Saigon - Part II
the newer wing of the building went all the way to the 8th floor, which had a rooftop bar that i would occasionally hide in. from there, everyone looked like ants down below, riding around on their motorbikes. one of the things i learned about saigon was they recently mandated helmet use by all adults on motorbikes. on the other hand, it's optional for children 14 yrs and younger. and you're right. that makes absolutely NO SENSE WHATSOEVER.
the 8th floor bar also offered awesome views of the city. the river itself, however, is not that awesome looking. it's not quite brown, but it does have some stuff floating in it. like big pieces of green stuff. not algae. just big green things.
the neat thing about port cities is they start early in the morning. my 5:30am view usually consisted of watching these huge boats come in. and there always seemed to be 500,000 people already awake before me, high on caffeine, and halfway thru their day. i don't know who these people are, but i think these boats bring in new shipments daily. as soon as the last load hits the wall, they're shuffled out and the next boat comes in. i'm sure of it.
besides all the meetings, i did have one afternoon outside the hotel. 3 of the 4 people i was looking to lobby stepped out for a bit of shopping so i followed them w/work in hand...
...which was kinda stupid. they were on a mad hunt for quality tailoring and cheap gifts, and all i could think about was getting their input on a ppt.
and for 3 first-time-visitors on a mission and w/o a map, it was pretty impressive watching them go. within a few hours we zoomed by a bazillion shops, the reunification palace, the local market, the opera house, a few propaganda stores, and everything else saigon had to offer within 30 mins of the hotel. fortunately my persistence (or their hunger pangs) wore them down cuz they eventually caved and let me pose my questions over lunch at a BBQ restaurant. the food was great, but by the time all our messy fingers had gone over my work, i had a pile of papers covered in grease and soy sauce. not so yummo...
in the end, the meetings were semi-successful. i say semi cuz the board rejected part of our European work plan, and advised us to do exactly what we were proposing to do anyways. i don't understand the logic behind that, but after a wk of meetings and chasing people in the streets to get their feedback, i don't care. i'll take whatever i can get.
the newer wing of the building went all the way to the 8th floor, which had a rooftop bar that i would occasionally hide in. from there, everyone looked like ants down below, riding around on their motorbikes. one of the things i learned about saigon was they recently mandated helmet use by all adults on motorbikes. on the other hand, it's optional for children 14 yrs and younger. and you're right. that makes absolutely NO SENSE WHATSOEVER.
the 8th floor bar also offered awesome views of the city. the river itself, however, is not that awesome looking. it's not quite brown, but it does have some stuff floating in it. like big pieces of green stuff. not algae. just big green things.
the neat thing about port cities is they start early in the morning. my 5:30am view usually consisted of watching these huge boats come in. and there always seemed to be 500,000 people already awake before me, high on caffeine, and halfway thru their day. i don't know who these people are, but i think these boats bring in new shipments daily. as soon as the last load hits the wall, they're shuffled out and the next boat comes in. i'm sure of it.
besides all the meetings, i did have one afternoon outside the hotel. 3 of the 4 people i was looking to lobby stepped out for a bit of shopping so i followed them w/work in hand...
...which was kinda stupid. they were on a mad hunt for quality tailoring and cheap gifts, and all i could think about was getting their input on a ppt.
and for 3 first-time-visitors on a mission and w/o a map, it was pretty impressive watching them go. within a few hours we zoomed by a bazillion shops, the reunification palace, the local market, the opera house, a few propaganda stores, and everything else saigon had to offer within 30 mins of the hotel. fortunately my persistence (or their hunger pangs) wore them down cuz they eventually caved and let me pose my questions over lunch at a BBQ restaurant. the food was great, but by the time all our messy fingers had gone over my work, i had a pile of papers covered in grease and soy sauce. not so yummo...
in the end, the meetings were semi-successful. i say semi cuz the board rejected part of our European work plan, and advised us to do exactly what we were proposing to do anyways. i don't understand the logic behind that, but after a wk of meetings and chasing people in the streets to get their feedback, i don't care. i'll take whatever i can get.
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