Visit to Rach Gia, Kien Giang Province

I visited Rach Gia which is in Kien Giang province. Rach Gia is the provincial capital. Kien Giang is located in the southwestern part of Vietnam, right next to Cambodia. It is noted for its island Phu Quoc.

Kien Giang is one of the poorest provinces in Vietnam. Rach Gia was quiet and relatively under-developed.

There are no 4-5 star hotels. I stayed in a guest-house (nha nghi) called "Linda". What made it hilarious was that the guest-house opposite, which was under construction, was called "Henry".

I wonder who they are named after. The owners? Perhaps.

I was given the top room and was told that I had a view of the sea. Yes, provided I physically lift myself out of the window!

It was a decent room but the lack of water pressure made taking a bath a big challenge.

I spent much of the time in meetings, and only went back to Linda when the day was over.

On the last night, I brought my colleagues to the "best seafood" restaurant in Rach Gia, which was supposedly noted for its seafood.

The food was okay, better than what I was eating in the meetings.

The menu was not for the fainted-hearted as they served all sorts of animals, including snakes, etc.

While walking out of the restaurant, we went to have a look at the concrete tank to see what fishes they had.

To our surprise, we found that they kept their snakes in the same tank!

We left the restaurant fast!

By the end of the second day, I was looking forward to Ha Noi.

Ha Noi may be dusty, polluted and chaotic...but I miss the capital city...

Sick

Was flattened by a stomach bug yesterday.

Will take me a few days to recover.

Sheez.

No Electricity

It is a hot Summer day in Hanoi.

And they cut our electricity as part of the plan to "save" electricity because consumption was way too high for the city to maintain.

Of course, they did not alert us in advance.

Imagine stuck in a house without fans or even having the ability to grab a cold drink at the height of Summer.

I am not upset because they have to cut electricity as I understand their predicament but I am upset they did not make the effort to give us advance warning which would allow us to make alternative plans for the children.

Korea

I am increasingly worried by the situation in the Korean Peninsula.

How it will play out will have bearing on all of us in Southeast Asia.

Not good since we are all recovering well.

Hopefully it will not end up in a conflict but this may not be that easy since many things can go wrong with tension so high between the two sides.

Keeping my fingers crossed.

Will the "Top Kill" Procedure Work?

Watching CNN.

BP has began its operations to "top-kill" the massive leak.

I hope it works.

If not, I cannot imagine the damage to the environment.

The Heat in Hanoi

It is really hot in Hanoi these days.

Last week we had 40 degrees. It is presently hovering around 35 to 37 degrees which to me is too hot for comfort.

It is so hot that Pooch kept on "asking" to come into the house.

I am told that we can expect the weather to get even hotter as summer gets under way.

Oi troi oi, they said, in Vietnam.

Not good.

I need airconditioned clothes.

Natania Speaks

My little princess is growing up well.

She can be quite a handful at times but one thing for certain, she is hilarious.

Let me share this story.

It was late in the night and I was trying to put her to bed.

And I began this conversation:

"Nat, go to the toilet and clean up", I said.

"No, I do not speak English. I speak only Chinese", she replied with a smile, feigning ignorance.

I was speechless. It was such a good rejoinder that I sat on my bed and starting laughing.

Priceless.

Will be tough for me in the future when she grows up.

Return to Blogging

Been too long. More than a year now.

I think I will restart my blog.