alternative transportation

HANOI: With some of the competition venues split in distance, reliable convenient transportation is essential to reach in time.

From the Media Press Center (MPC) where journalists are based vans are offered at a fee. It is 650 Vietnam Dong (about US$40) a day. Able to accommodate between five and six people, the vans are a relatively low cost option.

However, allowing for traffic jams in the city, some prefer to use motorcycle taxi services, which in Indonesia are called ojek. The Vietnamese call them semay.

It is only 20,000 Dong from MPC to the National Training Center, the archery and shooting venue, which are about 15 kilometers apart. --JP