Pickup Basketball in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

Friday, February 19th, 2010

Hi there! Looking for a basketball / streetball game in Saigon? Not sure if you always want to play with locals? There’s nothing wrong with that as locals can be quite good, but the style of play is often quite
different.

I play with a group of expats, and while we’re not good, we do like to play and stay in shape and pretend that we’re not old. We can’t cover up that we’re short though (I’m 5’6).

We play in District 10, over at Phu Tho Stadium, the Luu Gia Street Gate. If you’re going by taxi or xe om and don’t know much Vietnamese, type this in to your phone and show the driver:

“San thi dau Phu Tho, duong Ly Thuong Kiet, Q10, cong Lu Gia”

We reserve half or full court (full whenever we can) on Thursday nights and a weekend night (based on availability), and all pitch in for drinks (water, sports drinks) and court rental (Very affordable: a little over $5 USD per hour for the full court. That’s not per person, that’s total.). As far as I know, Phu Tho is considered the best place for basketball in the city. It is far for most people though, but it’s worth it if you really want to play basketball.

We’ll play each other (we’re mostly Americans but also play with Taiwanese friends), and sometimes pickup people to join us.

So, whether If you’re in town for a visit or living here, and would like to play, we’d love for you to join us, just leave me a comment below or contact me over at the About Me page. It’s also a good opportunity to network (hint, hint).

By the way, the picture above is at Phan Dinh Phung (PDP) Sports Complex in District 1 on Pasteur. They have a pretty nice court there, but like most good courts in Vietnam, very hard (virtually impossible) to reserve- they’re usually set aside for public (school) leagues or teams and can’t be used for pickup. If you want to do pickup there, you’ll have to do so at what are their almost quarter-like courts. You’ll understand if you go by there.

I’m also always happy to post more information on good pickup games to share if I get it. We’re always looking for more court options for games, but we want to be able to reserve a court, because true pickup (get in line and hope to get on) is too hard when you’re working and have a tight schedule.

I personally would pay $100 a month for a court/gym I could play at and practice by myself for couple hours a few times a week.

(EDIT: March 6, 2010)

BasketballSaigonI opened a Mimo account (think of Twitter for Vietnam) to list out when we play. As soon as I receive confirmation of a time, I’ll post it to Mimo. To get the latest news, you can either check our page, or if you register for your own Mimo account, you can follow us, and get the updates delivered to your mobile through SMS for free.

We’re @BasketballSaigon.

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19.02.2010 Basketball, Vietnam 2 Comments

Buying Blu-Ray (HD) Movies in Vietnam [More on Piracy]

Tuesday, February 9th, 2010
Blu-Ray Disc logo

Image via Wikipedia

This blog has never been afraid to discuss piracy openly. (Notice I mention “this blog”. I, however, do not condone piracy in any way or fashion. “This blog” made me do it! I am innocent!)

Some examples: How to be a Digital Pirate in Vietnam, My Torrent Guide for You, The Escapist : Sony Invades Vietnam with PlayStations

Today, I want to share about the world of network media tanks, getting HD-quality movies on the cheap, and how to make this all happen. I won’t talk too much about the situation of piracy, having discussed those in detail in other articles. I also won’t get too technical about the discussion, just what 99% of the people reading this need to know to get things done.

The lowdown: getting HD movies in Vietnam can be quite affordable. Will these movies be the exact same quality as buying a Blu-Ray disc in the US? No. But pretty close for most concerning eyes (if you’re reading this article here of all places, you probably cannot tell the difference. I don’t even know if I can, for that matter, and I have a HD Player and Movies for my Xbox 360)

Getting movies basically gets down to getting a player for them (media tank), the movies (movie copy service), and of course, the TV.

Buying Movies:

3 Steps:

  1. Buy a Media Tank
  2. Buy a Hard Drive to Attach to Media Tank
  3. Buy Movies

Step 1, Buy a Media Tank:

A media tank is like a DVD Player or VCR. You connect it to your TV and it has the ability to play media. I have a WD TV hooked up to a Seagate 1.5 TB Drive. If you want to know more scroll to the bottom of post.

For a full list of Media Tanks available at Halo Shop in Saigon, see here: Media Tank List, Halo Shop. I generally recommend them for any purchases. They can speak English and they’re not so full of BS so you can take their advice for an easier process.

If you’re from Hanoi, sorry, I don’t know of any places in Hanoi, though I’m sure they exist- ask a local Home Theater shop, and they should be able to point you in the right direction.

A few more notes: Don’t bother getting HD movies unless you have an HDTV. There will be no benefit. Also, use an HDMI cable to connect the Media Tank to the HD TV. HDMI Cables should cost less than $10 USD- don’t be tricked into paying more. Lastly, if you’re not going to hook up a 5.1 (or 7.1/8.1/etc.) sound system to your TV, you should make sure the audio will be ok if you connect the Media Tank to your TV. Just ask “Can I use this Media Tank with my TV speakers?” With the WD TV, this isn’t a problem unless you are playing DTS movies, but scroll to the end of this post for more on that.

