Pixi

Dimensions of Fake and Real

2009-10-02T16:12:00.001+07:00

In Vietnam people buy fake clothes, fake shoes, fake watches, fake bags, fake motorbikes, fake DVDs, fake books, fake alcohol and there are even fake hotels…. Still life is so real here….

In Singapore people buy the original branded clothes, bags, shoes, watches, DVDs, etc…. But still... life there is Fake….

It’s Fake vs. Real… the rest is marketing...

Custom-made shoes...

2009-09-24T13:32:00.002+07:00

It’s been quite a practice in Asia for foreigners to have tailor-made shirts and suits (i.e. getting them from Bangkok). But now I advanced one step and now I got two pairs of tailor made shoes. For big guys like me, it is quite a hassle to buy clothes and shoes, or even condoms for that matter that would fit my size here in Asia. All things come in smaller size, or are damn expensive branded stuff. I have been looking for some nice shoes for a couple of days and did not manage to find my size, so my friend recommended to check out this tailor made shoes here in Vietnam. After two weeks I got my pairs and they are good looking and cool :)

You might think that I am spoiled and live an aristocratic life here, going for custom-made shoes and stuff like that. Actually I am saving lots of money, because these cost 75% less of those in the malls, specifically 25 USD for some kick as leather shoes (medium range quality that can be bought in the malls).

Now, before sounding like a girl, writing about shoe shopping, I want to turn the focus on the economics part of it. If custom made shoes can be as cheap as 25 USD, then imagine the cost of producing on factory scale the shoes in Vietnam… And then selling the same shoe in Singapore with 50-100 USD :):):) Or selling it actually here in Vietnam the same shoe in the mall for a 100 USD, as they do it now.... Maybe I am in the wrong business…. Anybody there who wants a JV for a shoe-factory? :)

Back to God...

2009-08-07T17:45:00.002+07:00

Lots of things to write about my experiences in Vietnam and there are two things that stand out the most, which are very valuable. First is that I have found here a lot of self-confidence, that kind of was lost a bit while working in an MNC.

The second is that I have (re)discovered my belief in God. I come from a family with religious background (kind of). I myself was educated to a certain extent in that way, as some members of the family are religious and some others not. So I was kind of touched by the belief in God but on the other hand not really, especially on a ceremonial level. This also come that my family is part of the Unitarian religion, which is fairly liberal.

Once I have left my hometown, I got disconnected from religion and belief in God, and believed in the modern preaching of self fulfillment.

Vietnam does seem to be a sinful place, and one can live a very sinful life, by the measures of the religious teaching (oh, those nights in Apo…). However the experiences I have went through, made me discover my own God and the way I believe in good. Still living a sinful life somehow, but I see a clearer path now and I feel a strong belief in God, that it exists, and that it is with me. I have been thinking a lot about this in the past two weeks… I am still skeptical about religion itself, but not skeptical about God. I am happy with this. It just feels good. I hope I will not loose this faith again.

Moment of inspiration... while sitting on the toilet...

2009-08-03T12:26:00.002+07:00

The experience of living and working in Vietnam is pretty much like eating Vietnamese food: it is fantastic... but often you need to spend a whole day on the toilet...

P.S.:God bless the guys who invented Imodium and Airplanes...

Love fridays

2009-07-10T16:06:00.002+07:00

My favourite for friday morning:

>

And this one to put me in the weekend mood:

Dangerous Vietnam

2009-05-06T16:48:00.002+07:00

While nowadays everybody is considering Mexico a dangerous place from a health point of view, there are some real dangers in Vietnam as well.... of a different nature of course:

http://www.thanhniennews.com/healthy/?catid=8&newsid=48173

"Doctors are reporting an increase in the number of men being rushed to hospital after their sexual organs have been cut off by jealous wives or girlfriends.

The good news for the castrated men is that the amputated organ can be successfully reattached if it is preserved properly. "

..........

"Other cases turn out poorly for the man as the wife continues to vent her anger by throwing out the severed member for some dog to eat, or putting it in boiling water to cook for a while."

