Goodbye Somerset, Hello Intercontinental, Hanoi, Ha Long Bay, and Cat Ba Island

On Friday September 4th I officially checkout out of Somerset serviced apartments – my home for the last 2 months. I said goodbye to the staff that were so kind to me, made sure all my belongings were packed up, and headed off to the airport for my last trip to Hanoi and Ha Long Bay.

The two hour flight was a breeze, hopped in a cab and found myself at the Intercontinental Westlake in Hanoi. Let me just tell you it was so worth it to have splurged a bit on a totally luxurious hotel and resort. Before I even got out of the cab I had 2 doormen helping me out and taking my luggage.

I was told at check in there was complimentary happy hour from 6-8PM, I had free internet in my room, and breakfast the next morning. After getting my key and learning where everything was in the hotel (fitness club, pool, sunset bar, diplomat bar, where breakfast was served, Milan dining room, Saigon dinning room, and Intercontinental lounge) I was escorted up to my room to make sure everything was how I wanted it.

There was a welcome note and letter addressed to moi, welcome food platter, and minutes after the escort left I received a phone call from guest services making sure I felt comfortable and if there was anything else I needed to make my stay more comfortable, all I had to do was call. Talk about service!

My room was amazing; the bathroom was great complete with nice Jacuzzi bathtub and a shower with one of those over the head shower heads that was super powerful and gave the illusion of rain fall from above or being under a waterfall, you could select the setting. I had a great balcony over looking Westlake and there were even fishermen catching big fish – maybe it was my dinner? It had a nice dark wood floor, chic décor, comfy comfy bed, and a nice flat screen TV – totally perfect.

After settling in I had to take a walk around the resort and get my bearings – investigate where everything was and then make my way into the city of Hanoi and start my sightseeing – I pretty much knew what I wanted to see. The gym is so amazing, blasting cool air, modern equipment, total awesomeness, the pool that is surrounded by the lake is heaven, and everything about the resort is complete awesomeness.

After seeing where everything was I headed into the ancient quarter of Hanoi. The streets in the ancient quarter are so windy and narrow, you are much better of exploring these streets by feet. My first impression was how different Hanoi is from HCMC – there seems to be more going on, people aren’t as friendly, they are ready to rip you off at any chance they’ve got, its more built up but in a different way, it seems more confusing and chaotic, lots more shops but with crap, so much randomness to take in – I totally loved it.

I set off on a mission with my list of places I wanted to check out ready to go. I strolled around the Ancient quarter first, and then walked to Hoan Kiem Lake to see the famous The Huc (red bridge or sunbeam bridge) Thap Rua (in the middle of the lake) and Den Ngoc Son Temple. It was very serene and peaceful on the water. The legend of this area is that General Le Loi was presented with a magical sword from a golden turtle that lived deep in the lake waters. This sword assisted Le Loi in expelling the Chinese from Thang Long (Hanoi today). In the 19th century Thap Rua in the middle of the lake was built to commemorate when the turtle once again rose from the water to reclaim the sword.

I took a couple or more nice shots and headed onto the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, Ho Chi Minh Museum, and One Pillar Pagoda. The Mausoleum is a great big structure situated near a huge green grass field with guards at every block. It reminds me of being in Washington DC actual which is ironic since Hanoi is also the capitol of this nation. After HCM died in 1969 the leading members of the Vietnamese altered his final testament to be cremated and instead embalmed him and installed him in the Mausoleum in 1975. This building is an important site for the Vietnamese especially for those living in the North.

I love the story about the One Pillar Pagoda – this structure was constructed by Emperor Ly Thai Tong in AD 1049. He had a dream that the Goddess of Mercy was sitting on a lotus flower and presented him with a baby boy. Soon after that dream he met and married Ly Thai Tong, a young queen who later bore him a son. To show his gratitude he ordered the construction of a singe pillared pagoda which represents a lotus flower.

In the same complex is the HCM Museum, that was est. in 1990, 1 century after HCM’s birth. This museum chronicles and celebrates his life and achievements.

When I finished these 3 stops in one visit there was a guy on a cyclo haggling me to get a cyclo ride. All I wanted to do was head back to the resort and he said it would only take him 5 minutes to get there for $2. I said why not, when in Vietnam…After about 10 minutes I knew we were nowhere near the resort and told him to stop, I wanted to get a cab. He then told me it was 200,000 VND which is $12, I told him NO, 50,000 VND is what he was getting because that is what is equivalent to $2 and he happily took it of course.

The cab took me back to the Intercontinental and I felt right at home as the sun was setting, the night lights were coming on and the lake was glistening all around me. All I wanted to do was enjoy happy hour, even though every hour of the day has been happy for me lately. The spread at happy hour was so nice. There was wine, champagne, beer, vodka, whisky, coffee and tea, water, sodas, sliced carrots, cucumber, fruit, mini sandwiches, grapefruit salad, and more but I totally forget now. It was so relaxing; I made friends with the staff as they kindly kept refilling my glass. I think I must have checked in on a day when people had checked out because it was super quiet.

After happy hour, I freshened up a bit and headed to the Saigon dining room which served a Chinese/Vietnamese fusion – I found 2 of my favorites: fresh shrimp spring rolls, and morning glory. I even ordered a yummy desert: mango sabo, that was delicious. I then proceeded to check out the Sunset bar that is right in the middle of the resort that is great for an after dinner drink, two or three. There was more activity here and I helped myself to another glass of champagne.

To finish off my first day right I had a nice bubble bath. After I got out I realized there was a bathtub menu on the nightstand. They offered lavender, rejuvenated, and luxurious baths. I was perfectly happy with the one I gave myself and soon tucked myself in the comfiest bed ever. They also had a pillow menu for you to select what pillow was best for you from about a dozen.

I did not wake up until my alarm went off the next morning. I could not wait to use the gym and was there in no time. I had such a great workout and was ready for a nice breakfast. After taking the best shower with the most water pressure I think I’ve ever had I headed to a wonderful breakfast spread that had my favorites: eggs (no duck embryo’s) and fruit – the fruit is so amazing here – if only I could take a suitcase back with me…With a full stomach I headed off to the Temple of Literature which was a great place to see.

The Temple of Literature according to the Vietnamese is one of the finest architectural complexes in Hanoi. This temple was est. in 1070 during the Ly Dynasty. It was founded in the honor of the Chinese philosopher Confucius serving as a center for higher learning and educated future mandarins for more than seven centuries. The temple was molded on the original temple of Confucius in the Chinese city of Qufu. It has 5 courtyards. Things you’ll see on the complex are the well of heavenly clarity, Khue Van Cac (huge gate entrance), Tortoise Stele, Altar of Confucius, Temple of Confucius, Great Drum, and a music room. It was really cool to see the Tortoise Stele, there were rows and rows of these stone Tortoise with great big scripts over them. The scripts hold names of all the students that came and passed tests and exams here. They date from the 15th to 18th centuries, there are only 82 of the original 112 that still survive today. All the visitors would kiss their hands and pat the heads of all the tortoise, it was very interesting to see and observe.

Of course after my tour of the Literature Temple, I got suckered into going on my first moto bike ride. I swore I would not go on one while here but figured I had to try it out while here, it’s the main form of transportation here! I said to myself again, When in Vietnam….I had some sense of direction and knew the moto bicyclist was not taking me where I wanted to go. I do have to admit cruising around on one of those was a lot of fun and the quickest way to get around. I would not drive one myself here though! Lesson learned – only taxis! But it was fun nonetheless.

I quickly hoped off – I was near the Mausoleum which is where I was told Ho Chi Mihn’s house on stilts was. As I was walking away, the cyclist was asking “I wait for you?” They are relentless! I hope he’s not still there waiting for me, I mean I think he got the hint, but you never know with some of these people…Finding HCM’s house became a wild goose hunt for me.

I had the address out of where I wanted to go and all these guards kept pointing me in the same direction. I felt like I was walking forever, there was no shade, and it was about 110 degrees. After about 40 minutes I found myself in the Botanical Gardens which is where the house is located, deep inside. I bought my entrance ticket in and set off again in the right direction.

