I asked my sister to mail me some stuff from the U.S recently….some white undershirts, a couple of pairs of shoes, 6 books and some various knick knacks that I needed.  The United States Postal Service (USPS)  has fixed price priority mail boxes that costs a little more than $40 to [...]]]>

Saigon Central Post Office

I asked my sister to mail me some stuff from the U.S recently….some white undershirts, a couple of pairs of shoes, 6 books and some various knick knacks that I needed.  The United States Postal Service (USPS)  has fixed price priority mail boxes that costs a little more than $40 to ship to Vietnam.  Those boxes aren’t very big, so I told my sister to just fit whatever she could into the largest priority mail box that they had and and anything leftover could be mailed at a later date.  My sis, ever the generous soul that she is, decided instead to go ahead and ship me everything I asked for in a big box that cost her $143 to mail to Vietnam.  The box weighed about 23 lbs or a bit more than 10 kgs, mostly because of the books and shoes.

The package was shipped on July 9th, with an estimated delivery time of 7 days….even so, I  didn’t realistically expect to see my stuff for 2-3 weeks.  I’ve seen my mom mail enough packages to Vietnam over the years  to know that although whatever you send may arrive in Vietnam in the estimated date….the time it takes for your things to go through customs,  sorted  and screened (and sometimes opened) by the local postal service (bưu điện) often adds a significant amount of time to the date of delivery.  In this case, I didn’t get my box until August 16th.  It took over 5 weeks!!   In additional to the horrible delay, the local VNPT post office  ended up charging me an additional 1,400,000 Dong tax ($75) on top of the $143 my sister paid to send me everything.  Why?  Who knows?

Initially, I had thought the tax was due to the weight of my package, but the employee working at the counter said that wasn’t the reason.    She gave me a sheet with a list of what was in my box (which had obviously been cut open and then re-taped) and the tax charges for each item and what looked like a bunch of random codes.  My cousin who accompanied me couldn’t figure it out why this particular package was taxed, when other shipments in the past had not been.  So I asked the lady assisting us to please explain what all the codes on the shipment receipt meant and why even my old shoes and undershirts were taxed.  She said that she didn’t know, but she would give us a phone number to call if we wanted to get a better explanation.  My cousin took the receipt and said she would call and ask about the taxes when she had some free time.

Personally, I  just think that someone saw how much it cost to ship this box to Vietnam so they figured that either the contents are very valuable or really important and therefore the recipient (me!) would most likely be willing to pay the additional tax.  In reality, the contents of the box were worth less then the cost of transport.  If I had  known what the final tally was beforehand, I would have never  had my sister mail me anything .  Just last spring, I had received another package with no problems.  It took a bit more than 2 weeks to arrive and there were no additional taxes to pay.  In fact, the contents of that box were probably more valuable than the one I had just received.  It makes no sense to me whatsoever.  But I suppose that’s just the price of living in a fast growing but still very much developing country like Vietnam….in which the rules can seem to change by the day.

At the end of the day, I’m glad my last package wasn’t lost or stolen and that my sister’s efforts to pack and ship everything to me wasn’t for naught.  She is mailing me another package soon with some medicine and a few remaining items that I had recently ordered.  She’s going to ship them in a regular priority mail box this time, which I speculate will help it arrive more quickly and hopefully tax free.  After dealing with the Vietnam postal service, I now have a much greater appreciation for the level of service we get in the States with the USPS….where something “late” is usually counted in days….not weeks.

Better late than never I suppose…..

Last Friday there was a road rage incident on Cong Quynh street in Saigon.  Three friends (on 2 motorbikes) were  returning home from a night of drinking when they got into a close call with a couple of other guys on another motorbike…..an argument ensued and one of the 3 friends [...]]]>

Knife Victim in Saigon

Last Friday there was a road rage incident on Cong Quynh street in Saigon.  Three friends (on 2 motorbikes) were  returning home from a night of drinking when they got into a close call with a couple of other guys on another motorbike…..an argument ensued and one of the 3 friends thought it was a good idea to take off his belt and start whipping the guys on the offending motorbike.  Needless to say this wasn’t too smart.

One of the guys being whipped didn’t take too kindly to the abuse and pulled out a couple knives .  Hmmm…2 knives vs. a belt….I think I would have started running the other way if I were the guy with the belt.  Maybe he was too drunk to comprehend that he was at a severe disadvantage.  Amazingly the guy with the belt survived albeit with severe injuries from 3 stab wounds….unfortunately his 2 friends who probably came to his aid weren’t so lucky…..both died.  Apparently there were plenty of witnesses to the murders, but they were too afraid to interfere in the fight….hopefully someone at least wrote down the license plate and the cops will catch the killer.