These Vietnamese women are really dangerous huh? Now you understand why i am still not married, yah????

Conclusion: make sure you have some ice, some salt and some clean plastic bag at home :)

This Earh Hour Thing....

2009-03-21T11:37:00.001+07:00

For quite a white I see the promo on the TV about Earth Hour. I think it is a good campaign to create awareness in the developed world about the global warming and I support this initiative and general the initiatives that tackle global warming.

I allow myself to be a bit cynical though and also to challenge a bit the earth hour fans.

Firstly, I think the organizers should award Vietnam as a champion of earth hour, as here the electricity company makes sure that there is earth hour event quite frequently. Power shortages are quite common, especially in the dry season when the hydro power plants are not on full capacity. So sometimes I just stay at home in the dark and do my private earth hour.

The challenge for campaigns like the earth hour is that it engages the developed world mostly, and not so much the energy hungry developing world. Those people who have power shortages every once in a while, can’t really be enthusiastic about another earth hour. So how can the developing world be engaged in the discussion of global warming? How can we create awareness? Because most of the increase in energy consumption (and cause for global warming) will come from the developing world in the next couple of years.

Another personal observation is that during these power shortages, the sexual activity increases. I mean it is dark and you happen to be with a girl at home, what can you do? Now if 1 billion people join this earth hour, then there is a pretty high chance of some babies to be borne. How much is the energy saving from the earth hour and how much energy is consumed for rising up these new babies and whatever they will consume during their lifetime???? I am sure that over the years an event like this is increasing energy consumption, even if it is decreasing in short term.

Last year I have been invited to do this earth hour thing with my friends. So here I arrive to the place of my friend where lots of candles were burnt during earth hour. I am sure the energy consumed for making those candles+ the one used for their transportation is much higher then the energy used by an energy efficient light bulb. And after the one hour, they turned on to the maximum all the air conditioners…F#%&k

My point is that it is important to have awareness campaigns and the earth hour seems to be a decent one. But substance also matters and besides switching off the lights, others steps are needed. I rarely use air-conditioning, but sometimes walk naked in the house to coop with the heat. I tried to convince my bosses that we should apply the same measures in the office, but it seems they don’t care about saving the planet because they did not agree to that.

Now that my laptop is out of battery soon (and there is a power interruption in my flat), I have to finish this post, and will publish on the net later on. Signing off from the city of earth hour: Saigon.

On the way to become famous....

2009-03-19T22:31:00.002+07:00

On the way to become famous, so far I have been featured in, gave interviews or participated in talk shows for:

Local TV in my home town in Romania (Szekelykeresztur)
Local Radio and Newspaper in Viborg, Denmark
Regional TVs, Radios and Newspapers in Romania where I lived and also where I studied (Mostly in Nagyvarad and Szekelyudvarhely)
National Public TV Channel in Romania (TVR2)
National Private TV Channel in Hungary (TV2)

These were mostly due to my activities in different NGOs (except the Hungarian TV interview, which was about working in Singapore, and one newspaper article in the regional paper on the same topic). At a certain point I was more often on TV in Nagyvarad than at the courses at the university (hope my teachers don’t read this, or people blackmail me for this statement when I will become famous :):):) ).

Now I can add one more to the list (probably the biggest in terms of audience), which is the interview I gave yesterday for the Vietnamese National TV (VTV1) in prime time news about the stock market in Vietnam and the opinion of foreign investors in general. Hope that I was “intelligent enough” and sounded like an "expert" :):):) And hope that this did not cause the market drop today, after a short rally in the past days (joking yah?) :):):):)

The thing I hate in this media appearances is that one always needs to worry whether he/she looks stupid or not…. Can be stressful… No hot babe came to me to ask for autograpgh yet. My assumption is that hot babes don't watch news about stock market, rather than me looking stupid on TV.... Otherwise they should have come to me, is it?

Requests for further interviews will be a barometer whether it was a good or a bad thing what I have told, but I am happy to start building up my "brand" and public figure in Vietnam . PR helped me a lot in achieving my previous results where I worked and I hope that here it will make things easier as well.