I then realized I was sent in a huge circle and should have gone left instead of right…Oh well, I got a good walk in and the botanical gardens were beautiful. There were lots of brides and grooms inside taking lots of pictures as it is customary before they get married.

I had a card with me from the hotel with some places that are nice to see while in Hanoi. One of them was a silk village that I thought would be nice to see while here. I noticed everything else on the card was all close to each other and the resort. I hoped in a cab, showed him the address and we were off. We were headed in a direction I hadn’t been in before and were going for quite some time. I kindly asked how much longer until we get there. He had no clue what I was saying and thought I was asking something about the meter. He pulled over and I was asking people on the street if they spoke English – no one did…So as he is sitting there looking out the window for an answer I called the resort and explained the situation, the concierge soon became my translator, I asked her questions, gave the phone to the driver, he gave it back to me, she gave me answers.

Within 2 minutes I knew it was a bit farther away than other places, it should cost $5 to get there, he would bring me to the silk village and wait for me, drive me to the cathedral I wanted to see and wait for me and then bring me back to the resort. Totally perfect and it all worked out without me speaking a word to me. The rest of those plans went just as they were planned to and he was happy he was busy, I was happy I had a driver the whole time and wouldn’t have to find another cab.

I was back by 1:30 and lounging by the pool by 1:45. I parked myself there until I’d had enough of the heat, had another great workout, treated myself to happy hour, followed by dinner and was in bed early so I could wake up for my early morning workout before being picked up at 7:15 for the 4 hour ride to Ha Long City.

Again, I did not wake up until my alarm went off and felt so refreshed when I did awake. I had a nice quick and intense workout before breakfast. Just as I was told the tour guide was there to pick me up at 7:15 AM. I was the first pick up since the rest of the group were all staying in the old quarter. By 8AM we were on the road and Ha Long City bound.

At the half way point, we got a rest stop with every other tour group headed to Ha Long bay, we were the first group there and within minutes the place was packed. After stretching our legs for 25 minutes, we got back on the bus and got to the Junk port around noon time. At this point my tour guide Son told me I would actually not be going on the same junk as the group I rode with. I would be going with a different group that would be at the port shortly.

Next I met Kenny, my new tour guide, waved goodbye to my old group as they boarded the Margarite Junk and blended in with my new group. Once everything was all figured out we boarded a small boat that would take us to our Junk ship, the “Cristina Cruise.” There were 12 of us in total, me, this Australian dude – Bruce, who seemed to have a story about anything and would not stop talking the entire time. Maureen and Noah also from Australia – they are retired and had already been traveling for a month, from Vietnam they were headed to China and then to Japan for another 6 weeks of travel. Maureen would not stop talking about her daughter who lives in NYC with her husband and 2 children. The husband works for Deutsche Bank and “they moved there to make a billion dollars to be set for life and then move back to Australia…the have a huge 3 million dollar apt on Lafayette and Prince and another 35 acre house in upstate NY that they go to every weekend and bring half of NY with them bc they have so much space…” By the end of all her endless bragging about her daughter I wanted to barf!

Nichole and Jeremy from Germany, really nice and loved chatting with them. I got to know all those personalities the best since we sat at the same table for lunch, dinner, and breakfast. There were also a trio of French people that will be traveling for a year, a mother and I couldn’t tell if it was brother and sister or boyfriend and girlfriend, another French couple and a Vietnamese dude.

We all checked into our cabins. It wasn’t the Intercontinental but it totally worked. I cannot complain, it was clean, I had my own room and bathroom so I was happy. The bathroom was funny though. It was an all in one toilet, shower, and sink….It worked though. After check in, we were served a nice seafood lunch and continued on towards Hang Dau Go “surprise cave”. We had about an hour or so until we go there so I enjoyed the sights and sun on the rooftop lounge deck.

I knew we were getting closer to surprise cave once I saw all the other junks docked and anchored. We climbed the steep staircase to the cave entrance, Kenny told us some facts about the cave and we soon entered. In the 13th Century, General Tran Hung Dao used to hide his lethally sharpened weapons in this cave. The weapons were later planted in the shallow waters near the shore to destroy enemy Mongol fleets.

What a fascinating place it was, we walked around and explored for about 45 minutes. Every other tour group was in the cave as well. I waved to Son and my previous group I was with for all of 4 hours. Each part of the cave was more fascinating to me than the part before. My pictures do not do it justice. It was just amazing to see how this has been created on it’s own in the middle of nowhere, I’m sure there are more caves that are similar that have not been discovered yet. Everyone worked up a great sweat and we were ready for water fun.

Next on the list – kayaking. We had to go out in pairs of 2, so I was with story telling Aussie Bruce, we had fun in the kayak and it was nice to cool down a bit from the water splashing us. What I really could not wait for was swimming. Around where we kayaked was a fishing village and there were dozens of brightly colored floating houses with huge fishing hole nets set up off the houses. Very interesting to see. There are also women who row these large wooden boats filled with beverages and snacks they try to sell to the tourists, they are relentless and tie themselves up to the big Junk boats hoping people will buy from them. It gets totally annoying after awhile.

We kayaked for about an hour, then headed to a man made beach we had passed earlier in the day. It was just about sunset, the water temperature was perfect, and we all had a blast in the water. We spent about an hour or so there, then headed back to the Junk where we’d be for the rest of the night. After a nice shower and freshening up – oh it felt so good after a day of sweating non stop. We all enjoyed lounging on the roof before dinner was served. After dinner I headed back up to the roof to read and write in my journal. I was in heaven anchored in the middle of Ha Long Bay in a total relaxed state of mind. As I was unwinding more and more the staff of the ship thought it would be fun to sing some karaoke…Fun for them, not so fun for everyone else. They chose these sad love songs to sing at high pitched decibels that made me want to jump off the Junk…LOL, it ended before midnight, thankfully.

My cabin was super comfy; the air was blasting, I hadn’t been sure about it earlier, since they would not turn on our ac’s until after dinner, but once I walked in a nice chilly burst of air slapped me across my face. I had such a good nights sleep, it must have been the sea air. The Bay is also really still, so you never felt the ship rocking at all!

I woke up right when my alarm went off, got ready for the day and headed upstairs for some iced coffee to enjoy on the roof top before breakfast was served. Once it was ready for us, we were all alerted it was time to head to the dining room. We each got one egg, one banana, and one slice of white bread. I chose the egg and banana and made do with that. We then got split up again. Some people had chosen the 1 night/2day option and others had chosen the 2 night/3 day option 2 nights on the boat, others like me had chosen 2 night/3 day 1 night on the boat and 1 night on Cat Ba Island.

The majority of the group stayed on the Junk that would sail them through Ha Long Bay back to Ha Long City a different route than they had taken to get out to sea. The others boarded the small boat and headed to Cat Ba Island. When we got off and made the long walk schlepping our luggage to the bus stop I was told I would again be going with a different group. It’s a good think I am flexible here! Basically I just went wherever they told me and as long as I got back to Hanoi, I’d be a happy camper.

I soon realized I was re-united with my group from the day before, Son the guide and 2 other girls that were on the bus with me. We got on the boat that took us to Cat Ba National Park where we’d get to go for a jungle hike 250 meters up. They did not really prepare us for what was ahead and there should have been mention to wear the correct clothing and shoes. I was so happy I went with my gut to wear my sneakers and workout pants. I felt bad for the girls who were wearing jean skirts and flip flops, they totally managed but it wasn’t as fun for them.

At the base of the mountain, I saw Kenny telling Nichole, and Jeremy and the French trio something and I waved. We were split apart but together again. Basically it was one big tour bc I kept seeing the same people over and over again. I came up with nicknames of the groups I kept seeing. There was the “wooly mammoths” this group of about 6 Aussie dudes that looked as though they’d been backpacking for a while, long curly hair to match their hippy-ish looking beards and moustache. Then there was the “young English girls” who were always wearing jean skirts and flip flops. And then some other random groups that were all familiar faces to me by the end of the 3 day excursion.

