According to the association, Lanta Tur Voyage is Russian leading tourism company, with thousands of agents in the world. In Vietnam, this company cooperated with a local firm to set up Lanta Viet, based on Truong Dinh Road, District 3, HCM City in 2010. In Binh Thuan province, Lanta Viet’s office is at Hai Au Resort, Phan Thiet city.

On January 27, after the parent firm in Russian announced bankruptcy, Lanta Viet’s office in Phan Thiet closed the door. All of its staffs have disappeared, including the Russian General Director Konstantin. Hundreds of Russian tourists in Binh Thuan have been desolate.

Nguyen Van Khoa, Chair of the Binh Thuan Tourism Association, said that Lanta Viet has abandoned its visitors and this is fraud. The association on January 30, asked for Binh Thuan police’s intervention to ban Konstantin from leaving Vietnam and force this company to take responsibility to their visitors and partners.

According to the association, Lanta Viet currently owes several resorts in Phan Thiet like BamBoo Village, Hoang Ngoc, Hai Au, etc. nearly VND10 billion ($500,000).

Klimov Vladimir, Russian consul in HCM City and Ngo Minh Chinh, director of the Binh Thuan Department of Sports and Tourism, visited some resorts in Binh Thuan to give encouragement to Russian tourists who were still stuck in Vietnam.

The consul said that Lanta Viet General Director Konstantin was in HCM City. The man presented himself at the Russian Consulate. The consulate asked Konstantin to not leave Vietnam and return to Binh Thuan to work with related agencies.

According to the consulate, around 50 Russian tourists returned home from HCM City on January 31. The remaining people will be brought home before February 8. Previously, over 100 tourists left Phan Thiet to HCM City on January 29 and 30. At present, around 200 Russian tourists are still stuck in Phan Thiet.

A total of 309 Russian tourists bought tours to Mui Ne in Phan Thiet city, Binh Thuan province, from Lanta Tur. In Vietnam, these visitors were served by Lanta Viet.

It is also reported that around 2,500 visitors of Lanta Tur are now stuck in many countries, including Vietnam, Thailand, India, etc.

source form: vietnamnet

Vietnam, though comparable in size to Finland, Norway or Germany, may feel like a huge country with a multitude of tourist destinations known as thousands of miles of coastline, mountains, river deltas and the obvious icons such as Ha Long Bay, Sapa, Hoi An and the vast ruins of My Son.

However, Tuyen Quang province is one of these overlooked gems.  Why so? Well, why not. If you are in Vietnam and have a few days to spare between visiting Ha Long Bay and Sapa and are happy to travel as the locals do, then head north, by bus. In a few hours you can be in towns and villages that are not accustomed to tourists, making the welcome you receive all the more genuine.

I had never heard of Tuyen Quang until March of 2011.  Travelling north from Ho Chi Minh City to Hue on the lovely named, reunification express, I spent 20 hours sitting in a berth with 3 locals.  Their curiosity with me was matched by my own in them. None of them spoke English and I spoke no Vietnamese but in the space of 20 hours, with the help of my phrase book, note pad and a few photographs on phones we had exchanged email addresses, phone numbers and invites.

I was invited to Tuyen Quang Province by a local shopkeeper and his family and made a promise that on my return to Vietnam, it would be the first voyage I would make from Hanoi and I kept that promise.

I had to look hard in guide books. The province is not mentioned in Lonely Planet or Rough Guide yet it has amazing scenery, mountains, waterfalls, lakes and enough tourist infrastructure such as hotels, cafes and the ubiquitous foot massage parlours to make it worth a visit without being overwhelmed. With Tam Dao mountain in the south of the province only a few hours from Hanoi, Tuyen Quang province is not that far yet easily overlooked by foreign visitors.

I took a xe-om to My Dinh bus station and within 30 minutes we were heading north through Hanoi’s suburbs and traffic, all for 75000 dong. A bus journey was something of an adventure, especially when the 20 seater bus had managed to accommodate 30 of us thanks to little chairs on the aisle and people had to squeeze up close, with no complaints.

In total I spent 3 days in Tuyen Quang Town after reaching the last bus stop.  My contacts had family here who run a lovely little shoe and handbag shop.  I was their guest for dinner and tea. I stayed in a hotel in the centre of town though I could have stayed with the family but my lack of Vietnamese and their lack of English could have caused us all problems so I chose a standard 3 star hotel in the centre of town.

