The heat wave has broken and it will only get to 35 today instead of the 40's where it was all last week. The breakfast at Horison was great and I headed off to the office too early. Room 702 was still locked when I got there, even though my badge did open its door yesterday after lunch. A colleague rescued me and I worked in an adjacent office until the door opened.
I had a few emails with Naomi regarding hotels in Seoul and she will be sending me some URLs and I will book. I want to be close to her and hope she will not be working Monday so we can hang. I would like to see her school and students so I hope we can fit that in.
I had the best sleep of my trip so far. I watched Portugal thrash PRK last night and felt badly for the PRK supporters. I struggled with the name of the country indicated by "PRK" and then it was obvious ... Democratic People's Republic of Korea aka North Korea.
Every morning at 7:30 then again at 4:30 in the afternoon, Westminster chimes ring in the building indicating the start/end of the work day as well as the turning on/off of the air conditioning. It reminds me of the Fungham's clock I purchased from Shirley Mac in the 70's that died and remained unfix-able 15 years later.
Tonight I have no plans. I will go over to the World Bank to give them some money for my entry visa letter at noon to save the drudgery of the return trip in rush hour. I will probably walk after work and just grab a cab back to Horison when I have had enough of the heat ... what heat! It's only 35 :). I uploaded pictures to Facebook and will do more. They are not very Mac-friendly at work so I will leave my Eeepc here and take the Apple back to the hotel. The work is feverish and today or tomorrow I will contact Mr. Tri and ask his advice on dealing with all the requests for stuff to be done that are flowing in.
I will contact Parminder in Tanzania to see if he will still be around when my Sweet Thing is there in October for some work through the college.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Day one
I got to the office about 8:45 after leaving the Hilton around 7:15. The room was ready at the Horison so I unpacked before heading to the office. I was told Horison is 2 minutes from the office which was an exaggeration ... it was 1 minute :). I was brought into a meeting where I discussed the stuff I was going to do with the MoF IT team. They seemed to be pleased with what they heard. I went up to room 702 about 9:45 and was set up to begin work.
The morning was occupied by housekeeping and getting started on a more detailed workplan. Mr. Tri was interested in what resources I needed from MoF and on what days. I was told they break for lunch from 11:30-1:00 after starting at 7:30AM. They quit about 4:30 which was fine with me. I had a meeting with the IT team and IBM about 3PM and we discussed some stuff I needed from them including a rapid clone which will be ready noon'ish tomorrow.
I left the office just after 4:30 even though Mr. Hahn mentioned that I can stay later than 4:30 if I want. I rushed over to the bank amidst the Monday afternoon version of organized chaos called Hanoi rush hour. I met with Quyen and Tuyet and covered the way the contract would go down so as to get my full 14 days of professional fees. I have to go back tomorrow at some point to give Tuyet 40USD and get a receipt for my landing visa. Just when I thought I was able to get back to the hotel at a nice hour, I ended up at the Bank, returning to my digs about 6:15PM. I am now watching Portugal and North Korea play football.
I am not doing anything tonight so will eat at the hotel which is very nice and a whopping $65 cheaper than the Hilton. By the way, lunch of lamb and chicken pieces with green leafy vegetable and rice was a massive 1.10USD. Ferenge especially liked that :)
The morning was occupied by housekeeping and getting started on a more detailed workplan. Mr. Tri was interested in what resources I needed from MoF and on what days. I was told they break for lunch from 11:30-1:00 after starting at 7:30AM. They quit about 4:30 which was fine with me. I had a meeting with the IT team and IBM about 3PM and we discussed some stuff I needed from them including a rapid clone which will be ready noon'ish tomorrow.
I left the office just after 4:30 even though Mr. Hahn mentioned that I can stay later than 4:30 if I want. I rushed over to the bank amidst the Monday afternoon version of organized chaos called Hanoi rush hour. I met with Quyen and Tuyet and covered the way the contract would go down so as to get my full 14 days of professional fees. I have to go back tomorrow at some point to give Tuyet 40USD and get a receipt for my landing visa. Just when I thought I was able to get back to the hotel at a nice hour, I ended up at the Bank, returning to my digs about 6:15PM. I am now watching Portugal and North Korea play football.
