WT - No ?

It's going on two years for WTO accession in Vietnam, and as a marginal market participant in this country, I'm not convinced that it is, or will be, a good thing for Vietnam going forward.

The WTO meant that Vietnam put itself on the path of competing with the world economically within its own borders, by agreeing to a set of schedules that placed timeframes on this Socialist government dismantling its trade protections.

The January 2007 accession means that the clock started to count down then, and now there are but a few years left till full implementation of the schedules.

In particular, the banking and financial industries thought it had a few years to gird itself from the expected foreign invasion, and in '06 and '07 it was trying.  But with the world markets crashing, and the resultant domestic crash, '08 was pretty much a lost year for the domestic players - if they were lucky enough not to implode, that is.

A lost year may be fine and good if you have time on your side, but the WTO clock was not paused.  Uh-oh.

There is a line of heterdoxy economics, such as Ha-Joon Chang's work "Kicking Away The Ladder," that argues the neo-lib free trade / WTO / IMF train of thought is designed not to help developing countries, you know, develop, but rather it removes the ladder towards success.

I haven't read Prof. Chang's book yet (waiting to hit my local library to borrow it.. gotta make use of those tax dollars!), but this article provides a short synopsis of his thesis.

As part of Prof. Chang's argument, he notes that places like South Korea and Taiwan have bridged the chasm between the developing and developed world within the past 30 years because of government protectionist and interventionist policies.

Will Vietnam ever become the next South Korea?  I have serious doubts.

Besides exploiting its resources (oil, mineral, land for agri- and aquaculture), and its human resources (low wage labor), what the heck is this country good in? In what industries can it become world class?

South Korea is strong in shipping/logistics, pharma, engineering and construction, consumer electronics, and autos, among others.  Most, if not all, were the results of government efforts - putting tax payer resources behind the industries as well as protectionist walls during the gestational stages.  The government helped to create the chaebols that now run Korea.   Sure, concentrated power is not ideal and the corruption in SK is kinda wild, but Korea is owned mostly be Koreans.

I fear that Vietnam was over eager to show the world that it is on its way forward, and in ghetto fab style, joined the WTO before it was ready.  Outside of the resources story, there is nothing that it does well.  And resources dwindle.

This is not to say there won't be successful companies that break out of its borders and become regional or even international players.  But the more you look, the more you see multinationals coming into Vietnam, to buy up and own things, to take over and dominate the local markets.  Colonialism without the bullets.

Here's an interesting piece from the Guardian in 2005 contrasting Mexico with Vietnam, titled "Two countries, one booming, one struggling: which one followed the free-trade route?"

How would an update of that piece read today?  And how would it read five years from now?

Cutting Thru the Communist Red Tape

So recently I had occasion to experience the red tape in this country, and, to be frank, it wasn't so bad. 

Above is the view I had for about 1.5 hours, waiting for my number to be called.. but let's start at the beginning.

A few weeks prior to the picture, I submitted paperwork to relevant governmental agencies in order to secure a business license and, more importantly, the right to purchase one of these stamps:

In the U.S., business formalities have moved past the "sign and seal" stage of authenticating signatures.  Back in the day when most people were illiterate, the need to sign and seal documents made sense.  Now, not so much.

U.S. contracts these days may still say "sign and seal" under the signature, but this is merely an anachronism, as it isn't legally necessary.  Even the 'requirement' to notarize signatures are not technically legally necessary - it's just a safe harbor in order to expedite the process if the signature was ever challenged as being authentic.

In Vietnam, and in some parts of Asia, the seal requirement is still paramount. Documents are not legal unless they have a seal - be it from a company, a government agency, or whomever.  Documents are never accepted with simple signatures. Everything has to be original documents.. good luck passing off a photocopy of your documents, unless they've been authenticated with a government seal.

Because of this, when you're hanging out at the international departure terminals in Vietnam, you can locate those locals emigrating elsewhere by their dress (Sunday best, naturally) and by the black Samsonite briefcase that they're clutching.  In it will be all manners of original, signed and sealed documents that cost a fortune, in terms of man-hours, to procure.  My folks still have that black Samsonite filled with yellowed documents in a back closet somewhere.

So here I am, sitting in this government office, to get my own seal.  The place is packed, there is no AC and I'm in a coat and tie.  Um.. not good.