My first impressions were a town with little or no tourist industry and that comes as relief after the non-stop tourism of other places. There are no hawkers, no shoe-shiners and very few xe-ôm drivers, just quiet commercial town serving the surrounding districts. The lack of tourist industry did make me work harder to find food and drink and I ate with the locals but having to try harder can make the reward even greater.

I found a small street restaurant (Com) near my hotel and had a brief conversation in French with a local man who had lost his left arm in the war with the Americans. He chatted with me and translated my order for Pho Bo and a beer.  And though I was alone, you are never alone long in places such as this. No sooner had I tucked into my meal than the hostess who made my meal came to sit with me, using my phrase book, she asked me was the food good and where was I from. Not a deep conversation but enough to relax a solitary tourist and put a smile on my face.

I had arrived in the town the night of the Mid Autumn Festival when it was alive with floats, music, people (mainly local school children) in costumes and vendors selling sweets and moon-cake and other snacks. I joined the crowd and watched the floats, all very impressive, mostly created by local schools or clubs. I think I said hello a thousand times that evening and never grew tired of it. And though this trip was about seeing another town in Vietnam and meeting people the scenery was still impressive. The town is surrounded by misty mountains covered in trees which are incredibly inviting.

My 3 days in Tuyen Quang town were just a taster and I will soon be back, heading further north to the small villages near Na Hang and Ba Be lakes and I can’t wait.

source form: vov

 

In 2010, the US-based RCI Group, the biggest vacation ownership group in the world, came to Vietnam to connect the three resorts of Ninh Van Bay Holiday Club Nha Trang into the global transaction network.

On September 10, the Hon Tam Bien Nha Trang Joint Stock Company officially signed an agreement with Group RCI, planning to issue vacation ownership membership cards valid for 2-25 years. Experts believe they can see a new wave of smart travel links which will help heat up the high end resort real estate market in Vietnam.

The smart service packages

The model of vacation ownership was born in France in mid 1960s, which has been rapidly spreading out to North America, now connecting more than 6000 resorts and hotels in 100 countries all over the world.

The model of vacation ownership was initiated from the idea of timeshare of real estate for different people’s use. The concept has become very popular to international tourists, while this has been a very lucrative business in developed countries.

Adrian Lee, Managing Director of RCI Group in Asia, explained that with the vacation ownership model, instead of making payment for every trip, buyers just have to pay once to obtain the right to use the “second home” for a certain time – one week, one month or several months during 10, 20, 25 or 30 years, depending on the service packages.

In the sea city of Nha Trang, Ninh Van Bay Holiday Club commits not to change the room rates during the vacation ownership time, even though the market fluctuates regularly due to the inflation. Besides, buyers can also enjoy other preferences, including the free use of gymnastics room, swimming pools, tennis court, the 20 percent discounts for meals and spa services, 10 percent discounts for tours and 10 percent discounts for souvenirs.

Chair of the Hon Tam Bien Nha Trang Company, Doan Thanh Trang, said that the members of the club not only can enjoy the preferences in using services of the of the resorts and hotels in the system in Nha Trang, but also can exchange vacations with other resorts and hotels in the global network, which means that buyers have many choices for destinations and types of tourisms.

For example, if wanting to visit Eiffel in France, a client can exchange vacations through the intermediate management unit – the club – and go to France. Meanwhile, the partner who exchange vacations with the client can go to Vietnam to enjoy his holiday. The only requirement here is that both of them join the vacation exchange system.

Especially, the vacation ownership program also allows to transfer, sell, give as a gift and inherit vacations. Members of the Hon Tam vacation ownership club can save about 70 percent of the expenses for every holiday.

The new wave

According to ARDA (American Resort Development Association), vacation ownership has created a new wave in the tourism industry. It has generated a very high growth rate in the industry and changed the habit of using tourism products of millions of families all over the world.

In 1990, only 1.5 million people had vacation ownership. Meanwhile, by 2008, 6000 resorts and hotels all over the world have been applying the model of vacation ownership, of which 31 percent are in North America, 31 percent in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, 6 percent in Latin America, 14 percent in Asia, 5 percent in Caribe and 3 percent in Asia Pacific.

