You Teck's Blog

Day 1 in Vietnam- Ho Chi Min City

Posted by You Teck - 28/12/08 at 11:12:49 pm

16-Dec-2008

Time:  5.45 A.M (GMT +8)

Nothing much happened during our flight from Singapore to Ho Chi Min City other than some slight flight delay and Byran needing to change some money at the last moment.

We left cloudy Singapore to reach a sunny Ho Chi Min City at around 10 A.M (Singapore Time).  We lingered around the airport for a while to find out more information about the flight to Phu Quoc but decided not to make any decision because the agency couldn’t let us know if there were hotels available. I mean we know that there would be hotel rooms available but without knowing the rates and how it looked like we didn’t really want to jump head first into the water (although we already did so without booking a hotel in advance).

With no hotels booked in the city, we booked a cab and got to the hotel (A & Em Hotel)  Bryan friend’s recommended. En route to the hotel we had first hand experience of the traffic conditions and it was a huge mess.  Horns were sounding off everywhere and I guess that they had to do it because of the need to caution the huge amount of motorcycles that are running in the streets.

Time:  1100 A.M (GMT +7)

We got the hotel  at around 1100+ A.M and I thought that we were lucky when the receptionist mentioned that they have available rooms.  Upon checking the rates of the room, I realized the cheapest twin bed option they had was at 60 USD per night and I thought that it would be pretty redundant for us to stay in that room if we were to only stay for a night (We are still finding out ways and means to reach Phu Quoc). Thus we chose the single double bed room ($35 USD) and make base there (It’s kinda gay but we’re both straight).

The first thing that we decided to do was to walk around the streets and find some nice food before deciding on the next path of our journey. We didn’t have a map yet but I thought that we could easily navigate through the streets by remembering the turns and landmarks (Yes, we did found our way with ease. Thanks!).

We walked a couple of streets but still could not find a eating outlet which capture our attention. It was at this time that we passed by a hairdressing outlet that has a lot of hot girls dressing very skimpily. Any ordinary man would have been sucked into the salon but not us for we are no ordinary men. Well the truth is we are pretty hungry and we didn’t really want to hang around much longer till we find food.  No pictures taken but I codename it as The Harem.

At last our walk have brought us some result for we saw a eating outlet with the subtitle Vietnamese Broken Rice.  The restaurant was named MOC and their food was extremely affordable and nice. I had grilled pork chop rice and it cost me around $2.40 SGD.  The portion wasn’t really huge but it was enough for me to get by the day.

Feeling satisfied from the good lunch, we decided to pop by a few shops we saw before heading back to the hotel. I needed a slippers because walking around in jeans and shoes wasn’t really advisable due to the humid weather. We pop into Ben Thanh market and got one a pair our slippers for $1.60 SGD. There was nothing special about the slippers but I needed one to move around freely and I’m happy that I got one at a low price.

Byran needed to take a short nap when we went back to the hotel as we were feeling a little lethargic from the lunch we had earlier, I duly obliged. Afraid that we might miss out on our journey, I woke him up 30 min later as we still got a job to do (Book a flight to Phu Quoc).

Time: 1530 (GMT +7)

Over at the travel agency, we got the dreaded news that all seats for the flight to Phu Quoc were fully booked for the date we wanted. I guess the nap option was a mistake on our part and we would have so screw up if this was the amazing race. Then again it’s not and we’re here as backpackers on a holiday. Amid the chaos I remembered that my colleague mentioned another seaside beach named Nha Trang and voila, there was seat tickets for the date we wanted.  We booked our tickets for 99 USD each (round about) and the hotel at 50 USD a night.

For one reason or another we were sometimes mistaken as a local there and it wasn’t until we started to speak then they realized that we are not. We asked for the type of places we could visit and we were directed to the water puppet show. As it was still early, we decided to drop by the War Remanent Museum to have a look.

Time:  1645 (GMT +7)

We got stuck for around 30 min as we couldn’t find the way to the museum and we finally found the place when a kind Japanese expat working there led us to the place. It was a little late when we got there as the place closes at 1700 (Every museum closes at 1700). We didn’t have a good look around the place but a local staff was gracious enough to help us take some pictures.