I drive down Cong Quynh all the time….and now I will always think of these dummies when I’m driving down that street.  I admit getting pretty pissed off at the crazy drivers in Saigon every now and then….but you never know what some people are capable of…so next time I’ll think harder before I start throwing out “du ma mays” around.   There is a popular quote from the movie “The Untouchables” in which the Sean Connery character says “never bring a knife to a gun fight”….if he were in Vietnam it might be changed to “never bring a belt to a knife fight”.

Read the original story from Thanh Nien HERE.

Ba Ria – Long Hai – Vung  Tau finally has a bus route now.

http://www.baobariavungtau.com.vn/en/newslocal/76915/index.brvt

This is great since I hate having to depend on my relatives for rides out to Ba Ria.  It’s only been running since early this week.  So far, Ive heard that one runs by every 15 minutes and it cost [...]]]> Guess what yall?

Ba Ria – Long Hai – Vung  Tau finally has a bus route now.

http://www.baobariavungtau.com.vn/en/newslocal/76915/index.brvt

This is great since I hate having to depend on my relatives for rides out to Ba Ria.  It’s only been running since early this week.  So far, Ive heard that one runs by every 15 minutes and it cost 6000 to get to Ba Ria.  Oh yes, I did see one driving by full of students with the number 9 on it.  I cant wait to ride one and see if the service is any worse than what it is in Saigon.  Better than having to get ripped off by xe om guys I suppose.

I get asked every now and then how hard it was for me to adapt to living in Vietnam.  Personally, I think I had it much easier than most expatriates.  I speak the language and I have relatives in Saigon who were more than happy to help me with any issues [...]]]>

Life on the Mekong

I get asked every now and then how hard it was for me to adapt to living in Vietnam.  Personally, I think I had it much easier than most expatriates.  I speak the language and I have relatives in Saigon who were more than happy to help me with any issues I might have had.  It was nice to be able to show up in Vietnam knowing that I had a place to stay and a person that would take care of my daily meals.

Unlike most expats, I am not the adventurous type…far from it actually.  I have always been quite conservative and never enjoyed traveling much.  I really admire people that have the courage to move to another a country without any real previous experience with the people or the culture.  Most of the expats I’ve met fall into this category.  They arrive and stay at one of the cheap mini hotels in District 1 and then start looking for employment.  Many find quick work at the multitude of English Schools throughout Vietnam and gradually settle into a more permanent living arrangement…while simultaneously trying to learn about the culture and society in which they live.

I’m sure the first few months are very exciting and stressful for many of these expats.  I don’t know if I would have had the guts to attempt something like this without the benefit of all the advantages I had previously mentioned.  Before I  settled on coming to Vietnam, I had briefly flirted with the idea of going to China instead, but once I considered all the complications I would face living there, not to mention the fact that most Chinese people don’t seem to like the Vietnamese much…choosing  to come to Vietnam was a no brainer.

When moving to another country there are a few common things that everyone has to adapt to, mainly the weather, the food, the traffic, and the cultural differences.  I think most expats, by their very nature and openness in embracing the idea living in another country, won’t have too much difficulty adjusting to life in Vietnam.   From my personal perspective, I think it’s far easier for an American to live in Vietnam than for a Vietnamese person to adjust to life in America.

First of all, you can almost always find someone that can speak rudimentary English no matter where you are in Vietnam, whereas it wouldn’t be the same case for a non-English speaking Vietnamese person in the U.S.  That’s why many Vietnamese that come to the U.S. choose to live in areas with large Vietnamese communities like California and Texas.  The people in Vietnam are very tolerant and curious of foreigners.  As many expats will attest to, it’s not uncommon for the locals to come up to foreigners and start up simple conversations with them just to practice their English.  Of course not all foreigners that come to Vietnam speak English, but if you do then it should be pretty easy to get around most places by yourself.  On the other hand, if you don’t speak English (or perhaps Spanish) while traveling in the U.S., it’s can be very difficult to get around or to find someone to help you with problems.

Secondly, most Americans have probably eaten Vietnamese food before coming to Vietnam, so aside from sanitary concerns, most of us should have no problem finding a plethora of stuff to eat over here.  Finding good, cheap and healthy food in Vietnam is very easy!!  If you come from a low income family in the U.S., fresh fruits and vegetables are probably rare luxuries, but in Vietnam even the poor can eat fairly healthy.  Many fruits and vegetables are very very cheap over here and even if some people can’t afford to buy them, neighbors and family will often share fruits or vegetables from their trees/gardens with one another.  When people snack over here, they mainly snack on fresh fruits, as opposed to most Americans (me included) who can’t live without their chips, cookies and candy.