Step 2, Buy a Hard Drive to Attach to Media Tank:

You can buy these anywhere. I would suggest getting a package deal when you get your Media Tank, minimum 1TB Hard Drive, get 2TB if you can afford it. Remember, movies are 5-10 GB each, so a 1TB Hard Drive will store only 200 movies. Tank + Hard Drive may cost $400 to $500 depending on what you buy. Sounds expensive, but the movies themselves are extremely cheap.

Step 3, Buy Movies:

imageThere are basically 3 types of content: 480P (DVD quality), 720P (Hi Def), and 1080P (Bad ass Hi Def). You, for practical purposes, want 720P content. If you really think you need 1080P, read the section about buying a TV below. I do have a 32” 1080P TV, but I also sit less than 3 feet away from it.

One other thing to consider is that not that many movies are available in 1080P here, so not necessarily worth the extra cash.

There are two places that I consider:

  1. ChepPhim.Net: 199/19 Duong (Street) 3/2 F11 District 10, TPHCM. Movie List, ChepPhim.Net
  2. Halo Shop: 82 Pasteur, District 1, TPHCM. Movie List, Halo Shop

ChepPhim.net is cheap, fast, and has much more content available compared to Halo Shop. You can get 1TB copied for about $10 USD in less than two days. They update their movie list about twice a month and even have TV sets like Lost and Prison Break.

Buying a TV and Home Audio:

TV:

image I’ll make this simple- get a 720P TV. If you really think you may want a 1080P, read this article first: 1080p Does Matter – Here’s When (Screen Size vs. Viewing Distance vs. Resolution). If you have a family or plan to share the TV with someone else, unless you are just rich, get a 720P. A bonus about having a 1080P TV, though, is that you can use it as a 1920 x 1080 PC monitor.

For the record, I have a 32” 1080P from LG, and like I said before, I have to sit less than 3 feet away from it to take full advantage of 1080p movies, of which there are few. Most video games also max out at 720P.

Retailers:

Home Audio:

This one’s a bit tougher. I can’t really help here in terms of where to buy in Vietnam or what to buy. Try HD Vietnam if you can read Vietnamese. Otherwise, stick with the stereo TV speakers.

———————————————————–

About the Western Digital WD TV: [Quick Review and Tips]

I have the WD TV, the original version.

image

Some notes on it:

  • It’s cheap. I expect the original can be had for about $100 USD now in Vietnam. I don’t think the WD TV is sold at Halo Shop anymore.
  • Supports most video formats, but surprisingly, not .FLV or .WMV. I don’t use it for audio or pictures.
  • Overall, it’s okay. Not great. But a solid value for $100. The HDMI connection on mine is a bit loose, so sometimes there’s no signal, and the remote can be frustratingly spotty. Sometimes, for whatever reason, the machine won’t turn on or off, even when the remove is right next to the sensor. Once the machine starts recognizing the remote that particular day, everything is great.
  • Getting the new version (Western Digital WD TV Live Network-ready HD Media Player) or the original (WD TV Live) is fine for most purposes. The 2 main additions in the WD TV Live are 1) DTS support and 2) Networking support. Networking support means you can hook it up to another computer and stream stuff rather than have to connect a Hard Drive to it. The DTS support, for me, is a bit more important, because many movies that I’ve purchased here are DTS-only and therefore result in no audio when using the original WD TV. There is a fix – you’ll need this to convert those movies with the PopCorn MKV AudioConverter (along with Tutorial for converting audio tracks with HeartWare MKV Audio Converter).
  • There’s an issue with some 1080P movies on the WD TV with movies that have too many Reference (Ref) frames. This is where we get a bit technical. If you run into this issue, you’ll have to re-encode the entire movie, which is a two day process. If you get a 1080P movie that seems to stutter, try to find a 720P version. Or get a different media tank. If you really need help with this, you can find the solution on forums online. My hint: I used a combination of MediaInfo and RipBot264 to fix The Dark Knight. I haven’t fixed any other movies yet.

Links:

  • Official Firmware: WD TV Product Update – you can probably ask whomever you buy this from to install it for you if you are non-technical, but it also isn’t so difficult.
  • Unofficial Firmware: B-RAD (Don’t worry about using this unless you want to spend a lot of time on techie stuff. A note about the unofficial firmware is that I still can’t it to work right with all the extra functionality people have developed for it)
  • More talk about Firmware and Stuff: WDTV Forum Homebrew / Custom Firmware

———————————————————–

Sorry if this post got a bit crazy, but hopefully it’s useful to someone out there. If you have any questions or want to send in your own recommendations and tips, please leave a comment!

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09.02.2010 Movies, Reviews, Tech, Vietnam No Comments

Hard Rock Cafe: Grand Opening, Saigon

Monday, January 25th, 2010

Here I am at another VIP event, somehow:

Ah, so that wasn’t me, that was the very pretty (and tall) model Ha Anh. What, you don’t like looking at pretty girls?