I am not doing anything tonight so will eat at the hotel which is very nice and a whopping $65 cheaper than the Hilton. By the way, lunch of lamb and chicken pieces with green leafy vegetable and rice was a massive 1.10USD. Ferenge especially liked that :)
Sunday, June 20, 2010
The City of Hanoi Vietnam
It was front and centre today 'cause of the tour I had lined up. Interestingly enough, the vendor who runs the tour I took is, of all places, based in Vancouver BC :). I met Junie in the lobby about 8AM and we headed out in an air-conditioned Isuzu. The first stop was the Ho Chi Minh museum. It is made up of a number of buildings of which the most famous is the mausoleum. The weather was a balmy 38C and humid by the time we got there and the line-ups were already HUGE. I told Junie I did not want to spend all morning queuing, so we passed on the tomb and headed for the museum.
They sure love Ho Chi Minh here. The museum was littered with sculptures, pictures (mostly black and white), and artifacts from the North Vietnam that existed during his life (1890-1969). There were the recognizable red flags with the familiar yellow star everywhere. There were reliefs of his face, sepia-like images of him, lots of pictures of his meeting world-wide dignitaries, and just about anything one could possibly cram into a museum as a tribute to their most famous figure. The museum featured some 3-D brass reliefs of events during his reign and the struggles they had with the French and the South.
I found the most revealing sculpture was a couple pf broken links in a very large metal chain. Each ring in the chain was about 1 metre by one-quarter metre. There were 3 links and the far left and right link were fractured. It seemed to be symbolic about the strife that was carried out by/perpetrated upon the Vietnamese by "neighbours" as well as the USSR and the USA in the period starting in the mid 20th century in particular. There was one of Ho Chi Minh's houses on stilts. I thought that was to protect it from flooding, but was told it was to keep the wild animals (of the killer variety) out of the leader's living quarters.
We then visited a cultural museum, starting by walking around the grounds that had a multitude of small structures typical of the sparsely populated provinces of the country. There were structures as well on stilts and with roofs made from mud and straw. We watched about 30 minutes of a puppet show. The stage is quite elaborate, actually being a house-like edifice with an Asian typical coloured facade. The puppeteers are in water about a metre deep and the puppets come through the curtain or rise out of the water. The music was familiar and I could not follow what the narrator was saying even though she spoke first Vietnamese then English. After we left the show, we went into the museum and wandered in awe for about 30 minutes.
By this time the mercury had crept up a few more degrees and I was sporting a noticeable line of beads of sweat so welcomed the trip to a defunct prison hoping it would be indoors and cooler. This was a popular hangout where enemies of the state and other assorted un-desirables were incarcerated. Life in these dwellings must have been rough, and there were lines and lines of leg irons where the inmates were shackled almost all the time. One of two guillotines used during those times had been preserved in the museum. On the upper floor there were pictures and pictures of unfortunate souls who did not survive their sentences. There were also many black and white pictures of the times. Naturally I especially latched onto some of the anti-war protests from North America during the 60's.
Lunch was next and I think there was cilantro in the mix so I did not eat much. The café was busy and very nice just like most local establishments I have frequented since my arrival. We relaxed a bit then walked to a temple around the corner with a plethora of Buddhist worshipping altars populated by gatherings of locals paying their respects. I was starting to fade by now, and had lost close to three litres of body fluids as the mix of humidity and heat was unbearable. It was now about 2:30PM so I decided I had had enough. We talked a bit about hotels and I mentioned wanting to move to the Horison, a lot closer to my office than the Hilton where I have been since last Monday. Junie offered to take me there.
