Naturally the people here are wonderful. As of 3:20PM Hanoi time today, I had sat through 19.5 hours of meetings without dozing off and there will be a national holiday in Vietnam as a result. I nodded off very briefly from 3:20:04PM until 3:20:05PM spoiling my run. Paddy it sounds like a rough life you are living. Sean, do not polish the guitar too much as it will fart a lot :). Thanks for getting the autoharp. I forgot to call, sorry.
We met mostly MoF people Tuesday and there were some heated discussions about many things. The mercury was only 37 and it was very humid. We were at the Treasury building for the morning. We stopped at a local dive for a traditional lunch with the dishes chosen by Quyen (pronounced "Quinn", or more correctly "Koo-yen" with the "oo" and "y" melded together to make the "w" sound).
The afternoon was at the WorldBank building. I decided to brave walking back to the Hilton by myself and got outside and freaked after crossing the street. I went back up to the 8th hoping to find Bruce or Ron and Bruce told me he would be 2 more minutes ... I guess they were Aussie minutes as he came down in 30 :). As soon as we went outside, he pointed at the tan building across the street and around a very soft corner, and exclaimed that was the HIlton :). Once back at the hotel, I did email and a few other things on the internet, then down to the sports bar for World Cup. We went around a few corners and down an alley to a place where Bruce and Ron ate. We watched some World Cup at this joint during dinner.
Wednesday started early, and we were at the Bank building by 7. We piled into a van and drove for 75 minutes or so to one of the provinces. We met with people there for the morning then went for lunch, their treat, close to their offices. Updated list of what I do not eat here ... snake heads and snails. I am sure the list will grow. The fruit here is astounding especially the dragon fruit; it is white, the consistency of watermelon, and has black specks in it half the size of caraway seeds. We spent the afternoon again at the Treasury building and did not break until close to 6PM (again).
Thursday was a little later, our not having to be there until 7:15AM :). We went to the PMU (Program Management Unit) location for the morning, then had a nice local buffet lunch before yet another grueling session in the PM. I came back to the hotel and sauntered around a bit near the hotel. I did not want to wander too far and get lost.
I watched Argentina thump Korea and then headed off to the room. I will probably move to the Horison a week today which is $75 cheaper and within walking distance of the Treasury where my office will be by then. Here's the deal, and I need help from Paddy and Sean and anyone else who cares to assist:
Hilton --> $176 Horison --> $100 both with breakfast
Transportation to office Hilton --> $12 per day Horison --> short walk
Internet Hilton --> included in room Horison --> $8 per day
Sports bar to watch World Cup Hilton --> great Horison --> have to check
So the summary is that the Hilton is $188 per day and the Horison $108 for a difference of $80. Should I stay at the Hilton or the Horison for the last 14 days or eat the extra $80 for a over $1,100 out of my pocket. MoF will only re-imburse me for the cost of the Horison or equivalent. You know, once I do the numbers, it appears to be obvious, waddya think?
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Initial impressions
So my journey ends in Hanoi about 4:15PM Monday. Even though I had a struggle with Cathay Pacific since my visa letter from Vietnam was dated the 15th, it was a piece of cake in Hanoi. I gave them my 25 USD and off I went. I took a cab to the hotel which surprisingly took over 30 minutes. As we approached what appeared to be the Hilton, the driver pointed to a few buildings a number of times as if stupid ferenge knows better than a cab driver. He asked for 30 USD but I was wise as Tuyet had told me it should be between 14 and 16 USD. I gave him 20 and got a receipt. I did check with the doorman who said it should be no more than 20.
The Hilton is nice ... I want to watch World Cup after I settled and was told ll the seats were reserved for the 8:30 game. I watched a bit of the game then ran into Bruce from Canberra who turned me on to this work. A new guy named Ron from DC showed up and we went to an Italian place for a bite. I had wolfed down a pizza at the sports bar named after my sister-in-lay JJ :).