Time: 1705 (GMT +7)

With some time left before the start of the water puppet show, we decided to visit the Notre Dame Cathedral. Nothing much happened other than the fact its closed (Closed at 1700).

Time: 1720 (GMT +7)

Here are some pictures of Ho Chi Min City Post Office.

Time: 1745 (GMT +7)

Sensing it was about time to hit the water puppet show, we made our way to the theater. On the way there, we spotted a really cool bar that has an Eiffel Tower designed entrance. We didn’t checked out much because we were kinda of in a hurry.  Upon arriving, we realized that the starting time of the show were at 1830 and we were earlier by half an hour. With nothing much to do, we decided to flash our camera and took random shots.

I’ve got to say that they got 2 really cute girl working there and we would have took a picture together if not for Bryan’s poor technical skills with his camera. We were preparing to take a picture and that’s when Bryan was experiencing IA (a term we use in the army for jammed rifle) and our chance was blown when there was a huge bus load of tourists approaching the entrance of the theater.  Well, now we all know why it’s important to have weapon proficiency. You wouldn’t want to screw up in time like this.

The water puppet show is a Vietnamese cultural performance and it’s a really spectacular performance. You should not miss it if you ever visit Ho Chi Min City. The audience consists of a huge bulk of Hong Kong people,  a group of Koreans, a single Japanese female tourist (she was seating beside us), a French couple (we took pictures for them) and two Singaporeans (Bryan and me). The ticket cost around $5.30 SGD and the performance lasted around 50 min.

Time: 1955 (GMT +7)

Being entertained mentally, our stomach was telling us that we needed food and I decided to drop by one of the restaurant we passed by earlier. The restaurant was named Au Parc and we had a fantastic time there. Food was fantastic and the staff were friendly. The place was a little upscale and I thought that we were a little under dress for the occasion but who cares for we are backpackers on the run! We had salmon cakes for appetizer, kebab for main dish and ice cream for dessert. It was our most expensive meal in our whole trip in Vietnam at $21 SGD but it definitely measured up to its value.

After our sumptuous meal, we had a picture with one of the staff and lady boss Ilda who was gracious enough to take a picture with us.  Extra points to the staff for being ever friendly and helpful to our request during our meal at Au Parc. The restaurant is situated at a quiet street near Notre Dame Cathedral and it’s definitely a great place for a meal if you happen to be around the area.

Time: 1000 P.M (GMT +7)

Knowing that we had an early flight to catch the next day, we decided against popping by one of the bars for the fear we might not be able to wake up in time.  We wandered along the city and here are some pictures of the christmas decoration at Saigon Centre.

We got back in our hotel around 1045 P.M and pack our bags for we will be waking up at 4.30 A.M to catch a flight to Nha Trang. Overall, it was a good first day out and while we didn’t have much time to explore Ho Chi Min city we knew that we will be back in another 3 days time.

More pictures for day 1 at over at this link. http://www.flickr.com/photos/25016722@N02/sets/72157611630691732/

Onward to day 2…

Travel to Vietnam- Prelude

Posted by You Teck - 25/12/08 at 10:12:29 pm

It’s being quite some time since I last traveled aboard and I thought that it was about time to make some traveling plan. It all started with some random discussion about doing backpacking in one of the South East Asia countries and when we started to zero down on the list of countries Vietnam turns out to be an obvious option.

I must admit that I’ve not heard a lot of the country and I had zero knowledge on what to expect. Being the adventurers that we always wanted to be, my buddy Byran and I decided that we book the air tickets before deciding on what to do in Vietnam.

With the tickets in hand, we spent around 3 weekends doing all the necessary planning and I got to say that at the end of the 3 weeks, we don’t really have a plan (Sounds like some reality TV show).  All we knew was that there was an Island named Phu Quoc and we wanted to get there.

The initial plan was to travel from Ho Chi Min City and head northward to Hanoi but after some discussion with a local tour guide, we decided that one week was too short for us to really see Vietnam and that’s why we decided that we’ll probably head to Ho Chi Min City and Phu Quoc.