Alright, here’s me at the last Friday’s grand opening of Hard Rock Cafe in Saigon, the first in Vietnam (there have been fakes before):

Thanks to well-connected friends Tommy and Eduard and Jin, I somehow cheated my way into this invite-only party. Main event: DMC from Run DMC! (Yes, this is picky, but a bit disappointing to have just 1 of the 3 people in the group, and yes, I do know that Jay is dead)

Although the event started at 6 PM officially, everyone came much later- we got there closer to 7. DMC was scheduled to go on at 8, but as I expected, it was well after 9 before he got on. Got home at 11ish.

The key points of the night:

- Free booze! Solid mojitos, sponsorship by Coors Light, they even had the cold-activated bottles! (I learned about these on my last trip back to the US) The odd thing is, I don’t think I was aware that Coors Light was sold in Vietnam. Budweiser just came in about a year ago. First drinking of 2010!

- The venue is pretty nice. I expect it to be pretty damn expensive to eat/drink there, which removes me as a regular customer, but if they become a good booker for international acts, I could definitely see myself heading there pretty often- I might have to ask for a raise though. I heard a rumor that they’re going to try to bring in Billy Joe from Green Day, maybe on an acoustic session. How they can possibly make the finances work out on that, I do not know, but Vietnamese do make decisions on ego (see Hoang Anh Gia Lai’s sponsorship of Arsenal at Emirates Stadium for an example).

- A lot of stars and celebs as you would expect. After all, stars got me in the event in the first place!

- I didn’t think the audio configuration was too good. I had a great spot in the middle of the room, but I couldn’t make out what DMC was saying, even when he was just talking.

- In food, I’ve heard some really good things (Kevin and others) about their chicken wings and nachos. Unfortunately, while there was some solid food throughout the night, neither flagship product came out. Weak!

- No, I do not know why the Hard Rock Cafe has a grand opening with a rap act. Run DMC is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, however. Also, there is no way most people there knew of Run DMC. Even I don’t really know their music that well.

Some more pictures from the event below, see the Gallery on Smugmug for all:

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25.01.2010 Vietnam No Comments

The Escapist : Sony Invades Vietnam with PlayStations

Thursday, January 21st, 2010
New Logo of the PlayStation 3 after the relaun...

Image via Wikipedia

The Escapist : News : Sony Invades Vietnam with PlayStations

This reminds me of Sony trying to sell legit DVDs and Blu-Rays in Vietnam. Sony is trying to sell Blu-Rays for the normal full price in the US (Over $30 USD per movie) in a country where you can have 2TB of HD-quality Movies (average movie is 5GB, so that’s 400 movies!) transferred to a hard drive for less than $20 USD.

So, unsurprisingly, it’s already cheaper to buy imported Sony game consoles than waiting for the “officially authorized” machines.

Ho Chi Minh City (TPHCM/Saigon), Halo Shop:

  • Playstation 3: 6,750,000 VND ($360 USD compared to $532.57 from Sony)
  • Playstation 2: 3,200,000 VND (longer, full coverage warranty from shop) / 2,700,000 VND ($172 or $145 compared to $239.37 from Sony)
  • Playstation Portable: 5,000,000 VND (longer, full coverage warranty from shop) / 4,600,000 VND ($270 or $194 compared to $319.33 from Sony))

Hanoi, XGame:

  • Playstation 3: 6.499.000 VND ($350 USD compared to $532.57 from Sony)
  • Playstation 2: 2.499.000 VND ($134 USD compared to $239.37 from Sony)
  • Playstation Portable: 3.899.000 VND – 4.099.000 VND (colors) ($210 – $216 compared to $319.33 from Sony)

A friend made the point that people will pay more for officially authorized products, for support and warranty reasons. This is possible, however:

  • You’re looking at 50-80% premiums from buying something new (gray market imported from another country) for the same thing, also new, just officially authorized.
  • You cannot pirate games for the PS3, so you would be buying real games and therefore, a warranty claim is legit. However, if you have a PSP or PS2, there is no one here, absolutely no one, who is buying legitimate software for those consoles. So if you’re hacking your console, you will have invalidated your warranty anyway. Even rich people (I know of some) will just pirate- and why wouldn’t you?
  • The most popular, trustworthy shops who are selling these modded systems and pirated software also do repairs themselves, and are quite experienced at it.
  • Sony sells authorized DVDs and Blu-Rays, but they’re extremely difficult to find, either in terms of information online, and in shops. I only know of one place that sells them here, and I just saw them by chance. Sony obviously won’t let a Halo Shop or XGame sell authorized consoles next to imported ones and pirated game discs, so where are you going to find these systems?
  • If they’re selling games, they’re going to sell non-localized games? Most Vietnamese do not read or understand spoken English that well (couldn’t handle a Final Fantasy game, for example), so non-localized games makes the value of buying legit even lower.

