Recently I have been reflecting on my time in Vietnam by looking through my pictures. Its hard to believe it was over two months ago. Looking through the photos for the IBM Link.Me article has brought back so many great memories!
Before leaving for Vietnam I came up with a crazy idea to take a 3 second video for every day of my adventure on my HTC One M8. Today, I can reveal the mashing of all these videos together in my Youtube video. Enjoy!
As some of you may know, I am a bit of a PowerPoint fiend (well Prezi fiend really). Presentations are my thing and visualising information is something I really like doing. Condensing 3 and half weeks of content and findings into a presentation was a prospect I was actually really looking forward to. Sad I know. But hey.
I must apologise now to Radek and Maria about my obsessive rearrangement and alignment of objects on the 100 odd slides. I am sorry but I just get edgy when things are not ordered.
Working right up to the wire to get those boxes and lines straight
I guess the reason I was looking forward to the task was really to be able to put to use some new skills I have recently learnt around story boarding to use. More than this, we were trying our best to ensure the deck needed could be taken away and acted upon when we were gone. Roll out the action click features and leading titles 🙂
I think what we produced as a team was really rather good. Complete with exec summary, stats in your face slide, revealing architecture overview diagram, recommendation taxonomy and magic quadrant diagram, we had glorious structure. Pulling disparate themes together into one visual; the magic quadrant diagram, was really the icing on the cake for me. I had never done one for this purpose but I think it really worked.
Highly commended by the team, I do think that we managed to create something that future CSC teams can utilise. Sure, recommendations about IT security wont help, but the ability to tie together lots of different recommendations into combined hierarchical set I think is powerful and reflected our issue based consulting methodology beautifully.
All I would say for future CSCers is consider what to bin first. Some findings and work you may have conducted during the assignment might be irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. Working out what to drop is not easy but thinking about how many times its been mentioned or talked about by your client might be a good indication of its importance.
#IBMCSC Vietnam11
Embracing cultural diversity has to be done with two feet and an open mind. I thought to my self it would be rather rude to fly 6000 miles and not do something ‘a bit different’. Wednesday saw the culinary personification of this. Prepare yourself.
This one is a bit delicate so if you eating breakfast, lunch or dinner at this time you may want to come back later.
The day started in the DOST offices with final clarifications discussions ahead of the recommendations presentation which would be in just a few days times. Content that we had concluded a successful meeting in the morning; and procrastinating a little from impending Power Point doom, we as a team decided we should do one last Cafe Sua Da (iced coffee) run. Our favourite place; identified by the multitude of suspended rainbow umbrellas by the main street was our destination. Such is is the rate of change in Vietnam, the placement of the umbrellas that day had gone a little awry. The cafe’s next-door neighbour that day had decided to build a new 2m high wall of course. Planning permission… your having a giraffe.
I can now also confidently claim that 9 times out of 10 I can correctly order aforementioned beverage in Vietnamese. The bonus now being that the same words I utter are no longer replayed back to me – as if I were speaking a completely different language. Damn tonal language. Just the rest of the language to master now… with 1 and a half weeks left in country.
The caffeine fix pit stop also allowed for a nice little moment for Chi to present us with some surprise gifts. Radek bagged a nicely decorated mug, Maria literally bagged a bag made from coconut and I received a CD of traditional Vietnamese music. The coconut and ginger canidied sweets also went down a treat with the black stuff. Thanks Chi! I think its fair to say we were all on a high that morning. Things just felt perfect.
Beautiful gifts from our amazing interpreter. Special moment in our favourite coffee shop
The evening would see ‘men’ night unfold. Now on many occasion of trying to decipher the menu while out at dinner throughout the trip, Radek and I had threatened selecting some of the more exotic items. Most commonly we would suggest ‘Ba Ba’, mainly I think because its A) easy to say and B) it sounds cool. The question is can you guess what Ba Ba is? Well… its turtle.
However, there is one thing more notorious to be eaten in Vietnam that is not quite as cute sounding. There is no easy way of saying this but it goes wuff. Our client Mr Kien was keen for us to experience such K9 cuisine before we left. He told us Its a common outing for working men about once a fortnight. They have dedicated restaurants that serve only said delicacies and tonight Mr Kien was going to take a Slovakian, an Italian and a Brit.
I will be honest, I was nervous and was having second thoughts in the taxi and upon arrival at the place. I had played quite a fundamental role in getting Simone to come along, not least to ensure we had some team camaraderie. Turning over a page in the drinks menu, we for a change were not drinking beer that night, but rather aptly, ‘Men’ vodka. It only added to the ‘boys out’ experience. I did have doubts though whether a shot of vodka was going to be the best dousing vehicle to hide the impending sampling of dog meat.