I started chatting with Susana and Mayte from Madrid, Spain. They had been on my bus the day before and we started climbing the mountain. The stairs we climbed were getting steeper and steeper until there were no longer any stairs and it was nothing but natural terrain ahead. I was so glad I had done X Rock a couple of weeks ago, it totally prepared me for actual rock climbing and climbing out in nature is so much more fun! I kept on moving forward and came to a fork in the trail, at first I went right and then I wasn’t sure if that was the right way to go. I could hear Mayte and Susana at the fork and headed back to them, there was also Frank and his Uncle Christian from France, they all thought left was the way to go so to the left we all went. Left actually turned out to be the harder way to go but what an adventure it was.

I was carrying a large water bottle and a plastic bag that had my wallet, passport, sweat towel I never left anywhere without, hand sanitizer, gum, camera – the basics. Frank insisted I give it to him to put in his backpack. So since he insisted I gave it to him, I kept the camera to flash pictures. We chatted the rest of the way up and soon became quick friends. The terrain was getting steeper and rockier but I loved it. I soon was given the name “Jungle Woman” from Frank because I was having a great time and wasn’t complaining about anything. I think people thought I was going to be this prissy, bratty, annoying girl, I totally proved them all wrong!

We got to the top after about an hour and the top was so small, it could barely fit all the groups. Atop the top of the mountain was this old scrap metal look out tower that could only fit a maximum of 5 people at a time. There were not that many floorboards on the floor of the tower and the wind made it sway side to side. After catching our breath and lowering our heart rates we decided it was time to descend back down.

The climb down was actually more difficult than the climb up because of the steepness; you really had to plan each and every step you took. Frank kept checking on me to make sure I didn’t need any help. We all made it back to the bottom where there was a water and beverage station waiting for us. It was the best water I’ve ever had, super cold, so cold there was even some ice formed on the inside of the bottle – the best!

We boarded the bus again that would take us to our hotels. I was dropped off first to the Cat Ba Water Resort. Everyone else was staying at the Holiday View Hotel. I loved where I was staying and would have been content staying there the rest of the day. There were 2 pools, one had a huge water slide set up and everything overlooked the beach that had a beautiful view of Ha Long Bay. It was so nice. I did find it strange at how quiet it was though; it was like a ghost town. I mean I know it’s the quiet season but this was just weird. I think it’s because you could really plan a cheap trip if you stayed at one of the other hotels and most people did that. But selecting this option really wasn’t that more expensive and it was totally worth it to have a nice place to come back to at the end of the day.

I checked in, got settled in my cute little room with white wicker furniture that overlooked one of the pools and a great view of the Bay. I took a quick shower and headed to lunch. I was served a delicious lunch and was then picked up at 2 to head to Monkey Island with the rest of the group.

We boarded another little boat that took us to Monkey Island. There we could swim, lounge on the beach, kayak, and observe actual monkeys monkeying around. It was perfect and the water temperature was perfect, it had just a bit of a chill to it to cool you down. The coast also had lots of seashells and coral to scavenger for, and I had fun doing that. After a couple of hours we headed back to our hotels where we’d have the rest of the evening to ourselves. I sat by the pool and enjoyed reading my book. I headed back up to my room, showered, and went back downstairs for dinner. I was served the best dinner. Seafood, vegetable soup; spicy beef salad; steamed shrimp, fish with tomatoes, clams, steamed spinach with garlic, and some other cucumber soupish thing with shrimps. Everything tasted so good but I could not finish it – way too much food! With a very full stomach I went to relax back in my room and before I knew it, I was fast asleep.

Checkout was at 8AM the next morning when I would also be picked up. I had a great breakfast, got my things from my room, and checked out. At around 8:15 I was picked up and we picked up every one else to head back to the Junk that would take us back to Ha Long Bay. We all went right up to the rooftop, some people stayed in the shade, and I lounged in the sun. We joked around and chatted while making our way through Ha Long bay – everything was beautiful and we were all busy snapping pictures away of everything! We got back to the mainland where we again had to schlep our luggage to the restaurant where lunch was being served. It felt like forever with the sun beating down on us. We had a nice lunch before making the 4 hour journey back to Hanoi.

Again, we stopped at the same rest stop for 25 minutes. I was the 1st one dropped off back at the Intercontinental; everyone else was staying in the Ancient Quarter. I felt like I was right back at home when walking through the lobby. I checked in, got my key and was brought by golf car to Pavilllion 3, this time I was staying out near the Sunset Bar. Same room, just different location. I did have a better view this time though so that was nice.

I dropped my things down, got into my gym clothes and had a great workout. I guess one the girls who works there remembered me and greeted me with, “hi there, are you going to have another hard workout?” as soon as I walked in. I replied with, Of course! I finished my workout just in time to enjoy happy hour and then dinner. I made my way back to my room and sunk into the comfiness of the bed, pure bliss!

I woke up this morning, worked out, had breakfast, checked out and was in the cab by 9:30AM to make my 12:15 flight back to HCMC. I got here at 10:40 to find my flight has been canceled until 2:30PM and they did not contact me to let me know, so I’m stuck for a few hours, at least I was able to finish writing about my trip! Once I’m back in HCMC I’ll feel better, as long as I am back before my 6AM flight back to the US tomorrow I’ll be ok!

I just cannot believe it’s all over! I remember when I first got my job offer from Reebok that part of my program would be living abroad for a few months. I could not wait for that to happen and it was something I was so looking forward to and now it has came and gone! What an awesome experience it’s all been and like I’ve said before, I feel so lucky to have been able to have gone through something so amazing and learned so much in such a short period of time.

People keep on joking with me that it looks like I didn’t work while I was here. I totally did! The work week was grueling, I just played really, really hard on the weekends and every hour I wasn’t working. So maybe I spent more time giving updates on where I was or headed, but I thought that would all be the fun stuff you’d want to hear about!

So in about I don’t know 36 hours or so I will be back in the US, back to reality, back to 02072, back to life in the US but my adventures will not stop! I am coming back a new and improved Jennie, so just be prepared – I’m looking forward to seeing you all and perhaps plan some adventures on familiar ground, who’s in?

ALL GOOD THINGS MUST COME TO AN END...

Here I am in the domestic terminal in HCMC all ready for my last big trip to Hanoi and Ha Long Bay. It seems like I just planned the trip two months ago and now…here it is! Tonight and tomorrow I splurged and booked a room at the Intercontinental in Hanoi, then will have my 2 night/3 day Ha Long Bay tour and stay at the Intercontinental again on Tuesday night before flying back to HCMC on Wednesday and then leave for the US on a 6AM flight back to the states!

If someone had told me two years ago that in only two months I would have had the opportunity to work in Sourcing for Reebok, work closely with 4 different factories, learn so much about product development and sourcing from an abroad perspective, live in Ho Chi Minh City, make a nice group of new friends, explore the Mekong Delta, visit the Cu Chi tunnels and crawl through them, shoot a machine gun, religiously take a mixed martial arts class 3 times a week with the hottest instructor, have an inner self makeover, travel to Singapore, visit Da Nang and Hoi An, get clothing tailor made, hike marble mountain, see the ancient ruins of My Son, step on China Beach – where the US soldiers were first dropped, see a water puppet show, bargain prices for EVERYTHING especially at Ben Than market, get weekly massages, have a house calling mani/pedicurist, go to the most hidden tropical paradise I’ve ever been to – Phu Quoc, see a Pearl farm, fishing harbor, see Sao Beach, go to the Saigon zoo, the War Remnants museum, find the mosaic pagoda that is in the World Guinness Record book for having the most hand laid tiles, have 4 rotations in the FTP program at Reebok under my belt (Project Management, Costing, Pattern, Sourcing) and now make my way to Hanoi and Ha Long Bay – I would have laughed in your face and not believed you!

It’s been more than a trip, the last 2 months and I think I have taken the phrase “live each day to the fullest” to a whole other level! I taught myself how to live in the present moment, enjoy it, and not be rushing into the next thing on the list. If you keep rushing into something else and get excited for what’s next instead of what’s now, when do you really ever enjoy what you are doing?

