[SingViet]

Coffee money in Asia is considered normal. In VN, its very normal. I remember when i first set up my office in HCM in 2003, a Ward Cong An came to `inspect' the office. My wife told me to put 300K VND into an envelope and she will pass it to the officer. After that, the same officer comes every month for the `coffee money'. Even when i started my Cafe in early 2010, Ward police also came to take `coffee money'. Even till now, if you wanna get a business license in VN, you should give `coffee money' so that your license will come out faster. If not, it will be at the KIV file for a long time. All these are like coffee and tea to the vietnamese, they are very used to it.

I arrived in Phnom Penh , Cambodia in 2008. My wife and i were clearing the immigration at the airport when the immigration officer asked me `No Coffee Money? ' I was shocked as officers in Vietnam dare not openly ask for `coffee money' The officer then told me he will return me the passport and i should place US$5 in each passport and return passport to him for clearance. I started an office in Phnom Penh, but the business only lasted for around 8 months. Everything also `coffee money'.

I had some business connections in Myanmar since 2007. In that country, its the worst it can get. Everything, same, coffee money. But there's no network romaing till recently. Going into that country is like everything cut off from the rest of the world. Internet slow like mad, cannot use hotmail and yahoo, only Gmail. The only courier company is DHL. Streets are like dead man's world at night, except for a few nigh spots. Communications like telephone cost a bomb. Coffee money here and there, and government officers can arrest you with the slightest provocation.

The world is about `coffee money', not just asia. A lot of western countries are the same, just that they don't do it openly. Asia is more daring, officers ask for `coffee money' openly. `Coffee money' is good for businessman as we can get things done faster, but its bad for the commoners.