The place was great and I had a Pelli; it was nicely air-conditioned and we gabbed for a bit after they ate. Back at the hotel I did some internet stuff then crashed about 11PM. I had deliberately slept as little as possible on the flight from Toronto, hoping that would ease the 11 hour time change. I did not sleep well and got in about 4 hours all night. I was up at 6:30 to take my second cold shower. The first was when I arrived and I complained to the front desk that I had no hot water in my shower and they promised to fix. I proceeded into the shower Tuesday AM and ...
I noticed on the wall the indicator for hot and cold showed H on the right and C on the left, whereas the handle on the unit was the standard way around. Lo and behold, I pushed the controller to the right and had hot water. Stupid ferenge :).
Tuesday was a full day. I went with Ron and Bruce to the World Bank building after a levely full breakfast, arriving there about 8AM. We met Quyen who I am working for at the Bank and were driven to the Treasury for meetings. The meeting room was air-conditioned nicely but really not enough to keep me "happy". I stayed awake for the whole morning participating in a dynamic discussion with MoF people. We went for a traditional lunch chosen by Quyen and spent the PM meeting at the World Bank building with IBM then IBM/Oracle. I was back at the hotel by 6:30.
I watched a bit of football, then went for dinner again with Bruce and Ron. We went back to the Hilton, I called my Sweet Thing, then headed to JJ's for more World Cup. CIV and POR were playing; I proudly figure out POR was Portugal but was stumped by CIV ... Cote d'Ivoire I was told. Stupid ferenge. I retired about midnight and slept better.
Initial feedback ...
- very very modern compared to Africa
- people are lovely
- weather is challenging in summer (yes Vietnam has 4 seasons) as it climbs to a very humid 40 degrees sometimes
- food is a treat as long as I avoid the snake heads and snails
- traffic is bad but not as bad as Ethiopia
- there are 2-3 scooters for every car and they litter every thoroughfare
- most people work 8-4:30 here and the air conditioning goes off in most buildings at 5PM
- it is impossible to tell how old the natives are as they do not seem to age like we do in North America
- do not refer to the country using the last 3 letters of its name
- do not call North America the "west" as the locals see themselves as western in many ways, and would rather be associated with being a "highly developed" country
Cam oen for reading my BLOG :)
The Hilton is nice ... I want to watch World Cup after I settled and was told ll the seats were reserved for the 8:30 game. I watched a bit of the game then ran into Bruce from Canberra who turned me on to this work. A new guy named Ron from DC showed up and we went to an Italian place for a bite. I had wolfed down a pizza at the sports bar named after my sister-in-lay JJ :).
The place was great and I had a Pelli; it was nicely air-conditioned and we gabbed for a bit after they ate. Back at the hotel I did some internet stuff then crashed about 11PM. I had deliberately slept as little as possible on the flight from Toronto, hoping that would ease the 11 hour time change. I did not sleep well and got in about 4 hours all night. I was up at 6:30 to take my second cold shower. The first was when I arrived and I complained to the front desk that I had no hot water in my shower and they promised to fix. I proceeded into the shower Tuesday AM and ...
I noticed on the wall the indicator for hot and cold showed H on the right and C on the left, whereas the handle on the unit was the standard way around. Lo and behold, I pushed the controller to the right and had hot water. Stupid ferenge :).
Tuesday was a full day. I went with Ron and Bruce to the World Bank building after a levely full breakfast, arriving there about 8AM. We met Quyen who I am working for at the Bank and were driven to the Treasury for meetings. The meeting room was air-conditioned nicely but really not enough to keep me "happy". I stayed awake for the whole morning participating in a dynamic discussion with MoF people. We went for a traditional lunch chosen by Quyen and spent the PM meeting at the World Bank building with IBM then IBM/Oracle. I was back at the hotel by 6:30.