The reason why XBox’s and Wii’s are not officially sold here is because you can easily pirates games for those two systems. Microsoft (maybe not at this point in the product cycle, I guess) takes a loss on each system sold, trying to make it back through software, so if all software is pirated, not such a big reason to sell it officially here. I don’t even know of any places to buy legitimate 360 software. The Wii is profitable on the hardware, but overall, Vietnam is not such a big market for video games (consoles) as it is for PC games, in which companies make money off online games in which they can restrict piracy.

PC games are much more accessible to the normal Vietnamese youngster because the cost to play is so much lower. Players can rent a seat at an Internet cafe and play free games, paying only for microtransactions while a console + accessories investment is well over an average Vietnamese monthly income, perhaps even double the monthly income.

Sony Invades Vietnam with PlayStations

Greg Tito posted on 20 January 2010 1:09 am

image

Sony announced that it is now selling its PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 2 and 3 consoles in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

As of January 16th, 2010, citizens of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam will be able to purchase Sony videogame consoles in their country. Vietnam is now the eighth Asian nation in which Sony sells its videogame hardware. PlayStation Portable is 5,990,000 Vietnamese Dong or US $319.33. The PlayStation 2 will retail for 4,490,000 Vietnamese Dong (US $239.37), while the PlayStation 3 is being sold for 9,990,000 Dong ($532.57). Any way you cut it, that’s a lot of Dong.

The PlayStation 3 model being sold in Vietnam is the “slim” model with a 120gb hard drive which was released last year. “While inheriting the sleek curved body design of the original model,” Sony said. “The form factor of the new PS3 system features a new meticulous design with textured surface finish, giving an all new impression and a casual look.”

Previously, if you wanted a PlayStation in Vietnam, you were forced to import it yourself. There is no mention as to why Sony did not sell its consoles in the country before, or why the sales are now allowed in the Socialist nation.

The Escapist : News : Sony Invades Vietnam with PlayStations

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21.01.2010 Video Games, Vietnam No Comments

Shrinkage is a Terrible Thing

Tuesday, January 20th, 2009
Bottled maple syrup produced in Quebec.

Image via Wikipedia

Originally, a friend and I had planned to go on the maple syrup diet as soon as I got back to Vietnam. But when I got to the US and was discussing it with Emil, he labeled it as just another BS fad diet.

For once I decided to listen to him and not do it, though I did want to try maybe a vegetarian diet for a while.

My friend, at that point, decided to start it while I was away.

When I came back, I noticed:

  • He definitely dropped a good amount of weight in only 10 days
  • He was also super hungry the whole time, but he was able to handle it mentally (I don’t think most people have the self-control to stick with it)
  • He felt less sluggish after the diet and he thinks his skin is a lot better. I don’t disagree.

So there’s an example of the maple syrup diet in case you want to be like Beyonce and try it out.

He finished right as I came back, and to ease integration (your stomach basically can’t handle food right after such a diet) into the normal world of fatty and meaty delights, decided to go a week or so doing just Vegetarian.

I joined in, and here’s my story:

Day 1: Saturday

  • I flew back to Vietnam this day, had nothing to eat during the entire trip, totaling nearly 28 hours without food. Not a bad start. Going over a day without food was fairly simple, I think I could have done 2 full days if I really wanted to, but I didn’t.

Day 2: Sunday

  • Lunch: Now back in Vietnam (got home around 12PM), had a tomato and salad mix. Small amounts of tofu as well
  • Dinner: Mix of vegetables, rice, tofu, and corn (from the can)

Day 3: Monday

  • Breakfast:Basically, half a French baguette. Some orange juice (freshly squeezes) before I left for work.
  • Lunch: Here, I technically cheated. I ordered a nicoise salad (lettuce, onions, peppers) with light amounts of tuna and sliced boiled eggs from Chez Guido. No dressing. There aren’t so many options in Saigon that I could have gone to considering my needs for price and convenience. Also had a couple of bananas and minestrone soup, which I think is tomato based soup with pasta, mushrooms, and small vegetables like peas and chopped carrots.
  • Dinner: Went with Hai/Jimmy/others to a vegetarian place.Unfortunately, everyone was more into tofu that tasted like meat versus just ordering heavy vegetables (my preference). Had an orange juice.

    • From Jimmy’s Twitter: NhĂ  hĂ ng chay Hoa ??ng, 38 Hu?nh Kh??ng Ninh, Q.1. Get GĂ  rĂŽti bĂĄnh bao chiĂȘn and Ch? b?p Hoa ??ng, Vegetarian V?t is always good too

Day 4: Tuesday

  • Breakfast: An entire baguette this time
  • Lunch: Minestrone soup and stir-fry vegetables. And the banana.
  • Snack: had another third of a baguette
  • Dinner: Rice/vegetables, a little tofu.