So there we were. The dishes of steamed, BBQd and stewed dog meat arrived. That said, it wasn’t the stand out dish on the table. That was the purple shrimp sauce that absolutely stank! Apparently its fermented shrimps that are ground up and used as a dipping sauce.
Black pot: Stewed dog. Circular plate to right: Steamed dog. Grey purpley stuff: Shrimp Sauce.
In the traditional Vietnamese roll style way, the steamed meat was layered onto a leaf with banana and noddles before rolling. Together we chomped, nervously.
Chomping away at the meat
Men Vodka clearly advertised in the establishment for men
The verdict. Its chewy. I didn’t get the best lean cut, but really it didn’t taste much different from lamb in my opinion. The issue was more the shrimp sauce. Overpowering and generally disgusting. I didn’t dip a second time. The stew was generally accepted by all with no convulsions. For Radek is was pretty much Goulash ‘Special’. And well the BBQ, it was ok, but again fatty and chewy. Content that we had tried it, we gracefully bowed out of the restaurant and headed home. All agreed, it was an experience!
#IBMCSC Vietnam11
With work pretty hectic, our CSC team is becoming closer than ever before both professionally and socially. Week 1 saw a very sticky team with each nights eatery decided democratically by committee which full participation. To be honest, this was a nightmare with the average time from hotel to dinner table taking at least a century. However breakaway groups focused on food preference formed and a somewhat normal dining schedule resumed.
However, its the final and week and the prospect of not having many more opportunities to get together has dawned on all of us. I am super pleased to report that our fumbling governing committee (that splits a £1 taxi journey by 7 people) has been replaced by strong dictatorial leadership. Erin sent out a project plan for the week detailing an entire week of evening fun time.
As friendships have developed, the extension to meet family and friends has become a common theme for all the teams. Tonight’s dinner at Tran’s family restaurant was to be an example of how close knit family ties are Vietnamese culture. Confident of an assured vegetarian option, we were all set to hit the road.
Now the restaurant wasn’t exactly local it has to be said, but hey, this was family; and discount was promised. The 40 minute journey by taxi did however provide very little space for two Indians and a Slovakian to get to know each other intimately. It was a sort of goulash nan sandwich. Much humour of low quality was derived from the situation.
Tran explaining to the Taxi driver in detail the various twists and turns needed to arrive at the destination.
Having arrived, we were treated to our favourite seating arrangement; low tables and small plastic chairs. Its like a deliberate test of chop stick skills to see if you can travel the distance from plate to mouth with a secure grip. However, we did have a nice long table for ‘Yo ‘ing beer.
We left the Vietnamese in charge of ordering the delicacies, and indeed we did get a selection. Memories of being warned not to eat shellfish; as it came from polluted canals, were thrown right out the window as the group sampled snails and clams. I will be honest, I mostly tasted garlic. The French do have that habit don’t they, even when not in their own country. That said, everything was tasty and worth the commute.
Now in Vietnam, instead of the annoyance of the rose seller, you have the annoyance of the singer come sweet seller. Aboard a kitted out motorbike you get a quick blast of Elton John to grab you attention before being accosted for a nutty rice papery treat. Not exactly expensive, Maria and I indulged really just to get rid of his tribute credentials.
Mobile singer come sweet seller
Ably served by Tran’s brother, Bier Saigon was flowing. This was not due to his efficacy as a waiter but rather, he just left the crate next to us. The only faff was we needed to order a second crate! Needless to say that night we were on the wagon.
One of many Yo’s
No idea what we were doing here but clearly there was something happening over yonder
With the wagon rolling at full steam there was only ever going to be one outcome. It has been threatened quite a but tonight Matthew it was to be CSC’s night. Karaoke! The first place we went to didn’t exactly seem up for us rocking it so we moved on to another venue.
Our first venue of choice – only to be turned away.
Shuffled into the Rolex Karaoke club, we were settled in our booth ready for some belters to be broadcast in Bien Hoa. I think its fair to say the Vietnamese have an eclectic choice of western music. The music player ranged from a bit of S Club 7, through to Backstreet Boys, Spice Girls and obviously the Beatles. Gareth Gates (who?) was also a common entry. Not sure what happened there. Perhaps he was abducted to Vietnam?! To be honest, there was not much else. It was an up and down evening musically. However our friends Bhadresh and Vinod really took to it, even at one point singing Vietnamese songs. Well I say singing, saying the only English word in the song ‘honey’ every now and then. I must also give credit to our Italian Stallion dancer Simone. Two Become One … and well we had lost him in a dance trance. Much fun was had by all. A dubious amount of notes were hit but the night was definitely a rousing symphony of fun.