I watched a bit of football, then went for dinner again with Bruce and Ron. We went back to the Hilton, I called my Sweet Thing, then headed to JJ's for more World Cup. CIV and POR were playing; I proudly figure out POR was Portugal but was stumped by CIV ... Cote d'Ivoire I was told. Stupid ferenge. I retired about midnight and slept better.
Initial feedback ...
- very very modern compared to Africa
- people are lovely
- weather is challenging in summer (yes Vietnam has 4 seasons) as it climbs to a very humid 40 degrees sometimes
- food is a treat as long as I avoid the snake heads and snails
- traffic is bad but not as bad as Ethiopia
- there are 2-3 scooters for every car and they litter every thoroughfare
- most people work 8-4:30 here and the air conditioning goes off in most buildings at 5PM
- it is impossible to tell how old the natives are as they do not seem to age like we do in North America
- do not refer to the country using the last 3 letters of its name
- do not call North America the "west" as the locals see themselves as western in many ways, and would rather be associated with being a "highly developed" country
Cam oen for reading my BLOG :)
Monday, June 14, 2010
Where to start ...
Ok, before I even think of this post, I know Steven, I should have known better, and now do. The Ottawa-Vietnam debacle started bright and early Sunday morning. It went very smoothly until not long after the dialogue with the Air Canada lady in Ottawa started. "You are going to Hanoi? I cannot send your bags there and give you boarding passes for Vietnam without seeing your visa". Vietnam handles visas somewhat differently than most other countries. One cannot show up un-announced at the airport and request a visa. If you want to get a visa at the airport, it has to be pre-arranged which is exactly what the WorldBank lady did for me. I thuis did not have a visa letter from the immigration people to show Air Canada.
The attendant offered to ship my bags to Hong Kong as Canadians do not need a visa to go there ... the rest of China, yes, just hot HK. So she tagged my bags to HKG with the understanding that I had to pick them up there. The flight to TO was quick as usual then I had a 3-mile dash to the gate to load for HKG. Anyone used to landing at Pearson is familiar with the trek from the gate to the customs area (a mere 2-mile jog). The international gates that serve the likes of HKG are even further. The plane is boarding as I arrive, which reminds me. When in Ottawa, I heard a response to a question I asked Air Canada which is seldom heard. I asked for exit row to Hong Kong and actually GOT IT! Seat 31-J to boot with the bulkhead a good metre or so in front of me. That was sweet.
The 15.5 hour ride to China was long. I slept very little and watched two or three bad movies to pass the time. I was in shpilkas all the way wondering how I was going to orchestrate getting my bags, checking in again, and getting onto the flight to Vietnam all in 1h40m. I asked one of the flight attendants for advice and was glad that I did.
He told me to go to the Cathay Pacific connections desk (the owner of my last flight segment) and ask for assistance. I was served almost immediately and during the discussion was told they would fetch my bags from the Toronto carousel. I like Cathay Pacific already. Then it started ... what sort of visa proof do you have ... uh, a printout of a few emails that's all. Not good enough I was told as the departure of the 2:55 plane neared more so. I phoned Tuyet from the Bank and she got a copy of the visa authorization letter faxed to the connections desk and lo and behold, it was over :) Ya right, another debacle began.
The letter was dated June 15 and I am there June 14. I spoke to Tuyet a few more times and it appeared impossible to get the new letter to Cathay Pacific by the time the doors closed to Vietnam. About 15 minutes later, I noticed the guy at the desk filling in some forms. As it turned out, he was willing to put me on my confirmed flight to Hanoi if I signed a release absolving Cathay Pacific of any responsibility were immigration in Vietnam to turn me away. I was shunted to the front of the connections security checkpoint and ran to gate 164 only to finf the flight had not started boarding yet. Off we go to Hanoi and getting the visa was bada-bing bada-boom.
