Shhhh! Don't tell mum!

My first permanent souvenir from Vietnam.

Motorcyclist in front of me decided to make a jackhandle turn, and I had to pull the brakes to avoid him. At the same moment, my front wheel was on a small wet patch. Plus the Nouvo's got disc brakes up front.

Sudden turn + Emergency brake + puddle of water + disc brake = Souvenir from Vietnam.

Good think I brought my M'sian helmet back with me. There was a deep scratch on the left side, right where my ear was. Had I been wearing the local helmet, I'd be known as 1-Ear Eugene.

Shhhh.... Don't tell mum. Nothing to worry about. I'm just fine and dandy.

Swimming at Dam Sen Waterpark

I had an enjoyable day today. I went over to District 11 to spend the afternoon at the pool.
Nice place, but it's kinda far, and there's too many families holidaying the weekend there, thus making it not possible for a peaceful swim.

However, I certainly got myself a tan. A reddish tinge that'll go off in a couple of days. That's my tan.

The next change I get, I'm gonna try a nearer pool. Still hoping to find a 25m lap pool.

Racing a Lamborghini

The darnest thing happened this afternoon.
A Vietnamese drove the Gallardo along the street to my apartment. I stopped the bike behind the car at an intersection. Bad mistake. The exhaust was so hot, it fogged up my visor.

But once the light turned green, the car just couldn't keep up with the scooter! There's just too many potholes and bikes on the road for the car to get anywhere fast.

Makes you wonder, why would someone want to spend the money on a Gallardo, whence the best they could do in this country is no more than 150km/h. There's no Autobahn here. Besides, there's no way he could hold the speed without ploughing thru a biker or two.

Another consideration, the rich is certainly rich. Foolish, but rich. The poor... well, you've seen my earlier post. The poor sells blood for cash.

Hai Anh Food & Drinks

In welcoming new members to the team, and for a good job done in a very short month, we took the opportunity to get the sales and finance team together for a lunch date.

Interesting food, at a cheap price. It's a meal worth having.

Professional blood sellers

Ever heard of such a profession? Apparently in the northern region of Vietnam, there are such people making a living selling blood.

These people mainly consist of the low income bracket, and guess what. They're paid VND600/ml of blood. That's roughly equivalent to USD37.50 for every litre of blood sold. Can you imagine that?

Check out the news article.

SMS down

I just can't stop getting problems, day in, day out.

My local line froze up. Or rather, I ran out of credit, so last night off I shot to the convenience store and got some reload credits. After following the English instructions, I managed to get the credit in.

But.... when I sent my smses, a message popped up, I need to subscribe to the messaging services. What the heck? Since when did I unsubscribe? Sheesh....

Now I need to get help to rectify my account.

Yippee...

Yippee....

Video call from home. That's a nice moment there. Happy to know everyone's ok at home. Pity JD's not around. This makes the living more bearable. I really gotto find out what sort of entertainment's available in this Country.

Now where can I find a pool to swim in? Hmm.....

Cable TV

Sigh.
The cable tv channels are down. We couldn't figure out why. We don't even know who to call to rectify the problem.

Gosh, can't we rent a house that doesn't trip every once in awhile, or the cable goes hay wire every once in a while, or the power gets turned off whilst you sleep, or the water comes out somewhat cleaner and fresher?

I'm trudging thru the days. I just suck it in and live the day. For a non-entrepreneur, I just feel my days ticking by. Probably because I've not found a clique to hang out with. I miss those guys back in Melaka. At the very least, we had a purpose, whence not working. We share common interests.

Signs of recovery

This is a good sign that I'm recovering. Appetite's back.

Sushi in USD. Ouch! No plates stack plates ala Sushi King here.



I didn't take this. My friend ordered. I just watch him eat. Still abstaining from the fried stuffs, just in case. Good discipline, eh.

I had this. Gosh, the bowl is rice could have fed two person.



