In spite of the careful and very public selection process for Miss Vietnam last year, in which there were several candidates, there were few international contestants brought home the crown.

Truong Thi May represented Vietnam at Miss Universe 2013

Many in the business of beauty pageants in Vietnam have pointed out what they call a unique beauty possessed by Vietnamese women. Their failures at international beauty pageants has been blamed, by such critics, on a lack of preparation and knowledge of the international beauty pageant circuit.

Among four notable international beauty pageants this year, there was only one in which Vietnam was unrepresented. Miss Sport, Lai Huong Thao, represented Vietnam at Miss World contest, model Truong Thi May at Miss Universe contest and Lo Huong Tram at Miss International contest.

Great hopes were placed on Truong Thi May, but those expectations turned to disappointment when she returned home without a prize.

While even her detractors had to concede that luck played a big role, many of the "failures" by the Vietnamese contestants representing the country at international contests came back to haunt them, especially when compared to the successes of Thailand and the Philippines.

These are two countries with which many Vietnamese feel especially competitive in such events.