This looks better than it tastes!

In the States, I probably only ate Vietnamese food 2-3 times a week.  Now that I am eating it almost daily I mainly crave the unhealthy fast foods that I indulged in while living in the U.S.  Luckily there are a few places that sell decent burgers and pizza here in Saigon, although I have yet to discover anyplace with good fried chicken (there will be a future post on this subject).  Most locals don’t care for Western food at all.  They think it’s bland and way overpriced.  I’ve tried inviting a few of my relatives out to eat foods from other countries, but other than Chinese food, they seem content to just eat Vietnamese food 24/7.

For me, the toughest thing to adjust to in Vietnam is the hot, humid weather.  I come from Texas, and the Vietnam heat has nothing on Texas during the summer months.  However, we have central AC in Texas and when we do brave the outdoors it is usually inside the comforts of an air-conditioned car.  In Vietnam, most homes don’t have AC of any kind and if they do it’s a small wall unit that only cools a single room.  Most of the smaller businesses and restaurants in Vietnam also use the same wall mounted AC units to keep their stores cool.  And since the main mode of transportation in Vietnam is the ubiquitous motorbike, there really isn’t any hiding from the heat once you’re outside, unless you are wealthy enough to buy a car….and as I mentioned in one of my prior posts, owning and driving a car in Vietnam comes with its own set of hassles (crowded streets, parking, etc.) so often people that own cars will still prefer to use a motorbike for most outings.

My first couple of months in Saigon, I rarely turned on the AC.  It was hot, but I really wanted to acclimate myself to the local weather and try to live like the locals.  I figured if I never got used to the heat I would never want to venture outside the comforts of my room.  That was ok for January-March, but when April and May came around, going without AC wasn’t an option.  The heat was unbearable.  It’s not the dry Texas heat that I am used to either….the humidity in Vietnam in conjunction with all the dust and dirt flying around conspires to clog all the pores on your body which in turn doesn’t allow the heat to escape from your skin and makes being outside VERY uncomfortable.  During those months, whenever I didn’t have to be outside, I was in my air-conditioned room.  My monthly electrical bill shot up from 700,000 Dong ($37) to almost 2 Million Dong ($100); which is more than an entire month’s rent for some of my friends over here.  The weather has cooled down quite a bit since June when the rainy season came about.  I can now sleep without the AC unit on at night; however I still turn it on for a few hours during the daytime.

Ponchos are normal rain attire

As I write this post, we are currently at the height of the rainy season in Vietnam which usually lasts from May to November in the south.  According to the locals, there has been much less rain this year than the previous rainy seasons so flooding hasn’t been as bad as usual.  But the lack of rain has also forced city officials to implement rotating power cuts to most districts (aside from District 1, 7 and Phu Nhuan) around once a week because the lower rainfalls causes the hydropower plants (which provides over 50% of the power in Vietnam) to run at reduced capacity.  It’s just one more thing you have to get used to when you live in Vietnam.  What I really dreaded about the rainy season was walking/driving around flooded the streets, but it hasn’t been as bad as I had imagined.  The thing I hate the most about the rain is how dirty everything gets;  some of the smaller streets become extremely muddy and as a result very hazardous to drive on.  I have to remind myself to wear only dark color clothing after it rains because the splatter of dirty water from the streets will stain your clothes when driving around on motorbikes.

Going back to the heat and humidity for a second, I just want to add that I recommend getting a good face and body wash if you’re planning on staying in Vietnam for awhile.  During my first few months in the country, I developed some weird white bumps on my forearms which would only appear whenever I spent a prolonged period of time outside.  I don’t know if it was a mild allergic reaction to something in the air or just because my pores were so clogged from all the dirt and dust, but the bumps would disappear after I took a shower but would always reappear once I went back outside.  My sister in The States was kind enough to mail me a care package in March in which she included a few facial scrubs with microbeads.  I’ve never used these scrubs before back in the U.S., but they are a godsend in Vietnam.  The scrubs not only worked wonders in removing the dirt caked into my face from driving around Saigon, but also permanently got rid of the bumps on my arms.  Biore Strips are also a must for clearing up the pores in your face.  I see a lot of adults over here that have bad facial acne which I believe is the result of all the trapped dirt and oil beneath their skin.

