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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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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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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.
• 
• 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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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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…

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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Link: Asia IT Managers Among the Lowest Paid

Snipped:

A) In contrast, seven Asian countries are among the 10 lowest-paying countries: Vietnam, Philippines, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Beijing and Shanghai–the latter two Chinese cities were treated as separate markets.

True that for Vietnam

B) The survey found that IT managers in Vietnam and the Philippines receive the lowest average annual salaries in the region, at US$15,470 and US$22,280, respectively.

I am an IT manager (an ex-pat at that!), but I don’t make $15K USD a year yet.

C) According to Mercer’s report, cash remains a large incentive for staff in Asia, as reflected by countries such as Indonesia, India and Vietnam having the “highest pay progression ratios”. Pay increases are most significant between positions of seniority in the organizations.

Not sure of how true this is within my company, sure I make more than my staff, but if I compare percentages with the US, I don’t think it’s that much better, or better at all, where better means more significant “between positions of seniority in the organizations”.

Two other things to consider: I work for a start-up (business has little money, but potential for equity) in Hanoi (lower wages compared to Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City).

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I’ll be in Saigon over the weekend- Cyworld is doing a big concert event to help promote its service and I have an invite. Should be a lot of fun. Will take pictures and show off. They even have My Tam!

The details:
Saturday, October 6: Cyworld CyDAY live-concert with My Tam, Ha Anh Tuan, Anh Khoa, Quang Vinh, Bao Thy, Luong Bich Huu, and others.

Be a nice cultural experience, something I need more of, just been so busy with work. At the same time, I need more cultural experiences to be better at work. The irony.

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