    • At this point, I was thinking, if I am not losing weight this way, then it is amazing/impossible that I am not 250 pounds normally (I’m probably 155 or so pre-diet)
    • Each meal, was definitely left a little empty, and was trying to eat healthy, not just vegetarian but unhealthy. No processed food, lighter meals, still doing normal work and crunches every other day.
    • I work normally, feel fine, just a little bit empty and hungry at all times
    • Keep in mind I drink a good amount of water as well, I believe at around 2.5 liters per day, which as Google tells me is:
    • 2009-01-06_20-05-00-933

Day 5: Wednesday

  • In thinking about diets, If I ever did a diet, I always wanted to go back down to around 145 pounds, which I haven’t been in about 6 years. When I was at Berkeley, I once gained 20 pounds in a matter of 4-6 months because I didn’t know I could gain weight, I just kept eating and seriously, eating. I never was able to get my old weight after I realized I was balloon, though I think I have been 150 pounds in Vietnam at times. I hadn’t weighed myself in a long time, but I would think maybe I was 160 before the diet (I ate well in the US), but if optimistic, I would hope I was actually closer to 155.
  • On another tangent, Americans eat way more food than Vietnamese people. It is almost sickening how many calories people consume, and how super size is considered a good thing. I didn’t realize how bad it was until I leaved in Vietnam for a while and then came back to the US to realize how much food we actually (and I used to) eat.
  • Breakfast: Nothing. Did crunches in the morning
  • Lunch: Some kind of vegetarian Penne along with some grapefruit and the now-standard Minestrone
  • Dinner: spicy Korean noodles with egg omelet slices (friend started integrating small amounts of egg into die, will add cheese in a few days)
  • I kind of feel between lunch and dinner, got a whole ton of calories from the carbs, definitely wasn’t feeling as light in terms of the meals as the other days
  • Would really like some KFC right about now

Day 6: Thursday

  • Crunches in the morning
  • Breakfast: nothing
  • Lunch: decided to go with the nicoise salad from Monday again- less carbs and calories I think versus the pastas, also had the Minestrone soup and 2 bananas
  • Dinner: rice + vegetables + tofu + watermelon

Day 7: Friday

  • Breakfast: nothing
  • Lunch: I found out Chez Guido has vegetarian fried rice! It’s not that great though (and you have to ask for it, it’s not on the menu)
  • Dinner: small amount of rice + bean curd (which is not tofu?) + watermelon
  • only got halfway through 8 minute abs

Day 8: Saturday

  • Craving for churros and turkey
  • Breakfast: an apple
  • Dribbled a basketball and walked around for an hr, crunches in the morning
  • Lunch: went for Japanese, got curry noodles (with potatoes and carrots)
  • Dinner: Half a medium vegetarian pizza at Pizza Hut, a half piece of garlic bread and some French fries

Day 9: Sunday

  • Breakfast: none
  • Lunch: a small black bean/tomato/lettuce salad with OK
  • Dinner: Jin’s fusion Chinese noodle/Italian tomatoes, olive oil
  • Ran around (1/3 mile at most, and walked (maybe totaled 3/4 to 1 mile)

Day 10: Monday

  • Crunches before breakfast
  • Breakfast: grilled cheese, fries, and orange juice
  • Lunch: SEMPLICE PANINI (Mozzarella, Tomato, Basilic, Olive oil . PhĂŽ – mai, CĂ  chua, lĂĄ HĂșng qu?, d?u Oliu.) and Cream of Vegetable Soup.
  • The soup sucked, too thick for me, but the Panini was excellent- the cheese had a lot to do with it, but this was the best thing I’ve had on the diet.
  • Dinner: Rice + vegetables + watermelon

Day 11: Tuesday

  • Crunches before breakfast
  • Breakfast: a croissant and piece of garlic bread for Tous Le Jours (yum!) (Tous Les Jours, 180 Hai BĂ  Tr?ng, qu?n 1, TP.HCM)
  • Lunch: Panini and Minestrone Soup
  • Dinner: Rice + Rau Muon (Called Morning Glory I think) + Salad + Tomatoes + 1 small burrito

Day 12: Wednesday

  • Crunches in the morning
  • Breakfast: nothing
  • Lunch: Panini and 2 Bananas + Orange Juice
  • Am now tired of the Panini
  • Dinner: multi-grain bread + vegetables + watermelon

Day 13: Thursday

  • Morning Crunches
  • Breakfast: nothing
  • Lunch: Panini and Minestrone
  • Dinner: some kind spicy bean soup at a Korean place- it was actually a meat bean soup, so I had to remove the big chunks of meat out, but I know there were a bunch of small bits left it. I blame Eric on this one, he told me to get it and he knew I was doing vegetarian as well. Eat some lettuce/carrot pieces as well

Day 14: Friday

  • No Crunches
  • No Breakfast
  • Lunch: Panini + Minestrone +  Bananas
  • Dinner: some vegetables, some tofu, some watermelon

Finale: Saturday!

Finally 2 full weeks since I left the US, and my first official meat meal was:

  • Pho! Well I admit, I wanted to do something light, though I won’t deny that getting a KFC bucket came to mind as well.