My palm after my last accident

I’ve already mentioned the traffic in Saigon (see: Xin Loi…my bad) in a few of my earlier entries so I’m not going to regurgitate any of that stuff in this post.  However, I would like to note that I my motorbike driving skills has improved a lot in the past 4 months….since my last accident.  I realize now that I was probably driving way too fast and reckless my first couple of months especially in consideration of how little experience I’ve had on a motorbike.  I drive more carefully now and am much more aware of my surroundings.  Getting into 3 accidents in a short period of time will certainly dampen most anyone’s bravado.

I think that covers most of the biggest issues I’ve had over here.  My experience in adapting to this often strange and sometimes frustrating country is probably a bit different than most of my fellow expats.  I’m certain that the road I took was much easier than for most, especially when you consider that I also haven’t had to deal with Visa issues since I qualified for a 5 year Visa Exemption (see: How to get a 5 Year Visa Exemption) and/or employment issues (yet).  Culturally, I also was able to adapt quite quickly since I knew somewhat the things I should expect from my short trip to Vietnam in 2002.  Sometimes, my delicate American sensibilities are still offended when people shove me to cut in line or someone is picking their nose in the middle of a conversation, etc. but I remind myself that I am a guest in this country and it is my job to adjust to the people around me and not vice versa.

Not sure what he has been up to but it’s been a long time since Ive read any personal observations he’s made or [...]]]> Ya know, Im waiting for Mr. odgnut to post something because I havent read anything interesting about his life in Saigon lately.  Im sure Im not the only one who is waiting either.

Not sure what he has been up to but it’s been a long time since Ive read any personal observations he’s made or how he’s adjusted to life in VN.

Would be nice if he just post something a bit more emblematic of his time here so far, but maybe that’s asking for too much—-or is it?

We know when a tropical storm is approaching  so that we can prepare by stocking up on water, batteries, non-perishable goods, and gas for the car or generator. Oh, let’s not forget reading material and playing cards for tieng len.   We know this because we are [...]]]> Back home, we know when hurricane season is in effect.

We know when a tropical storm is approaching  so that we can prepare by stocking up on water, batteries, non-perishable goods, and gas for the car or generator. Oh, let’s not forget reading material and playing cards for tieng len.   We know this because we are given advance notice.

If Entergy or SWB decides they are going to have some of their peeps out working on a line or pipe, they give you advance notice.

Im not saying that sometimes they just turn it off for no valid reason(if you didnt pay your bill or your neighbor mightve accidentally hit a pipe while digging in the yard), but it’s a rarity.  The electricity and water does not get turned off at random hours of the day without any notice.

About the only time that we ever had a blackout is when there is a heavy storm passing by.  But you better believe that if the electricity is going to go out every other day, there’s going to be hell from the citizens.

Over here in my neck of the woods, it’s total BS.

After being away on the road for these last 2 months, Im home now, only to find out that not only do I have to deal with blackouts every other day, but now they shut off the water — with no advance notice.  Shutting off the water is EVERY DAY NOW.

It is a real shame because these poor people already have to live their lives around the fact that blackouts happen every other day, so they have to schedule their lives around this.  Doing laundry? If you are one of the few who are lucky to own a washing machine, you better do laundry the night before to have it hung the following morning.

Water has to be pumped into buckets for the days use just in case the water gets shut off.  No one really knows when the water will be turned back on so for my family, we fill every bucket and bowl possible to make sure we have enough for the day.

For some people, it’s not that easy.   Can you imagine what most of the businesses have to do?  They have to shut down for the time being.  It’s BS.

I didnt have any problems in Saigon probably because I stayed in Dist 1 most of the time,  but over here in the small towns, it’s off and on.  Off and on.  Random random random.

It’s happening in the Ba Ria, Long Hai, and Vung Tau area.  I feel sorry for these poor people who dont even have a well to draw water from.  It’s ridiculous and the people should speak up about it.  Back home in the States, you better believe the citizens wouldnt take any of this abuse lying down.

Although it rained heavily that day, I still had fun and visited some of the most beautiful gardens [...]]]> Sorry Im breaking up the flow of my travels but my trip in Asia will come to an end soon and I wanted to make sure that I didnt forget to finish up my posts from previous trips.

Although it rained heavily that day, I still had fun and visited some of the most beautiful gardens full of orchids in every color.   Even got to listen some traditional Viet music while munching on some yummy goodness from the XQ Embroidery Museum,  http://xqhandembroidery.com/.

Throughout the museum are young ladies at work, hand embroidering from 7:30AM - 5PM, with a lunch break in between.

My last day on a trip with elementary school teachers from Long Hai.  It was a pleasure getting to know all of them, but my least favorite part was having to share a room with 6 other ladies and a demanding toddler.  I wont forget that part where Trang teases the kid and the brat ends up throwing up on the floor of our hotel room.  Thanks a lot Trang, I wont ever forget this trip!