I snatch a number, like at a deli counter, realize my position in the queue, and then head towards the folks mingling at the doorway.  This is Vietnam, there are always alternatives.

After some discussion with a few folks in my limited Vietnamese, I learned that I could outsource the wait on line for between 500-750k, but that I would not be able to get the seal today.  If I personally waited, I would get my seal.  Needing to mail out an "official" document today, I bit the bullet, rolled up my sleeves and waited it out.

The room is, as mentioned, packed.  About a 50/50 mix in terms of sex. Most of the guys are either Korean or Japanese expat business folks.  The majority of the women are young sherpas, guiding these guys through this regulatory process.  I figured I could do it on my own.

And after about two hours, I was right.  There were some missteps along the way - I had to run down the street to get my passport photocopied, then head to the police station to pay 2k VND (that's like 15 cents) to get the photocopy authenticated - but the stern dude, dressed in his pea soup green army uniform, who manned the counter was pretty nice and helpful underneath that fascade.

So it was pretty good, not much different than heading to the DMV or Register of Deeds office in the U.S.

A lot of expats have a fear of the regulatory agencies in Vietnam - so they either hire someone to do this work for them or just straight up avoid it altogether and break the law (like riding around without a license).  I met a German expat recently who told me how relatively painless it was for him to get a motobike license in Vietnam.

The assumption amongst expats that nothing gets done in the government, however big or small, without a bribe attached is pervasive.  But it is certainly not true.  Sure niceties grease the wheels, but the same is true everywhere in the world. 

If you've ever had to personally go and file a deed in the U.S., you'll see the runners from the mortgage and title companies plying treats to the filing clerks, who in turn share this corpulence with the rest of their minions, in order to get better service.

It's just that in Vietnam, foreigners have a more limited skill set with respect to 'being nice' to local folks, government clerks or otherwise.   For some expats, their toolbox starts and ends with money.

HPV and Vietnam

I wrote this comment on Ching's blog (Real Life Online), in reference to a post about cervical cancer.

I'm a guy and all, so take this comment in that light. But I think that women get cervical cancer because of simpler reasons - namely HPV, an STD that is very prevalent, nearly a 50% infection rate, and very infectious and people die from cervical cancer because of a lack of access to medical care (i.e. Pap smears).

Condoms do not prevent HPV infections. Because of this, in the narrowly focused, conservative political right of the U.S., the scare tactics surround HPV is used to press for ineffective abstinence only sex education.

Good thing for women these days is the progress on HPV vaccines. While it does not prevent all types of HPV infections (there are like 100 strains or something like that), Guardasil is a recently introduced vaccine that is effective against some significant HPV strains.

In the U.S., again for political reasons, it is marketed as an anti-cervical cancer vaccine instead of as an anti-HPV vaccine. Guardasil faces an uphill battle for acceptance in the U.S. marketplace. And there are enough politicians who will make sure that tax dollars will not support Guardasil vaccinations for those who would otherwise qualify (medically and economically).

Interestingly, I recently read in the Vietnamese local press that the government here will start a Guardasil vaccination program for its citizens. Of course the Vietnamese government likely cannot afford to vaccinate all young girls / young women, but they'll get to some of them and it'll be a start.

Funny that Vietnam will be more advanced on this issue of HPV infection than the U.S.

There are a lot of things that are 'backwards' in Vietnam as compared to the U.S. - ok, backwards is a harsh term.  There are a lot of things here that I'm not as comfortable with.  But one thing that strikes me is that, every once in a while, this Socialist government which at its apogee is one of technocrats, gets it right with technical policy decisions.    

Left, Right, Middle and Joe The Plumber

The other day I was invited out to drinks by Kevin and I ended up meeting some new faces as well as reconnecting with some old faces.

You know how it goes at these things: meeting new folks + beer = a dorm room style discussion of politics.  People ended up talking like they were in college, except for the fact that everyone engaged in the conversation had actual money that they made (and lost), so it was a bit more personal and vivid.

I ended up between an earnest ultra-lefty and a concerned economic libertarian.  Through the conversations, well lubricated with beer, it occurred to me that our discussion distilled the problem with the left-wing of the Democratic party.

I disagreed with both of these guys, for I'm a pragmatist occupying the soft middle politically.  It's a difficult position to hold, because you are out-flanked, and you can't rely on stock ideology as a crutch.  But it's a reasonable position to me, as life is all about shades of grey.