Friday night's movie

2009-03-07T19:47:00.002+07:00

I watched yesterday at the cinema the movie called Revolutionary Road. Actually did not go to the cinema with the intention to watch this particular movie, but just went randomly there and picked this one.

I am not updated at all on what new movies are out there and also what worth watching or not, so it was quite a gamble as I did not know what this movie was about, but it turned out that it was a good one.

I really liked the topic and it gives a lot of things to think about in terms of relationships, hopes & dreams and about all those dilemmas with the “settling down” thing. I really recommend to everyone to watch it…. (not commenting on the acting part though). Also the novel on which this movie is based on worth reading I guess.

The story of the domestic helper

2009-03-01T13:24:00.000+07:00

In Vietnam one has to spend quite a lot of time with the day-to-day issues of life. Things are not as simple and straightforward, especially as one does not speak the language. So the free time that one has after work and after the day-today issues of life is very little. I have been struggling to increase this time and cut down on time consuming things. Hence I got a domestic helper. Of course I had couple of challenges at the beginning, like the language, so I had to switch a couple of them.

I almost gave up on the idea of having one, but then I went out one night in a bar with friends where you always have these girls to serve your table and entertain you. In this bar, they don’t do anything dodgy (i.e. offering “special services”), but just make sure that you consume as much as possible. So one of the girls there had some decent English and then we have talked about where she is from and what she is doing and stuff.

She is from the countryside and came to Saigon to study. Of course that she needs to finance herself, because the parents are too poor, and sometimes she needs to send money home as well. So during the day she goes to college and in the evening she goes to work to this bar, six days a week. Of course the pay is shit, her salary is around 55 USD and she gets another 100 - 150 USD from tips. Now with the recession, less and less people are going to the bar so the tip is less and less. She is struggling to maintain expenses and always short on cash (having a cash flow issue, but managing the overall costs well).

So I proposed that she can help me with my day to day issues and become my domestic helper, which she was very happy to accept. Of course I am a bit overpaying by local standards, but I guess it is a good deal for both of us. I have more time and she is financially more stable. I was a bit reluctant with the whole thing, because she has to work even more now, but she seems to be happy with the deal. Maybe I feel a bit of guilt for being an exploiter somehow…

For me she is quite inspiring, how she finances her studies and fighting to advance in life. I guess that is in the genes of the Vietnamese people and this is a very good example of that. Also a good reminder how lucky but spoiled I am now.

I thought that it is an interesting aspect of life here in Vietnam; you tell me your opinion.

The ghost town face of Saigon…

2009-01-30T13:01:00.001+07:00

Saigon is a buzzing city, all the time people roaming around on their bikes and you wherever you look or wherever you go, hundreds of people surround you….

But suddenly all this disappeared during the TET (Lunar New Year) holiday. Pretty much just like at Christmas in Europe, everybody went home to his/her hometown, and suddenly Saigon became one of the quietest cities.

Pollution disappeared and I could breathe fresh air…. I could go to places in less then 10 minutes from my home, even if that usually took 25 minutes (loved speeding within the city on the empty roads)…. And somehow I felt the whole city as being a totally different one than the one I knew.

It is interesting how cities can change; the mood and atmosphere of a city can change, just like that of the people….

I really liked the quiet Saigon and I would not mind if every 4th week would be a quiet week like this :):):) For the rest of the weeks, bring on the buzz :):):)

Telegraphic post

2008-12-19T17:33:00.001+07:00

Here is my preferred hat that I wear in order to help me through the financial crisis and to motivate in achieving impossible sales targets:

Luckily our company is doing well during the crisis due to good risk management procedures and smart decisions. My job is secure and looking forward to new challenges. Thanks for all your concerns.

Just read shockingly that Cambodia’s budget for next year is US$ 1.9 billon… comparing with the numbers from the financial crisis and scandals, I wonder how much country building could have been done with that…. Maybe governments could bail out countries like these instead of rotten bank and auto compnaies….