We went to Doi Mong Mo Park first, then headed for the XQ Embroidery Museum.  The one in Dalat was bigger than the one in Nha Trang and Saigon.

Bong hoa nao ma dep the?!!

Khu du lich Doi Mong Mo

Make a wish!!

Tree of love and good fortune

Trang smelling the lilies

Uhmmm…we were lucky to be able to walk to the Embroidery Museum across the street
before it started to pour.  A romantic kinda rain really or maybe it was just the atmosphere that made me feel that way.  I love that there were so many pictures and clippings from as far back as the 1800′s about DaLat. There were old clippings of the dried up Xuan Huong Lake back in the days when it was at its full capacity.  Lovely!!

Quick rain shower on a Saturday afternoon in DaLat at the Embroidery museum

I didnt take many pictures of the embroidery work but I promise you this particular location in DaLat is well worth the trip if you are in the area.

Full size embroidery to small miniature ones.  Most of the work involved more than one person and usually took anywhere from 2 years or more.  Alot of time and thought goes into the design and embroidering.

Also, while there, check out the nice open courtyard where you can order typical Hue food and other traditional viet food.  Right above this area you see below is a room where they had 3 different instruments being played.  My favorite were the dan bau and dan tranh of course.  I never get tired of listening to these 2 particular instruments.

Dining experience at Theo museum in Dalat

Roasted sweet potatoes

Dan Da

After we left the museum, it was on a bus back to the hotel area and off to early dinner we went.

Hot Pot style in Dalat for dinner

6 girls finishing this was not a problem.  We were looking forward to che bap and khoai lan.

What's left of the sweet corn pudding and sweet potato pudding

Not sure we had room for anything else after that so off we went to the night market in Dalat where we hopped on rental bikes and cycled around the dried out Xuan Huong lake.  The strenuous cycling up and down the hills made us all hungry so we stopped for roasted corn.  Cayenne pepper and grease.  I think butter from the US wouldve been better smothered on this.

A favorite street snack in 'Nam - roasted corn

All in all, DaLat is great for the lush green scenery, the wonderful cool weather, and the beautiful pagodas.    A great weekend getaway but boring after a few days so onto Nha Trang we go.

Da-Lat-Hoang-Hon

Deoksugung Palace--reenactment of the changing of the guards

Deoksugung - chambers

Deoksugung - King's chambers

I havent been feeling too good lately so I havent felt  the energy to type up anything interesting.   [...]]]>

Deoksugung Palace

Deoksugung Palace--reenactment of the changing of the guards

Deoksugung - chambers

Deoksugung - King's chambers

I havent been feeling too good lately so I havent felt  the energy to type up anything interesting.   Maybe I can leave yall with some brief descriptions and a few pictures.

Continuing on with my adventures in Seoul, Im going to pick up where I left off last.

Above you will find pictures of Deoksugung Palace.

The crowd you see at the Daehanmun Gate of the Palace  is watching a re-enactment of the Changing of the Guards.   All of the soldiers wore colorful uniforms, complete with live tooting of the horns and horses.  Everyone was asked to stay quiet during the whole enactment and if you the operators or staff on duty so much as hear a peep from you, you will be asked to step aside—far away.

The ceremony is held 3 times a day:  11:00 / 14:00 / 15:30 except Mondays and is free to watch but if you want to  check out the palace grounds the entrance fee is 1000 won = less than $1.00USD.   Rather disappointing though because I wanted to see most of the original furniture that was salvaged after the Japanese occupation, but I was told that it was all moved to one central location somewhere.  Pooh

Walking to the Palace

Royal Palace

Details, it's all about the details

Ceiling above throne

I found similarities in the architecture and details of the 2 palaces I visited interesting.  Ive always had an interest in royal palace life whether it was the Prince of Chiang Mai or Egypt.

National Museum of Korea

Korean National Museum

After walking through most of the exhibits, we took a break and had lunch at the cafe in the Museum.  It was pretty good.

I love how colorful our food was.

Lunch at the muesum

Insadong shopping

Insadong shopping

Street food

Street food in Insadong

Jaywalking and English

One thing I did notice while in Seoul was that I rarely saw any jaywalkers.  It’s frowned upon.  You do not walk across the street until the pedestrian light is green for go.  Otherwise if the police is around, you will get stopped with a ticket.  They are pretty serious about it too.  While walking around the President’s hood, my friend and I almost crossed the street.  There were no cars or anyone else around.  Just what we thought was the traffic light and us.  BUT out of my friends eye, she saw a cop on a bike in the back just as I was about step out onto the street.  Ooooohhweeee!!!  We were close.  By the look on his face, as he zoomed by us after that, he wasnt playing either.