Further research shows that our efforts are futile as the local agency in Singapore were quoting quite a high price for a domestic air ticket to get to Phu Quoc from Ho Chi Min City.

Attempts to book the hotel Byran’s friend recommended was also futile as there was no response through email. With only a name card of the hotel and no concrete plans, we headed to Ho Chi Min City. Before moving on further, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Cassius for transporting us to the airport in the wee hours of 5 A.M in the morning. You rock buddy!

And so, the travel to Vietnam begins…

Update of Life in General

Posted by You Teck - 25/12/08 at 12:12:15 pm

I think the last quarter of 2008 has been excellent for me. The start of my school’s first trimester, joining Yahoo! South East Asia and making a lot of precious friends along the way.

Time really flies when you are in the thick of the action and it always seems like I was caught in the middle of doing something everytime. Busy as I might had but I thought that I enjoyed every single moment of it.

On school front, I’ve made some really great and interesting friends through my two different majors. My group mates from the Commerce module are whacky as a whole and I thought that they are kinda of interesting and funny in a good way. 3 different girls with 3 different personalities (Hello, just in case you girls check. I’ve updated my entries). I’ve came up with some interesting codename to identify them but I’m not about to reveal them here.  The friends I’ve made on my Science modules are completely different on a whole but I really enjoyed the time we spent discussing on projects and school work.

On work front, it has been a blast and I really appreciate the opportunities handed down by my bosses to allow me to explore the possibilities. Driving new projects into momentum has always being my thing and its the only thing that was driving me forward within the company.

On my personal relations part, I’ve being making up a lot of lost time with my ex school mates and close buddies. Dinners and meet ups has been ongoing at a regular basis and I really appreciate the time we spent together.

All in all, although it seems like the last quarter of the year had past like a whirlwind, I enjoyed every single moment of it. To end it off, I wish everyone a merry Christmas.

Seizing the Opportunity

Posted by You Teck - 31/08/08 at 12:08:30 pm

Opportunity doesn’t come twice.

The difference between winning and losing a battle resides purely on the general who seizes the opportunity when the moment comes. It’s a fine line that separates a resounding victory or a crushing defeat. I believe that opportunities will always drop into our lives on a daily basis and it’s just a matter of do we take it or not.

In work life there are advancement opportunities and in business world there are growth opportunities. I’m constantly surprise by the fact of the number of people and organization who will always choose not to take opportunities just so they could stay in their comfort zone.

Take an example in the business world, I wonder how on earth are most companies going to break into the blue ocean zone where so many of them are employing the sit and wait approach. It seems as if most of them are just content to be a mediocre organization so that they won’t fail or succeed dramatically.

Imagine the scenario where company A business solutions works perfectly for your company but because of increased competition your cost is increasing on a monthly basis. Now, company B comes up with close to the same business solution but with a completely new market share for you to reach out to.

Are you going to stick to company A because of blind faith and procrastinate or are you going to be the first to seize the opportunity?

What’s Risky Investment?

Posted by You Teck - 14/07/08 at 11:07:54 pm

Investment is one of the topic that I discuss with my buddy frequently and most often than not, it’s about securities. It’s interesting though to note that when I mention this topic to my other social circles, their responses are mostly “But that’s very risky!”

I must first declare that I’m not an investment guru (yet) but one thing I know for sure is that whatever that you want to do that requires first-hand experience which you do not have is risky.

Take the example of a very experienced pilot giving you a brief talk on the mechanics of flying and then expects you to fly the plane after that. Is that risky? You bet! Consider this analogy in securities investment, do you think it is risky to trade in something that you have no clear first hand experience and solid knowledge on?

The point I want to emphasize on is that if you do not have a very clear knowledge of the task you are undertaking then there will definitely be in risk in it. Merely hearing from someone that these stocks pick are good is never enough because at the end of the day it’s your own money that you are putting in.

Getting precise knowledge before making your investments choices and then using it to gain first-hand experience will definitely decrease your change suffering a major financial catastrophe. To end this post, here’s a very useful phase I’ve come across from the book The Entrepreneur Investor, “Eyes believe what they see; Ears believe others”.

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