I will make posts to the BLOG tomorrow about my first impressions of Hanoi and the evening I had with Bruce (from Aussie) and Ronald (from DC). I am staying at the Hilton until the 24th then who knows where ... imagine, I am staying at the Hanoi Hilton ... sound familiar to any baby-boomers out there :).
The attendant offered to ship my bags to Hong Kong as Canadians do not need a visa to go there ... the rest of China, yes, just hot HK. So she tagged my bags to HKG with the understanding that I had to pick them up there. The flight to TO was quick as usual then I had a 3-mile dash to the gate to load for HKG. Anyone used to landing at Pearson is familiar with the trek from the gate to the customs area (a mere 2-mile jog). The international gates that serve the likes of HKG are even further. The plane is boarding as I arrive, which reminds me. When in Ottawa, I heard a response to a question I asked Air Canada which is seldom heard. I asked for exit row to Hong Kong and actually GOT IT! Seat 31-J to boot with the bulkhead a good metre or so in front of me. That was sweet.
The 15.5 hour ride to China was long. I slept very little and watched two or three bad movies to pass the time. I was in shpilkas all the way wondering how I was going to orchestrate getting my bags, checking in again, and getting onto the flight to Vietnam all in 1h40m. I asked one of the flight attendants for advice and was glad that I did.
He told me to go to the Cathay Pacific connections desk (the owner of my last flight segment) and ask for assistance. I was served almost immediately and during the discussion was told they would fetch my bags from the Toronto carousel. I like Cathay Pacific already. Then it started ... what sort of visa proof do you have ... uh, a printout of a few emails that's all. Not good enough I was told as the departure of the 2:55 plane neared more so. I phoned Tuyet from the Bank and she got a copy of the visa authorization letter faxed to the connections desk and lo and behold, it was over :) Ya right, another debacle began.
The letter was dated June 15 and I am there June 14. I spoke to Tuyet a few more times and it appeared impossible to get the new letter to Cathay Pacific by the time the doors closed to Vietnam. About 15 minutes later, I noticed the guy at the desk filling in some forms. As it turned out, he was willing to put me on my confirmed flight to Hanoi if I signed a release absolving Cathay Pacific of any responsibility were immigration in Vietnam to turn me away. I was shunted to the front of the connections security checkpoint and ran to gate 164 only to finf the flight had not started boarding yet. Off we go to Hanoi and getting the visa was bada-bing bada-boom.
I will make posts to the BLOG tomorrow about my first impressions of Hanoi and the evening I had with Bruce (from Aussie) and Ronald (from DC). I am staying at the Hilton until the 24th then who knows where ... imagine, I am staying at the Hanoi Hilton ... sound familiar to any baby-boomers out there :).
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Summer in the city
I checked the weather in Hanoi for the week ... by Friday it is supposed to be 40 degrees. I hope it's an Addis Abeba-like 40 (dry) rather than Ottawa-like (humid). I had expected weather like this in Addis until I found out it's on a 2,800 metre hill. As I mentioned many times in that BLOG, the weather in Ethiopia is ideal for my Sweet Thing.
I am so looking forward to scoring some more steady work in Ottawa. I want to sleep in my own bed with my ST, and do the things I like to do around town. I want to be a "normal" person for a while, even though the jaunting around the globe I have been doing lately may be the envy of friends and family.
It takes over 19,000 Vietnamese dong to make up the almighty US dollar. At that rate, using North American prices, my Hyundai would have cost close to 250 million dong. Imagine a 133,000 dong fancy lahté at Starbucks or a 500,000 dong souvenir t-shirt at Vietnam Apparel.
I haven't quite figured out how this sun thing is going to work on my flight. I leave Toronto at 10AM for a 15-hour flight to Hong Kong. The clock goes ahead 12 hours during the flight, so I imagine it will get dark by half way through the flight? I picked up my basic need-to-know Vietnamese already ...
I am so looking forward to scoring some more steady work in Ottawa. I want to sleep in my own bed with my ST, and do the things I like to do around town. I want to be a "normal" person for a while, even though the jaunting around the globe I have been doing lately may be the envy of friends and family.