I am moving in tomorrow, and will drop my bags off on the way to the office. The rate started at $125++ per night but was down to $120 with no ++ by the time we left. I received a text from Junie saying she had pulled some strings and the rate was now down to $115 no ++ and the internet fee had dropped from $2 per day to $1 as well. I came back to the hotel and cleaned up and packed then watched World Cup.
I spoke to my Sweet Thing and will crash. I think I finally got a good night's sleep last night and hope that continues.
They sure love Ho Chi Minh here. The museum was littered with sculptures, pictures (mostly black and white), and artifacts from the North Vietnam that existed during his life (1890-1969). There were the recognizable red flags with the familiar yellow star everywhere. There were reliefs of his face, sepia-like images of him, lots of pictures of his meeting world-wide dignitaries, and just about anything one could possibly cram into a museum as a tribute to their most famous figure. The museum featured some 3-D brass reliefs of events during his reign and the struggles they had with the French and the South.
I found the most revealing sculpture was a couple pf broken links in a very large metal chain. Each ring in the chain was about 1 metre by one-quarter metre. There were 3 links and the far left and right link were fractured. It seemed to be symbolic about the strife that was carried out by/perpetrated upon the Vietnamese by "neighbours" as well as the USSR and the USA in the period starting in the mid 20th century in particular. There was one of Ho Chi Minh's houses on stilts. I thought that was to protect it from flooding, but was told it was to keep the wild animals (of the killer variety) out of the leader's living quarters.
We then visited a cultural museum, starting by walking around the grounds that had a multitude of small structures typical of the sparsely populated provinces of the country. There were structures as well on stilts and with roofs made from mud and straw. We watched about 30 minutes of a puppet show. The stage is quite elaborate, actually being a house-like edifice with an Asian typical coloured facade. The puppeteers are in water about a metre deep and the puppets come through the curtain or rise out of the water. The music was familiar and I could not follow what the narrator was saying even though she spoke first Vietnamese then English. After we left the show, we went into the museum and wandered in awe for about 30 minutes.
By this time the mercury had crept up a few more degrees and I was sporting a noticeable line of beads of sweat so welcomed the trip to a defunct prison hoping it would be indoors and cooler. This was a popular hangout where enemies of the state and other assorted un-desirables were incarcerated. Life in these dwellings must have been rough, and there were lines and lines of leg irons where the inmates were shackled almost all the time. One of two guillotines used during those times had been preserved in the museum. On the upper floor there were pictures and pictures of unfortunate souls who did not survive their sentences. There were also many black and white pictures of the times. Naturally I especially latched onto some of the anti-war protests from North America during the 60's.
Lunch was next and I think there was cilantro in the mix so I did not eat much. The café was busy and very nice just like most local establishments I have frequented since my arrival. We relaxed a bit then walked to a temple around the corner with a plethora of Buddhist worshipping altars populated by gatherings of locals paying their respects. I was starting to fade by now, and had lost close to three litres of body fluids as the mix of humidity and heat was unbearable. It was now about 2:30PM so I decided I had had enough. We talked a bit about hotels and I mentioned wanting to move to the Horison, a lot closer to my office than the Hilton where I have been since last Monday. Junie offered to take me there.
I am moving in tomorrow, and will drop my bags off on the way to the office. The rate started at $125++ per night but was down to $120 with no ++ by the time we left. I received a text from Junie saying she had pulled some strings and the rate was now down to $115 no ++ and the internet fee had dropped from $2 per day to $1 as well. I came back to the hotel and cleaned up and packed then watched World Cup.
I spoke to my Sweet Thing and will crash. I think I finally got a good night's sleep last night and hope that continues.
Saturday, June 19, 2010
The new(er) city
I ran into Jim Dener in the lobby, another World Bank guy that was at the meetings this week. We made plans to head off to one of the many small lakes all over Hanoi. We were told to take a cab to a silk store near the lake that did not take long. Jim wanted to go to the store which we did first then walked and walked. We stopped at a small restaurant for a nice Vietnamese lunch of tofu with tomatoes and a beef with potato dish, all with steamed rice. It was lovely. We then walked some more and bought a few curios at a small souvenir outlet. I think we were in a newer part of the city as the roads were much wider and the buildings more modern.