And I had this.
The bill came up to about RM40 per person. Boleh tahan lah. Expected in such a joint.

Tous Les Jous

All The Jous

That's what the online translation dictionary explained. I reckon it refers to the variety of juices available, but then again, this is a bakery. Even if there's a cafe there, why jous? Why not flour?

Don't know what I'm talking about?

Do a search of the name. It's a Korean owned bakery, serving a variety of French styled breads. Go figure. I popped in earlier to pick up a couple of the bread, and by tomorrow morning, I'll know if it lives up to the hype. Pricy bread, but it certainly stands a class above the rest.

Relapse

The ulcers relapse.

Apparently the bacteria infection is worst than I thought. Now the ulcers got to my tongue. Two of it. Aaarrrgh, it's making the eating process twice as long, three times as hard.

Recovering

I'm feeling much better today.
The ulcer in the throat subsided, with only occasional throbbing pain late in the day (a sign my medication's due)

I even had baby's food for lunch. It was pork congee. But this congee's ingreedients were made like congee. So it was congee rice + congee carrot + congee mince pork. Mix it all together, and you get baby's food.

For dinner, it's congee again. But this time I was better prepared. Getting it from a menu in a Sino-Viet restaurant gives me the guarantee I'm getting the adult stuff.

One thing for sure, porridge in Vietnam certainly tastes good. I enjoyed every last drop of it. Yummy. Sorry, no pics. Sick people are excused from it.

Doctor with a sense of humour, by accident

I finally made my way to the clinic, and sought professional help for the ulcers and sore throat. This little clinic was nicely tucked away in a "hem" (small street), off the main road Hai Ba Trung St.

Dr Edgar was my physician. It started off fine. I told him about my ailments, and he did the usually stuffs like checking my temperature, breathing, heartbeat.... until he reached the knees.

"Cross your legs please", said Dr Edgar.
I cross my right knee over the left. He give it a couple of light tap with a rubber hammer.

"The other side please"
"Do you ride a motorcycle?"
The question came unexpectedly. I suppose he's trying to make conversation.

"Yeah, I do"

"Nouvo?"
At this point, my eyes nearly popped out of the sockets.

"You could tell my tapping on my KNEES??" I was bewildered. What sort of tricks was this? How could he tell?

He looked at me in the eyes. Unflinching, he replied,
"Your key's handing by the belt. It looked similar to mine. I ride a Nouvo."

You can imagine how stupid I felt then. Gosh, all those Panadols must have made me dumb. Of course he couldn't tell by tapping on my knees!

Oh well, we had a good laugh. For a moment there, he made me forgot about my sore throat and ulcers. So much for magicks.

New lesson

Oh gosh!
Everyday I learn something new.

Today's lesson:

Microwaved honey + water boils very quickly, and leaves a rather uncomfortable odour in the house.


Ha, so much for a cup of hot honey milk. I ended up with a cup of honey milk, at room temperature. 95% there, still good. And it certainly soothes the aching throat and in-mouth ulcers.

Awwww man, all those late nights have finally taken a toll on my body. Over a span of 3 days, I've taken 10 tablets of Panadol, to get the raging fever under control. All of a sudden, all the pent up heat boiled to the surface and attacked my immune system.

Needless to say, my first day back to work after the long break had been tough. I was half-groggy, and drowsy. Eventually had to take 1/2 day off to rest. Not much help, though I think the fever's subsided somewhat. Let's see if it's gone for good.

Now, I only have to deal with the ulcer in my mouth, and the sore throat.

Yeshhhh, I hate falling sick.

Happy Birthday, Mum

Celebrated mum's birthday today. It's her 60th birthday.

The Yee Sang dish. Auspicious, and taken to usher in prosperity.

All placed together, before the Grand Toss.

The Tossing. It is said that the higher the toss, the better the year.

After the Toss.

Longetivity noodle. A variant by the Restaurant.

Four Seasons Dish.

Tofu with Mushrooms.

Kailan with Prawns.