RCI Group, the biggest vacation exchange group in the world with 3.8 million members, proves to be very choosy when admitting resorts and hotels for its network. They must be the 4-5 star hotels which have been operating stably and recognized by the world’s tourism magazines.

Vietnam now has five high end resorts in Nha Trang, Da Lat, Ninh Binh and Phan Thiet being the official parts of the RCI network. When joining the “trading floor”, the resorts and hotels not only have the opportunities to earn profits, but also can popularize Vietnam’s images about the country and people to the 3.8 million clients of RCI.

source from: vietnamnet

Can you tell us about the development process of VINASAT-2?

VINASAT-2 is being developed to promote Viet Nam’s telecommunications market to meet the requirements of clients, maintain orbital positions and build upon existing VINASAT-1 infrastructure. It will also boost local expertise and further develop Viet Nam’s satellite communications technology.

The Prime Minister designated the Viet Nam Posts and Telecommunications Group (VNPT) as an investor of the VINASAT-2 project, which means we are responsible for arranging other investors, consultation, purchasing the satellite equipment, insurance and launching arrangements.

The total investment capital for the project is estimated at US$290-350 million, and is divided into two phases which will be completed in 2012. The VINASAT-1 was Viet Nam’s first satellite and was successfully launched into orbit in position 132 degrees east. It was officially put into operation on May 22, 2008 and is expected to reach full capacity this year.

How will VNPT promote VINASAT services overseas – have any foreign clients registered to use VINASAT-1 yet?

The coverage of VINASAT-1 reaches throughout Southeast Asia and other major markets including India, Japan, Korea and even Hawaii.

We have signed a training contract with Luxembourg satellite carrier SES ASTRA, and have begun co-operating with satellite carriers ABS Hong Kong and Universal Telecom Services in America regarding traffic exchange and bandwidth resale, and we are currently negotiating with Singaporean carrier Protostar.

We are also negotiating with Asia-pacific partners about the possibility of leasing VINASAT-1′s C band transmitter in the Indonesian and India markets.

Several businesses have indicated that VINASAT-1 rental is more expensive than Thai and Hong Kong satellites. How do you assess this and what are the advantages of VINASAT-1 in comparison with foreign satellites?

The rates of satellite services around the world are based on specific requests from clients regarding technical requirements, scale and duration of service. This means that rates vary in markets, and VINASAT-1 service charges are based on these individual circumstances, so it’s hard to compare prices. That said, the VINASAT-1 service rental is flexible to ensure it remains competitive with other satellites in the region.

According to VINASAT project test results from the National Steering Committee, most parameters tested exceed expectations such as life expectancy, reliability, and sensor response. We believe this gives the VINASAT-1 a commercial advantage, in combination with the satellite’s advanced production technology, which we emphasise when negotiating with clients.

What are the main differences between the VINASAT-1 and VINASAT-2?

The new satellite has a larger capacity, greater weight, greater number of sensor responses, and higher bandwidth capacity. The VINASAT-2 will focus on the Ku bandwidth due to the large number of clients in the region including Viet Nam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and Myanmar.

Life expectancy of the satellite is at least 15 years and it is estimated that VINASAT-2 will have between 24-30 emitters while VINASAT-1 has only 20 emitters.

Total investment in the VINASAT-2 is estimated at between $290 and 350 million, which is dependent on contractors. A large part of the costs will be the launching service, which is increasingly expensive.

source from: tuoitrenews

Executives of Ernst & Young have urged Vietnam’s tax authorities to consider using advance pricing agreements (APA) with corporate taxpayers as a way to fight transfer pricing at both foreign-invested and domestic companies.

Ernst & Young said such an agreement should specify transactions covered by the APA, transfer pricing method, required APA records and terms, operational and compliance provisions, appropriate adjustments, critical assumptions regarding future events, and annual compliance reporting responsibility.

Luis Coronado, Asia Pacific Area Transfer Pricing Leader at Ernst & Young Solutions LLP, told the Saigon Times Daily that Vietnam’s tax authorities were on the right track when taking action to intensify transfer pricing examinations at foreign-invested companies. But he suggested APAs should be used as an option to counter and manage transfer pricing issues.