I think I may have figured out how to run around Hanoi in this oppressive weather ... cab it somewhere for 3-5 dollars, walk for an hour to an hour and a half, then cab it back to the hotel to cool off. Then later, once one has lowered the body temperature and the perspiration has dried up, do the same between one and two hours later.
By the time I was back from the walk with Jim, I was completely soaked and so welcomed the air conditioning at the Hilton.
I think I may have figured out how to run around Hanoi in this oppressive weather ... cab it somewhere for 3-5 dollars, walk for an hour to an hour and a half, then cab it back to the hotel to cool off. Then later, once one has lowered the body temperature and the perspiration has dried up, do the same between one and two hours later.
By the time I was back from the walk with Jim, I was completely soaked and so welcomed the air conditioning at the Hilton.
The heat is on
I met Ron and Bruce for breakfast. I was introduced to a friend of theirs who is a local and had a short visit. I then headed out on my trek. The setup I used to protect my valuables worked well. I turned right then a quick left as I left the Hilton and found myself in a waking-up bustling part of Hanoi. The only shops open were small grocery corner-store outlets and they were already ramping up for yet another warm and humid day. I took the first right fork in the road and quickly found myself buried in busy narrow streets that reminded me of basse ville in Quebec City. The best skill one quickly learns here is to watch out for and dodge the sea of scooters. I named the traffic here "organized chaos" to the delight of a local.
I walked and walked for about 2 hours, passing busy food outlets cooking a wide assortment of soups and other fare. The sidewalk vendors sold everything from apples to yellow crusty sea food. The breads and vegetables they were vending looked exquisite. I saw lots of famous Vietnamese wicker hats that look like lamp shades, pointed with the sides of the hat forming a wide circle at the height of the wearer's ears. I saw lots of 2-sided basked contraptions supported by a rod on the carrier's shoulders. There were eviscerated chickens with their feet sticking up in the air begging you to chow down on that delight. A number of stalls had small aluminum shallow buckets with fish swimming feverishly around what little room they had.
Some of the fruit was purple and prickly and I am sure quite delectable. Some streets were only wide enough to allow 2 scooters to pass and there was a veritable ocean of crazed scooter drivers everywhere. I was greeted by one out of every 100 people with a warm smile and nod or hand gesture. I ended up on some very large streets and then my sandals started to irritate my upper toe so it was time to pack it in. My arms were beaded with sweat, and I purchased some sun block from a local apothecary.
I grabbed a cab back to the Hilton and ended up discussing the destination with the dispatcher. The ride back was a whopping 32,000 dong or $1.75 so I gave my navigator a tip rounding the fare up to about 2 USD. I booked a day trip for tomorrow, 6 hours starting at 8AM around Hanoi and including lunch. The tomb of Ho Chi Minh is on the schedule so I will carry long pants and a shirt with sleeves to get into that famous building. I went to the pool when I got back and lasted about 30 minutes. The water must have been close to 95 degrees and that would have probably even been too hot for my ST. There is some World Cup on today. They are into day 9 of the tournament and already Argentina seems to be on top. Messi has no goals yet but lots of shots.
I am meeting Bruce and a friend in JJ's about 7:30 for dinner. I will watch some Sopranos and read this afternoon and venture out for a quick bite early afternoon.
I walked and walked for about 2 hours, passing busy food outlets cooking a wide assortment of soups and other fare. The sidewalk vendors sold everything from apples to yellow crusty sea food. The breads and vegetables they were vending looked exquisite. I saw lots of famous Vietnamese wicker hats that look like lamp shades, pointed with the sides of the hat forming a wide circle at the height of the wearer's ears. I saw lots of 2-sided basked contraptions supported by a rod on the carrier's shoulders. There were eviscerated chickens with their feet sticking up in the air begging you to chow down on that delight. A number of stalls had small aluminum shallow buckets with fish swimming feverishly around what little room they had.
