Soupergenius

Today was our final day on the island of Phu Quoc. I slept in a little and enjoyed the little bit of extra sleep. I went down to breakfast and found out that some of the guys were going into town to do a little shopping. I tagged along and brought my camera. Our first stop was a sea temple. There was a large rock that took on the shape of a turtle. They built the temple up on a larger rock that overlooked the turtle rock. I don’t know how old it is, but it was definitely very old. From there we traveled into the center of town and walked across a bridge into the market. The open air market is a very interesting thing. It is possible to find almost anything there. It was very crowded because of all the motorbikes driving down the center of the street and all the customers walking on the edges. I probably almost got hit at least 5 times or maybe even more. After wandering around for a little while, we got back in the van. I thought we were going somewhere new, but we went around the block and ended up at a dried fish store. We could have walked there faster. I tried the dried fish; it was very salty and very fishy. It was not a favorite flavor for me. I saw bottles filled with dead seahorses. I never considered them to be a food. Our next stop was a little souvenir store. They had some interesting items for some decent prices. Finally it was time to return to the resort to check out. Our flight home was uneventful and quick. It is only an hour, including taxi and landing times. We said goodnight to our co-workers and headed to the hotel to clean up and do some work. It will be an early night for us as we have a lot of work to complete before the end of the trip.

Today was mostly a rest and relaxation day at the La Veranda resort in Phu Quoc. We woke early for breakfast which was really good. They bake their own bread on the premises. We left to take a tour of the island. Our first stop was a place about the eagle and the dog. There is a Buddhist temple and farther up the hill is a small “zoo” with some Sea Eagles, Crows, and Phu Quoc Ridgebacks (dogs). These dogs roam wild all over the island. An interesting thing about the dogs is that efforts to breed them off the island have failed. They are very loyal and intelligent. After our stop here we ventured to a pearl farm, which was just a couple of buildings with a gift shop and some markers off shore where they dive for pearls. We stayed for just a few minutes and then headed to the other side of the island for lunch and beach time. The pearls here were much more inexpensive. It was a very pretty beach with very soft and firm sand. The water was cool and clear. We stayed for a few hours and I got sunburned again. One of these days I will pay attention to where I am. Our final stop for the day was a fish sauce factory. I have to say the smell was very unpleasant. Fish sauce is made by putting layers of fish and salt in a huge vat and then letting it compress over a year until the sauce/oil is collected and bottled. Back at the resort and there are more team building meetings before dinner.

 

We got up at 4:30 am to leave the hotel at 5 am so that we could catch our flight to Phu Quoc. This is an island off the southern coast of Vietnam. The island is home to small fishing villages. Where we landed, the airport barely can handle the 30 passenger turbo prop.. It took 15 seconds to walk into the terminal on one side and exit to the street on the other side. After we got all organized, we took a bus into town to get some breakfast. Surprisingly, they ordered bread and eggs for me. I don’t think they felt I could handle the local cuisine at this restaurant. After a little time there, we headed out to the resort. We arrived in a short while. It is located on the coast on a dirt road outside of town. We got our rooms, (i am staying with a developer from Vietnam) and I had some free time while they had a meeting. I used skype to chat with Christy and tried to upload some pictures. Lunch did not go very well for me. It was seafood soup, chicken wing stuffed with crab, and seafood fried rice. I tried the first two and skipped the third. Personally, I probably should have skipped them all. After lunch I did some work and then went for a walk on the beach. I was worn out after that as I did not bring any water on the walk. That was a rookie mistake. I did not realize how humid and close to the equator that we are. Lesson number one learned. Dinner was good. It was a buffet on the beach. I finally had steak and potatoes. I watched a little Sportscenter and relaxed.

Day 4 was another day of some interesting eatings. For lunch we ate a an outdoor/street type eatery. The food there was some of the best I have had so far. I still avoid ice and fresh vegetables though. The company got together for some photographs with the boss. Then they handed out the employee of the month award. For dinner we had Peking Duck. That is an interesting dish that I have never had before. I also took some pictures of the seafood that they had in the restaurant. After dinner we walked around downtown Saigon a little. It is nerve wracking trying to cross the streets. Only pictures would be able to explain why. We stopped to look at some motorbike helmets. They are very different from what we have here. I guess there is a reason they are only 25 dollars. Off to bed early for our trip to La Veranda on Phu Quoc island.

Well here we are well into the second day of work and I already have eaten more seafood in the past day and a half than I have in the past couple of years. They know I will not eat it if I know what it is, so I have eaten a lot of “steak” and “pork”. Very funny isn’t it. Anyway some of it is ok, while others definitely are needed to be forced down. The funniest thing is that all the girls within reaching distance of my plate kept putting food on it. They sort of guilted me into eating a bunch of food I would not think of trying. The food was from the central Vietnam cuisine. The food was softer and stickier. There was this one dish that had sticky rice, and to me it was like eating glue. I still have a difficult time with communication, but it is a little better. It is interesting that I have been told that I am handsome by a few of the girls in the office. They sure are not shy about what they say. I take it in stride and just say thank you. I have seen some interesting sites, but keep forgetting to bring my camera along. I am going to be more diligent in taking pictures. I need to document everything that I see so that I will be able to remember this in the future. In the evening we went out to eat and drink. Everyone else had their beers poured in glasses with ice. I just drank a warm beer. I did not eat much because I was a little concerned with the dishes at this restaurant. The main dish had young pigs legs and bamboo. I thought it was the meats that had a strange smell, but it was the bamboo that gave off an interesting, yet unappetizing odor. It was another night of not going to sleep past 11. I am getting pretty tired, but it is still very exciting.