In HCMC alone, the Tax Department realized more than 60 percent of this year’s target for nearly VND110.4 trillion (US$5.32 billion) in the first half of this year.

This agency credited a year-on-year increase of over 20 percent in tax revenue in the year to June on the year earlier period to the fact that more foreign-invested enterprises reported profits after having run at a loss for many years as they heard about transfer pricing probes and crackdowns.

Tax authorities have also attended to possible transfer pricing cheats at local enterprises which manage to transfer profits to their subsidiaries in areas where there are lower tax rates and more incentives to evade their tax obligations, as locations in the country apply different tax policies.

Nitin Jain, director of tax and advisory services at Ernst & Young Vietnam Limited, said transfer pricing was applicable to local enterprises also.

“APAs can apply to all entities as long as they have related party transactions. For local entities it is generally referred as domestic APAs which generally are unilateral as there are no two governments or tax authorities involved,” he told the Saigon Times Daily in an email on Thursday.

Unilateral APAs involve agreements between only the taxpayer and one government, and taxpayers may also be in bilateral or multilateral APAs with more than one tax authority through the mutual agreement procedure included in most income tax treaties.

Ernst & Young Vietnam said the bilateral APA has helped address the inconsistent and evolving interpretation and enforcement of transfer pricing rules in other countries and the risk of double taxation.

The firm said there was no provision on APA in Vietnam’s transfer pricing regulations and there had not been any APA signed in the country. The Prime Minister’s decision in May 2011 on tax reform for 2011-2020 includes issuing regulations on APA among others.

Jain said it was expected that APA regulations would be available in Vietnam in the next few years. The General Department of Taxation recently surveyed taxpayers and tax agencies with queries about implementation of the transfer pricing regulations, how to improve relevant policies and APA introduction.

“This all answers that Vietnamese tax authorities and the Government are looking at APA as a perspective tool for mitigating transfer pricing disputes, and this is something they would like to introduce in the near future,” Jain said.

Ernst and Young’s recent survey with taxpayers around the globe showed transfer pricing was the most important tax issue, as chosen by 33% of the respondents in Europe, the Middle East, India and Africa, 30 percent of the respondents in Asia Pacific and 21 percent in North America.

Coronado said 74 percent of the respondents at parent companies and 76 percent at subsidiaries believe transfer pricing will be “absolutely critical” or “very important” to their organizations over the next two years. Up to 74 percent of the parent respondents say transfer pricing documentation is more important now than two years ago.

More nations are adopting APAs and the list of more than 30 countries worldwide include Australia, China, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Indonesia and others in Asia Pacific, as APAs help save time and cost for both taxpayers and tax authorities.

According to Ernst & Young, the APA process generally takes less time to complete than a transfer pricing examination followed by a dispute resolution mechanism, which can last three to four years and longer in many cases with complex time-consuming and expensive checks.

Therefore, the Ernst & Young survey found that 23 percent of all respondents want to use APAs as controversy management tools, and up to 90 percent of those opting for APAs will count on such agreements to solve transfer pricing disputes.

source from: tuoitrenews

As eight provinces and cities have reported a slowdown of hand-foot-mouth disease (HFMD), the Ministry of Health has decided not to announce a HFMD pandemic.

“For the time being, the ministry does not declare a pandemic as the number of new cases has deceased and all of the most affected provinces and cities have put it under control,” Huan said.

The disease reached its peak in Ho Chi Minh City on June 22 with 101 new cases but the figure has gone down to 30-40 cases per day in the past four days, said Dr Pham Viet Thanh, Director of the HCMC Health Department

Similarly in Tien Giang, the number of new patients has dropped from 58 per day a few weeks ago to 5-10 at present.

Statistics from the Epidemiological Hygiene Institute and the Pasteur institutes countrywide also showed that the total number of new patients have gradually dropped, according to the ministry’s Preventive Health Department.

Dr. Huan urged all of the 8 provinces and cities to continue their efforts to further drive back HFMD from now until the year’s end. “Otherwise, the disease may spread again and a pandemic will occur next year.”

Huan also said that many local governments had yet to earmark 30 percent of its health budget for prevention and control of diseases, including HFMD, as required by Resolution 18 of the National Assembly, adding that by August 25, all provinces and cities must submit their detailed plan to cope with HFMD to the ministry.