Well, this post is quite long, and only interesting to me, so I’ll summarize with some last points:

  • Places to Eat:
  • Chez Guido in TPHCM: delivery food service, good stuff, worth getting
  • Tous Le Jours: 180 Hai BĂ  Tr?ng, qu?n 1, TP.HCM, good bread (and pastry products), excellent price (I don’t say that in Vietnam about western-quality goods very often, perhaps this is the first time, even) (http://dulich.tuoitre.com.vn/tianyon/Index.aspx?ArticleID=206058&ChannelID=217)
  • NhĂ  hĂ ng chay Hoa ??ng: 38 Hu?nh Kh??ng Ninh, Q.1. Get GĂ  rĂŽti bĂĄnh bao chiĂȘn and Ch? b?p Hoa ??ng, Vegetarian V?t is always good too (Nice vegetarian place, feels a little high end but not really expensive, if you’re a foreigner)
  • Notes Post Diet:
  • It’s now Tuesday as I’m finalizing this. I haven’t gorged myself on meat yet, though I did go to Pizza Hut with friends over the weekend for lunch and got some meaty pizzas. Even that night however, I went back to vegetarian.
  • Not so into eating meat anymore, in the sense of course I’d love it, but could handle one meat meal a day, and one vegetarian a day- I’d like to see how I do
  • In terms of health, I am guess I did lose some weight, but hard to say how much and if it is obvious I thinned out
  • The hardest thing about the diet was no so much couldn’t handle not eating meat, but what-to-eat, especially since I live with friends at the moment and live with them. If I lived at home, I could (or would be forced to, to be more precise) just go to the market, select some noodles and vegetables and fruits and go off on that the whole time.
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20.01.2009 Food 1 Comment

(A Vietnamese) Police Story

Wednesday, November 19th, 2008

When a cop yelled out at my friend, “Stop in the name of the law!” , my friend, naturally, said, “Huh?”

(That picture is not from the event I am about to retell)

I never go out. Ever. Partly because of a need to hold on to my money (and then spend it all on expensive things in the US to bring back to Vietnam), and also, well I don’t really like people. Talking, spending time, etc.

But I do, from time to time.

A couple of weeks ago, met with some friends here(I will withhold names simply because it’s a cop story, which is quite a sensitive issue here) in District 1 along with my cousin. Had a pretty big group, quite possible close to 15 people, that died off as the hour got late. Had a few drinks at this first bar, went on to Cage Bar, which is not really a bar but more of a club, next to Legend Hotel, had more drinks, and an emerging late night full of alcohol but no dinner was starting to ware some of us (me) down.

On to the motorbikes and food, we cried!

On the way to a Chinese food place on Nguyen Trai, one friend, whom I shall call the Human Thong (HT), wasn’t wearing a helmet. A few blocks before we got there, a cop saw him and rode up next to him to get him to pull over.

The Thong said no, but in an “Huh?” manner, like a foolish dumb-witted foreigner (which he definitely is not).

Again, told to move over. Ignored!

Third time, the cop (he had a buddy in the back of his motorbike too) was a bit pissed and basically forced HT to stop. It looked like he was going  to swing at him.

After this was at least 20 minutes of HT acting like he didn’t know what was going on, couldn’t understand any Vietnamese. Not only that, HT was a bit of a belligerent drunk, so when one cop tried to hold his arms down (handcuff hold), the Human Thong struggled, crying out, “What’s going on, what’d I do?”

We were on a busy street, and because of the his refusals, causing unwanted attention.

Ideally in this situation, you want to do English only, but also do it quietly so cops can save face and get paid off or whatever it is so they let you go.

No face saving here. The crowd was here, people were talking trash (arrest him!), and I (and other friends) was worried.

Arrest. Jail. An invite to leave the country.

Meanwhile, my cousin snuck off and went to pee in a corner. A building guard saw him and was not so pleased.

Back to the Human Thong. There was a guy there who seemed to have weird relationship over the cops. Some of us later thought maybe he was a gangster, and at first he told the cops to let HT go, he was a foreigner. Then as HT was a bit of a jackass, he changed his mind, saying, arrest him.

How this all went down is still a bit confusing. On one side, the cops really don’t want to bring foreigners in- that could mean trouble for their own careers in case that guy knows someone. Plus, they just want they money, so bringing the guy in doesn’t help.

On the other side, you have to save face with the crowd around. You can’t show everyone, if they’re watching, that people can just do whatever they like, even if everyone knows it’s true (for some).

In the end, the cops got another helmet, put it on HT’s head, and HT nodded “OH! Wear a helmet! OK! OK!”, and they let him go.

And off we went to discuss the story together over some Chinese, with me really needing water and food to avoid going over that “one drink too many” line. (Success!)

A little bit of luck, a little bit of drunken stupidity, and little too much excitement for my wussy butt.

On another note about nightlife, one of the topics of discussion at the restaurant was, “I wonder how old that prostitute is?”