While I disagreed with both guys, the lefty just sounded flat out crazy - it is hard to be taken seriously when one complains about big business and demonize it all.  The percentage of Americans who want to tend to their own subsistence garden, wear burlap and live in a yurt is, shockingly (!!), small.  Very small.  You people are crazy.

The economic libertarian was of the school of absolute freedom of contract, minimal-to-no government regulations, etc.  I was enjoying the beer too much to mount much of a convincing rebuttal, but overall I can see how folks are more easily seduced by this extreme of the political spectrum.

Who doesn't want complete freedom?  It's like asking a kid whether the school should get rid of its stern principal - of course!  Recess all the time.  How cool is that?

But in the end, most so-called libertarians do not really believe in complete freedom of contract.  If they did, then they cannot ideologically object to child labor, indentured servitude, organ harvesting, among other things.  It is neat and tidy to assume and expect that the free market will, over time, resolve everything in the most efficient means possible, which is the libertarian position.  Such ideology denies the humanity in all of us - a humanity that contains faults and inefficiencies that are culturally ingrained and will not disappear over time unless there is a concerted push back against such inefficient culture.

Overall though, the far-right libertarian position is easier to accept than the far left position, because it does not sound nutso.  The pinnacle of the far right is a successful business person unencumbered by government regulations.  The pinnacle of the left is a person who is self sufficient, unencumbered by the corporation.  The choice is between being pampered and being an ascetic.  An easy choice to make.

It all goes back to Joe The Plumber - putting aside whether he's a licensed plumber, whether he's a Mccain plant, etc. etc. - his story illustrates the left's problem.  The ultra-lefty websites have had a field day mocking the idea of the guy.  One line of mockery has to do with his complaints about the Obama tax plan.

In short, the proposed Obama plan would increase taxes only to those who make over $250k.  Joe The Plumber admittedly does not make over $250k, but he expressed concerns that Obama would tax him more.

Places like DailyKos rips Joe The Plumber for this - how can you complain about taxes 'that you will not pay, and will likely never have to pay' is the line of inquiry.

What the left does not account for is the nature and ethos of America.  We are a country of strivers - we are a country of the "PreRich."   Joe is not rich today, but he plans to be rich someday.  He doesn't vote his current economic interests, he votes his aspirational economic interests.

Just like the average person thinks that they are better looking than average, the average American thinks that, someday, and soon, they will be richer than average. And so they vote this way.

Is it a bad thing that Americans are a society of PreRich?  No, because that's just one expression of our cultural optimism.  Meet other folks and you'll quickly learn that Americans are very a optimistic sort.  Perhaps socio-economic movement is as stolid in the States as it is in the UK, but the average Briton is less optimistic than the average American about their future prospects.

I've met a few folks from the UK who've expressed to me that they're in Vietnam to, in part, escape the socio-economic situation back home.  Every single American I've met here have said that being in Vietnam was about adventure and future possibilities.  Not about escaping America.    

The left will always lose in America because they do not cater to the PreRich optimism of our culture.  IMO, Bill, Hilary, and yes, Barack, are more of the pragmatic centrists type than the Kossacks want.  This is why the strident left railed against Hilary.  And I suspect that they'll turn on Barack Obama once he's in office (assuming he'll proceed on and win).   Or, if we're lucky, they'll grow up a little.  

9 Things to Do in Vietnam

As any long term (be it two week or two months) blogger in Vietnam is wont to do, here is my obligatory "things to do in Vietnam" post.

1. Go get your hair washed

A lot of guidebooks that write about Vietnam gush about the affordability of it all.  I would generally disagree with this - yes, it is easier and cheaper to live comfortably here, but this country is certainly not cheap, but maybe that is because I've been to China a few times and compare Vietnam's prices to there.

Most everything here is cheaper than the US, but also most everything here is more expensive than in China. But that makes sense, for they were all made in China!  So you won't find much in the way of inexpensive goods, but you can find mind-blowing deals (if you're used to US prices) on services.

Housework, chauffeur and childcare services are insanely cheap in comparison, and about equal or less than China even.  But the average tourist isn't gonna use such services.

