Dinner by the beach

Ganh Hao, a seafood restaurant by the beach. The menu is endless, with a fair selection of wine, catch of the sea and unique meat.

Stir fried baby octopus (I think). It's much too small to be a cuttle fish.

You eat it raw, wrapped in ..... raw greens.

Fresh oyster, dipped in soy sauce and a whole tube of wasabi!

Fresh succulent prawns.

This, is the unique dish that I had been waiting to try. A type of fish, grilled to perfection. It's said to be available only at this part of the Country. However, I couldn't get a name for it, be it in English or Vietnamese. Hence, it shall be known in this blog as Vung Tau Fish!


Cross section of it. The taste is rather unique - somewhat stringy like frog, but tender like eel, yet with a backbone that's very hard.

Fried chicken wings, for the kids.

Hot pot of baby oysters in rice gruel (congee).

Check out the baby oysters. Without a doubt, this method of cooking certainly brings out the sweet tangy taste of oysters, all soaked into the gruel. Yummy....

Now imagine. Double every dish except the fresh oysters (that's 10 pieces), plus a bottle of red French wine, fruit juices, soft drinks for eight adults and 2 kids.

VND 1,100,000. Equivalent to RM220+.

Gosh, eat this back home, and it's gonna hit the wallet for RM500, minimum. Plus, the locale's a tourist stretch, it's a huge building, 2 storeys plus boardwalk dining. Now that's value for money.

Vung Tau Beachside

Banh Canh

Banh Canh, another variant of pork noodle of Vietnam. This time, I was brought to Vung Tau, located south of Saigon. This, is a seaside town, with a very long stretch of beach.


As usual, the raw greens to accompany the main dish.

Typically, the soup's really sweet, no doubt a contribution by the bones. The noodle's a little like the Malaysia "lou shu fan", only longer. And it's soft with a little springy feel to it. You get slices of pork, or for the extremists, you may ask for the bony ribs.

King of Fruits

The fable of the King of Fruits.

It has long be acknowledged that this spiky, nauseating, pungent and lethal delicacy of the Asian world represents the King of Fruits. I do not know why, but having seen these on sale at a street market, I've concluded that SIZE does matter.

From a distance, it does seem rather large. Compare that against the lady's head in the background. It's at least 20% more than what's on her shoulders.

The monstrosity, pictured against a 4" camera case. Imagine this thing landing on a person's head. *Coffins can be built 1' shorter*

Such a pity, the weather's too warm to consume this. I would definitely have loved to sink my teeth into the thick flesh. For the pros, the smell's not that distinct, even up close. Guess it's nowhere like the village variant from back home.

Annual increment

Right about this time, almost everyone would have received notice of their salary increment. It's always been a norm for many, that the increment hardly ever makes a dent in their paycheck. Afterall, what's an increment anyway?

The general workforce had gotten so used to raising their hands and seek increase pay, that the question to ask had been forgotten.

• Had I done extra well, extra work, and taken on extra responsibility to earn a salary increment?
• Am I asking for an increment in line with the geographical economy?
• If I had done the same work throughout the years, do I deserve to seek an increment?

Naturally, no one had bothered to ask these. It's always...

"Year's up. How much is my increment this year?"


What do you think?

Lei kong mot ye?

The group came in, 5 strong. An entourage of ladies, yound and matured, led by a man his late thirties probably.

I didn't pay them much notice, though by their looks, not a local for sure. Until they started to place order for dinner. Somehow, the cantonese reminded me of home.

I sneaked a glance over my shoulder. The lady looked my way. I smiled. She smiled. Fellow Malaysians, I told my dinner mate. No Singaporean can speak Cantonese that way.

She came by to say hello. Her name was Kim. We had a chat.... Ahhh... indeed Malaysians, on a short visit to Saigon. Their purpose, the introduction and setup of Amway.

What makes this encounter unique, was the coincidence of whom she knew. Apparently her brother in law, was none other than a familiar name in Rentokil Initial - Yong S. F. (I hope I got the spelling right). Small world. Six degrees of separate indeed.

We chatted for awhile. Kim was forthright, explaining about the opportunities from Amway. I know I wouldn't commit, not my cup of "tra da", so to speak. But it was a pleasant enough talk. Nice meeting you guys.

Article on Cu Chi Tunnel, The Star, 22nd March 2008

http://www.thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2008/3/22/lifetravel/20670644&sec=lifetravel

I've been here 2 months plus, and I've heard of this tunnel every so often. Whilst not that difficult to imagine, I'm starting to wonder if it's worth the trip at all.

Anyhow, the article in The Star is a fascinating read. Check it out.

Taking a dip

I spent this morning swimming at Ky Dong St, a public pool of reasonable cleanliness. Not too big a place, with a 25m lap pool. Good thing the children's pool is separated from the main.

