I had our first Hygiene family dinner with the Vietnam team. It was at a client's place (Photos below).
Mr. Duc, Mr. Vuong, Mr. Thanh
Ms. Hoa, Ms. Giang, Ms. Giac
Ms. Hai, Ms. Thu
Mr. Duc
Mr. Duc, Mr. Y
Mr. Alvin, Ms. Hai ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hahahaa.. I took a ride in the rain, with a pillion rider to boot.
We had to get the license plate for the bike. Halfway there, it started to drizzle.
But the effort's worth it. Bike got a number now.
.jpg)
See the key?
That's the key to my transport in Vietnam.
Now.... I'd need to find the machine that this key fits into.
Nope, no machine. The registration card is not ready yet. No plate number. No can use.
So what's this key for?
Hang it.
Look at it.
Maybe one day, I'll get to use it.
I know Joyce and Kate would be laughing and rolling on the ground. How did things turn out this way? Goodness gracious.
The next time I accept any foreign assignment, I better insist on a paid preliminary visit. Get things done before I touch down. Otherwise, I'm not going to start doing any work. No sirreee....
I was introduced to a website of vietnamese songs.
Apparently, the singers featured on the sites are the popular ones in the Country. Check it out in my music link.
An eye opening experience. I was invited to a Vietnamese wedding, of a colleague. Firstly, my Congratulations to Sonary.
The groom, Thanh Tra, and bride, Sonary.
A grand setup, in a large restaurant. This place could cater to two weddings simultaneously, each fitting about 50 tables. There's a raised runway leading to the stage, akin to a fashion catwalk. 
Appetizer. Spring roll, in fried rice paper, and prawns with snow fungus. An appetising dish, as the snow fungus had been tossed with sour sauce.
Second dish was fish, with chunks of meat and vegetables.
Third dish was crab meat, scallops and lots of vegetables.
Fourth dish, seafood again. It's a Vietnamese hotpot. Notice the pot's cover in the middle.
We had to wait for the soup to boil. 
Unique vegetables (or should I say flowers) for the soup.
Once the soup's boiled, the seafood goes in for a little cooking, and removed to the side. Then the vegetable goes in.
The meal is to be taken by soaking the rice noodles with the soup, and add the condiments of vegetables and seafood. My verdict: This is really, really good. Soup's sweet.
My room. No complaints.The extent of Vietnam became rather clear yesterday. It was my first excursion out of the city, and across provinces. I couldn't really list the names of provinces we passed (I was unconscious a large part of the way), but it's south of Saigon, about 3 hours drive, and located by a river that flows into Phnom Pneh.
Our client, a river cruise ship, that traverse two countries over a span of 7 days.
The Irrawaddy Flotilla Company.
To get to the cruise ship, we had to take the Caibe Tourist river taxi.
View of the Sun Deck.
The lounge on the Upper Deck.
Passenger cabins along the starboard and port side.
Dining hall.
My efforts at Stiching multiple photos, taken across a 180 degrees span.
This ship, and her sister, The Tonle, mainly catered to the western tourists who could afford the rates. These cruises do not have much facilities, unlike the Star Cruises that sails into international waters. No swimming pool, no jacuzzi, no casino, no movie theaters. All you get is a lounge to read, a sun deck for...errr.. sunning, pool table and people waiting to attend to your needs. Generally a cruise for retirees. Minimal excitement, lots of relaxation.
This is it. We finally found a place for the 3 of us. It's worth USD600.00, and it's fully equipped. 3 rooms, 3 guys.
Looks like the only place my visitiors can put up will be in my room.
As was the case in the past 2 days, the cacophony of horns blaring away woke me up early. People here do start their day like us. Traffic zooming along from 6.00am onwards. The unusual part, is the day's bright. Seems I'm not going to be able to get any sleep after 6.00am.
I'm starting to miss home. The nights in the hotel room is long and arduous. Not that my colleagues are not around to entertain. We've all had a long day, and longs for some rest. It's just that my internal clock registered it as way to early to sleep. Plus the lack of connectivity, the availability of National Geographic as the only English channel, plus the inability to move about on my own. This is like tying down a bird's wing. I long for my independance to move about. I miss my mobility. At times, it's rather strange how much a transportation would mean to a person.