Many people have said to me over the past few days, well you know – all good things must come to an end. I have to disagree here and say that yes, this great adventure is coming to an end but I am ready for the next great adventure once I return back to the states. I will be bringing with me my new sense of adventure, enjoying life, and living each day beyond the fullest – bringing this back will keep my adventure going, and keep the good to continue!

The last couple of weeks here seemed to have gone faster than I had liked. I still feel like I just got here. It was so strange checking out of Somerset this morning. The staff there were incredible, so friendly, hospitable, and helpful. It will be hard to adjust to not having daily maid service, pool, gym, restaurant, and staff that would do anything to make your day or life easier at my disposal…That good thing did come to an end I must say!

Last night was my last MMA class with FX. I of course gave it my all throughout class and knew I’d miss this weekly ritual but really look forward to keeping it up at home and finding a new studio to box at.

All of my projects came to an end at work. I ended up managing 50 styles spread between 4 factories while here and let me tell you it made things very interesting. I’m going to miss working with the factories and being inside of them almost every day. This is where all the dirty work is done, and I LOVE IT. It was great coming here at the end of PPR stage (our first samples) working with the factories on improving the samples for second sample shipment (PFR) back to HQ. I now see things from this side and will return seeing things with a new pair of eyes. I look forward to maybe changing the way some things are done so that the work flow is somewhat smoother and certain processes run a bit more efficiently, it will be a challenge and it will be interesting but I am up for it!

I also know that once I get back and continue my rotations in other departments, more connections will be made and this experience will have really made a difference for me. I already know it has but am excited to see how else it will help me.

Luckily Dave and Margarita (Dave is a team leader on the footwear classics team here for 2 years, his girlfriend Margarita is here with him) were ok with me leaving my 3 very packed suitcases that I will be towing back with me to the US while I went on my little adventure to Hanoi and Ha Long Bay. They are actually on the same flight back to the US with me on September 10th for their vacation. So they also offered I stay with them Wednesday night instead of getting my own room for 13 hours. It totally works out perfectly!

I totally took advantage of my last few days here and did EVERYTHIING I wanted to get in. I climbed X rock which is a huge rock climbing wall in the middle of D3 of the city, walked through the zoo – its such a nice zoo I must say, found the mosaic pagoda that I had read about, its in the Guinness Book of Records for having the most hand laid tiles and I managed to get the driver lost trying to find it, saw the War Remnants Museum, checked out some new restaurants, had my last few visits to Saigon Square and Ben Than Market, took full advantage of the pool at Somerset, had a really fun Saturday night out with Pam, Mark, Dave, and Margarita – we basically had a pub crawl. It’s really been so surreal and I am just so happy I was able to experience so much in such a short period of time professionally and personally – what could be better? Like I said I know the adventure DOES NOT STOP HERE – it’s going to continue and I cannot wait!

Thanks so much for keeping tabs on me while I’ve been away, it sure has been a journey!!!

JUICE

Juice has been a favorite of mine since we first got here. I think we discovered it within our first week of being here. I have been hooked on it ever since. I like it so much that when I call to place my order the guy knows it’s me and says oh hello Ms. Jennie, how are you today? You are our best customer! It’s really kind of cute.

I always order the same thing – banana peanut butter smoothie with coconut milk and NS4 (banana, mango, passion fruit, kiwi non dairy smoothie) I mix them together with some protein powder that I brought with me (so happy I brought it with me), pop it in the freezer for a couple of hours and voilla I have my yummy protein smoothie for after my K1 boxing class and it’s now how I look forward to ending those 3 nights!

I’m going to miss Juice and the fact they deliver, so I had to write about it because it was such a part of my routine here! As my mom always says – no matter what you get, it always tastes better when you don’t have to make it!

I always had the same delivery man who would not only show up with the yummiest smoothies but a huge smile on his face. I asked him if it was ok if I took his picture and he loved it and then told me I was like family...Not sure what that was supposed to mean but I said thank you! LOL!

It's been 8 weeks already?

I still don’t understand how that’s possible. Didn’t I just get off the plane? I’m not ready to leave! But know once I get home and settled I’ll be happy to be back.

This past weekend was my last one in HCMC. Friday night Pam and I went to try this Vietnamese restaurant that served mostly dishes from Hue that I was so excited for. We got there at exactly 9PM which is when they close. Total bummer! So the place next door looked really good from the outside and decided to give it a shot. They sat us upstairs and it was all open. Usually not a problem, but it seemed extra buggy and my skin was so itchy. Ordering was a project. The wait staff did not understand us at all – which is the first time this has happened. Honestly, I felt like we were on a hidden camera show. Pam ordered sweet potato’s and was served steamed spinach…But it’s all about the journey…I ordered a Goi salad which was delicious and steamed green cabbage with garlic.

After a stressful and rather unpleasant dinner we decided to end the night on a positive note by going to Saigon Saigon for a drink. This is the rooftop bar atop the Caravelle hotel. I’ve heard the atmosphere is nice and the drinks are good. We’d been meaning to go there so that was the perfect time. Our elevator ride up was interesting. There was an interesting looking man with about 5 girls that looked as though they could be escorts…Not trying to stereotype but sometimes the shoe just fits. We reached the rooftop and could hear live salsa music playing from the elevator. The inside scene was lively and there were live Cuban salsa dancers shaking their thangs in front of a band. We were seated outside and started to unwind! I ordered frozen white wine sangria and Pam ordered “reflections”

It really was a nice way to end the evening. The following day I had a long list of things I wanted to get through. I woke up, had a great workout, got ready and then went to X Rock which is a rock climbing wall I had wanted to try it out since we got here. I had such a blast and will be going back again before I head back to the states. After that I did my last round at Saigon Square and Ben Than Market. I read an article on this pagoda that is made up of mosaic tiles and really wanted to go. The driver of course conveniently did not know how to get to District 8 where it was and he didn’t know how to get to Chinatown either…So that eliminated things I had wanted to do. I will go there before I leave!

I got back to my apartment and started packing some stuff up, relaxed for a bit and then got ready for a night of fun. Dave, Margarita, Mark, Pam and I all had planned on going to dinner and drinks that night. We ended up at one of my favorite restaurants, Cepage! It was just as good as I remembered. We then headed off to Vasco’s for a couple of drinks, then Saigon Saigon, and ended the night at a club called Apocalypse. It was my funnest night in HCMC!

I have to back track for a second though. Pam’s friend Emily had requested to stay with Pam on Saturday night. She was flying out on a 6AM flight the following morning and didn’t feel like spending $ for one night. Pam of course said no problem despite not really wanting for her to stay. I could tell Pam was annoyed before Emily even got here and I soon realized why. I have never met a character like this 4’11 little ball of fire! It was her way or no way at all and she had to disagree with everyone on everything. Dave was the most patient of all in dealing with her. Mark, Margarita, and I gave up pretty quickly. And Pam was being a good sport as well. She didn’t want to eat with us because the food was not strictly Vietnamese or vegetarian. Since it was her last night she wanted Vietnamese only, and really wanted Pho 2000 – which is basically like a Mc Donald’s. Its fast food noodle soup which would be the equivalent to eating Ramen noodles. We told her there was one a block away. She soon came back to tell us this was not a “real Pho 2000.” Apparently she had a book of trademarks and there were chains that were knock off’s of the original chain despite them being exactly the same. She did not believe it was “real.” So she wanted to walk all the way to Ben Than and eat at a Pho 2000 that she knew was vegetarian.

She returned before we were done eating and came along to the next stop on what became a somewhat pub crawl for us all. Emily does not drink and had no interest in having a sip of anything at all. By the time we got to Apocalypse she’d had enough, the smoke was bothering her asthma and she took Pam’s key to go crash at our apartment. She must have had the key close to her cell phone bc the key was de-activated once she got there and tried calling Pam 14 times. Pam’s phone rarely works as it is and there would have been no way to hear it ringing in the club we were in. So as we got in the cab Pam heard her phone. It was Emily and she was locked out…

It all ended well, she made her flight and we didn’t have to deal with her anymore. It was quite comical though.