Honey…
The team giving it the beans on the mic.
Hard to believe, but we are now in the final week of our CSC assignment. No one really knows where the last 3 weeks went but a real frenzy is afoot to get stuff written down. Time flies when your having fun, no wait I mean working really really hard to change the world 🙂
Stark Reality
I feel everyone is hiding a subdued feeling in the team that everyone is soon to get off the whirlwind Vietnam bus. Not meaning to get all abstract but the lotus flower bud in the hotel opened this morning. This week is our time to shine. The harsh reality is that within a few days, we will all be peeling off like the petals and going our own separate ways 😦
The flower is almost open…
Lotus open for business. Time for the CSC team to flourish and spread its seed in Vietnam
Revealing its true colours.
Deadlines are not an unusual prospect within my working life, however they have never quite meant so much personally at the same time. This one not only marks the end of the project that will hopefully make a real difference, but also the end to 10 friendships. I say end, never has long distance communication technology been so important. The key then, how to maintain these relationships thousands of miles apart and make them meaningful beyond reminiscing about CSC times gone bye. Now there is a challenge.
Running out of Time
Impending deadlines have also introduced the need to start blurring the lines between work hours and play hours. The evening would mark our last formal dinner out together with Mr Kien. To mark the occasion we were delighted that we were joined by the whole team who we had been meeting with over the last 2 weeks.
Food would not be eaten however until we had reviewed an email we had sent earlier that day around risk management. Much reaching across tables was done to articulate the PowerPoint without any beer being spilt. Yes I know risk management blah blah, sometimes it’s so boring that you just have to spice it up a little with some liquid refreshment. Its the mixing pleasure with business bit that got us through it. With work wrapped up for the day, we were in for another banquet fuelled primarily with beer.
Working through the email on Mr. Kien’s laptop. Maria wanted a photo of course
Lots of gesturing but working to ensure we had an agr
Everyone looks very happy in this photo by the river. I must point out that at some point there was beer on the table but clearly at the first moment we decided to take pictures.
On the menu was a variety of things but with certain symmetry to our first dining experience with Mr. Kien, we were to have Vietnamese spring rolls. However this time with fish as opposed to beef. What was quickly to immerse was the beer drinking tally-up.
Fish being cooked on a burner with copious amounts of leaves and herbs. It would later be wrapped into a rice pancake/fajita thing with noodles.
This was really our first chance to get stuck in to see how far each man could go in terms of racking up the empty bottles. Mr. Tan was the first to bail claiming parenting duties. His work colleges would later reveal the real reason by his nick name: ‘two be’ or ‘two beers’. Much embarrassment was dealt but all in good fun. Between those still in the game, I think its fair to say we had all had a fair bit. But really, its wasn’t at European standard. It did however keep a buoyant mood and a great end to the evening.
The team yo’ing there way through Saigon
What a great team 🙂
As per my previous blog post, International Learnings Part 1, we are taking it in turns to present our own countries perspectives, history and culture. This post wraps up the remaining presentations from the 2 remaining Yanks; Kelly and Maria, and our beer drinking Slovakian, Radek.
Florida, USA
Kelly grew up in a region of the USA that sounds very American in my opinion; Buffalo. Its a city in the state of New York that is about as far away from New York as you can get. Today, she lives in Wellington in the Orange Country. I am of course referring to the Disney state that is Florida!
Kelly doing her stuff. I was edging in for the gifts 🙂
Despite being a stones throw from Mickey Mouse et. al. in Orlando, her home town of Wellington is more famous for its horse show. Reportedly the ‘Equestrian Capital of the World’ during the winter months, show jumping, dressage and polo runs riot in true regal fashion. Now this is not just competition, its a millionaires circus. Think Monaco Grad Prix but with animals over cars and your not far off. Kelly told us its a great boost for the town and has enjoyed watching the spectacle with the family, even if the Cartier tent was ever so tempting.
Wellington made horsey friendly with paddock and show grounds everywhere.
As interesting as horses are, they are not not so easy to gift in Vietnam. As such Kelly resorted back to Florida type and bowed to Walt Disney. We were to learn about the Disney Pin exchange program, something I had never heard of. With a new pin from Kelly, we were all invited to visit in order to be able to swap our pins with a member of Disney staff. I naturally choose on behalf of Queen and Country 🙂
My pin badge. Looking forward to seeing what I can get for this in Orlando later this year.
Slovakia
I will be honest, as a European citizen I know very little about Slovakia other than my fellow Brits like to frequent Bratislava for stag dos. With this embarrassment, I was keen to learn more from Radek about his country; with the occasional addendum from Alena who is also Slovakian by birth.
