And the fun Continues!!!!!

What an amazing last couple of days it’s been! I’m trying to think of where I last left off…

Thursday I went to the factory we are based out of in Vietnam and am still in shock at how fast Thursday and Friday went. The team here is really great and I have to say how impressed I am with the factory facilities. Adidas and Reebok are the only brands this factory supports, so it almost feels as if I am at Adidas, they have there banners, stripes, logos everywhere and the floor where all the offices looks no different than any office building. The difference is when you realize the sample room is right off the office and you can continue going up the stairs to the actual production line, up again to printing, and up once more to embroidery. The bottom floor is where all the fabric comes in and gets organized, approved, and ready to be sent upstairs to start the production line.

Everyone at the factory takes a lunch break from 12-12:30 and eats together. There is a loud siren type of noise that goes off and within seconds all the workers are swarming the streets with umbrella’s to avoid the strong sun on their way to lunch. The other thing that happens at lunch is all the lights are shut off and people actually take naps under their desks. Once it is 1:00 the lights are turned back on and you see people popping up from under their desks to start working again. The first time I witnessed it, I thought it was quite a sight! I go with my team to what’s called a “canteen lunch” the factory actually feeds us lunch for free. It’s a Taiwanese run factory and with that we get a Taiwanese lunch. The two times I’ve been there I have managed to find some stuff I can eat – mainly consisting of steamed bok choy and peppers.

Over the course of Thursday and Friday I was given lots of presentations on the processes there from both the Reebok group and the factory. All very interesting and all a lot to take in. I can say my time here is really going to fly by, I can already tell. When I’ve been getting home from work, I’ve really been enjoying the city and getting to know it. There is just so much to see and do! Last night Pam and I went to have the meal of Vietnam, it’s just a soup basically and then we went for massages – 70 minutes for $10. Across the street from the massage place we found our new favorite place that makes the best fresh smoothies. So dinner, massage, and smoothie cost all less than $20 total, I am still amazed.

Today we really took advantage of a full day of exploring and we got to use the company driver so that really helped! First we went to a travel place to pick out a tour to go on tomorrow. I cannot wait for the tour! We’ll be going to Mekong Delta, My Tho, and Ben Tre. I’ll wait to tell you all about the tour for when I’m actually back from it…Then we went to the famous Ben Than market. What a scene and what a hot mess I was. With in an instant of setting foot in that chaotic, crazy place I was dripping sweat. It was so fun but took a lot out of us by the end. This place sells everything under the sun and everyone runs after you to buy stuff from them and grabs your arm. You have to really bargain with them which can get tiring by the end but it’s so worth it.

My boss here was telling me about a gym he joined here that is 9 floors. I knew it was right near the market so we went to check it out. Much better than the sad gym here. So I got a 7 day free week pass to check it out. I’m very excited about that. I also found some great yoga studios, rock climbing place, and martial arts place that I want to try at one point before I leave.

We then headed off to grab a nice bite at a spot called ZanZBar, very good food and then we continued on to the Art Museum which is in this old mansion that has not been kept up at all. It’s sad this beautiful building has not been kept up because one day it must have been an amazing place. I thought the museum was going to have AC, I was wrong and felt more than dirty walking around, again sweat dripping everywhere! I think today was the hottest day so far!

Pam really wanted a pedicure so we found a “spa” to go to. I tried a hot stomach wrap and will never get it again, not a fun experience. But if you never try – you never know!

Now I am getting ready for our busy tour day tomorrow, I know it’s going to be hot and want to cool down before getting back out there! I promise to post more pictures very soon as well!

xxoo