I was impressed with the whole Christmas decoration in HCMC. The center is full of lights and nice decoration and I guess half of the city is there to wonder around and enjoy the spirit. The place has a fantastic energy, boys and girls on motorbike just enjoying a great Saigon evening. Kinda cool and this is the magic of Saigon, this energy.

24 hours to go till my flight back home and did not buy yet one single Christmas present…. ah…. I am such a terrible shopper. It seems that I wasted 3 years in Singapore without learning the basics of the life there….

I guess I was a terrible blog writer since I moved to HCMC and also very bad in keeping contact with all my previous friends from all over the world. It has been quite a marathon run for me. I guess that will be my plan during this holiday to catch up with as many as possible.

Wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!!

The song of this week

2008-10-12T11:21:00.003+07:00

I had this song on repeat mode this week, so thought to share it with you:

Living in the happiest nation in Asia

2008-09-30T20:10:00.002+07:00

I was reading some report and have stumbled upon this interesting chart:

Now you definitelly have a reason to visit Vietnam:) Hapiness guaranteed :)

Good genes

2008-09-04T19:49:00.003+07:00

As you can see, there are some good genes in the family (he is my brother's son, not mine):Posted by a proud uncle and godfather :)

The CFA Challenge

2008-08-20T15:12:00.000+07:00

Yesterday night I have successfully registered for my Level I CFA exam for 7th of June 2009. If you wonder what CFA is, well it is supposed to be the gold standard of professional credentials within the global investment community.

I guess this is one of the biggest educational challenges for me... but also excited about the fact that I am back to learning again. Why is a challenge? Check the pass rates for this June for the different level exams:

Level I Pass Rate: 35%
Level II Pass Rate: 46%
Level III Pass Rate: 53%

But i like the challenegs and I am looking forward to get my books to study :):):) It requires lots of discipline and sacrefice, but I am really hopeful that I will get it and I am looking forward to your support in doing so.

Planning my Christmas trip :):):):)

2008-08-16T17:15:00.000+07:00

So happy that I bought my ticket back to Europe this week for Christmas/New Year :):):) I have been home last September and I really look forward to go home this winter, especially that I haven't been home for Christmas since 2004.

Here is my brief plan:

20th of December - Fly out from Saigon to Vienna

21st of December - Vienna

22nd of December onwards at home

2nd-3rd of January - Hungary/Budapest

3rd-4th of January - London

4th of January - Flying back to Saigon from London

I am also happy that this time I fly with Qatar Airways, should be cool with them... Still not Singapore Airlines... but hope that next year I will get back to flying with SQ again....

I plan to spend my new year's eve in Romania/Hungary so I if you have any cool plans for an awesome party, then please let me know:):):) The ideal would be to have all my friends in one place and throw a big party but that is hardly possible as all my friends are all over the country:(:(:(:(

Yah, one more thing, I booked ticket for one person... so no Vietnamese girl joining me, okies? No more teasing! :)

Simple things that make me happy

2008-08-02T20:11:00.001+07:00

I am happy that I discovered a shop here in HCMC where they sell all kind of imported foods (introduced to me by a client from Singapore!!!). Now I can buy stuff that have no MSG in it and brands that I can't find in supermarkets. I just bought Hungarian salami, Gouda cheese from Netherlands, Hungarian champagne, French pate, etc :).

But the bonus for me is that I found my favourite choco drink: Nesquik :):):) I used to always bring to Singapore from Romania, but now no need for that anymore. I paid an incredible 11 USD for a pack of 450g....but now I am slurping my chco drink and I am happy :):):) Sometimes simple things make me happy and life enjoyable. Today that simple thing is Nesquik!!! What is yours?

I feel hunted

2008-07-23T21:01:00.003+07:00

A lot of things work very differently here in Vietnam… One example is who asks who to get married with whom. I always thought that usually the guys ask the girls whether they want to get married with them or not. Here I am asked fairly frequently whether I want to marry her by the girl (or her friends). Of course this happens only to white guys. I feel hunted down….