Not sure what Radek is doing here but he is clearly into it.
What I was to learn was that there was much more to Slovakia than just beer; although that was to be an important talking point. Perhaps most interesting was the rise in popularity of thermal water parks. The pictures made it look like a lot of fun! Food also seemed to play a large part in Slovakian culture with much fare available including deep fried cheese. It sounded like a good snack post boozing.
A park side hot spring. But there are ones with slides too!
Of course we could not gloss over this alcoholic fact. Slovakia is famous for is beer drinking culture, a fact only disputed by the Czechs. Its something more than just the price, its more to do with the attitude garnered from a gathering of friends who are out to have a good time. I must admit though, a quick wiki search revealed a rather disappointing fact that Slovakia is only the 21st most beer consuming nation in Europe, one more that Britain. Radek’s defence was that they drink more spirits! The point was made real by the fact our parting gift from Slovakia was a cordial of some spirit. Looking forward to this one at my next camping weekend!
Dinky little vile of Slovakian spirit and fridge magnet. I wonder if its contents turn you into the elf like creature on the front?
Texas, USA
Howdy Y’all, this was to be the final presentation. Last but not least was Maria from Austin, Texas. I am pleased to say I can now dispense from the stereotypical dialect from this state as Maria doesn’t associate herself with it. Which is good. The Americanisms are enough torment :P.
Maria’s home in the lone star state is Austin; the capital. A place famed for its music and Bohemian culture. From her description its sounds great. There is a craze for pop up restaurants serving superb quality grub, and that’s not to mention the myriad music festivals to provide the soundtrack.
Capital… it really is just not cricket
Now if you didn’t know, and how could you not know this, Texas state has ordained the following in legislature:
Last time I checked (which was never), I wasn’t aware that the UK, nor any other country in the world! had defined their very own state small mammal, nor their state large mammal for that matter. Only in Texas.
It gets worse too, its illegal to kill the state flower, the Bonnet. This got slightly out of hand when Austin’s rival university in Texas decided to play a prank. A&M college, renowned for his horticultural studies, engineered a maroon coloured bonnet (their colours) and planted it outside the football stadium at The University of Texas in Austin. Lets just say the gardeners were frustrated.
Unfortunately, Maria admitted defeat when trying to think about how she could gift ‘Texas BBQ’. However I am now the proud owner of a Texan bottle opener. Cheers.
My gift from Maria, this will be put to good use during the British BBQ season with a few cold beers
#IBMCSC Vietnam11
One of the problems with being away from home for 1 month is that your wardrobe becomes very samey very quickly. Damn suitcase size. Third week in, I decided that after some success at shopping in Can Tho, I would sport my New t-shirt. Ok, so yes it’s a red Vietnam t-shirt with a yellow star – they become part of every tourist’s effects at some point. Not exactly catwalk material. However, I had not banked on my colleague from Italy parading the same attire that morning.
The new stylish IBM Vietnam 11 uniform being modelled
What made matters worse is that we had not just picked out the same apparel. Oh no, we had gone the whole way, trousers, flip flops and bag accessories. It’s as if we were wearing Vietnamese uniform. Obviously Maria had to capture the fashion parade at breakfast. We begrudgingly obliged.
Both returning to our rooms at lunch time after a productive morning, it was time to shake off the casuals and get into something more businessey for another meeting with our client. At this point I thought I would give a little moment to describe expected attire in Vietnam. Work wise, jackets are just stupid. No-one wears them and rightfully so, it’s too damn hot. Putting a jacket on when you’re sweaty is not an avenue you want to explore often. Even ties are banished from the workplace to aid body cooling efficiency. That leaves a guys wearing shirt, trousers and preferably easy slip on and slip off shoes. As for the girls, well its smart casual (I still am no closer to be able to tell anyone what this is). It’s been dresses for the most part or trousers and blouse.
Our stroll to work in our work gear. Its really hot even just walking over the road. You can just make out the circular tower structure of our clients building the in the top left.
What I find interesting is that personal attitudes towards what should be worn at the work place are completely disregarded in respect to the climate. It’s a sensible approach and in my opinion bears much more logic than our UK rubrics. I think the point here then is: wear what is comfortable to you. I might now think twice before tying the tie.
We did do some work… honest – and not just pose in front of the sign of the Department for Science and Technology of Dong Nai
Live at the IBM International Chopstick Competition (IICC)
Meetings wrapped up for the day and having boxed off of one of our mini projects milestones, we had some head room for fun that evening. It had become apparent that over the weeks of CSC, many of my colleagues were struggling to get to grips with sticks; chopsticks that is. Kelly had even been given a device to use on chopsticks to help you learn. Boy talk about feeling like your back in school. Meals out were regularly becoming endurance races to see who would break first and request a knife and fork. Given this fact, Radek and Alena were keen to put to the test this newly developing skill of the team.
