A celebration of German Culture

Well, currently I'm waiting to enter the Oktoberfest in HCMC hosted at the Windsor Plaza.
Will report...

Update: Met one Vietnamese guy. Already very drunk after one beer. It'a bit funny to see how the german "Leitkultur" is brought to other countries.

Food is crap, beer is ok. 

Cross the street or die tryin'

I'm still amazed by the traffic here. Never seen anything like that before. As we were heading to the office 30 minutes earlier than usually, we were in the real rush hour of HCMC.
The big roads have normally 3 lanes. The left and middle lane for the cars and the right lane for the scooters. Interesting concept as you have to make your way through the scooter flow, when you want to turn right. When the traffic gets too much, people do not obey any rules here anymore. The scooters are than basically everywhere. Even on the different side of the road. Haven't seen any accidents yet. Of course the cars have many dents and scratches, but it seems to be a miracle that there isn't an accident every 100 meters. Nevertheless Vietnam has the highest death rate in traffic accidents throughout the world!
There is one possibility to get through this traffic without being blocked:
Be an official with a police escort. Then police motorbikes push all cars and scooters aside to make space for the limos of either diplomats or vietnamese officials. Looks quite funny. We saw one escort today on the way to the airport.

One thing is very challenging at the beginning! Try to cross a street! There is always traffic on the roads. So either you wait until you dare to cross the street (which might take hours) or just step on the street, make a very mean face towards the scooters and cars and make your way through the maze of moving vehicles. My first attempt the other day was really scary, and it took me several minutes to take a step onto the road. Now I've done that several times and I'm getting more and more safe doing it. But you'll never be comfortable crossing the streets. And there are very few pedestrian crossings or traffic lights for pedestrians, and if there are any, it's still questionable, that vehicles are stopping at the red light...

Still, this is part of the city, and it's a really living city. Looking forward to explore it more and more.

It never rains...

Well actually it does rain a lot in Ho Chi Minh City. Mornings are normally nice and sunny and then the rain comes in the afternoon. And then it rains so hard, that the streets cannot take the water anymore and they get flooded pretty quick.
Temperatures are currently rather mild (around 30 degrees centigrade). I'ts getting really warm then in March and April. Really looking forward to it... NOT!

Anyway, today was an interesting day. Had lunch in the Renaissance hotel, where we were invited from the Hotel Management. Pretty nice hotel I must say. They now make me an offer for an temporary membership in their Gym. Hope to get it soon, so that I can do some Sports again. Running in HCMC is basically impossible. First from a temperature point of view and secondly I don't want to crash with any scooter.
Afterwards we visited a supplier and after that we picked up tickets for the Oktoberfest inHCMC at the office of the GBA (German Business Association) where my Company is a member. Good, that I took my Lederhosen with me.
I will take our Trainee with me on Saturday (a 18 year old boy from Germany).

The more people I meet, the more possibilities there are. Now I found a few people who play Golf, and who I could join. Of course this will take a bit of time to evaluate...

We now drove a lot through the city, but still I'm a bit confused and cannot really orientate. I need now a bit of a hike through the city in order to get my way around and to finally get to know, where I really am.
However, I start to like the city.

Lazy day

Ok, I admit I'm lazy.
Yesterday morning we went to office. Working hours in Vietnam are from Monday to Saturday (Saturday from 8:30-12:00). Afterwards I went home for a little nap. Linda picked me up in the afternoon and we went grocery shopping together in a "super market" for basically only western/french food. So there is no need to worry. All beloved unhealthy stuff from Europe is available here.
Rest of Saturday was about to come down. Was enjoying to be a bit on my own and not having to go for dinner with someone.
Sunday Morning I wanted to hit a few balls. So I went to Him Lam Golf Driving Range http://golfauvietnam.com/him-lam-ba-son-golf-driving-range/
I underestimated the heat and humidity. After 100 balls I was completely sweat through. Nevertheless I decided to hit another 100 balls, not very successful. Hands are getting so sweaty, that it's becoming difficult to hold the club. And the result were a few blisters on my right hand. Nevertheless, it was good to hit a few balls and to know where the driving range is. It's actually in the city center directly next to river Saigon.
Nice experience there, and not too expensive. 100 balls are 140.000VND (roughly 7USD). Will definitely go there again. But better prepared and maybe even earlier. Quite many people are using the facility.
After a short taxi ride to home, I went to the little grocery shop next to my place. They have a very limited selection, but with mainly local stuff. Of course much cheaper than the french place. Luckily I have as well some kind of bakery next door call Tous-les-lour. Stuff there is not bad. You get white bread in decent quality. bread snacks and pastry. Good place to get some breakfast.

Anyway, I know I should take a look around through Ho Chi Minh City, but actually it feels good just to hang loose and enjoy the AC and some TV in the apartment. Still have some time left to get to know the city :)

Somehow arrived

I now have spent 3 days in HCMC. Still didn't see much. On thursday I went for a little shopping tour at the Russian Market, as I needed some shirts.
At first, when you walk in, it's a really messy impression, but digging a bit deeper, you find brand clothes, shoes, bags etc. for ridiculous prices (brand shirts for 12 USD, Polos for 9 USD). Of course you need to bargain with the sellers. That's part of the game.
Workwise, we are very deep in the handover process, but still will take some time. Part of the handover process is as well the networking. Linda (my predecessor) takes me by the hand in order that I meet all important people. Yesterday we've been invited to the German Unififcation Day celebration of the German Consulate. Well, I met quite some people there. And not only Germans.

(Me at the event, sorry for the bad quality)

After the official party, we took off to a nearby bar to have a few drinks with some Finns :)!

Saturday is working day in Vietnam, so we quickly went to the office this morning. Strangely not much going on...

So the plan is now, to keep contact with some people from yesterday, as some of them are playing Golf and they know as well their way around and can give me some advise.

Here just a short impression about the traffic in HCMC. But that is not much scooters yet.

Gooood Morning Vietnam!

October 1st, I started my day in Shanghai and flew to my final destination: Ho Chi Minh City!
Only 1 hour delay, which must be considered as on time in Asia obviously. I've been picked up by a few colleagues at the airport, as they were quite curious to know who will be their new boss. My predecessor Linda then took my to my temporary apartment, which is in the city center. Quite comfortable, with 1 bedroom, TV and most important: WiFi! So far no censorship here in Vietnam. Google and Facebook are not blocked.
Unfortunately I haven't made many experiences yet / couldn't see much of the city yet. This obviously takes some time, as the main priority is to take over the branch and get to know customers, suppliers and partners. Well, the traffic here in HCMC is amazing. Never seen so many scooters on the road. It's amazing how the squeeze through everywhere. Really looking forward to jump into that traffic with an own scooter :)!
Tonight I will be at an official event of the German Consulate because of the reunification day of Germany.

Hope to be able to posts some more experiences and pics soon!

The law of Harmony

The law in China is something which has a quite social aspect but nevertheless remains rather unfair. In case there is a car accident, it basically doesn't matter who caused it, but who is wealthier. Meaning, that the one who has more money has to pay. Especially if a westerner is involved normally the westerner has to pay, regardless if he is the one to cause the accident or not. There is one example of a man committing suicide by hitting an expensive car on the motorway with a scooter. The guy on the scooter did not survive, and the guy with the expensive car had to pay 100000USD to the family.

So I spent my last days in Shanghai and went for a little trip to the beautiful town of Zhujiajiao. This is obviously how the real China feels.