Instead, take in the affordable and very Vietnamese luxury of getting your hair washed. The hair salons in Vietnam do more business providing hair washes than they do in actually cutting hair. They'll also provide other expected services, such as mani- and pedicures, Asian style services, such as earwax picking, face washes, and clothed massages.  If you look real hard I'm sure you can find places that provide other services, but I'm pretty blind on that account.

A hair wash can be 50k or less.  Just remember to tip.  If you don't like to get your hair wet then go get a foot massage.

2. Enjoy the herb

I don't me the sticky sorta herb, but rather the panoply of SEAsian herbs that are virtually part of every local meal here.  In the US, even at decent Vietnamese restaurants, you're limited to generic things like cilantro, mint and thai basil.  Here, there is so much more, half of which I can only identify by smell and taste.  Out of all the food products in Vietnam, I think I'll miss the basket of herbs the most.  The main reason I like to eat seafood on the streets here is because of the herb mix that comes with it.

3. Go to the beach

I haven't really travelled around all that much in Vietnam, but I've been to some of the beaches here and they're definitely worthwhile. With its long coastline, Vietnam has a whole host of beaches to choose from - some are small and desolate (Sam Son), some are wide, crowded and dirty (Vung Tau), and some are pretty and peaceful (Cua Dai). Sure, it probably doesn't compare to Thailand, but life is pretty good whenever you have sand between your toes while swigging a beer, looking over the sound of crashing waves to the sun peeking over the horizon.

4. Get some clothes made

Before making this recommendation, a few caveats: custom tailored clothing is much cheaper in China (about 50% less), and labor costs here are cheap. Why is the latter a warning? Due to cheap labor, the concept of measure twice, cut once isn't employed here in Vietnam.

In all my dealings with the local labor pool, I find that folks are generally careless and error-prone. At first I attributed this to a lack of work ethic.  But I've slowly come around to the thought that such errors are due to cheap labor.  It costs so very little to rectify mistakes that it doesn't make sense within the local work culture to spend extra resources upfront to minimize mistakes.

It's sorta like the low-cost manufacturing facilities in China and elsewhere - it is cheaper to make 100 items with a 5% defect rate than 95 items with a 1% defect rate. If you engage in the former, you'll pay less and get more good product.

So, even though you should expect mistakes in your tailored clothing, and even though it isn't the cheapest in the world, why do I suggest getting clothes made here?  Because you'll likely end up looking pretty good when all is said and done.

Most Americans, myself include, wear off the rack clothing that is just too big for us. The locals, men and women, almost regardless of age, wear clothes so tight fitting, it would make Fredrick's of Hollywood proud.  So the tailors here are geared towards a more fitted, slimmer cut that ends up more flattering, no matter the customer.  Just make sure to emphasize that you want a more comfortable fit, or else you'll end up with some nut-hugger pants.

A dress shirt made in D1, depending on the fabric choice, costs between a regular off-the-rack Brooks Brothers shirt and the same shirt on sale. But the fabric and the cut will be much better.

5. Go to the mountains

As a country geographically oriented like Chile, the beaches are on the forefront of a tourists' itinerary. But if you want something slightly different, head to the mountains. Places like Fan Si Pan (the highest point in Vietnam), or Dalat or Tam Dao. One of the best times we've had was when we visited Tam Dao.

Of course there is Sapa also. But be aware of the "Sapa Curse" - it's a relatively well known and well subscribed to phenomena amongst the locals.  People say that if you go to Sapa, which is home to the ethnic minorities such as the Hmong and Yao, the women there will put a spell on you and you won't leave until you end up marrying a local ethnic minority and taking them back to the city with you.

It may be an old wives' tale, but I've heard of business colleagues who went to Sapa on vacation, disappeared for months, and returned with a Sapa wife.  And I personally know of a long term Hanoi ex-pat who met and married his wife in Sapa.

6. Play some golf

If you're an American golfer, you have got to play some golf when you're in Vietnam. The courses here are generally in very good condition, but besides that, having a caddy is just something that needs to be experienced. Sure, most of the caddies are not the sort that you would rely on for tournament golf, simply because, unlike the States, the average caddy here does not play the game so their knowledge of it is limited. But if you've thanked the inventor of the Izzo dual-strap, then you'll appreciate someone else humping your bag around the course.

Again, remember to tip, because they get very little, if any, part of the "caddy fee" that is on your bill. Locals tip between 100-200k per 18 holes.  I find that the local HCMC players tip more generously than their Hanoi brethren, so pay attention to where you're playing.