The challenge was set. Move twenty peanuts from plate to bowl as fast as you can using chopsticks. Rules devised and a rather complicated round robin tournament structure created, the IBM International Chopstick Competition (IICC) was about to begin.
At this juncture I must admit I was feeling confident. As many know I am hugely competitive in most regards but give me something like this to get my teeth into and well – I’m all over it. I was playing for my country and couldn’t let the side down. What the team didn’t know is that when I was younger and in Scouts, we did this sort of stuff all the time under the guise of Chinese New Year night!
The first few matches breezed by. The technique was definitely to have the bowl as close as possible to the plate and to adopt a horizontal grabbing technique. I only lost one match (by 1 peanut) and that was to Erin, who I would later face in the final. What was great to see was the intense concentration on everyone’s faces. I was shaking during some matches that how tense it was. With the group rounds over, before I knew it I was in the final.
Intense concentration as peanuts make there way from A to B. And yes Simone is still wearing his uniform
More action from group B. I have to say the vertical chopstick technique was not the most speedy in my opinion
Bhadresh had taken role of umpire and was making up new rules and regulations. Despite this, the final between America and the UK was on. It was close but I was just able to jolt my right hand up in the air first to declare the win with Erin still a few peanuts adrift. Yes!
Winner and runner up of the main competition. Prize, a snickers
Keen to get in on the action, our translators had been practising while we had been fannying about with our game. What then transpired was the champions of champions competition. Britain was to take on the Vietnamese at their own game.
Our translators fancied themselves as world champions, a quick practice later and they were ready. But I have to ask, didn’t you warm up at lunch time?
Again very close (well not really if you look at the picture) Tran and I did battle and to my amazement I had won again. So delighted I slammed my chopsticks on the table in victory only to snap them in half and impale Tran in the process. So there you go, Thomas Simpson, IICC Champion 2014 and reigning World Champion. For my efforts, I was awarded a snickers bar! How very British.
World champion, even if one of my chopsticks is slightly shorter. The bit that snapped off is in Tran’s hand after hurtling towards her during my jubilant celebrations.
#IBMCSC Vietnam11
A new hotel means a brand new War room. Yes, in IBM we really do hark back to the days of Winston Churchill and WWII when naming our rooms. Only we tend to fling paper and pens at each other trying to solve a solution rather than push naval figurines around the English Channel.
I think its fair to say we have been upgraded in regard to our workplace services. We now have a room that can comfortably fit us all in. We also have a super chilling air conditioning unit which we are still playing hokey cokey with to try and get an acceptable temperature between equatorial desert and Antarctic winter. We have however lost our Green 3 esque view of Bien Hoa.
Just in case any of us forgot where the one meeting room in the hotel was
Yes, I really am hugging the air conditioning as we were travelling through the Nevada’s climate at the time
In general, work is progressing well. We have had some really good meetings with the wider client team and developers. We have focused on drip feeding some new concepts and thinking which all seems to be being soaked up like a sponge. I don’t want to get ahead of myself but I do think we are starting to ‘train the trainer’, or capacity build as they call it in the international development trade. We got some feedback today suggesting that one of the sessions had really opened their minds to new security considerations. Its nice when a plan comes together. Happy client means happy Tom. I would also say its been refreshing to have a direct cause and effect relationship with my client. Lately back in the UK I have been a bit more back office technical, this role however has reaffirmed and strengthened my abilities to partner for success. Something I want to do more of.
Morning Exercise
In other hotel news, there is a new morning activity that is growing in popularity, well for some. 5:30AM aerobics. Our resident fitness fanatic Maria is already all over it every morning strutting her stuff. However she has confessed to running up and down the hotel staircase to supplement the dance effort. Simone, situated in a room overlooking the daily performance is less happy due to the excessive noise. One day I might pop along to see what all the fuss is about but 5:30AM is a tad early.
Not sure taking pictures mid workout is allowed Maria! What would bodies by design say…
Trains and Planes
If the racket from the fitness folk wasn’t enough, the hotel is also subject to the shuddering from the local train track. With our clients office just over the level crossing from our hotel, we have experienced the noise before during one of our meetings. However our new pedestrian commute has highlighted just how close it is to our rooms. To be honest its not so much the train that is the problem, its all the commotion on its arrival. Bells, whistles and motorbikes underscore its imminent passing.
