Vietnam and back to Bangkok

Sorry it has been so long since my last post. I've just been so amazingly busy. I wonder if anyone stills reads this!

I left off with a trip to Vietnam, a country that I had never really planned on visiting before I got this job and a country that I would definitely love to come back to. I stayed in Ho Chi Minh City for 3 days and wow, that city is just insane. It is a huge sprawl with no high rises and as many mopeds on the street as people on a New York City sidewalk. The traffic is just unbelievable and ridiculous. The sound of honking horns never stops, even throughout the late hours. Bangkok is way more developed, but I found the Vietnamese people just as friendly and the whole country upbeat with progress and optimism. I ate a lot of Pho and even got to try snake soup (without my knowledge at the time!) which tasted like mushroom/chicken.

I spent a few days going around HCMC, Da Nang, and Hanoi with some local Vietnamese that work with us visiting small shops and supermarkets and night clubs. It was such a great experience and I got to meet so many local people. In Da Nang and Hanoi I rode around at night on the back of a motorcycle and it really was a rush. I called my Dad from the moped and told him I knew why he came to Asia 30ish years ago. There are some really high class nightclubs in every one of the cities I visited. Some of them are filled with tons of very beautiful women that hang out at your table immediately and flirt/dance/drink with you. It's too bad 90% of the time they are working girls, but there is no pressure to pay for anything or do anything extra! Some of them speak decent English, others have a really limited vocabulary. "Very handsome," "I like youu," and "Where you from?" are pretty common, haha.

I came back to HCMC for a few more days after Hanoi and got to go out with some local Vietnamese that I met in the Q Bar, a very clique club in downtown. They drove me around in their mercedes until 5 am, twice! It was absolutely awesome, except the next morning when I had to work. One of the girls was flat out stunning, but also 29 years old. Actually all girls here look about 5-10 years younger than they are, it's crazy. I should really start lying about my age since to them I can pass for about 26. Side note: Most clubs in SEA play house/trance but about 1 in 5 play hip hop. I haven't been to a kareoke bar for fun yet but they are all over the place too.

During my travels in Vietnam I also met a lot of the Diageo guys working there from Ireland, France, Canada, England, NZ, and Australia. All a bunch of good fellas and we spend quite a few nights having beers over dinner. It was a really cool atmosphere.

Finally my work in Vietnam ended after a week and I got to go back to Bangkok, my suppossed home, after being gone for 3 weeks. I met up with a buddy from college, Pat Noonan, and so far after 3 days we have had a #$%^ing blast. The first night I took him to the sleezy area of Bangkok just to have a beer and take a look at the streets. He was horrified by all the ladyboys and scantily clad women catcalling us. I was actually horrified my first time too walking through there, but now I just find it kind of funny and actually non-threatening. It only gets annoying if a girl trys to grab your crotch, which happenned and we left shorty thereafter! Friday was a public holiday so we have been out everynight and meeting so many different people. People here are so much easier to approach and have a conversation with. In the US I felt that at bars people were a little more likely to stick to their friends or not be as open to random people coming up to talk to them. I guess there are too many creepos that just try to hit on girls in the States, but maybe there are a lot of reasons. Anyway, in SEA I have met a lot of locals, travelers, and expats that were never pretentious, judgemental, or uninterested. I'm really starting to love this place.

Finally moved into my apartment too and I love the location. We threw a little party the first night with about 5 people we met earlier. We just drank Johnnie Walker, watched some tv, laughed and talked - us two foreigners and these 5 locals, just like any small party I had been to in the States.

Noonan and I went to this huge weekend only market yesterday and they sold everything from fried frogs to ripoff abercrombie to TINY puppies of every breed, right in these little side shops. We saw this street performer there that could juggle a soccer ball with his head, chest, both feet, knees, for 20+ minutes while doing insane spinning, jumping, lunging tricks standing up, lying down, sitting down, and he never dropped the ball once. I could not believe it and I actually gave him some cash because that really took skill that I wish I had. He should be playing for a club team somewhere if his speed, fitness and accuracy are anywhere near as good as his ball control. At 6pm on the dot these loudspeakers started playing the Thai National Anthem and everybody in the whole market just stopped talking and froze in their tracks, looking towards the sky. It was like something out of the matrix. Then when the music stopped everyone unfroze, the noises turned on, and it was business as usual.

Still one more night before it is back to work on Monday. We are going to make it a big one. Miss you all!

Next Stop, Vietnam

I had a great week at work and an even better weekend. I've met lots of people and I seem to be kind of a popular novelty as the new young American guy. We'll see how long that lasts! Oh and you know what I found really funny - at a group dinner (non-Diageo) the other night I made fun of this girl who dropped some of her food with her chopsticks and asked her if she needed a fork, and another dude was like, "Ohhh the white guy just told you to use a fork!" In America if it was me and all white people I would likely be the "Asian guy" if race was ever mentioned in passing like that. Just thought that was weird - part of being mixed for sure.

The Singaporeans I've hung out with are all very friendly and don't hesitate to offer to show me around to the best places around the city. I'm definitely going to enjoy myself every time I come here, and I should be coming a lot.

I saw Babel today - really good movie but don't expect to come out of the theater feeling happy.

This weekend I tried some deer meat, cereal coated prawns, and another Chinese dish that had no description (probably better that way). Someone I know said "We Chinese will eat anything with its back facing the sun." I believe it. I was offered bird's nest for desert but hey, even I am not that adventurous.

I'll be heading to Vietnam on Tuesday for 8 days to do some totally different work from the project I am on here in Singapore. It should be a lot of fun as I'll be in Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, and Hanoi surveying the white spirits market on the ground. No more sitting at a desk or board room all day for a while! I kind of miss Bangkok since it will have been over 3 weeks since I last left it by the time I get back, but hey I'm not complaining. Loving the lifestyle so far, just wish some of you guys could be here. A good buddy Pat Noonan will be visiting me for almost a week after I get back to Bangkok - ohhh shit we are going to have some fun!