What one man called 40, I felt was 28, not because she looked that young, but in VN people can look very old very quickly. A little like white people, yes.

Once we were outside the restaurant, I noticed prostitutes were everywhere, almost like sitting down in front of the restaurant waiting for customers. And it’s not even like that area is some dirty red light district or something.

This is Vietnam.

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19.11.2008 Vietnam No Comments

Finding Housing in Saigon [Fail]

Thursday, October 2nd, 2008

I’ve been in Saigon for nearly a month, staying a friend’s place while I try to find a place, specifically a 1 bedroom apartment. (Studios don’t really exist here)

Hanoi, this is not.

In Hanoi, I had an awesome place, a converted fully furnished studio apartment for close to $300 in rent. I walked to work. I would have never moved from that place as long as I lived  in Hanoi. Coming to Saigon, though, I figured I couldn’t get the same quality of place for that price, but I figured around $350, could do ok. 1 bedroom apartment with kitchen and bathroom.

Wrong.

The going rate, in fact, is $500, and that’s not for a super nice place, that’s just for a place. That could be anywhere from 40 to 60 square meters. Whether you can get a nice place or not is up to luck and patience. Thankfully, I’m not paying $50+/night on a hotel so I’m not completely broke. But I am looking at a 75% increase in rent, with 0% increase in pay, not such a good formula.

Even newly constructed  places, there’s no guarantee that’s a nice place. You just have to see it for yourself and perhaps, accept things.

Real estate company CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) believes that the housing market for foreigners is going to be really bad starting next year- simply not enough housing. That means as high as rents may be now, it’s going even higher.

Jimmy/Hai/Ben have found a good place though. $1200 for a 3 bedroom (also a small guestroom). Good location, close to District 1 (main downtown area). Very nice place, and I could have roomed with them, but the guest room was too small for me, and I think I have to live alone.

If I’m willing to live more than 30 mins away (this is a really long time in Vietnam time, trust me. It’s not like a commute in your car listening to the radio or sports talk radio), I could definitely find a good but cheap place. But I have to work in the main business areas, so it limits a little how far I’m willing to live. One of my coworkers, amazingly, lives over an hour away; that’s just insane, but part of it she’s Vietnamese, and that’s where her family house is.

I’ve visited a few different buildings here already. I think 20 mins away is acceptable for me. I guess there are 3 types of buildings. One’s the upscale style (not USA upscale, just Vietnam upscale). An example of this is The Manor, which exists in Hanoi now as well, but really far from the main Hai Ba Trung district. This type of place is for foreigners or wealthy Vietnamese. Rent at a place there is $1200+. The second type is for foreigners, but perhaps, just not with the same kind of bankroll. There, you’re looking at $600-$1000. Sometimes, Vietnamese who have had their property purchased for development will be given an apartment in this type of building, but on a low floor (closer to that $600 rang).

Even if you’re paying $1200, that doesn’t mean you necessarily in District 1 either. In fact, you’re probably not.

Finally, what I’m looking in, the third tier, is in the $300 – $600 range, and there is a huge variance in quality in those $300. It’s hard to explain unless you’ve seen it, but it’s distinctly Vietnamese. Foreigners will live in places like these, of course, but you can expect things like aluminum instead of wooden doors, a less secure feeling of privacy (maybe people don’t know what you’re doing, but they know if you’re home). People might leave their apartment doors open while they hang out in the living room, people put their shoes outside their apartment doors.

At one place I visited this week, the color inside of the complex and the way the apartment felt small with fluorescent lights glaring, I felt like I was a child again. Parents working double jobs, going to school, trying to afford something better. It made me feel poor again, but now I’d be old enough to understand.

It’s hard to imagine that place would be “home”, a place I could just relax for hours on end. (This is also why I don’t want a “room” or to live with other people. I life to be alone in my own home type of place)

Yet, that was still $500. And taken quickly.

It is the rate, and there are people willing to pay it. And I am now becoming one of them.

The hunt for housing goes on


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02.10.2008 Vietnam 2 Comments

Moving to Saigon (And other News)

Friday, August 15th, 2008

I’ve hit a lull in blogging, but things have been happening.

Dark Knight comes here (finally) in 2 weeks. I’m moving to Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City), essentially, right now. It’s 
.a bit sad for me, I actually wanted to stay in Hanoi, well, I didn’t want to leave, since I just really, really love Hanoi, especially my apartment. It’s a good move for my work, and may make me happier with work, which is an extremely important part of my life.