As of yesterday, HFMD has spread to 52 provinces and cities, affecting more than 35,000 people and killing 83. HCMC continues to be the most severely hit with 7,683 patients and 24 deaths.
source from: tuoitrenews

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has decided to name the 2012 tourism year “the national tourism year of coastal provinces in the north of the central region – Hue” with the themed “heritage tourism”.

Cultural heritages overexploited

Cultural tourism is now the growing tendency in many countries in the world. This type of tourism helps preserve the traditional culture, while it helps create jobs and increase in the incomes of local people. Vietnam has a gold mine of heritages, but it still does not know how to exploit it in the most effective way.

Dr Pham Trung Luong, Deputy Director of the Vietnam Tourism Development Research Institute, said that Vietnam is considering cultural heritages as the competitive edge in developing tourism, but the overexploitation has been frustrating the cultural heritages.

Luong has warned that the tendency of modernizing and commercializing cultural heritages when trying to develop tourism, has led to the fact that many traditional cultural values has become distorted and they have lost their inherent beauties.

The “waste of heritages” is occurring in Hanoi, the locality with the thousands-of-year culture history, where there are over 5000 relics, or 40 percent of the total relics in the country. These include three heritages which have been gloried by UNESCO. Here in the city, there are also the cultural space which creates specific features that cannot be seen in any other countries in the world, such as ancient villages, ancient streets and old streets.

In the eyes of travel firms, the heritages of the Thang Long land of thousands of years of civilization still could not become perfect tourism products to be introduced to international tourists.

When coming to Hanoi, travelers would be led to some favorite sites, including the West Lake, Quan Thanh Temple, Hoan Kiem Lake, Dong Xuan Market, ancient streets, Van Mieu-Quoc Tu Giam (Hanoi Temple of Literature). They would also be led to President Ho Chi Minh relic site, or to museums and to theatres, where they can watch water puppet. With such itineraries, travelers would not be able to feel the specific cultural value of the land.

Very few travel firms dare to design the specific tours with the theme about Hanoi’s culture to offer to travelers regular as tourism products.

Explaining this, Dang Thi Tho, Director of the Hanoi Branch of Phuong Hoang, a travel firm, said that it is inconvenient to travel in Hanoi in such conditions of roads and traffic, and that travelers usually get traffic jam in peak hours.

Meanwhile, Tho said, many relics are located far in the villages, while the paths to the relics are small and muddy which are inaccessible by cars. A lot of relics have been downgrading seriously, because they have not got the appropriate attention from local authorities. Besides, Vietnam is lacking the tour guides who have deep knowledge about the relics to tell to travelers.

Resources must not be wasted

Foreign travelers now tend to try to learn and discover the traditional culture features of the places where they come to. Therefore, Vietnam, with its cultural attractiveness and thousands of relics, is really a good destination for them.

However, a lot of relics have been fallowed even after they got the ranking from the state. Local authorities and relevant branches have not had any plans to preserve and promote the values of the relics to serve the local tourism development.

Experts have called on to spend money, time and efforts to preserve cultural heritages. Building brands, upgrading the transport infrastructure, developing the systems of hotels and restaurants are all the solutions which have been put forward by the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism VNAT.

Meanwhile, the Training Department under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, has emphasized the need of training staff. There should be the tour guides who have good knowledge about historical monuments, and such tour guides can be found in the community. Every person can get involved in the tourism services after he is trained in tourism culture.

source from: vietnamnet

General Secretary Trong, who doubles as National Assembly Chairman, made this affirmation while receiving Cheuang Sombounkhan, Minister-cum-Chief of the Lao Government Secretariat, in Hanoi on June 6.

The Vietnamese Party leader expressed his joy at the development of the Vietnam-Laos special solidarity, which has seen efficiency thanks to remarkable contributions by the Government Offices of the two countries.

Trong requested the two offices to boost exchanges of information and experience and coordinate to implement agreements reached at the 33 rd session of the Vietnam-Laos Intergovernmental Committee.

He asked Cheuang Sombounkhan, who is also Secretary of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party Central Committee, to convey his best regards to Lao Party General Secretary and State President Choummaly Sayasone.

For his part, Cheuang Sombounkhan, expressed thanks to Vietnam for its valuable assistance to Laos , both in the past and at present.