Sigh, only time will help. We're still sourcing for a suitable apartment to fit the 3 of us. As is the case, proximity to town, and budget takes the priority. I only hope there's WiFi in that area. I can only hope....
Cafe, the Vietnamese way... time consuming. 
A local delicacy, found at every corner of Ho Chi Minh. Vietnamese burger!I'm writing this from my perspective, as a new foreigner in Ho Chi Minh. Possibly, it may not reflect what a local or long-stayed visitor would say.
I'm currently putting up in Phan Xich Long St (pronounced fan sik long). The Company to employ a driver for business use, and is at my disposal during my stay. However, they've overlooked the possibility that their visitor may want to travel without chaperone, and had neglected getting a driver that speaks English! So now, though I may want to go somewhere, calling the driver on the mobile, and communicating is near naught. Add the difficulty of pronouncing the names here...
This city is large. Perhaps nowhere near what I've seen in Jakarta, but then again, I've not seen it all. Till now, I'm still moving about in the Phu Nhuan District, which is located NorthEast to District 1, the heart of Saigon. On foot, it may take me about 30 to 45 minutes walk, amidst really chaotic traffic, reverse traffic flow, and swarms of motorcyclists.
The international airport, Tan Son Nhat Airport, in located to my east (Tan Binh District).
The environment here is truly a mixture of many that I've seen. People go about casually dressed in simple, none-branded clothes, yet some dressed up to their nines (ladies in particular) to walk about. The streets and buildings by the side reminds me of Bidor Town in Ipoh, but a somewhat larger and modern version. Most buildings along the streets are 3-4 storeys high, with build in lifts. It could be a residential, commercial, or combination of both. It is also the setting of the cheap hotels.
Walking about, you'll find many massage and spa joints, or beauty and hair wash parlours. Whilst I was assured that the business are decent, some do exude that dubious air of clandestine activities. Believe it, once pressed further, my guides do admit there are available services when asked correctly. Hahahaha.... what city wouldn't have.
For a tourist, the attractions would mostly be the buildings and sights of old churches, colonial era structures, the self-pampering services, and the food.
Speaking of food, I've seen the French cafes (couldn't pronounce the meal, what more stepping into one. Perhaps later...), the Japanese restaurants (tried one. Rather good, and fresh salmon to boot), the expatriate Singaporean restaurants of chicken rice, curry chicken rice, frog porridge (pricy places). No Malaysian fare yet, though I did notice Nasi Lemak on a menu in a Singaporean joint. Not seen the laksa, roti canai stuffs.
The beef noodle (pho, pronounced fer) is rather tasty. Stock soup, maggi like noodle, sliced of tender beed and raw beansprouts and fresh basil leaves. It's good.
The Main Street - Phan Xich Long
This is the Ho Chi Minh office. Initial's located on the 3rd floor, Rentokil on the 2nd floor, and some other businesses inside.I'm starting to see why my colleagues here tell me the Internation Driving License is useless here. Omigod! There's no traffic rules here! Everything goes.....
It's amazing how those motorcyclists could manouver around town and avoid collisions. Our driver was on full alert the whole time, observing right, left, back, front, right again, front again, oops, a motorcycle cut into the lane, left again...
This, is Driver's Hell. Survive this, survive anywhere else...
I've touched down in Vietnam, 3.40pm local time.
First thing I notice - the weather is somewhat warm and less humid. Very dusty, yes. It's currently in the region of 29C, and is said to be the colder period of the year. Uh oh...
My flight.
Hotel Cali, located directly opposite the office. This is my budget home for the next two nights, until the big boss comes back and sort out the accommodation.
I cannot really describe the use of the bed-length mirror on the wall ????
That's it. 2 bags, and my notebook. This is going to tide me thru the next 30 days, and 12 months to come. Let's see if I'm coming back with the same, or a 20 footer loaded with Vietnamese exports... hehehe...
I'm on flight MH 758, departing 2.45pm, ETA 3.40pm.
Cheerio!
The Mekong, Pandaw.