Some motorbikes pause while the train trundles through
That gold looking building behind the train is the start of our hotel. Yes we are that close
What is worrying is the number of motorbikes that weave there way around the dropped barriers to expedite their journey. Now like many level crossings there is a degree of slack time but the shrine by the roadside is enough to suggest the danger in doing so.
A reminder to the many motorbikes that circumnavigate the barriers
Our new hotel is also conveniently situated for the military airbase. Not a general in the air force, I have found this convenience more of an annoyance. The fly by; or fly 6 times by, was enough to wake me up which is rare for a heavy sleeper. Lets just hope they don’t want to have a crack at our hotel like the last. In the meantime, I am trying my best to get some much needed sleep.
#IBMCSC Vietnam11
Day 2 of of Mekong adventure started with another one of those early starts. Chuffed with the comment from Simone that I was very good at getting up early in the morning (which I really am not), I was ready for the tourist trail. On the cards was another boat trip – who would have thought of that in a river delta. The activity was to see some wheeling and dealing at the floating fruit and vegetable market.
All aboard, we cruised in the early morning breeze for about 30 mins. The sun was shining and life was good. It would have been better if I had not left my sunglasses in the tour bus 😦
Upon arrival at the conurbation of boats, I was shocked to see how much real commerce was being done. This was no tourist trap, this was legitimate buying and selling of fruit and veg to feed the city. Carefully organised, each barge boat masts its product on a long pole for easy identification.
Boats mooring up to get the best deal
Watermelons making their move to the market malay
Middlemen boats (buyers) then tour the watery streets for what they need, filling their shopping boat as they go. What struck me was the sense of frenzied commerce. There were margins to be made here by tough, hard buying middlemen. These people mostly appeared to be women who stood tall on their boats of produce while they directed their minions to load or unload from the big barges.
One of the powerful middle women bossing the boys what to do
Loading and unloading is also an art form. Time is money with the market starting at 4am. The best deals are to be had early doors so therefore the less time spent loading the better. Now I have played some cricket in my time and something I have never been able to master is catching two balls at the same time; one in each hand. These guys were tossing pineapples, melons and jack fruit left right and centre and all at the same time. Not one drop too – that would affect the profit margin. Also, pineapples are not exactly smooth – they are spikey!
This photo does not do justice to the skill the guys had at moving fruit from one boat to another. They were throwing and catching two pineapples at a time, one in each hand.
What I also liked about the floating market was how it had not been prettified for the tourists. For me this was made evident by the modernest scaling of the barge boats. Now in times gone by I understand that these boats would have been smaller and rowed up and down the river. However in today’s modern world, propulsion is garnered from car engines strapped to propellers mounted on a pivot. For me this underlined Vietnam’s resourcefulness once again. Taking something that is available to many and adapting to fuel business growth. In this case, being able to carry more produce and do more commerce faster.
Mounted engines driving veg market progress
Clearly as a consumer, we were in the wrong game here, this was a wholesale market. Content we had seen the deals being done we headed back down river. However we were to be greeted by yet another new enterprising industry that has grown out of the market. With many tourists cruising through the market, the sale of hot and cold drinks on the water is a booming business. A refreshing cold water was just what was needed to keep the rising morning temperatures at bay.
There is a business opportunity where there are throngs of hot and tired tourists. Mobile drinks boat.
We were in a boat just like this
Back ashore, we had an hour or so to soak in the last of the Can Tho atmosphere. Finding a rather trendy bar, with a happy hour that ran from 6am to 9pm, we settled for morning coffee. Menu is hand, I dared to ask what type I coffee was. A biceps pumping gesture from the waiter indicated a stronger blend, I was sold. And yes, it was very strong. I think the technical term is Wired. I didn’t sleep for the whole day, unlike many of my colleagues who were caught snoozing on the bus post river market.
Type I coffee. I didn’t sleep all day – despite the early start
Before heading off there was some time to admire the huge statue of Vietnam’s revered leader. Shining in the sun, it really was a landmark for the fairly small city by the river.
Another gleaming statue of Ho Chi Minh, the great unifier of Vietnam
Back aboard the fun bus, reunited with my sunglasses, we were headed home back to Bien Hoa. However there were to be a few planned itinerary stops. The first was a really old French house. As I eluded to in a previous post, there are very few colonial buildings that survive in Vietnam. This one has been up for sale for sometime and is rumoured to have a price tag of 1 millions US dollars. However, it is now protected by the government as an attraction, visited by many. In my opinion the best feature of this site was its garden. It was awash with many dazzling and brightly coloured flowers.