7. Go nhau

"Nhau" - it's a very Vietnamese word.  Loosely translated, it means go out drinking, but it's not really that.  "Go out drinking" sounds more like something you do on a Friday, Saturday, Sunday (and Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday) night while in college. 

It's not really that.  It's probably more akin to 'getting a pint' - but I dunno, I'm not from a commonwealth country.

No matter the proper translation, you should go out and nhau, especially with some locals.  It's practically a way of life here.   It's fun to sit on some plastic stools, grab some peanuts and Vietnamese style bar food (i.e. stir fried stuff that you can share and/or eat with your hands) and drink the local beer. Don't worry about getting too drunk - for all the bravado of the locals, by and large they don't drink all that much. When locals drink, they end up drinking more ice water than actual beer.

8. Slow down and look around

Visitors pretty much hang in the cities of HCMC or Hanoi, and longer term ex-pats definitely count these cities as their main stomping grounds.  The only comparison to these places are other Asian cities (well, perhaps S.America, Africa and the Middle East.. but I've never been).  It's crowded, it's hectic, and there is so much going on.

But once in a while, just pump your brakes and slow down.  Really look at your surroundings, and the people that inhabit it.  Take it all in and connect with this time, this place.

I am not talking about observing folks and passing judgments, ascribing some sort of bs quiet nobility to the poor and the working poor.

Unlike most American cities, you can see all of Vietnam from virtually any street corner here.  So slow down and breathe in the beauty, the warts, the frustrations, the wealth and poverty, the yearning, and the humanity of it all.  This is current day Vietnam looking back at you, so take it all in before looking away.

9. Leave

At the end of it all you should leave.   You weren't raised here, you don't have many ties here, you're not really from here.  A life spent with an updated passport and a visa needing to be renewed yet again is a life in limbo.

Stay too long and you'll end up like the well-worn caricature - a bitter, whiny, complaining, ugly foreigner.  Do yourself a favor and leave.  Or marry someone local.  I hear the weather is nice this time of year in Sapa.

Subprime Problem in Vietnam?

This blog is mostly about the food that we eat in Vietnam, my quest to find a really decent martini and playing some bad golf in some beautiful settings. To feed all those cravings, in my non-blog life I'm usually thinking about how to make money.

As an inveterate New Yorker, some of those ideas have been of the illegal kind - such as taking advantage of all the young local idiots who have no concept of online fraud and therefore they post their personal information and bank account numbers (!) all over the internet. But thankfully I'm preoccupied with morals to proceed any further.

Given the current world economic climate, I've pondered a bit about the problems in the US (Overselling the Subprime Problem, Market Meltdown Hysteria), which, for all intents and purposes is a confidence issue. Banks do not trust each other, so they do not lend to one another = no money sloshing through the system to lubricate the economic engine. All this talk of doom and gloom in the US is fun and games, sorta like the perverse pleasure of picking at a scab, but optimism will prevail as more people will make more money selling optimism. I'm confident enough to have recently put my 2 cents behind XLF - check back in 6 months to see how that goes.

Spurred on after reading B. Hawkins Pham's post, "The New Look of Saigon," on Saigon Blues, I thought more about why at this point I'm not as optimistic in Vietnam. There are a host of reasons, the main one being that the down global market, and in particular the down US market, makes Vietnam comparatively less compelling. Life is relative, and so are economic opportunities.

As part of the doom-and-gloom trade, business commentators in the US are quick to cite thing such as the WSJ's estimate that 1-in-6 homeowners are underwater (i.e. owe more on the mortgage than the current fair market value of the house). While this is certainly not a good thing, is this really that bad? Surely, housing occupies a certain mindspace for housing consumers - likely a combination of being the largest purchase, the largest asset, the largest debt for the average person - it is still a purchase.

As long as folks can make payments, being underwater affects their psyche, but it does not mean that everyone will suddenly become homeless. "Underwater" - sounds scary and threatening, and meant to evoke the idea of drowning, but for nearly all purchases on credit you will be underwater.

Did you just buy an iPhone with a Visa card, or that shiny new aluminum Macbook? Guess what, you're underwater. Does that matter to you in that setting? No, not really. So too housing. 