One typical conversation I had yesterday with a girl in the elevator:

Girl: How are you?
Me: Fine thank you, and you?
Girl: I am ok too. How old are you?
Me: 28 … and you?
Girl: 24… so are you married? (asking with a very shy voice and looking down to the floor… I already know where this is leading as I have been in this conversations a couple of times… so I enjoy the moment)
Me: Not yet (she suddenly has a big smile and sparkling eyes, bright face)
Girl: And do you have girlfriend?
Me: Not really (even bigger smile on her face and already I feel that she is ready to jump on me)
Girl: Do you want to marry Vietnamese girl?
Me: Why not, if I find a nice Vietnamese girl like you (playing to the tune)
Girl: oh…. I can marry you if you want (Realizes that she is in trouble now as she exposed her thoughts and laughs, becomes shy again, looks down and she is relieved that the elevator door opens and she can run out)

I would have not written about it if it would not have had happen this conversation at least once a week…. I already know the flow of the discussion as it is the same each time. They are very direct in this matter and they have a flow of questions, doing market research professionally. :)

Another typical situation I get in is when one of my Vietnamese friends/colleagues invites me for coffee, drinks, dinner. Most likely then not, totally "unexpectedly and unannounced" one of the female friends/cousins/neighbors just happens to join, then somehow always gets seated near me (it is funny how they always make the arrangements in a way to ensure this).

And then after the meeting comes the evaluation part when I am asked by the friend/colleague whether I liked her or not, if I got her number, if I want to take her out. This questioning also comes with a sales pitch on how nice she is, what qualities she has, why she would be a good wife/girlfriend. Now it is easy if it is about a nice girl, but I am fairly embarrassed when I have to politely tell that she is ugly and there is no way I am going to go out with her.

With all these offers on hand, I still won’t get married for a while, don’t worry about it. Especially that I am super busy and getting even busier in the next couple of months…. but at least I can assure my mom that there is hope :):):) hahah :)

Superchallenged

2008-07-15T01:02:00.001+07:00

Beware of what you wish as you might get it... says one of the Metallica songs (a bit more poetic is the expression that they have in the song).

I wanted challenge and I got it. The most extreme of it i guess.... I am superchallenged personally, professionally, physically, mentally, culturally, etc... Whatever area you name it... I am superchallenged in it. When I think that I am on top of the things, then comes another challenge... even more different, even more stretching.... Every day is a new lesson for life and it is so intense that I feel like I am living in one day as much as I lived in one year previously.... every hour spent here puts me in a situation which is new, which requests quick decisions on what to do, how to act, what to say, how to behave... it requires me to figure out what is behind every gesture, word, blink of an eye, smile, letter in an e-mail.... As one of my friend said... it's the feeling of cluelessness of a baby in a topless bar (not the best metaphor I guess but at least it makes you think how that feeling might be, which can be a challenge itself) ....

I go to sleep now, as tomorrow is another day when in spite of all the preparation I will be superchallenged again... it is the way of life here and if you want to change your life and challenge everything you were and you knew before, then you can join me. :) Things will never be the same again!!!

Evolution of technology in emerging markets

2008-07-12T17:32:00.000+07:00

Sometimes countries like Vietnam can be a big surprise in terms of technology. Because when you do some infrastructure investments, you start basically from scratch as there is nothing built yet, so you can deploy the latest technologies. There is no much worry about replacement issues, compatibility between old and new, costs, etc. That's why sometimes technology in these countries can be more advanced then in western Europe, at least its usage can be wider. It is interesting to see that while certain technologies are so backward, others are so up-ro date. So if the country can change its infrastructure fast enough, it can gain better competitiveness then the west. Of course there is the human capital issue as well.

One example in this sense is our company office check-in/check-out system. We just moved to a new building as the company was extending too fast and there was no capacity in the old building. So we bought this building and there is no card system at all, but we check in and out with our fingerprints. Suddenly having a card around your neck is so old fashioned. Of course, being a financial institution, it is important to have secure facilities and to know exactly who is in the office, when and why, as there are lots of confidential information handled by people.