He expressed his belief that under the leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam, the Vietnamese people would continue to rapidly and sustainably implement the national renewal process and basically build the nation into an industrialised country.

He affirmed that the Lao Party, State and people are determined to develop the traditional friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between the two countries./.

source from: vietnamplus

Travel for just a week in Vietnam and you’ll realise how few of its gastronomic specialities see the light of day beyond its borders. Every region lays claim to unique edible delights – well-known classics such as northern pho, Hue imperial banquet fare, and southern salad rolls are just the tip of the culinary iceberg.

1. Bun Rieu Cua

Thank the northern knack for turning humble ingredients into something sublime for this crustacean-flavoured soup. It’s made from paddy crabs, packed with tomato chunks, green onions and bun (rice vermicelli), and capped with a floater of sautéed crab fat. Some cooks add bean curd and oc (large snails, in which case the dish is called bun rieu cua oc). Green leaves and herbs, along with sliced banana tree stem, are mainstay accompaniments.

2. Banh

One of the tastiest relics of Emperor Tu Duc’s reign is banh, steamed rice cakes eaten with a drizzle of fish sauce. Whether eaten plain, dotted with chopped mushrooms, or stuffed with chopped dried shrimp, these dainty Hue bites make the perfect light breakfast or between-meal snack. Heatloving central Vietnamese often add a dollop of chilli sauce.

3. My Quang

Thick and chewy turmeric-yellow noodles are topped with shrimp, pork, bean sprouts, herbs and chopped peanuts, and are moistened with just a bit of rich broth. Named for its native province of Quang Nam, the dish comes with rice crackers for crumbling and is finished in characteristically central-Vietnamese style, with a dab of sweet-hot chilli jam.

4. Banh Trang Phoi Suong

A veritable hedgerow of unusual greens and herbs, many of which are gathered wild from riverbanks and rice paddies, features in this Trang Bang District do-it-yourself roll-up of thinly sliced pork and cucumber, accompanied by pickled garlic, daikon and carrots. Everything’s bundled into rustic rice papers, which have, as the name of the dish suggests, been ‘exposed in the dew at night’, and dipped in nuoc cham.

5. Canh Chua

This beautiful, tangy tamarind-flavoured soup embodies the Mekong Delta’s abundance: from its waterways come fish; from its fruit plantations, pineapple; and from its fertile soil, tomato and spongy bac ha or taro stem. The region’s rice paddies contribute the cuminlike herb rau rom. Accompanied by rice it’s an unpretentious yet appetising meal in a bowl.

6. Banh Khot

These small sweet-and-savoury prawn pancakes are made from ground rice and coconut milk batter that’s cooked in special half-spherical moulds, resulting in a crispy crust enclosing a soft centre. A speciality of Ba Ria-Vung Tau province, they’re eaten rolled with herbs in a lettuce leaf.

source from: lonelyplanet

Before you start on your travels in Vietnam, take your time to learn a little about the local culture in Vietnam. Not only will this ensure you don’t inadvertently cause offence or, worse, spark an international incident, but it will also endear you to your hosts. Here are a few top tips to help:

Dress code
Respect local dress standards: shorts to the knees, women’s tops covering the shoulder, particularly at religious sites. Always remove your shoes before entering a temple. Nude sunbathing is considered totally inappropriate, even on beaches.

Meet and greet
The traditional Vietnamese form of greeting is to press your hands together in front of your body and bow slightly. These days, the Western custom of shaking hands has almost completely taken over.

Business cards
Exchanging business cards is an important part of even the smallest transaction or business contact. Get some printed before you arrive in Vietnam and hand them out like candy.

Mind your chopsticks
Leaving a pair of chopsticks sitting vertically in a rice bowl looks very much like the incense sticks that are burned for the dead. This is a powerful sign and is not appreciated anywhere in Asia.

Watch your feet
Like the Chinese and Japanese, Vietnamese strictly maintain clean floors and it’s usual to remove shoes when entering somebody’s home. It’s rude to point the bottom of your feet towards other people. Never, ever point your feet towards anything sacred, such as a Buddha image.

Hats off
As a form of respect to elderly or other esteemed people, such as monks, take off your hat and bow your head politely when addressing them. In Asia, the head is the symbolic highest point – never pat or touch an adult on the head.

source from: lonelyplanet