Some of the fruit was purple and prickly and I am sure quite delectable. Some streets were only wide enough to allow 2 scooters to pass and there was a veritable ocean of crazed scooter drivers everywhere. I was greeted by one out of every 100 people with a warm smile and nod or hand gesture. I ended up on some very large streets and then my sandals started to irritate my upper toe so it was time to pack it in. My arms were beaded with sweat, and I purchased some sun block from a local apothecary.
I grabbed a cab back to the Hilton and ended up discussing the destination with the dispatcher. The ride back was a whopping 32,000 dong or $1.75 so I gave my navigator a tip rounding the fare up to about 2 USD. I booked a day trip for tomorrow, 6 hours starting at 8AM around Hanoi and including lunch. The tomb of Ho Chi Minh is on the schedule so I will carry long pants and a shirt with sleeves to get into that famous building. I went to the pool when I got back and lasted about 30 minutes. The water must have been close to 95 degrees and that would have probably even been too hot for my ST. There is some World Cup on today. They are into day 9 of the tournament and already Argentina seems to be on top. Messi has no goals yet but lots of shots.
I am meeting Bruce and a friend in JJ's about 7:30 for dinner. I will watch some Sopranos and read this afternoon and venture out for a quick bite early afternoon.
Friday, June 18, 2010
The early bird ...
Slept the best I have since I arrived. I am up and just about at 'em. I am going to meet Ron and another chap for breakfast then head out. I need to protect my money, cell, and camera so will probably take my vest. I know I am going to regret that once it heats up but I cannot figure out what else to do. I may try my pouch with money and cell phone and carry my camera strapped to my wrist ... thoughts :).
Hot town summer in the city
So we met with a Vice Minister and the MoF people all day until about 3:50PM. I wore a tie as I was advised to do when talking with senior government officials. The day was long and we covered a lot of ground. After the meeting I went to a budget team meeting with Bank people then to the MoF data centre at the Treasury building. This 15 days working for MoF are turning out to be more technical than anticipated. Some of the database reporting and setup issues that have surfaced over the past 6-8 weeks have taken centre stage more over the first four days I am here.
I am hoping to be up early tomorrow and get out before 7AM. It gets uncomfortably hot here by noon. It's supposed to be 41 and cloudy Saturday, dropping to 30 by Monday and about 28 degrees overnight all weekend. I have no plans for the weekend except I will probably watch some World Cup. I may be moving to another hotel over the weekend, but more than likely that will not happen until early week. I must but some short sleeve shirts. I bought a nice striped one last night size XL (43-44) and it was too small. That reminds me of how difficult it was to get ferenge-sized clothes in Addis.
When at the meeting all day, it seemed that every other word that came out of the Vice Minister's mouth was "Looking forward to Mr. Michael's looking into this too." Realistically they have needed an Oracle resource here for at least 2 years and maybe more to serve as a sounding board/reality check for the vendor who is doing the DBA work under contract. I have been even more fascinated by the local dialect, and have noticed a number of people inserting a very high-voiced "duc" into their sentenced haphazardly as they speak. I am wondering if it is their version of our interjecting "and ah" or the odd "ah" into our speech. I still have really only mastered thank-you in Vietnamese.
I have been told to take a city tour and want to go see the Hanoi Hilton where US prisoners were put up during the Vietnam war. I have been told that historical remnants of the war are all but gone from Hanoi but still very much a part of the landscape in the south (Ho Chi Minh City aka. Saigon). If I were to come back here again, especially with a Sweet Thing, I would consider flying out of HCMC by taking a 30-hour train-ride down the country from Hanoi.
Vietnam facts
Population - 84 million
Length - 1,600 km
Width - as little as 40km
Languages - Vietnamese, English, French, Chinese, Khmer, local languages
Religions - Buddhist, Hoa Hao, Cao Dai, Christian, indigenous beliefs, Muslim
The Red River delta lowlands in the north are separated from the huge Mekong Delta in the south by long, narrow coastal plains backed by the forested Annam highlands. Hanoi, the capital, is the main city on the Red River and Ho Chi Minh City, or Saigon, is the main city on the Mekong.
