A Beautiful Friday Night in Saigon

Today was my last day at MSS, it was sad to say goodbye to people I have been working/hanging out/partying with for the past five weeks. I will certainly miss the energy and smiles all around me. Working in Vietnam has been an incredible experience, one that I will always remember.

The folks at the office wanted to make sure I don’t leave Vietnam before I try every single dish available. The going away celebrations started earlier this week and ended tonight with a feast at 3T (Vietnamese BBQ). I can definitely say I’ve had incredible food in Vietnam with wonderful people and am already lamenting having to say goodbye.

Vietnam keeps changing, every visit here is like a first in a way. There is so much going on at all times, new businesses opening up, new buildings erected, new cuisines offered and new (better) regulations introduced to control the chaos. I wonder what HCMC will be like next time I visit.

I celebrated the end of five weeks of work tonight on a rooftop of a Spanish bar in Dist 1. Sipping Sangria outdoors in perfect weather never felt so good.

I miss Vietnam already!

Christmas Party in HCMC

The Vietnamese sure do know how to party! My company’s Christmas party included a whole lot of singing, dancing, drinking and….texting! Since MSS is a mobile content company, there were lots of games that involved sending text messages. Those messages were then displayed on a big screen as a long thread. It was a lot of fun!

View of Saigon River from my Apartment

This city is exactly as I remembered it – fun, energetic and HOT. After settling into my apartment this morning, I hopped on a Xe Om (motorbike taxi) and went to District 1, to start the day at my favorite place – Cafe Centro. After a quick breakfast, I hopped on another Xe Om and went to MSS office located at Zen Plaza. I got to meet the great team I’ll be working with and do some actual work. I love my new office, especially the excellent Sushi bar on the 5th floor…

It turns out that Santa, like me, can’t really stand the winter and has decided to spend Christmas in Vietnam this year. The whole city is overly decorated with elaborate holiday themed installations and lights. In a country where only 5% of the population is Christian, this makes very little sense but is oh so fun to look at.

Spending nearly 23 hours on planes yesterday left me no choice but to get a full body massage today. It was heavenly. To end the day, I met up with Aryeh and Jesse at a great Vietnamese restaurant housed in a beautiful French villa.

Not bad for a first day!

This time next Saturday, I will be almost in Tokyo (cross your fingers I get bumped up to biz class again!). I can’t believe there is less than a week to go. I have a running list of approximately 978 errands to run this week while still working and spending quality time with loved ones. Easy.

Tonight, while sitting in one of my favorite NY cafes, I was reading from a great book we got last year called “Vietnam Today: A Guide to a Nation at a Crossroads”. The book explores the cultural differences between Vietnam and the West while trying to offer guidance to expats living or working in Vietnam. It is a very useful and highly interesting book on an anthropological level, however, I think I feel even more confused after reading chapter 5 (“Core Cultural Dimensions”). A smile, according to the book, can mean “Agreement”, “Mild Disagreement”, “Embarrassment”, Disbelief”, “Appreciation” and “Apology”.

WHAT??? So I smile … when exactly?

I think that as a matter of policy, I am just going to be smiling the whole time and leave it to the others to guess whether I am appreciative or just super happy to be in Asia this winter.

This year, our trip to Asia will be prefaced by a month long stay in HCMC. I have accepted a job in Ho Chi Minh City at a mobile content company called Mobile Solution Services (MSS). I am super excited!! I already have my plane ticket, housing in the city (thanks to Aryeh) and plans to meet with friends in Vietnam. This will be my first time in Vietnam not as a tourist and I am eager to find out what everyday life is like.

A real added bonus to working in tech while in Asia is being able to skip NY winter. I am dilligently researching beach options. Mmmm, I can almost taste that fruit shake!

At the end of my project with MSS, Kevin will come and meet me in HCMC where we will start our trip to Singapore, north Thailand and the islands. We are both so psyched!