Today was our first work day. Most of the day was spent in meetings, but we did go out to eat for a good lunch and a good dinner. The first place served both Vietnamese and Italian foods. You could get fish soup and pizza if you wanted too. The dinner resteraunt was a place run by an American who moved to Saigon to open a resteraunt. That was really good as well. The thing that is so strange here is the number of scooter/motor bikes. I askes someone and they said that there are 10 million people and 4 million own scooters. Traffic is crazy with cars and taxis constantly honking and scooters running through intersections in large packs. Hopefully I can get a good picture up before too long. Another interesting fact is a lot of stores have multiple levels of living quarters above them. Also a lot of places have lots of scooters in them. I am suffering from jet lag and need to get some sleep so I will make more observations later.

Vietnam 2007

12-3-2007

Day 1 – Travel

It is 3:25 and we are flying above Canada I think. We have been in the air for almost 4 hours, and it should be another 9 until we get to Narita airport in Japan. My new headphones make my ears hurt, but I was able to watch Ratatouille. It wasn’t too bad, and it was a nice way to pass a couple of hours. I miss home a little already, but know that this trip should be really fun and educational. I passed on the first in flight meal since I had a sandwich from Potbelly’s before we took off. I don’t know how much I should sleep on the flight or how that it will affect me once we arrive in Saigon. The seats are surprisingly small, but the good news is on the first long flight I have emergency row seating, which gives a little more leg room. I don’t like how narrow the seat is. I guess I have grown a little wider since my last flight. I will probably grab a book soon and try to read and hopefully be able to post this in the near future.

 

Around 6:00 we flew over some really big ice packs. It could have been the bearing sea. I hope that my pictures from my phone are god. I also saw a house or building of some sort on the edge of the water with nothing around it. We had a short business meeting, but without power it is pretty hard to do any real work. We have been flying for 8.5 hours and I am getting pretty bored. I just watched No Reservations and am getting ready to watch The Outsiders. More blogging later.

 

We arrived in Narita Japan around 2:00 pm Japan time. This airport does not seem very busy. I have noticed that it seems to be oriented to please the American traveler. Of course this is just my opinion. I wish that there was free wifi here, but there is some cost for it. The bar we are waiting in serves hot dogs and Guinness. They are also playing American music. The TV is showing an American concert and CNN was on earlier. I got a sports drink called Aquarius. It is pretty good. We will be here for about 3.5 hours and then off to Saigon. Maybe there I will be able to post everything. I need to try to stay awake on the next flight, as we will not get in until 11 or 12. I also need to get an adapter for the electricity. I knew there was something I was forgetting. Until later.

 

12:00 and we have made it through immigration. We landed at the new terminal in Ho Chi Minh and it is pretty nice. The weather is pretty humid here and the cab drivers are kind of pushy, but we have a van from the hotel picking us up. We stopped by our office here on the way to the hotel.

It has been a month and I have not been inspired to write about anything lately. I am going to visit the wonderful country of Vietnam soon though. I plan on bringing my video camera and maybe a point and shoot camera as well. I don’t know how much sightseeing I will get in since it is a work related trip, but it will give me something to write about while I am there. I have started getting my supplies together, but I do need to do some clothes shopping, since I am representing management while I am there. I guess I need to dress the part. I also need to get some luggage, but I will probably pick that up closer to the time I am leaving. Hopefully the flight will go by quickly. That is the main thing that is not something that I am looking forward to, the 24 hours of travel each way.

It looks like version 2.3 of WordPress is available. I always have been an early adopter of updates and upgrades of software programs, but I am happy with how this product is performing right now. The last time I did an update of my gallery, it took a long time to get everything back up again. You would think I would be smart enough to backup everything before I do something like that, but there is no excitement in that. When I do get around to upgrading, I will post if I have any problems and the solutions that I use to correct them, but it should be pretty painless, I think the biggest issue will be to make sure all the plugins are working with the new version before I begin the upgrade. At least that make the most sense to me.
I want to comment on the recent steroid controversy involving Marion Jones and the drug test that Travis Henry alledgedly failed, but I think that everyone is already going to talk and analyze and overthink both situations.

I am watching the Bionic Woman and to me it does not look as sharp as some other shows that I have seen. Sports in HD on ESPN look fantastic and I kind of expect other shows that claim to be HD to actually look as sharp as that. Also a lot of shows on National Geographic look outstanding as well (even some that are not hd!). On a different tangent, Reaper is turning out to be a really funny and original show. Also Dexter started back up this past weekend and is as good as ever. My current rankings of tv shows would be
1. The Shield
2. Rescue Me
3. Dexter
4. Weeds
5. Reaper
Finally, I have been reading a lot about the Chesapeake Bay Restoration Project, and it is good to see all the different projects that are taking place. The most recent that was reported in the Washingtonian was the attempt to replant Sea Grasses like eel weed in the bay and it seems to be taking hold. I don’t know why, but the health of the bay is something that has really piqued my interest.
The Washington Wizards are in training camp and the Buffalo Bills won a game….YEAH.