saigon adventures

last monday, i went to vietnam for the first time. unfortunately, i had very little time as we did not have a weekend to go sightseeing. we went back to manila last friday.

my first impression of ho chi minh city was that it was so like manila. i actually thought it was a bigger version of quiapo. there was even a jollibee branch at a mall near the airport! when you go out to the streets however, you won't find cars as you would in the philippines... you would find bicycles, scooters and motorcycles. and a lot of them, too! they were like an army of ants! :) another thing that caught my eye is the way they dress. it's not unusual for you to see a vietnamese woman wearing an ao-dai on a normal day. i also had a window-shopping feast with the assortment of bags, purses, shoes and dresses, all in vietnamese silk. some were hand embroidered, some beaming with beads. if you happen to have pocket money for shopping, it's heaven to go to vietnam. there was even a double-sided silk jacket that i wanted to buy. it was too expensive for me though, so i opted not to.

i would have loved to go around ho chi minh to see their temples and pagodas or ride a boat through the mekong river. maybe next time.

sight-seeing was not the reason why i went to vietnam, however. i had to go there as part of my new job. i thought i was going there just to listen to kleng and see how it is to talk to our client's suppliers. i ended up doing more than that --- i got to give one of the presentations myself. it was a humbling moment for me and i realized that i still have a lot of things to learn to be qualified for my new role. i need to be more assertive, more pro-active as most of the things i need could not be taught. they come with experience, something i hope to have in the near future.