It takes over 19,000 Vietnamese dong to make up the almighty US dollar. At that rate, using North American prices, my Hyundai would have cost close to 250 million dong. Imagine a 133,000 dong fancy lahté at Starbucks or a 500,000 dong souvenir t-shirt at Vietnam Apparel.
I haven't quite figured out how this sun thing is going to work on my flight. I leave Toronto at 10AM for a 15-hour flight to Hong Kong. The clock goes ahead 12 hours during the flight, so I imagine it will get dark by half way through the flight? I picked up my basic need-to-know Vietnamese already ...
- thank-you is 'cam on' (the "on" is very abrupt and the "o" more like "un" in "un-popular")
yes is 'yaa' (with a very short and abrupt "d" in the front)
no is 'khong' (and the "o" seems close to a short "u" sound)
hello is 'chiow' (the "i" behaving like the consonant "y")
how are you is 'yaa kwea khong' (funny that seems to contain the word for "no" :))
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Hit the ground running
Interesting how a post to this BLOG, without my even realizing the significance of this cliché, makes reference to ejecting one's self from slow-moving helicopter or parachuting from a plane, not to mention other reported sources for this figure of speech. I was fascinated by the stuff I read about Ethiopia before going there, and these links did the same for me about Vietnam:
History
Than Hnien News
Vietnam News Agency
Saigon Daily [now called Ho Chi Minh city ... see below]
Hanoi weather
Most famous (?) war protest song
The former capital of South Vietnam, Saigon, was officially renamed Ho Chí Minh City on 1 May 1975 shortly after its capture by the North which officially ended the war.
History
Than Hnien News
Vietnam News Agency
Saigon Daily [now called Ho Chi Minh city ... see below]
Hanoi weather
Most famous (?) war protest song
The former capital of South Vietnam, Saigon, was officially renamed Ho Chí Minh City on 1 May 1975 shortly after its capture by the North which officially ended the war.
Let's cheer for South Korea
Officially it's Republic of Korea (ROK) but we all call it South Korea. I will be in Seoul on Sunday July 11 when the World Cup final is being played. So wouldn't it be sweet if they were in the final, better still WON! So for now, all together ... South Korea ROKs :).
I am going to watch England play the USA at 2PM. I tried getting Dudley about this but we have not hooked up. South Africa is 5 hours behind Hanoi, and 7 hours behind Seoul, thus game times where I will be are as follows:
1:30PM --> 6:30PM Hanoi / 8:30PM Seoul
4:00PM --> 9:00PM Hanoi / 11:00PM Seoul
8:30PM --> 1:30AM Hanoi / 3:30AM Seoul
FIFA meant nada to me before my adventure in Ethiopia; Addis Abebe meant a lot to me for this, just one of many reasons.
I am going to watch England play the USA at 2PM. I tried getting Dudley about this but we have not hooked up. South Africa is 5 hours behind Hanoi, and 7 hours behind Seoul, thus game times where I will be are as follows:
1:30PM --> 6:30PM Hanoi / 8:30PM Seoul
4:00PM --> 9:00PM Hanoi / 11:00PM Seoul
8:30PM --> 1:30AM Hanoi / 3:30AM Seoul
FIFA meant nada to me before my adventure in Ethiopia; Addis Abebe meant a lot to me for this, just one of many reasons.
2.5 world country
| Even though Vietnam is sometimes referred to as a 3rd world country, I have been told to expect a much more mature and western-like society in many ways. I am looking forward in particular to the following ... 1- Running water in bathrooms 2- Internet that is close to the west 3- Bank machines that are close to always online 4- Mostly paved streets meaning the air quality is better since there is not so much dust stirred up by vehicular traffic 5- Government admin systems electronic rather than paper driven Hence, my expression "2.5 world country" ... |
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