Career Change?

No, I doubt I will change my job any time soon.

But, I may take on a teaching job (not career). Lan--I call her chi Lan, now (big sister Lan)--introduced me to a man, named Mohan. He is planning to open a (professional development) college. English teachers are in demand here, especially the viet kieu type ('American' Vietnamese) such as myself. So, the other night, I had sushi for dinner with said man and Lan. (By the way, Sushi is not bad--first time trying it here in Saigon). Afterwards, we went to have drinks along with a couple of his friends at the Sheraton...

Neighborhood:
Apparently, Lan's bar (Heart of Darkness, on Le Thanh Ton street) is in the neighborhood where there are lots of Japanese people along with many other ethnic groups. (She's got an excellent location for her bar). Aussies most commonly frequent the bar. Rent is about $200-$250 USD, on average, with decent security. If I move out of my aunt's home I would more to District 1 where most expats live.

Japanese cuisine:
Like I said, it's not bad. Fresh. I must try a few more restaurants. Price is still cheaper than it is in San Francisco. And, portions are only a little bit smaller. Sake is cheaper and deliscious.

Mohan:
He's nice. I think we get along--like-minded, regarding travels and family. He was in Business Development for Band of America. We talked about the cities/countries he's visited. We're in discussion about me working in his soon-to-open school as a teacher or perhaps a salesperson/recruiter. I'd accept if the schedule/price is right... I'm looking for a schedule that's more flexible than what I have at IITS-VN so that I may travel. :-}

Sheraton Hotel:
On the top floor of the Sheraton is a club/lounge with live music. It's fancy for Saigon. There are, however, many 'escort' girls there, dressed nicely. Much eye-candy! (Cute guys seem to be rare in VN). We had drinks there, after the sushi dinner, where I met two of his friends. One is a lawyer. The other is in biz-dev for the tobacco company that produces Lucky Strikes and Cool. I learned interesting tidbits, from the tobacco guy, about distinguishing between authentic and counterfeit cigarettes: 1) squeeze the filter portion of a new pack and you'll hear squeaks sort of like crinkling plastic; 2) check for packaging details (i.e., embossed logo, etc.).

Change of Lifestyle

Back in the US, I never cared for manicures/pedicures, much less going to beauty salons. Well, I now have this little sister:
Phuong Anh
...who has gotten me into makeup and beauty care. Phuong Anh is her name. She’s the younger sister of my sister-in-law, Phuong Nhat (Jennifer). Here's a picture of my brother, Peter, driving a scooter--the most common form of transportation in VN--with Jennifer sitting behind him:
Getting around

Phuong Anh is about 7 years younger than me. She’s my height, or a little bit taller, and weighs under 80lbs (38kg)! But, man, she can kick ass! She has a black belt in Tae Kwon Do. During her high school years, she won championships for the city of Saigon. She’s like a little Lucy Liu! At the moment, Phuong Anh is studying cosmetology.

Anyway, so now, I go to a salon once or twice a week to get my head, facial, and back massage with a manicure/pedicure as needed. With painted nails, eye makeup and lipstick, I feel so girlie! I blame it all on the sister-in-law and my newly adopted younger sis…And, maybe my newly adopted auntie, Ngoc Lan (Lan), as well.

Lan is a about 5 years older than me and maybe my height, or slightly taller. Men swoon over her. She owns a bar in downtown Saigon called Heart of Darkness. I now play bartender there on Fridays/Saturdays. I’ll try to put up a website for the bar with pictures in the near future. Both Lan and Phuong Anh have been wonderful taking me out to dance clubs and yummy eateries. Lan likes the street food, like roasted snails and mollusks:
vendor foods
(sorry, the picture is not so clear), along with the fancy restaurant foods. I like street food as well, but I think I’m too anal about cleanliness to want to eat street food often. Since everything is so cheap here--in comparison to the US--I rather pay a bit more for cleanliness.

Speaking of pay, I’m currently working as a Project Manager for a software development company. (See http://www.iits-vn.com). Their IT branch is here in Ho Chi Minh City (a.k.a., Saigon). I like that the job provides fundage for my travels. But, I think I will switch to teaching English, where I can have a more flexible schedule for my adventures. After all, the plan was to travel (up and down Vietnam) and to learn to speak Vietnamese.

Travels So Far…

Aaargh! I’ve just accidentally deleted a bunch of photos of my first outing in Vietnam. Well, at least I have them in print. *Maybe* I’ll have time to scan those for uploading to my website one of these days. Ugh.

During my first week in Saigon I went with a group of 10 (friends and siblings) to Mui Ne, a coastal town known for its beach resorts. It’s only slightly cooler along the coast compared to inland. My guess is it was at least 90 degrees (F) along the coast. The sun feels a lot closer and hotter, of course, as we’re near the equator. I got sunburned even with sunblock on. I had a great time wading in the tides and jumping with the waves. We stayed at the Saigon Mui Ne beach resort, which had lots of greenery (trees, grass, etc.). It’s nice and clean. I’d recommend it. We also visited an area in Mui Ne where the sand/hills/dirt were red. The name of the area escapes me now. We also visited some sand dunes, which were of decent height for sandboarding. But, it was way too damn hot for any strenuous activities—except for swimming in the beach. (Pictures accidentally deleted. Arrgh!).

During my second week, I went to Cambodia. We visited Phnom Penh, the capitol of Cambodia, and its tourist attractions like the Royal Palace--which was beautiful! The London Royal Palace can’t compare--, and the Terrorist Training facility of the Pol Pot regime--which was deeply disturbing. Pol Pot was a twisted, sadistic man. Quite the Asian Hitler!

I was surprised to find that Cambodia was even more poor than Vietnam--Siem Reap excluded. There’s not much to see in Phnom Penh. The buildings are old, circa late 60’s. Siem Reap is basically a tourist city where the Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom temples reside (see more on Cambodia). The temples, among the seven--or, now, ten--wonders of the world, are worth seeing in person. (My Cambodia pictures at http://www.qandco.com/photos/Cambodia0504).

What am I doing in Vietnam?

I am now living in Ho Chi Minh City (a.k.a., Saigon), Vietnam--my birthplace which I left in December of 1978. This is the 2nd time I've been in Saigon.

Two main reasons:
I'm here to improve my Vietnamese speaking skills--expand my vocabulary.
And, to travel around this part of the globe (Asia, Australia, Indonesia, etc.) more easily.

I've been in Vietnam (a.k.a., VN) for nearly four weeks now. So far, I've visited a few beach resorts/towns in southern VN, and I've visited Cambodia. More on that later... At the end of June, I'm hoping to visit a friend in Singapore before she moves back to San Francisco for grad school. And, I'm hoping to visit Manila in mid-August. More on that later, too...

Contact info while in Vietnam

I arrived in Saigon, Vietnam on April 25th. Since then, I have not had any time to sit still and collect my thoughts and make a journal entry, until now.

My contact info:

~address~
122/11 Dang Van Ngu
Phuong 14, Q. Phu Nhuan
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

~phone~
[mobile] (+84) 090 929 6660
[voicemail] (415) 462 2945

~email~
*I check them all*

~IM~
yahoo: sc12een
msn: qtluong@hotmail.com