Sunday was a perfect day to lounge by the pool and veg out. I had another one of my fun workouts on the tennis court, packed some more things up and watched I love you man – such a random, but funny movie. By 8:30PM I was exhausted and felt like it should be midnight.

It was a perfect way to spend my last weekend here. I am looking forward to spending my next weekend in Hanoi and Ha Long Bay – it’s the trip I have been most looking forward to and I don’t want to rush it here because then it’s all over! I’m enjoying my last few days here and soaking it all in, trying not to rush a thing – which is how I usually operate!

!!!!!!SURPRISE!!!!!!!

So last night before I left for my MMA class I realized I was all out of eggs. I always hard boil 2 dozen and have them as my breakfast. I made a mental note to pick some up after class so I would have breakfast this morning and not have to scramble to find something.

The usual place I get my food at was closed because it was later than I normally stop by. So, I found another place and grabbed 3 dozen eggs - figuring they should last me until I leave. I get home and place all the eggs in a large pot, jump in the shower, and get my things ready for today. I pop back into the kitchen but on my way am blown away by the horrible smell that is filling the apartment. I have no idea what it could be or where it could be coming from. As I got closer to the kitchen I knew right away that's where it was coming from and when reaching the stove knew it was from the eggs.

Pam was headed into the kitchen and we were staring at the eggs. She remarked that one egg was not a "normal egg" as we are used to, it definitely had some sort of creature in it, she fished it out of the pot and placed it in a bowl, we were staring at it. There was totally a little creature peeking outside of the egg and I didn't dare open the rest of the shell up to see more. I decided to take it and put it in a plastic bag and place it outside of the apartment. I then placed the rest of the eggs in another bag and placed it outside of the apartment, and still have a disgusted look on my face.

Today I was telling this story to my co-workers and one of them told me that there is another kind of egg they sell in the market that has a fertilized duck embryo in it!!!! It's a traditional Vietnamese meal, they boil the eggs in water just as I had and eat the duck!!!!!!!!!! I don't know how they can stand the smell of doing this. Of course after I was gagging and saying how gross this is, she tell me that she actually enjoys eating this! I felt horrible and explained I was just not used to this or expecting a baby duck to be in my eggs!


Clearly, I had no idea and now know to make sure the eggs I buy are not fertilized duck embryo's! What a lesson to learn the hard way! LOL


I just fond this online and had to share:

A common and inexpensive breakfast dish which can be found in any wet market, balut is a fertilized duck egg with a nearly developed embryo inside which is boiled and eaten in the shell. It is typically served with fresh herbs: rau răm or Vietnamese coriander, salt, and pepper; lime juice is another popular additive, when available. A more unusual version of balut dish - Fetus quails is a snack favored by many Vietnamese students. Paddy crab and paddy snail are the main ingredients in “bún " - a popular noodle dish - and in some everyday soup dishes (“canh”) and braised food (“món bung”). Family meals with silk worms , banana flowers, sparrows, doves, stinky fermented fish and shrimp are not rare sights. Seasonal favorites include or ragworm , which are made into many dishes such as fried omelet, fermented sauce, steamed, stir-fried with radish or bamboo shoot.

My Newest Obsession!

By now I think you all know what a fitness fanatic I am and how much I have enjoyed taking my MMA/cardio conditioning class at K1 Fight Factory in Vietnam. I decided to take some action shots of class last night during another kick ass workout.

Being instructed by FX and David Minetti has been such a great experience for me and I have looked forward to every Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday night class. They’ve gotten me to push my limits and then some! Each 1.5 hour class flies by and I am left excited for the next one. It’s been really fun working on my technique.

I still remember how intimidated I felt on my first entrance into the studio. There were about 6 guys sparing with each other and I thought to myself “what have I got myself into now?” But after just the first ten minutes I was hooked and have been going back ever since. It’s hard to believe 8 whole weeks have gone by since I’ve started. I’m looking forward to finding a place hopefully just like this near me in MA when I get back.

This week FX even had me lead the Wednesday night group through the warm up portion of class. Then last night he had me demonstrate some technique stuff and stand in the front through all the cardio conditioning. He told me how he and David (his brother) are always impressed with my form, technique, and conditioning which of course made me feel great. Taking part in a new exercise regime like this was just what I needed to get out of my exercise rut! I felt I was constantly churning my wheels and making little progress. All I needed was to shake things up a lot!

Just wanted to share what I’ve been up to 3 nights a week while here, it has definitely been a positive part of my routine and I look forward to bringing back all that I have learned. Plus, if you ever need some to cover your back, I’m your girl!

A Day in the Footwear World

Beleive it or not, I think my head is still spinning from spending just one day in the footwear factory, where the DC opened. There was just so much to take in, I took 200 pictures!

First, Pam showed me around her floor and the rest of the DC a bit more in depth that what I had seen at the grand DC opening. Then Kevin, her mentor here took us into the sample room. It was shocking how big just their sample floor was. Very organized and lots of Reebok logo's and branding all over the place. Even the little stools the operators sat on had vector's on them. I totally loved it and it was a nice change from seeing 3 stripes almost everywhere.

For whatever reason, I really thought the making of footwear would be more automatic and the machines would run systematically. It's more manual than apparel! There are so many operations and people all involved to make just one pair of sneakers. My head hurts at the thought of how many hands a sneaker, pant, top, or whatever the product may be touches before the consumer actually purchases it - it's just so insane!

The three of us spent about 2.5 hours just walking through the sample room. As I'm sure you can imagine the process to make just one pair of sneakers is very long, many steps are involved, and there is just so much to see and absorb.

I ran into my team at the canteen for lunch. They were totally confused when they saw me. "What are you doing here? What do you mean you are working in footwear today? You aren't working with us anymore? Are you coming back tomorrow?" Were just a few of the questions I was asked, they were so disturbed but quickly got over it once they understood why I was over on the footwear lot that day which is 2 lots away from us. We are in lot B, and footwear is in lot D. This complex has 4 lots total: A, B, C, D.

After lunch we continued our tour to the rubber room (my favorite part of the tour of all). By the end of the day Pam and I both felt a bit woozy from being in the rubber room for so long. The fumes are very pungent, I do not know how the workers function all day, day after day. It must be something you get used to over time.

So when the factory first receives the rubber for the bottom, outside sole (called a last) it comes in a huge block in a plain, nothing color. It is then melted and fed through these huge machines that flatten it out, die is added and it keeps moving through these wheels, it looks like taffy in this process. Then it moves into another machine and another and another until it is completely flat and the right color that matches the pantone color swatch they were given. Many sheets are cut of this rubber and they are sent to get "die cut." This is the basic shape the last will be.

Some last's have many rubber components and each rubber piece has to be weighed and weight the amount it is supposed to weigh. Once all the components are cut, they are given to an operator who works at the metal mold station. He places each piece in the mold and presses the mold down. It is then fed into this hot oven type thing that also presses the mold down, some of these machine's are automated and the mold pops in and out with the help of a button, older ones are manual and these little guys have just a crowbar to use to pull the heavy (probably 75 lb) mold in and out of the oven. No women are allowed to work on this line bc they could really hurt or burn themselves.

Some molds are also more complex than others and have 3 different levels to use of the mold. New molds are made for any new last that has been approved and developed. A last mold can cost anywere from $900-5,000 to make for just one!

It was interesting to hear how much lower their targets are - 150 pair in a day. The process is just so labor intensive and the factory works on 2 shifts - for a total of 22 hours the factory is up and running, 6 days a week!

Once I stopped or at least tried to stop my head from spinning we continued onto one of the main production lines. There was a nice, organized, somewhat rhythm the production flowed in and I really enjoyed watching one model move through the line - beginning to end. Anyone could tell where the line started and ended which is always important to know. In some of the factories that do not practice lean manufacturing it can be very difficult to have any clue what's going on the floor...

At one point in the day Pam looked over at me and said, "I feel really bad for you right now..." I made a puzzled expression asking her why? And she told me how she felt bad for me that I was taking so much in and seeing so much in such a short period of time. I told her I didn't mind, I loved it and was just being a sponge soaking it all in.