Now while it is very good for the company, it is very bad for people who like to sleep in the morning, as any delay from work is registered.... you really can't give your fingers to your colleague to check you in before 7.30..... as we start work at 7.30..... you can't skip work either... but it feels very high tech, and in a country like Vietnam, where there are so many challenges, it is refreshing to have high tech things around :):):):)

It's damn hard huh?

2008-06-23T08:47:00.002+07:00

An article from "The Saigon Times Daily":

"National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Phu Trong proposed bolstering legislative cooperation to contribute to furthering the relationship between Vietnam and Romania. He was speaking at his talks with President of the Romanian Chamber of Deputies Bogdan Olteanu in Budapest yesterday following a welcome ceremony given to him on his official visit to the European country."

I think the vietnamese media knows something... that some people from Romania would like to have Budapest as the capital instead of Bucharest:):):):) But I am sure this kind of articles are not really "furthering" the relationship, hahaha.

This one is just another story besides the ones where flight attendants announce the landing in Budapest instead of Bucharest (3 times on the same flight), or people actually landing in Budapest instead of Bucharest....

Good Morning Vietnam

2008-06-01T18:05:00.002+07:00

This ship is taking me far away…
You might wonder what have happened to me that I did not write on my blog for such a long time… well…. I have moved to Vietnam…. And besides that I also changed my job and industry…so basically I kind of changed completely the way I have lived and what I have done… it is pretty bold change so to speak, scary and exciting in the same time…

Just after New Year’s Eve I have mentioned that I foresee a major change in my life and I was actively looking for it. And I think it is fairly true in this case that those things happen to you that you want to happen… Just like Jack Sparrow’s compass in the Pirates of the Caribbean…. It shows the direction where your heart wants to take you…

This ship is not DHL ship and not anchored in Singapore…
My time at DHL was definitely full of learnings. Even if there were ups and downs, just like working for any company, I can say that there are lots of learnings that I took away and I use now in my day-to-day job. And looking back now, there are lots of learnings from the downs as well, not just from the ups. In a very weird way, I felt nostalgic of leaving, even if it was my decision to leave. 3 years is a long time and you kind of know everybody, you have lots of friends, you know the system… it is somehow comfortable and there is a link that keep you tied. I am also loyal in my nature, so probably that’s why I felt a kind of sadness when I actually had to pack and leave the office. Of course in the same time I knew why I was leaving and I was excited to start my new adventure.

I felt quite bored with Singapore and I was waiting to leave the soonest possible. I did not feel anything, until Friday (left on Sunday morning), when I met one of the most important (non @ related) persons that made my Singapore stay special. Then I actually realized that I am leaving the country and I will be a tourist… and I will miss the people I have met there. Singapore became my home and after being there close to three years, definitely a part of me will remain always there. I can say that I miss quite a lot of things from there. Beside my friends I guess I miss the most the clean air, the east coast (and the coffee bean there) and the endless possibilities of doing sports).

Bottom line is that no matter where you stay for a longer period of time, you will always leave a piece of you there and you will always miss that place, however life goes on and new places wait to be discovered by you and those new places will conquer a piece of your heart as well. This is the essence of the nomad life, goes on in a circle until the whole world is your playground and you feel home everywhere.

Back to blue…
I have to say that I am very excited about my new job here in Vietnam. Since day one I started to work effectively and started to produce…I have joined the securities arm of Asia Commercial Bank as account manager and now we are in the process of becoming a full-fledged investment bank. My role is to reorganize and improve sales in the institutional clients arena and sell the full range of investment bank services of our organization.

I learned in three weeks more about finance and macroeconomics then in my whole four years of university… While in DHL I managed to have a good overview of the movement of goods around the globe, here I have a very good overview of the flows of money and how an emerging market economy is developing, coping with the pressure of globalization and how financial markets contribute to this development. It is fascinating to feel the pulse of the economy so close and understand all the small nuances of each decision, move of the market and the whole interaction between global and national markets…. Really fascinating… suddenly all the theory about these becomes so simple and so obvious when I see it in action… see it in reality…suddenly the articles from The Economist talk about things that I can relate to, suddenly economy books become understandable… Now a 100-page report about the macroeconomic review of Vietnam sounds exciting and with each day passing I can connect more dots of how elements of the economy influence each other. This steep learning curve and this discovery process is what I was looking for and learning every day something new makes me very happy… I missed this intellectual challenge….