Everywhere I went in Seoul, there was always someone who spoke passing english.  For me that was a great reliever because Tokyo was definitely not English-speaking friendly.  I wish that I had known I was going to be visiting both countries because I wouldve hit up Yuki and Christina for some korean and japanese lessons just to get by.

In Vietnam, everyone seems to know you are a foreigner by looking at the way you carry yourself, or the way you dress, or just the way you look.

As for Seoul and Tokyo, they just automatically assumed I spoke the local tongue.   That’s right, I fit right in with the Koreans.   Sighhh, if Jay could see me then.

Galbi+soju

For dinner, I wanted galbi so it’s what we had.  Im so boring.

Before grubbing

After grubbing

Green tea killed my buzzz

Still feeling lightheaded from our dinner drinking we decided to walk over to the Hello Kitty Cafe in Hongdae.  It was all pink with a staff who speaks english.  I definitely killed my soju buzz with a green tea latte from the Hello Kitty Cafe.  For dessert we had a waffle with chocolate syrup and whipped cream.  All of which I devoured in seconds.  ahahahah

Hello Kitty Cafe in Hongdae

Green tea latte that kills your soju buzz

Towards the end of the evening after dinner, we stopped in a square in the park to listen to a  live acoustic band in Hongdae Square.    I really enjoyed it because the weather was so nice out and the band was playing a good mix of blues and rock.  Lurvved it!  It was cool and dry in the area that I was staying in.  The daytime, it can be a bit hot, but I never felt the weather was similar to what it was in Saigon.

The King threw phat parties at Gyeonghoe-ru

Gyeongbokgung Palace

The Joseon or Choseon Dynasty was found in 1392, and the Gyeongbokgung palace [...]]]>

The King threw phat parties at Gyeonghoe-ru

Gyeongbokgung Palace

The Joseon or Choseon Dynasty was found in 1392, and the Gyeongbokgung palace construction started in 1394, almost burning to the ground on some occasions only to be reconstructed and still stands erected today with beautiful Mt Bukak standing in the background.

More than 600 years ago, the founder established Seoul as the capital of the dynasty.   My friend told me that the original king picked the site of the palace  and was built so that it stood between the Han River and the mountains.  Before my friend could finish, I blurted out that it was strategically located with the mountains to the north and the river to the south for a reason—making it hard for enemies to enter the palace grounds or giving enough time to gather your troops.  You either had to cross the river or get over or around the mountains to attack.

How do I know?  I like watching those old chinese movies where the generals managed conflict and came up with different military strategies to outwit their enemies.  Yes, Im fobby like that.

My favorite part of the royal grounds was the area surrounding Hyangwon-jeong.   It’s an area where the royal family took refuge and relaxed comfortably.  There is a 2 story pavillion that’s on its on little island and only crossing a narrow bridge would you be able to reach it.  When I visited no visitors were allowed over the bridge.  Pooh.  Surrounding the little island were numerous lotus flowers in the pond.  My favorite part were the benches surrounding the pond, I was tempted to lay on one and take a nap but it became too noisy from another tourist group nearby so the nap was definitely out.  Pooh again.

What I really love about Seoul is that the city is very tourist friendly—I cant say the same about Tokyo sorry.  For those of you interested in taking a tour of Seoul, the city offers a wonderful bus service that includes pick-up and drop-off of 35 popular sites around the city.

Just think—1 ticket for the whole city.  There is no service on Monday and the best part about this service is that the bus tour’s audio guide is in English!!!! Yes! Also, Korean, Japanese, Chinese and French as well.   There is a tour guide on the bus also!

I didnt get to take the night tour which would have been nice but I had already reserved the evenings for soju with the girls.  All the tickets are under 12,000=$10 USD depending if you are an adult or child and whether it’s night or day.  That’s not bad considering the number of places you can go, but you need to plan accordingly as each tour spot may take a while to check out.   However, please note that the ticket price does not include the admission charge for any of the tour spots.   Most of the admission prices were around 3000 won = about $2.50 USD.  Check out www.visitseoul.net for more info.

Han Riverfront

View from the riverfront and Han River

After much walking around and sightseeing, I was tired and asked Jae-eun to take me to the riverfront to relax a bit.  There were people walking, biking, jogging, jet-skiing and yes, flying kites.  Im not a water sign, but when Im around a lake or beachfront area, I always feel at peace.