When we got to the end of the line, where the sneakers were laced up with correct laces, placed in tissue wrapping, and then boxed we went across the way to where the testing took place, embroidery, and screen printing. I loved looking around the lab, they had this really cool contraption in a seperate room. It looked like something straight out of Dr. Seuss. It was this wheel that had about a dozen sneakers attached and it just kept walking around in a circle on a track. They keep this machine running for a week straight to see how the sneaker wears. They also perform leather tearing tests, shoe lace failure, rubber tearing, flexibility, and many others.

We then checked out the embroidery room and lastly screen printing. Both of which are the same as apparel. Lots of similarites but footwear just has way more!

During this time there was a huge rainstorm outside and the streets were starting to flood, everyone wanted to leave by 4:30 bc we know it would take us a while to get home. I fell asleep in the car on the way home for a bit and then Dave decided to have Pam, he, and myself play the alphabet game. You have to look at every sign and go from A-Z, you can only use a word that starts with that letter and you can only use 1 word/sign. Dave started it off as we were driving through what felt like an ocean. I thought the water was going to start coming in through the car - the drainage system here is awful!

Pam and I were silent and Dave asked if we were still playing. He forgot to mention we were all in charge of our own list, whoever got to Z first won...We thought we all took turns...Dave made it all the way to Y once we were home - it's tricky playing this game in Vietnamese!

There had been a resturant Pam and I kept passing. It was always bustling and looked like a scene. We decided to go there for dinner that evening and it was so delicous. It was all Vietnamese and the food was so fresh and delicous! They had so many different fresh rolls and rice paper rolls to choose from, Che (sweet woup), Pho (the dish of Vietnam, it's just a rice noodle in a broth with beef, chicken, or shrimp) everyone loves it and most Vietnamese eat it for every meal: breakfast, lunch, dinner! Usually you'll see them eating in at a plastic pre-school chair at a cart on the sidewalk outside, I guess it's just the tradition here!?!?!?!

Once we finished dinner I was basically falling asleep at the table. I guess taking in a days worth of new information will wear you out!

Another GREAT week

Last week ended perfectly. Friday was the grand opening of the new Footwear Development at Pou Yen in Vietnam – this was years in the making and it came together perfectly. I know from Pam there were many bumps in the road but the finished product is amazing and I think it marks an even stronger partnership between Reebok and Pou Yen.

The opening ceremony started at 10AM in front of the factory. There was a huge white tent set up outside with tons of white chairs and red ribbons tied around. A long red carpet led the way from where the snack table and drink bar was set up all the way to the front of the stage where the Red Lion Band were to perform and ribbon cutting ceremony would take place.

Everyone took their seats and the Red Lion Band started performing. The band was made up of four women who I think were hired purely on their looks and skill for posing while playing instruments and singing. The men really enjoyed them that’s all I have to say.

When the Red Lion band was done performing it was speech time – speeches were given from John Herlihy, Andre Mossiat, Horst Stapf, Renee Howard, Peter Yan from Pou Yen Group, and Lee Flower. It was nice to hear how excited the big players were to have the DC opened. I felt especially lucky to have been a part of this momentous day!

Next it was time to cut the ribbons and have a champagne toast. After confetti cannons went off, dancing dragons danced around and champagne was sprayed all over the crowd we were able to see what the inside unveiled. I loved the huge Reebok vector that welcomed the crowd inside. The inside is completely modern and has tons of display counters with all of the new Reebok products.

Once we made it up to the 4th floor there were tables and tables of food to choose from and wait staff walking around with wine, beer, or your alcohol of choice. Totally apropos for 11 AM – hey, it had to be 5PM somewhere!

The mood was so positive and energetic; everyone was having a great time. The best thing to see was how invested the factory is to Reebok and how they want to keep improving the product with us. Having the DC here will really help make the work flow much more efficient and will also bring us closer to the consumer. I can only hope one day apparel will have its own DC here, it makes such a huge difference to the business – and you come out with an even better product in the end.

By 1PM I was back at my factory and was in a costing meeting until the end of the day, they should have reversed the order of things if you ask me…

Once I got home I got everything ready for my weekend tropical island getaway to Phu Quoc. What a hidden treasure. Once the international airport is finished there this untapped island is going to become so commercialized. I’m glad I was able to see it in its natural state before it gets over populated.
I landed in Phu Quoc at 7:55AM and was at the resort by 8:20AM. Since it’s the off-season most of the resorts are offering some great bargain deals, perfect timing on my part! My villa wouldn’t be ready until noontime. The sky was a bit overcast so I made a judgment call to do a 4 hour tour of the South part of the island.

By 9AM I was on the road, the dirt road I may add. Phu Quoc as of today is totally undeveloped; most of the roads are not paved – just bumpy dirt roads. I can’t imagine how they get anywhere when it rains because the roads must turn to a sludgy, muddy mess.

First we headed to a Pearl Farm. On the way I passed many little shacks along the beach where people live, it’s so interesting to see how they live. From the outside it looks as though the get by with the barest, simplest of supplies. At the pearl farm I saw how they collect the shells that have the pearls in them. First they slice open the shell and basically cut it in half. It’s all gooey on the inside and there’s what looks like a bubble in the gooeyness which is where the pearl is. They kind of slice it open and voilla a pearl pops out! This is done in less than a minute. The farm is right on the beach and there is a huge porch overlooking the beautiful white sand with crashing waves and palm trees everywhere you look. Let me tell you, I could be very happy opening up my own pearl farm on my own sandy lot of Phu Quoc. You can’t help but relax and let go of any and everything in your mind. Talk about therapy for the soul!

Next on the itinerary was a war memorial. I had no idea of what to expect and was totally shocked as soon as I walked in this small memorial that had images of which will stay with me forever. They had these re-enactments of how the US soldiers tortured the Vietnamese. It was so brutal and horrific! Outside they had this barb-wire box that they would trap Vietnamese in, making them sit there for hours upon days. There was also this metal box, kind of like a big dumpster where they would hold Vietnamese inside for days or weeks until they burned to death inside. These metal boxes were heating death chambers because it was made of only metal it attracted all the heat from the sun.

After I picked my stomach off the ground and some of the nausea I was experience calmed down from everything I saw we headed for the fishing harbor village. On the drive there I couldn’t help but think how everywhere I have been in Vietnam was affected by the war. The war really wrecked the entire country and it just amazes me how everywhere was affected, no ground was left un-touched. When you think about it, the war really wasn’t that long ago and it’s nice to see how well Vietnam is recovering. They’ve made huge strides since then. It also enrages me that war is still going on today. There is no need for it! So many innocent lives are lost fighting for what?

The pungent smell of fish sauce disrupted my thoughts once we made it to the harbor. Fish sauce has a very, very distinct odor and it’s hard to ignore. It was a relief and nice change of pace to see the village after the war memorial. All the boats are such a bright color and everyone was busy working away. Fishing and pearl farms seem to be the choice of employment in Phu Quoc. I walked around the harbor for a bit and was entranced in all the activity and vibrant colors.
Next stop – Sao Beach which is the Gulf of Thailand. This beach is one of the top five hidden beaches in the world and I have to agree with that huge statement. The water was a clear and calm as glass, I’ve never seen anything like it. The sand was super soft and almost a white shade, you could see mountains in the distance, boats out at sea, people enjoying the beach either in the water or in a hammock under a straw hut. Fresh seafood being grilled was a great aroma to smell floating throughout the air. Life was so good, nothing could be wrong in this spot! I could not wait to get in the water; it was as warm as bath water but refreshing at the same time. I think I spent almost an hour floating around. Then it was time to head back to the resort.

My villa was ready when I arrived and someone showed me to my place. There were cute little windy paths leading visitors to bungalows, villas, or panorama view rooms. In between different patches of green, plushy grass were different forms of entertainment for guest to partake in, like: a driving range with some putt putt for the kiddies, play areas for little ones, a tennis court, fitness center, swinging benches, bicycles to ride around on (free of charge), and the best was in between the palm trees lining the beach you could see the Sea and hear the waves crashing.