Independent for almost a thousand years, Vietnam fell prey to French colonialism in the mid-19th century. During Japanese occupation in World War II, communist leader Ho Chi Minh formed the Vietminh, an alliance of communist and non-communist nationalist groups. Armed struggle won independence in 1954 and led to the partition of Vietnam.
For two decades non-communist South Vietnam, aided by the U.S., fought North Vietnam, backed by China and the Soviet Union. American troops withdrew in 1973, and two years later South Vietnam fell. In 1976 the country was reunified under a communist regime.
To replace support lost when the U.S.S.R. dissolved, economic policy encouraged a free-market system as well as trade with the West. Vietnam saw dramatic economic progress throughout most of the 1990s. In 1995 the U.S. resumed diplomatic relations. Economic growth stalled, however, with the Asian financial crisis. A stock exchange was launched in 2000, and Vietnam has seen increasing levels of foreign investment.
I am hoping to be up early tomorrow and get out before 7AM. It gets uncomfortably hot here by noon. It's supposed to be 41 and cloudy Saturday, dropping to 30 by Monday and about 28 degrees overnight all weekend. I have no plans for the weekend except I will probably watch some World Cup. I may be moving to another hotel over the weekend, but more than likely that will not happen until early week. I must but some short sleeve shirts. I bought a nice striped one last night size XL (43-44) and it was too small. That reminds me of how difficult it was to get ferenge-sized clothes in Addis.
When at the meeting all day, it seemed that every other word that came out of the Vice Minister's mouth was "Looking forward to Mr. Michael's looking into this too." Realistically they have needed an Oracle resource here for at least 2 years and maybe more to serve as a sounding board/reality check for the vendor who is doing the DBA work under contract. I have been even more fascinated by the local dialect, and have noticed a number of people inserting a very high-voiced "duc" into their sentenced haphazardly as they speak. I am wondering if it is their version of our interjecting "and ah" or the odd "ah" into our speech. I still have really only mastered thank-you in Vietnamese.
I have been told to take a city tour and want to go see the Hanoi Hilton where US prisoners were put up during the Vietnam war. I have been told that historical remnants of the war are all but gone from Hanoi but still very much a part of the landscape in the south (Ho Chi Minh City aka. Saigon). If I were to come back here again, especially with a Sweet Thing, I would consider flying out of HCMC by taking a 30-hour train-ride down the country from Hanoi.
Vietnam facts
Population - 84 million
Length - 1,600 km
Width - as little as 40km
Languages - Vietnamese, English, French, Chinese, Khmer, local languages
Religions - Buddhist, Hoa Hao, Cao Dai, Christian, indigenous beliefs, Muslim
The Red River delta lowlands in the north are separated from the huge Mekong Delta in the south by long, narrow coastal plains backed by the forested Annam highlands. Hanoi, the capital, is the main city on the Red River and Ho Chi Minh City, or Saigon, is the main city on the Mekong.
Independent for almost a thousand years, Vietnam fell prey to French colonialism in the mid-19th century. During Japanese occupation in World War II, communist leader Ho Chi Minh formed the Vietminh, an alliance of communist and non-communist nationalist groups. Armed struggle won independence in 1954 and led to the partition of Vietnam.
For two decades non-communist South Vietnam, aided by the U.S., fought North Vietnam, backed by China and the Soviet Union. American troops withdrew in 1973, and two years later South Vietnam fell. In 1976 the country was reunified under a communist regime.
To replace support lost when the U.S.S.R. dissolved, economic policy encouraged a free-market system as well as trade with the West. Vietnam saw dramatic economic progress throughout most of the 1990s. In 1995 the U.S. resumed diplomatic relations. Economic growth stalled, however, with the Asian financial crisis. A stock exchange was launched in 2000, and Vietnam has seen increasing levels of foreign investment.
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