Other:

  • Went to Hue a few weeks ago for 5 days, checking out Thuan An (a beach that’s only 15km away from Hue and Lang Co, a more isolated beach town 75 km away from Hue). Very fun trip, plan to make a post on the trip with pictures
just need to get to it.
  • My eldest uncle on my Dad’s side died a few days ago. I hope my Dad is doing ok. I’d met my uncle a few times, but don’t really have a connection to my relatives on both sides since I didn’t grow up nothing them. But essentially all my relatives live in Saigon, and now I’m moving to Saigon
.so that’s a bit awkward and stress for me. I know for anyone reading this, you probably think I’m a bastard who doesn’t care about anyone, which I suppose is true, but most people are used to relatives and a sense of extended family. I, however, am my sister, and my parents, cousins from Indiana (1 family), and that’s it.
  • My Metal Gear Solid and Hoang Thuy Linh posts, are by far, the most popular posts on this web site. I almost feel like I should upload the sex video on here to amp up this site’s page views, but that really wouldn’t be right. Incidentally, Hoang Thuy Linh is an active user of Cyworld Vietnam.(She marks her stuff private)
  • It was #1 for a good amount of votes, but it was inevitable that it would fall: I’d be lying despite my grand claim that I thought it would be that good. I think it can stay top 10 over time.
  • 2008-08-15_15-28-42-641
  • Not playing basketball at all
  • Don’t have a place to live in Saigon yet, which worries me, especially since I loved my Hanoi place so much, but once I’m in Saigon and accept it, I’m sure it’ll be fine.
  • Top Gear is such a ridiculously good TV show. Took me forever to start watching it, but oh, is oh so very good. Just damn funny.
  • Starting a English club on Cyworld, club.cyworld.vn/VNEnglish. Me and my friend Henry are joining up to help people learn English, but it’s not just on us helping people. We’re creating a club where Vietnamese students join, teach, and help each other, collaborative discussion and learning. I think it be a big success as long as there are a few dedicated people (like me and Henry) to start it off.
  • Interested in the Olympics, but have not been watching
  • Vietnam played the Brazil Olympic team in Hanoi right before the Olympics started. I didn’t know Ronaldinho was going to play, and that really drove up ticket prices here. I wanted to go, but didn’t. I turned up sick that day anyway. Almost a lock that it will be the only time Ronaldinho comes to Vietnam in his life.
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15.08.2008 Random, TV No Comments

Office rental rates in Ho Chi Minh City, San Jose, other cities

Tuesday, June 3rd, 2008

RENTS MORE EXPENSIVE THAN IN the BAY AREA

Vietnam’s property market, fueled in part by massive foreign investment, is driving up the cost of doing business. Yearly office rental costs per square foot for the first quarter of 2008:

$44.08

San Jose

***********

$85.84

Ho Chi Minh City

(Holy crap, office space in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) 60% more than San Francisco! Office space in Hanoi is really expensive I hear too, and very very hard to find.)

***********

$49.71

San Francisco

$103.43

New York (Midtown)

$126.79

Hong Kong

$299.54

London (West End)

Source: CB Richard Ellis

Link: http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_9424886?source=rss

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03.06.2008 Vietnam No Comments

“Little Saigon” fans call San Jose Councilwoman Nguyen “pro-communist”

Thursday, November 22nd, 2007

…

Similar to the spats among Cuban emigres in Miami, the debate is laced with rhetoric that has historically marked Vietnamese-American politics – accusations that people are either radical anti-communists or passive communist sympathizers.

After taking over Saigon in 1975, the communist leaders of Vietnam renamed it Ho Chi Minh City. Supporters of Little Saigon like the name because it represents the way things were before the takeover. Nguyen and business owners in the area want to attract non-Vietnamese clientele to the area and believe Little Saigon is too narrow in its appeal.

“It is kind of unbelievable,” said Phillip Huynh, a San Jose resident. “When we voted for her, we thought she represented us. I think she is pro-communism.” …

San Jose Mercury News – “Little Saigon” fans call San Jose Councilwoman Nguyen “pro-communist”

—-

When we voted for her, we thought she represented us. I think she is pro-communism- stupidity like this is why I hate thinking.

I like this parody though:

—-

Ho Chi Minh City Fights Over “Little San Jose” Name

A group of nearly 27 American expatriates from San Jose stormed the offices of the People’s Committee Chairman in Ho Chi Minh City on Tuesday and demanded a renaming of a concentrated strip of American businesses that has become known as “Little San Jose.”

“It conjures up memories of a vindictive regime of lobbyists and a labor council-controlled agenda lead by a mayor that nurtured pay-to-play politics,” said Del Borgsdorff, owner of Togos America and President of the People’s American Business Association which manages the small communist-American strip of businesses.

The controversy started when the Vietnam People’s Council recommended that “Little San Jose” become the adopted official name on all government records, in media and marketing materials and branded on the rear ends of those that own business in the district.

“We would prefer ‘Santa Clara Valley Business District,’” said Susan Shick owner of American Nail Salon. “It doesn’t have the negative association with the Gonzales regime.”

When reached at his palatial grounds outside of the city, the People’s Committee Chairman promised that he would take the concerns of the Americans under advisement. “But this is communist Vietnam. We will do what we please in the end and that could mean revoking visas or death. I do hope things work out because I love those Cinnabons.”

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22.11.2007 Politics, Vietnam No Comments