It was only today, I see the apathy of the people here. Not only they do not care when riding a bike, they basically do not care as a person! Perhaps brain supply was a little short during distribution.

What idiot, would stand in the way of a swimmer doing lap in an empty pool, and kept doing it? I seriously doubt that is stupidity. There's plenty of space, and water for everyone, and he had to use my path, for swimming lessons.

Well, I don't give s**t when I'm pissed. Too bad if he's got a sore back. That breaststroke kick of mine would have made a PADI instructor proud. *Idiot*

What's the cause of staff turnover?

I remember reading an article, which did a survey on why good employees leave a Company. Of the many reasons cited, the main, and by far the largest percentile, claimed that they do not see eye to eye with their immediate superior.

Not because of benefits.

Not because of overtime.

Not because of the Company, sans the illegal or its many quirks and incapabilities.



It's because of a poor leadership that is factored by many little, little things. Someone once told me, "Do not be loyal to the Company, but be loyal to the Brand". I think, I choose to be loyal to the leader, and nothing else.

I believe in a strong leader. Who works with integrity. Who is decisive, for the right reasons, and is willing to uphold the decision. Who will not push the blame, whence the authority resides with them.

But when the leader leaves,....



I guess this is how loyalty is built. And from this, you will see if all those years you've given had been appreciated.

Too nice to play dirty

I am too nice to play in the intricacies of the Corporate world. I say this because I abhor politics. Because when I play the game, people get hurt.

I'm a go getter. I create miracles. I make things work. I strategise to win a battle, not strategise to kill my generals in the battle, and win it.

I hate it when we create, give, and then take it all away.

Breakfast ala Vung Tau

Discovered another place for breakfast today.

It's called Am Thuc Co Ba (Am Thuc being Restaurant). This place served food from the seaside province town of Vung Tau. Check it out at Cao Thang Street, District 3.

Fresh salad and fish sauce to go with the main dish.

Vinegar sauteed carrots, spring onions and some other stuffs to garnish.

Rice cake, oil fried with fillings of minced port (above) or boiled shrimp (below).

Cafe Sua Da, the local milk coffee - Before

Milk coffee - After

An excerpt taken from The Star, 12th March 2008:

"MALACCA: Although assuring continued development in Malacca, newly sworn-in Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam said the “drive” to spur development within the city may be disrupted.

Mohd Ali said he would have to “think twice” with regard to new projects coming into the city as hopes of making it a more vibrant one had been dashed owing to DAP’s control of it.

“We wanted to develop it further but the rakyat is not so interested.

If there are new things (projects), maybe I have to think twice,” he said, adding that he would not shift projects which had been previously earmarked."

Moving down the page...

"“I had a vision to brighten and liven up the city but this drive (semangat) may be disrupted now,” he said, adding that that was the reason for his appeal for voters to support Barisan in the polls."

Why say such things?
Is accepting a new "partner" to manage the "corporation" such a bad thing? Is sharing the Vision a big no-no now?

The article reeks of emotional blackmail.
Isn't it no different from saying "I can't invite you to my gathering, because you had refused to cheer for my when I trounced the class clown"

A leader leads with grace. Not take mandates to the heart.

Read the whole article HERE.

Air Asia commenced flights to Ho Chi Minh!

Yippeee!

Malaysia's premier budget airline had commenced flights to Ho Chi Minh, after a long long wait. I could now make trips back more often, at a quarter of the price I pay via MAS.

Did a rough calculation, a return flight plus tax and surcharges should cost around RM500.00. Now that' a better deal than the National airline. Besides, the plane's the same. And the meal's nothing to shout about. So I am not losing out in anyway.

Gosh, finally some good news....

Breakfast at Creperia

Jo will love this. A warm baguette of grilled chicken meat, fried egg, and vegetables. Plus salad tossed in Italian dressing... mmmmm... yummy.

Plus a cup of caffe latte... heavenly.

Reality hits when the bill comes - VND 124k = RM 25.00
Now that's really some lunch. Oh well, once a week, I think I earned the meal.

Unscrupulous parking rates

An interesting article in the VietnamNet.

HCM is having parking problems due to acute shortage of parking space. This opens up opportunity to unscrupulous parties to take advantage of the situation, by overcharing blatantly.

What's interesting, is the way the Government plans to tackle the problem. Random raids, they say. That is good. That keeps the attendants in check.

But one question - will the raiding officers accept bribes, and walk away?

Will the problem gets solved for sure? Afterall, this IS Vietnam.

Healing...

It's 2 days after the accident.
My wounds are drying. However I think there's going to be some scaring.

It's so unfortunate. I can't find any antiseptic cream at the pharmacy. The iodine solution is not effective in softening the scab.

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.