Galbi & soju in Jae-eun’s neighborhood

Before the girls killed it

After hitting up the Han riverfront we were hungry so decided to catch the bus to my friends neighborhood to eat.  You can never go wrong with grilled meat and fresh veggies along with a bottle of soju.

After we filled our bellies

Jae-eun after the bulgogi grill accident

Jae-eun got too excited while we were making a soju toast and accidentally rubbed her knee against the bottom of the hot grill.  The grills bottom was underneath the table so we constantly had to keep an eye on our knees while eating.  Unfortunately for her, she got burnt.  Sorry Jae-eun!!!

Pajeon & dong dong ju in Hongdae

My last meal in Seoul - huge pajeon with dong dong ju

Oh we werent going to stop since it was my last night.  We were full from our earlier bulgogi fix but after hours of walking around Hongdae and doing some shopping, we stopped at a bar in Hongdae to have pancheon.  This one was huge, greasy squid, green onions in a yellow batter along with a container of dong dong ju.  The dong dong ju is korean unfiltered rice wine.  It reminds me just a little bit of nigori but this one we drank out of bowl size cups.  It’s also very sweet.  We didnt finish it but the girls poured it into a water bottle and bought it back to the hotel for an afterparty.

Afterparty

What afterparty?  The girls and I returned to the hotel I was staying at to hang out.  I was on the computer and turned around at one point to ask one of them something only to find that they were both knocked out in my bed.  So what did I do?  Well, I didnt sleep thats for sure.

In the end I lost hours of sleep and it took me 2 days to recoup in Tokyo.  Go figure.

Earlier this month, my Aunt (Di Tu) asked me to go with her to a large electronics store in Saigon called Nguyen Kim, to help her pick out a new CD player.  I recommended that she buy a portable media player like an iPod instead since they can store hundreds of CDs; [...]]]>

Nguyen Kim

Earlier this month, my Aunt (Di Tu) asked me to go with her to a large electronics store in Saigon called Nguyen Kim, to help her pick out a new CD player.  I recommended that she buy a portable media player like an iPod instead since they can store hundreds of CDs; which means not having to swap out discs all the time.  Di Tu said that she would still prefer a CD player because she didn’t think she could figure out how to use an iPod at her age.

Nguyen Kim (63-65-67 Tran Hung Dao, District 1, HCMC)  is a huge electronics store in the same vein as Best Buy or Circuit City (R.I.P.).  They sell all the latest and greatest gadgets.  I haven’t been in a store like this since I left the U.S.  I was impressed with the size of the store and the large selection of gizmos.  They even carried the latest 3D TVs!

I asked one of the salesmen where the CD players were and he pointed to a small display near the center of the 2nd floor.  I could tell right away that they didn’t have much to choose from.  In fact, there were only 2 models….both were pretty cheap looking.  One of the CD players actually looked like a child’s potty training chair.  Di Tu was not impressed.  I asked her if she was ready to start looking at some MP3 players now….and she relented.

One of the CD Players looked like this

Nguyen Kim carries a bunch of MP3 players but no iPods.  Out of all the MP3 players in the store, I thought the “Sony Walkman” MP3 player was the best of the bunch, but my Aunt said that it looked cheap.  She liked the look of my iPhone so I told her that we need to find a store that carried iPods.  A quick search on Google pointed me to a couple of authorized Apple resellers nearby…..Futureworld (240 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, D3) and iCenter (142A Vo Thi Sau, D3).

Our first stop was Futureworld.  It is a really small shop that didn’t stand out much….if I didn’t know the address, I would have probably never noticed it.  They had all the typical Apple hardware on display, but as we were only interested in the iPods, we went straight to their iPod display.  Their selection consisted of the 8 GB Ipod Touch, the 160 Ipod Classic and the Ipod Nano.  Initially I thought about buying my Aunt an Ipod Touch since it has so much more functionality than other other two players….but as my Aunt only needed an MP3 player and the iPod Classic and Nano are so much easier to use I told her that it was probably best for her to choose among the other two.

My Aunt really liked the look and feel of the Black iPod Classic so we told the salesgirl that was assisting us to ring one up for us.  I knew something was wrong when 10 minutes had passed and our salesperson was nowhere to be found.  She came back after a little while and told us that they had run out of the black version and only had the white color in stock.  They were nice enough to offer us a free black case if we bought the white iPod, but my Aunt didn’t like the feel of the case and her heart was set on the black iPod…so we thanked the salesgirl for her help and decided to try out iCenter.