I was at the door to my villa, 143, and loved what I saw, a cute little place with a porch overlooking the beach. Literally the beach was about 25 steps from where I was staying, how perfect is that and the sounds of the waves were so soothing!

I dropped my bag off and headed right to a lounger complete with thick padded mat under a straw hut. Of course I had to drag the lounger to be in the sun! I mean I have to look tanned by the time I get back. I spent the next few hours dozing off under the sun. Me being me wanted to take advantage of the fitness center. From the outside it looked good. On a closer look, eh. Definitely better than the “fitness center” where I stayed in Hoi An. Unfortunately, neither the bike nor treadmill worked. There was the Tony Little gazelle machine though. And a great tennis court perfect for a functional workout and sprints. I concocted an awesome workout that blended functional training, strength express, and martial arts. To cool down after I tried out the gazelle machine.

Slowly, I strolled back to the villa to shower before headed to the beach seafood BBQ. There wasn’t much of a party going on at the beach BBQ since it’s not the busy season. You got to pick out your seafood of choice for them to grill it up freshly on the grill. I chose crab, squid, and prawn. While they were grilling it up for me, I found some of my favorite sides to enjoy while waiting for my seafood. Fresh spring rolls, Goi salad, and dragon fruit! They must have known I was coming…
For dessert there was a selection of pastry and 4 different sweet soups to try. I tried one that I absolutely loved. The only things I know that were in it were banana, tapioca, water, and sugar, the rest I have no idea but it was so yummy I had two bowls – lol! There was even a violinist playing music while people enjoyed their meals. After a relaxing and delicious dinner I leisurely walked the path back to my place to of course upload my pics from the day.

It was so easy falling asleep to the rhythmic noise the waves made. I slept like a baby and was up and out by 8AM. I had a yummy buffet breakfast and then headed straight for the beach. I didn’t think it was possible but Sunday was an even better beach day than Saturday. The waves calmed down and the Sea was so inviting. There were a cluster of people a bit of a ways down the beach so I headed there to jump the waves and swim with the fishes. Jumping the waves was so much fun. The water was not as clear as Sao Beach but playing in the waves made it more fun.

After that I decided to take a mystery walk to the end of the beach. I got to see all different resorts. Some much nicer than others! There were a few stray dogs, massage offerings on the beach; tour offerings to go snorkeling (wish I had enough time to have done that! Next time for sure), and dozens of photo ops I totally took advantage of. Before I knew it, I had to check out…I was checked out by noon but still had another 2 hours to hang out before leaving for the airport. I was enjoying people watching on this one couple who I had spotted the day before. I think they were French – the wife was wearing a two piece and perhaps her husband should have said do wear a one piece. But I think his judgment was a bit off as well since he was wearing a Speedo that barely covered him and his pot belly was hanging over the Speedo…You could smell this woman’s perfume a mile away and she was always wearing bright fuchsia pink lipstick. They were just so comical to watch walking around the place like they owned it!

I had a great lunch on the beach right before I had to leave: steamed spinach with garlic and fresh spring rolls. The bus departed right at 1:45 as I was told. By 2:00 I was at the airport! The airport was so tiny and cute; I think the smallest airport I’ve ever been in. The flight from HCMC to Phu Quoc is so quick and easy – only 50 minutes. By 4:30 I was back at my apartment and it was raining! At least I had got a ton of sun in over the weekend! I spent the rest of the evening organizing what I was going to ship home through DHL today, getting ready for my last full week of work here, and then I relaxed watching one of my DVD’s I got for less that $1 (still the best deal I’ve gotten here).

I cannot believe this is my last full week of work here! Next Tuesday is my last day…I knew the time would go by fast but never thought it would go this fast! It’s so sad – I’m not ready to leave yet I am excited to return home and see all my family and friends – it’s a strange feeling.

This week Pam gets to see some of the apparel world and I get to see some of footwear. So today I brought her to Esprinta. It was also my last time going there before I leave; it was so sad saying goodbye to the team there! I really learned so much there and they are willing to be such a strong partner with Reebok. Out of all the factories I worked with here they were by far my favorite to work with. They are efficient, smart, make a great quality product, and just get it right! Pam totally loved what I had planned to show her. Tomorrow I spend the day with her!

So I had DHL come to pick up a box I decided to ship home of extra clothes I knew I wouldn’t wear between now and then, some books I finished reading, and sneakers I also knew I would not wear. Now at first I thought this would be super easy – the apartment where I am saying told me DHL comes and picks the box up from your apartment. What could be better? Well, my first encounter with them was on Friday night. I had spoken with them on the phone, told them I wanted the 25 kg jumbo box flat rate selection. So they guy comes with no box. He is totally clueless, finally I get through to him I need a box so he goes and brings me 2. I fill out all the forms to then find they will not take credit cards even though they say it is an option, of course I don’t have enough cash on me so he leaves, I have my boxes, I am told I can reschedule for Sunday when I get back from my trip.

I called when I got back on Sunday, and of course since it is Sunday they stop pick ups at 4PM. So, I figure ok I can wait one more day until Monday. I call and speak to some woman who doesn’t understand I have selected the flat rate jumbo box option and all of a sudden the price has almost tripled to ship my box. I don’t know how but then she understands that I selected the flat rate option and she gets it. She says the courier will be here before 5PM. Two couriers show up with a different box, this bright yellow box reads Jumbo box on it, the one I was given was just a white box, a nice size. Of course the yellow box is about half the size of the white box. Even though what’s in the white box weighs 25 kg it doesn’t matter, I cannot get the promo with the white box…So I then have to transfer everything from the white double the size box into the yellow half size one. I don’t know how I managed in my fit of frustration and being not so nice to these poor couriers, but I fit everything in the box! The forms were all filled out, I handed them the cash, they took the box, and hopefully it will arrive home by Friday! What an ordeal! I am happy I did it despite the frustration because hey, its 25 kg less I’ll have to carry home with me.

Luckily I was able to work out all my frustration in my MMA class, and now I definitely feel better. I even had an enjoyable cab ride home. It was the first Vietnamese taxi driver that was able to carry on an English conversation with me, he really was so sweet. By the time I reached home, I learned he was from Cu Chi. If you remember that’s where I visited the second weekend I was here and got to crawl through the tunnels the Vietnamese Guerilla lived in. His father actually fought and died in the war in 1974 and his mom died 10 years ago which is when he and 4 of his siblings moved to HCMC. We both were commenting on how angry war makes us and how unnecessary it is. The 20 minute ride flew by and I said good-bye to my new friend of the night.

Of course now that I am back from my Phu Quoc trip, I’m gearing up for my last and most exciting trip to Hanoi and Ha Long Bay – oh, I just know it’s going to be amazing. I leave September 4th for Hanoi and from there go on a 2 nigtht/3day tour of Ha Long Bay – one night we sleep on a ship and the second we are on some island. Then I go back to Hanoi for one night, fly back to HCMC for one night and leave for the US at 6AM the following day (September 10th). I cannot believe how soon it is!

This trip has been such a huge learning and growing experience for me personally and professionally. It will be so nice to bring back all my newly learned knowledge home. Everything I have experienced will be with me forever and I am so lucky and thankful and grateful to have been able to go through all of this!

That's it for now, have a great week and I will keep the updates coming!

xxoo,

(i feel like Gossip Girl every time I end a blog - lol)

A little of this and a little of that...

As always remember to check out all the photo's at http://jenniesadventuresthroughvietnam.shutterfly.com/

What a week it was last week! As always it flew right on by me. Thankfully my cough lessened each day that went by. I have to say the week had a little bit of everything wrapped into it.

The beginning of the week kicked off with some costing meetings, those are always fun. I did like seeing how costing was handled on this end and how the OC merchandiser really does have the PjM’s pre-costing interest at heart. The negotiating is intense and on a couple of styles some fights were about to break out.