The main house containing some fancy furniture
Red rlower
Yellow pin-wheel flower
Pink flower
Lunch would be the last stop on the itinerary. A frequent haunt of many a tour bus was evident by entry to the restaurant through a gift shop. However I am pleased to say the food was rather tasty. Elephant ear fish was back on the menu again as well as deep fried sticky rice. It also gave the chance to try the last beer that I had been seeing in many a menu, 333.
Of course, this beer was ISO 9001 compliant
Our drive back to the hotel was a long one. Not even the huge cumulonimbus clouds hanging and later striking the city of HCMC was enough to distract from the tedium. Matters were then only made worse by a third transportation technical fault. A loud squeak would be heard from time to time. Yep, that was the fan belt for the air conditioning soon to snap. As mitigation, we had a brief period driving with the bus door open. That was nice and controlled the climate of the interior somewhat favourably. It wasn’t to last however as the driver was afraid of cameras on the motorway. Now when I say cameras I don’t mean Gatso or Truvelo, these are people paid by the government to hang out in trees or areas of cover with a digital camera. The second solution was for everyone to sit as far forward in the bus so as to receive what little of a cough of fresh air from the passenger window. Uncomfortable. But we made it back. The shower in the hotel has never been so incredible.
#IBMCSC Vietnam11
With the weekend upon us, it was time for more scheduled fun time with our favourite Mr. Tan from Saigon Tourist. This time, the dials were set to head to the Mekong Delta, one of the largest and longest river systems in the world. It was another early start, and a long drive (passing through Saigon), but I think the team were ready for it.
Unfortunately the bus wasn’t! Just outside HCMC we managed to get a flat tyre L. As you would expect however, help was not far away. How long we coasted for with a flat I am not sure, but our stopping point was a road side tyre merchant. Convenient. It seemed quite rude to interrupt the mechanics hammock slumber, but upon acknowledgment of the business he was straight to it. We were jacked up in no time and the spare was fitted. Really quite impressive if you ask me. Compared to life in the UK, we would probably have spent an age on the phone to the AA trying to describe our location, waited at least 30 minutes for the AA van to arrive and finally faffing agreeing all the paperwork. Here done and dusted in 10 minutes in situ. Ok it wasn’t a F1 3 second stop, but it was somewhere in-between!
Up in a flash on the air jack, tyre unscrewed with the aid of the air compressor
Puncture, what puncture, new tyre in situ within a jiffy
With an A1 bus, we entered into the ‘rice bowl’ of Vietnam. Shiny smooth motorways have carved through pristine green rice paddy fields to fuel a buoyant export trade. Vietnam is now the second largest exporter in the world of rice. They have achieved this by growing up to 4 crops a year in this silty fertile basin. As for history well I would like to say I had paid more attention to Mr. Tan and made notes (Maria), however I am going to crib from the guide book.
The delta was once part of the Cambodian Khymer Kingdom, that is until Vietnam decided to annex the territory. Naturally war broke out with the Khymer Rouge attacking newly settled Vietnamese villages. Vietnam supressed this aggression in 1978 ousting the Khymer Rouge from power. To this day the Cambodian people consider the area to be ‘lower Cambodia’.
The Mekong is known as the river of nine dragons. It stretches 4500km originating in Tibet and flows through China, Myanmar, Laos, the Thai-Laos boarder, Cambodia and finally Vietnam. It is the branching at Pheom Penh in Cambodia that creates 9 divergent tributaries that enter the South China Sea; the so called nine dragons. My initial thoughts were that the river really is the lifeblood of industry in the region. Plans for dams further upstream in Laos and China only underline the stresses being put upon access to water in our world. Let’s hope the abundant and highly sought after Catfish, find some wet stuff to keep their end up.
Arriving in Can Tho, we traded bus for boat. Mr. Tan stood aside as our multilingual Mrs. Kim took charge. A strong woman, she commanded the stage throughout the tour as a knowledgeable, friendly and intrinsic orchestrator of the communities she guided us through. Alas my colleagues could not help themselves in the gift shop. However we later found out that there are quality levels for conical hats. I looked for the ISO 9001 stamp but I didn’t see one.
All aboard the boat up the Mekong
Cruising the Mekong under the giant suspension bridge
How ridiculous do this pair look! However they do provide sun, rain and falling coconut relief I am told
First stop for the boat, a coconut sweet factory. Nestled on the banks of the river we hopped off to the sweet smell of sugar. A one armed man then demonstrated the process of breaking apart the coconuts on a large up turned spike. A UK health and safety officer would have had a field day in this place. The next step was to extract the coconut flesh, again using a rather scary curved knife tool. Pressed and ground, the flesh was then added to a sugar syrup mix before being left to set slightly. It reminded me of the Fudge Kitchen, just less marble. Expertly shaped and worked, squares of green stuff rolled off onto the packaging line. Super nimble fingered ladies then performed the art of wrapping each item in rice paper and wrapping paper. The speed was just incredible.