It is also interesting to meet people who manage millions of dollars and can influence the stock market, the destiny of companies, it is exciting to meet CEO’s of different companies and discussing their development plans and financial results.

Vietnam and Saigon
V for Vietnam:

Until now I did not manage to see much of the city or the country. I worked from very early in the morning till very late, and after that I was looking for a house to live in. So not much time left. I was also busy in the weekends as the company was celebrating its 15th year anniversary and lots of sport and other activities have been organized. This weekend I have also been to an investment seminar, so not much time left to go out and explore.
Now I am in ACBS colours and playing in Vietnam, not in the ESPZEN League in Singapore for DHL. Back to Blue... to the @ colours :
So far people seem very nice and very eager to learn and do something with their lives. There is a lot of drive in the people and a big desire to succeed. But in the same time there is also a kind of relaxation and coolness as well. Some things happen with the speed of light and other things just take so much time. I guess this is the case with every development country more or less.

I guess I don’t have to emphasize too much that Vietnamese girls are extremely beautiful and sexy :) Not much of going out yet, but I just see in our company and in the companies I have meetings and I have to say that this place is much better then Singapore for the eyes (and not only), but of course there is a lot of Asian-ness here as well. The connoisseurs know what I mean...

The food is great in terms of taste and diversity. I have only two problems with the food. First of all the size of the portions is very small, I always have to order two main dishes. The other problem is that sometimes might not be prepared the most hygienically and this sometimes gives some trouble for my stomach… but besides that I love the tastes, the spices and the fact that it is fairly healthy with lots of vegetables. I love that you can find nice bread here and good bakery products, which is very rare in other Asian countries. Some good thing that the French left behind I guess is the influence in cuisine.

I almost forget one of the most important things: I bought a motorcycle :) I got myself a Yamaha Nouvo and in this hectic traffic of Saigon, it is a thrill each time I go for a ride. There is no other way to move around the city then on a motorbike. During the day I use the company car to go for the meetings, but it can take 3 times more with car then with motorbike. The downside of the motorbike is that you inhale lots of gases from the other bikes and that it can be fairly dangerous. IF you have ever played computer games, then riding a motorbike is like one of those games, where things are coming towards you from all directions and you have to avoid the. Just that there is no margin for error here…. It takes time to get a hang of it and to develop the peripheral vision needed for safe cruising. At the beginning it can be frustrating when cyclists take you over, but you need a couple of weeks of practice to be able to go faster then 20 km/hour :)

It looks like that this coming week I will move in my own apartment, and then I will be able to settle down more and explore the city more. I hope that I will also have some more time to write and blog and I can share all the exciting things that happen with me.

So far I feel good and happy that I am here. And of course, from next week onwards you are more then welcome to visit me, as I will have a nice house where I can host you :):):)
(My favourite song for this week: Muse - Starlight)

Two songs on repeat mode

2008-04-27T23:42:00.001+07:00

There are two songs that are on repeat mode for me for the past two days, listening them again and again:

Paul van Dyk: Let Go

Linking Park: Shadow of the day

(the link is the original clip, the embedded one is just the music with some text)

The 2 songs are very different, in terms of style and feelings but I really like to listen to all kind of music as each type of song covers a paret of my complex soul. I like the lyrics a lot as well.... On youtube you can find couple of interesting remixes as well, so you can really enjoy different versions and you can't really get bored with them.

Special Report about Vietnam

2008-04-27T22:31:00.003+07:00

The Economist made a special report in this week's issue about Vietnam. Very interesting and for me very exciting... these days almost everybody is talking about this country and wherewer I go and whatever i do I stumble upon some interesting thing about the country.

Enjoy:

http://www.economist.com/specialreports/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11041638