Wednesday I felt as thought I was on the set of and SNL skit the entire day…I had to go to an all day training about PEP – that’s our assessment form we are evaluated on. Apparently some of the staff here is not certain of how the form is supposed to be filled out so I got to sit through an entire day of what it means if you are “graded” at being below performance or outstanding….We were broken up into 5 groups of 5 and had to come up with different examples why someone would be classified under met some expectations or met all expectations….all I have to say it was a very interesting day.

On Thursday the US lifestyle team made it here and we all worked at Esprinta! It was such a treat having them here. While they worked on their styles I was busy getting a more in depth training on bonding and print screens. I made my own bonded pocket and Reebok print screen, it was such a blast. Once we finished with the day and freshened up a bit it was dinner time. Megan, the birthday girl had been to Tandoor (Indian Restaurant) before and could not wait to go there for her b-day dinner. Luckily, the food was just as good as she remembered. Kendall told the owner it was Megan’s birthday and at the end of the meal all the lights in the restaurant were dimmed and “So it’s your Birthday” came over the speakers as the owner came out with ice cream and candles. I’m pretty sure Megan loved it.

After dinner Elke bought her friend a handmade boat from a little store near the restaurant and everyone was in a hyper mood. Luckily they all finished what they had to do on Thursday so a free day was in store for the team on Friday, except for me! I had to wake up early, still one more day in the work week for me. Friday would not be a normal work day though. Vikram and Karen (the BMM of Taylor Made) had planned an offsite outing focused on “being green” for the apparel teams from Reebok, Adidas, and Taylor Made.

While they all continued on into the night, I went home and tucked myself into bed so I could wake up the next morning.

We left from the LO at 9 AM headed for Binh Quoi, which is where the offsite was scheduled for. The venue that was chosen was so beautiful. Very green and on the water. In one of the ponds there were the biggest lily pads I ever saw. I wanted to go float on them and decided that probably wasn’t the best idea.

It’s typical for Vietnamese brides and grooms to take their wedding photos before their actual wedding and change into about a dozen various gowns. This park where we were was full of dozens and dozens of brides and grooms taking pictures. There was also a group of kids that were dancing and singing being filmed for some kids show. As you can imagine, there was a lot going on! It was so hot though, there was no breeze whatsoever. And we were all wearing these bright green shirts over our regular clothes to promote being green. I lasted about an hour with mine on because I was just too hot. I completely sweat through my clothes!

Vikram and Karen tried to really motivate the team and they did. They grouped us into 3 groups and we had to go on a scavenger hunt for “trash”, then we had a trivia game, a nice lunch, and then had an early release. I was quite happy that I could get home early and meet up with Kendall and Megan – they were staying an extra night to play in Vietnam with me.

After a refreshing shower and major freshening up, Kendall and Megan met me at my place. They were a bit tired from their day of shopping and roaming around Ho Chi Minh City. After I got a sneak peek at all of their purchases from the day, we made a plan for the evening, got ready and headed out to a French bistro we decided to try. Well, we pull up to the restaurant and it’s not even there, the address was correct but nothing was there…So I had written down the name and address of another place and we had the taxi take us there instead. Strike #2, it was completely packed and it was all outdoors, it didn’t seem too sanitary to us or relaxing. I knew the area we were in and thought we should just walk down the street; there were a ton of places. In fact there was one place I had wanted to go. Cepage, it’s a lounge type of restaurant where there is formal dining upstairs and a more relaxed atmosphere downstairs. The girls took one look and were sold. Third times the charm!

We had such a fun time there. The atmosphere was great, the drinks were delicious, and so was the food. I cannot wait to go back. There were also lots of good looking guys – lol! I definitely will be going back before I come home.

I think we giggled the entire way home. As we were walking up to my apartment I was telling them sometimes there are these huge snails in the walk-way, sure enough we found one and they believed that I was not exaggerating at how big these snails were. I then went on to warn them that sometimes the little gecko’s get into the apartment; this kind of freaked them out bet felt I had to warn them. These things are so fast and have no spine whatsoever; I swear they just slip right in through the cracks. Well, sure enough we walk in and I went to get some water from the kitchen and one was scurrying up the wall. First I tried to get it with a Tupperware container and it scurried away super fast. Kendall was the winner after standing on a chair and getting it! It was quite a funny sight. After all that excitement, we all realized how pooped we were. As soon as my head hit the pillow I was out.

The next morning we woke up early, a lot was on our agenda for their last day! Their time here went way too fast! First I brought them to my favorite smoothie place, Juice for breakfast. There are lots of cute little shops that we went in and out of after a nice power breakfast. We then made our way to Ben Than market and Saigon Square. The bargain of the day was by far finding a booth that sold DVD’s for less than a $1. Of course we made sure to check the quality as soon as we got home and they are great! So great, I went back the next day for more!

We then had a great lunch at a Vietnamese restaurant, I have another new favorite dish that I ordered for us to all share. It was gone pretty fast! It’s called Goi hai san kieu thai, it’s basically this pickled salad with shrimp on top in the yummiest sweet/sour vinegar and you dip these rice crackers into it. So good!

After lunch and a re-boot I took them to get a foot massage at my favorite place. For 70 minutes it’s only $10 with tip! They start rubbing your temples and shoulders while your feet soak in this hot water tub. Then they wrap your feet up in towels and start massaging one foot and leg at a time! I think they spend about 50 minutes just on your legs and then they have you flip over and they press pressure points on your back – I’m telling you it is instant relaxation!

Before we knew it, it was time to head back to my place for them to re-pack everything and make their way home! I was such a treat having friends here and the weekend totally flew by. I have to say it was good timing them coming, right in the middle of my trip and now I only have 3.5 weeks left. I am not ready to leave yet though, my time here as been so amazing and I’ve learned so much professionally and personally! I am so lucky!

After I said my goodbyes to Kendall and Megan I had a nice workout and was ready for a relaxing night. It was a perfect movie night and since I now had a nice selection to choose from, I did just that.

Sunday came and it was perfect pool weather. I worked out, lounged by the pool, and then walked around the city for a bit. Pam went to a nail art place on Saturday and her nails came out awesome. She had the card and recommended I check it out. I walked into Jolie Pang and it was all cream lace and beads, super girly and frilly. After paging through pages of choices and boards I found a design I liked. The place was really cute, they did a good job and I like how my nails came out. The only issue was it took FOREVER! I was there for 3 hours – way too long if you ask me, but at least I am happy with the product I got.

So far this week has been super busy and it’s not going to slow down anytime soon. The past two days I’ve looked at PFR samples at two different factories. Yesterday, I was at QVE with Vy and Thanh looking at down filled winter jackets. It so happened the AC was not working on a super hot and humid day and I was trying on the women’s jackets as I was inspecting them to see how they fit. Overall the product looked really good and I left there feeling very happy.

Today I was at QMI with just Thanh looking at tennis and running styles. What a difference between the two factories! Workmanship today was not up to par, they better get it right before the samples are sent out to HQ! I also experienced my first crazy thunderstorm here. I am telling you the thunder was non-stop and at one point I thought the rain might come right through the ceiling above me. I had a flashback of how I used to sit on our porch in Onset and be mesmerized by the falling rain and lightening strikes, I found myself doing that for a couple of seconds and then snapped out of it.

Last week I wasn’t able to make it to any of my MMA classes. At the beginning of the week, I was still getting over my cold and at the end I was just too busy. So it felt good to get back into the swing of it this week. I really have to find a place like this at home. Any takers to join me, it’s so fun!

The rest of the week will be just as busy. Tomorrow I get to go to an accessory and gear factory. Thursday and Friday are my costing meetings with the factories. No wonder my time has flown by here! This weekend I am headed to Phu Quoc, it’s an island that is on the list of the top 5 hidden beaches in the world. AGHHHH I can already imagine basking in the sun on the beach and cannot wait to get there!

Then next week is my last full week here! It’s so hard to imagine going home soon! I know when I get home things are going to be great and I am looking forward to finally enjoying my time at home. For whatever reason I could not relax over the last year and I my time here has finally unwound me. So be prepared for the new and improved, relaxed Jennie!

Have a great week all and see you soon!

xxoo