The iCenter on Vo Thi Sau is a beautiful store.  It’s about 3-4 times bigger than Futureworld and the layout inside is very similar to the Apple Stores in The States.  The iPod display was the first thing you see when you enter the store.  According to one of the sales clerks, they did have the black 160GB iPod Classic in stock…..the only problem was that the price was about 1,500,000 Dong higher than at Futureworld for the exact same iPod!!  The price was 8,399,000 Dong ($445) at iCenter and about 6,800,000 Dong ($360) at Futureworld.  Why is there such a huge difference in prices when they are both authorized Apple Resellers?  Whatever the case, there was no way we were going to pay such a huge premium for the iPod at iCenter.  You can buy a the same iPod Classic from Amazon for $225….and I already thought that the price at Futureworld was a ripoff.

So with a bit of disappointment, my Aunt and I headed home empty handed.  I promised Di Tu however that I would search the internet and try to find another place in Saigon that sells iPods.  That night, I spent a good hour online  scouring for places in Saigon that sold iPods,  but the few authorized resellers listed all wanted the same ridiculous price as iCenter.  I would have preferred to order it in the U.S. and have it shipped to Vietnam, but there have been a lot of situations in the past in which packages my mom has sent to my Aunt had been opened by the local postal service, so I didn’t want to take the risk of it getting stolen.

I knew there were probably a lot of non-authorized places that sold iPods in Saigon, but I had no idea how to go about finding them.  When I told my friend Huyen Anh of my predicament, she got on my computer to do her own search.  It took her about 2 minutes to find a place that had the exact iPod we wanted for only 6,399,000 Dong.  It turns out that you need to search using Vietnamese terms since most local websites are written in Vietnamese.  Duh!! I couldn’t believe I didn’t think of that.  I assumed that searching for iPods in Ho Chi Minh city was enough.  Apparently it makes a big difference if you add the word “mua” (buy) into the search.

A good place to buy electronics

One of the first stores that showed up on Google using the search term “mua iPod” is an electronics store called Thanh Nhan.  Huyen Anh said that she had bought stuff from them before and their service and prices were good.  Indeed their price on the iPod was by far the lowest of all the places I previous looked at and a quick call to the store confirmed that the black 160GB iPod Classic was in stock.

Early next morning, I headed out to Thanh Nhan (428-428 Bis Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, D3) to buy my Aunt’s iPod.  I was greeted at the front of the store by a salesgirl who asked me what I was looking for.  I asked her where the iPods were and she just gave me a confused look.  I excused myself and just started looking for the section of the store that sold MP3 players.  It was located just inside the front entrance to the left under a glass counter.  There was a friendly looking guy manning that particular area, and when I  let him know that I was looking for iPods,  he pointed to the display in front of him.  Unlike the previous stores I visited that specialized in all things Apple, the iPods at Thanh Nhan were mixed in with with a variety of other portable media players.  The store actually had more models of iPods than the Apple Authorized Resellers.

I told the friendly sales guy (Thach) that I wanted the black iPod Classic and asked if they could possibly give me an additional discount…knowing full well that this was unlikely with any Apple products.  He went and asked his manager but returned and told me they really couldn’t  lower the price more than 20,000 Dong (about $1), which is what I pretty much expected.  In addition to the iPod, I also needed some decent portable speakers, and a usb wall charger.  Thach spent a lot of time showing me a variety of speakers, filling out the warranty card for the iPod, and then helping me test out everything to make sure it worked before I left the store…all with a smile on his face.  I ended up getting Soundmax brand speaker which was only 300,000 Dong ($15), but sounds decent….and a Sony 5Volt USB wall charger that was also 300,000 Dong but didn’t seem to work on the iPod for some reason.

I left the store about 7,000,000 Dong lighter in my pockets, but was satisfied that this was probably close to the lowest price on iPods I would find in Saigon, and I was more than happy with the professional and friendly service at Thanh Nhan.  Never did I feel pressured to buy anything I didn’t need.  I would highly recommend this store if you are looking for electronics in Saigon…..ask for Thach (ph# 0917 747 277).

Getting good service in Vietnam isn’t something that happens very often so I really notice it when people go out of their way to make a customer feel welcomed.  Even in the instances where I have been provided with good service at other places, the employee(s) that provide the service usually seem pretty miserable.   It wasn’t until living in Vietnam did I realize the importance of having employees greet and smile to customers to make them feel welcome.  I guess I just took it for granted because most businesses in The States really focus on providing good service as a way of obtaining customer loyalty.   Hopefully more of the local businesses in Vietnam will realize the benefits of courteous and friendly service and this rare case of good service I experienced at Thanh Nhan is catching.