Mantis Prawn.

Mum's Blackforest Cake.

Happy Valentine's Day, everybody.

Year after year, people celebrate Valentine's day with flowers, chocolates, teddys, dinners and what nots. Some, even took the opportunity to propose for marriages (solves the anniversary and Valentine's expense, plus a guaranteed way of remembering dates!).

Earlier today, I saw one billboard message along the LDS by this one guy, proposing to his gal. Gosh, with a billboard that size, she sure can't miss it. So here's good luck to you, mate. I sure hope she says Yes.

So what's Valentine's day anyway? I'm certain this question had been explored again and again every year, and yet no one seems to be the wiser. So here's one source of history - fact or not, you decide.

Camelia,
Happy Birthday!

I got my new helmet. Something with a visor, thick padding and shades. Finally, something that I can feel safer in. Best part, it blends well with the bike. Nevermind it's not a fierce machine like a Harley or BMW. Scooter pun scooter lah.

Monopoly, Here and Now

By request, to Monopoly fans and patriotic citizens, Vote for your City in the Monoply site.

Click here - http://www.monopolyworldvote.com

The current list of Cities on the Leaderboard.

Siew Hwa,
Happy Birthday!

Jaimie,
Happy Birthday!

AN KHANG THỊNH VƯỢNG, PHÁT TÀI PHÁT LỘC!

Reunion Dinner, Chinese New Year

Ah, it's that time of the year again. Everyone in the family gathered around the dinner table, chaired by the grand old dame of the family. No matter that she hardly has enough teeth left to chew any of the food. To have all 4 generations at the dinner table together, that would make any old lady happy (delirious, but happy).





Those pics above are evidence that it's time for me to look at a SLR. Forget those image stabilisers nonsense that point-and-shoots provide. If the hands ain't steady, no computer chip could steady it. Better then to have the options of controlling the shots at my finger tips.

Not saying my Ixus 850 is no good. It's just not cutting it whence I need sharp pics, that it couldn't deliver.

Dinner @ Shogun, Sunway Pyramid

Yum yum, my birthday dinner. First meal back in Malaysia, and I become a glutton. No wonder I get fat. Sigh, food is just so plentiful back home.

333, Saigon Bia

There you go. Dad's gonna love this. 5.3%, Saigon Beer. Wonder what it tasted like. Don't ask me. I've not tried it. In Vietnam, I've been guzzling only Heineken, Cafe Sua Da (iced milk coffee) and a couple of whiskeys. Oh, and not to forget the standard Tra Da (local iced tea, served complimentary).


This my first attempt too. Not too bad. I seriously doubt the bird's nest content. But the texture is just about there. Snow Fungus feels the same too, ain't it?

Going home...

All my bags are packed, I'm ready to gooooo....

Yupe, I'm enroute home again. 2 whole weeks of being with my family and loved ones. Gosh, it's been 1 month since I left home. Time didn't fly by that fast, but then it wasn't slow either. There were days when I felt much had been achieved, and days that passed my eyes, wasted.

I look forward to home. The 2 weeks will be very precious to me. God knows when's my next trip back. 6 months, probably. Next trip, I'll come equipped with my PS2. I gotta find some weekend entertainment.

Beef Steak

Another type of Vietnamese dish. This is a beef steak, served piping hot on a sizzling plate.
This place is Nam Son Restaurant, located on Nguyen Dinh Chieu St, in District 3.

The dish comes with a serving of fries, baguette and salad. In Malaysia, such a serving would cost USD3 or 4. In Vietnam, this is USD1.50.

Many thanks to the Hygiene team for introducing the place and buying us lunch.

New Year's Dinner - Vietnamese BBQ

The Group of Companies's New Year dinner on the roof top. Vietnamese BBQ, with an assortment of good food. You pay to cook your own meal!

For about 70 people, the bill came up to VND10M, food and drinks.

Quan Nong Restaurant

29-31, Ton That Thiep Street

District 1