Mrs. Kim introducing the de-husking process using the large spike
Coconuts are then scraped of their flesh before being pressed
Boiling up the mixture
Rolled and pressed into shape, the mixture was very malleable at this point
Expert hands twist, fold and warp at lightning pace
Rather impressed with the taste test, I was compelled to buy some. I was glad I did as I soon realised that our tour guide Mr. Tan had bought shed loads. He said every time he comes here his family demands a shipment. They must be good.
Our return to the boat was precluded with two brief side shows. The first, a massive pet snake. Much hilarity was to be had when the reptile was wrapped around Erin’s neck. Let’s just say she was less than comfortable. The second side show would be another product of the island, Honey. I enjoyed the honey tea served with candied ginger, banana and peanuts. Sure it was a point of sale, but I supped up and walked on.
Zulima cool as a cucumber with the snake
Making honey is clearly a sweaty business in Vietnam
Honey tea and sweets. A good afternoon tea
A brief meander up river, under an enormous bridge, brought us back up onto the Ben Tre islands. Arriving a little late, the local rowing boat ladies had been working hard for their dollar in the mid afternoon sun. We were headed for lunch somewhere on the island, what would unfurl is a mini adventure. A gentle and peaceful row down the backwaters in the 3 man boats was majestic. Bamboo framed the stream with strange exotic fruits all around to see. Hopping off, we would then walk through orchard and farmland to a rather large riverside restaurant. Fruit is abundant everywhere in Vietnam. Mrs. Kim was also keen to show off a local crop of cocoa. She mentioned that just 3 weeks ago some Belgians had arrived in the area to help the region grow the black bean used for making chocolate. She was confident that in 5 years’ time that this would be a new found gold for Vietnam.
Boats nestled on the backwaters
Trading motor boat for lady powered row boat
Riding crew. Not doing any paddling though 😦
Elephant ear fish – tasty lunch
Back on the boat, it was now time head to set off for another little cottage tourist industry. Fruit and folk music. As you might expect, it was rather quaint. I had some of the fruit but reaffirmed my ambivalence to it. The singing was turned up a notch when Radek and Vinod got involved. Almost twice the singers size, the strange Vietnamese, Indo Slovak band didn’t really cut the mustard. But it was funny. It might of won Britain’s Got Talent.
More strange fruit. Why does it always look like it wants to kill you
All they needed was a microphone! Radek and Vinod made do with clapping
That was it, we had sampled every tourist niche the islands had going. I must admit it felt quite genuine. Ok yes it has been made accessible, but I did give a glimpse of what life might be life on the Mekong. All that was left to do now was to head back to the bus. That was easier said than done as our boats propeller had magnetised some floating vegetation. Making awful crunching noises, we were one step away from the river equivalent AA being called. But of course this being Vietnam no such action was necessary. The driver stripped to his pants and jumped straight in. Under the boat he yanked at the offensive weed for some time. How he could see anything in the ‘yellow’ river is a wonder. More tools were needed, jumping back on board, he revealed a huge machete. Armed with his sharp, he set to work again freeing us. Sometime passes but sure enough, we were good to go.
Our driver taking the plunge
Still blocked with weeds, it was time to get out the huge machete
Another drive over more impressive bridges eventually got us to Can Tho, the capital of the Mekong Delta. It’s a relatively small place with a nice riverside atmosphere. Lined by park it has numerous streets leading off offering food and more. All of us together decided it was to be an Italian night eating in an unassuming place recommended by the guide book. I think it was here that held the record for the cheapest bottle of beer, 40p. As such we felt it necessary to double park and have a cocktail or two as well.
Crossing another huge expansive bridge
Getting drunk on super cheap beer at an Italian Restaurant in Can Tho
Some shopping followed in the local covered market before the heavens let loose of their supersized rain drops. Given the precipitation and some distance from the hotel, I felt it was the right time to take the plunge and buy a red t-shirt with a yellow Vietnamese star on it. They are everywhere but this one was mine for 80,000 Dong. About £3.
Anticipation for ‘something for the boys’ had been growing all day between the ladies of the group. Summoned to their hotel room, we were presented with something they had bought from where the hats had been bought earlier. Erin unfolded the newspaper package to reveal a small, thin bone like structure. It appeared to have to balls of cotton wool attached at one end. With much giddiness, it was revealed that they had bought a snake’s penis for us. Apparently you put them in tea and hot drinks to make you more… well I will stop there. How mature. It did provide much amusement and a fun end to the night. (No pictures – probably for the best)
#IBMCSC Vietnam11
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