Or take a look at most folks' second largest consumer purchase, an automobile. The auto trade is tanking right now, but historically (I'm young and naive enough to mean the past 15 or so years), 90+% of the folks who buy a car finance, and they on average put about 15% down. For the average consumer in the average car, with the well known phenomena of 'drive off the lot depreciation,' that means that the auto is instantly underwater. Where was that doom-and-gloom talk over the past decade? Non-existent. 

As a business/investment climate, the worse America gets hammered, the worse Vietnam becomes.

But that's not to say there are no issues here. As a relatively closed economy, Vietnam is not directly affected by the supposed US Subprime issue because banks here did not buy US debt and derivative instruments. The effect is an indirect one, caused by lowered FDI commitments and, more importantly, lowered actual FDI inflows.

But the banks here have a Vietnamese style subprime problem - that of non-performing loans (NPLs). The credit system here is relatively rudimentary and is based more on an antiquated asset-based lending standard than a modern cashflow-based lending standard.

If I was a lender, I would favor the cashflow outlook, because at the end of the day I want to know if you'll have the money to pay me back. I would not want to have an asset-based lending outlook, because I am in the business of making money on interest and fees, not on foreclosures.

Banks here that do asset-based lending typically have the infamous "red book/document" - the red deed book issued by the government and used to confirm use rights or ownership of property - as collateral. With local property price declines, and more importantly, an illiquid market, these asset backed loans quickly devolve into NPLs.

A reason for the rudimentary credit system here is a lack of credit ratings agencies. There is no such thing as a FICO score, so effectively most (all?) individuals and businesses are subprime borrowers. The indifferent legal environment makes it easy for borrowers to stiff the lenders - at worst, the borrower would walk away from an underwater property, and that action has little impact on their ability to get a subsequent loan from another bank using a different piece of collateral.

As the saying goes in the US, 'if you owe the bank a million dollars , it is your problem; if you owe the bank a billion dollars, it is their problem.'  The same is true in Vietnam, except you replace "dollars" with "dong" - and a billion dong is low barrier, so the banks are holding a lot of problems.

But I am an optimist, and I see good things going forward for the Vietnamese economy and like elsewhere, as an economy improves the financial sector will lead the gains. It's just that the American financial sector will make more gains in the near future. So why deal with the Vietnamese issues?

Corporate Communications Problem?

So the Highlands rat story hit the local Vietnamese language media.  See this VNExpress web article.  The persons who bought that infected cake refused to be interviewed by the press, according to the story.  

This blog is not very popular, as it's really geared towards a small circle of family and friends back home.  But in the last few days there is a bunch of search engine traffic - the screenshot above is of the recent keyword search term.  Apparently a lot of people are looking for rats.

I wonder how much of this negative pr is caused by the slow response of the staff at the coffee shop.      

Saigon Sights

Some sights while walking about HCMC:

I saw this boat anchored in the tributary near the golf driving range I hang out at.  It's odd to see this sort of pleasure craft in Vietnam, I'm guessing because you can use it to sneak things (and people) across the border.  I've come to find out that the person who owns this also owns an airline without any planes.  I guess they traded a Boeing for a 30ft boat.   

A friend told me that there was a Mercedes McLaren in town, but I was a bit incredulous because said friend wasn't a full-fledged car guy.  Turns out he's right, as I spotted this outside of Diamond Plaza on a weekend.  

The "new" Vietnam is filled with fat kids.  Family sizes are much smaller than they used to be, in both the white collar class and the blue collar class in the city.  I believe this kid is a valued son to a shopowner nearby.  It's hard to blame parents for overfeeding their kids when they themselves can so easily remember existing on rations.  The bike is a start though.        

This picture is a small example of how things seem weird here until you look more closely... if you do, then maybe only half of the things are weird here!

I walk down this street a lot.  One day I see a small pile of bricks and debris, and I just though that the street cleaners hadn't come by yet.  But the pile was still there the next day.  Over time, it would grow, and then wane after a rain storm.  

One day I walked past during a heavy downpour and I finally realized what this was.  This debris sits outside a building that has underground parking.  You get to the parking spaces by taking a subterranean ramp that feeds out to the street.  When it rains moderately, the street corner drains are quickly overwhelmed and the parking ramp funnels the collected downpour into the garage.  This mound of discarded construction materials helped to provide a lip blocking that flow.  An interesting, if temporary and ugly, solution.     

TIps for Vietnam Travel

As my days invariably wind down here, I've accumulated a bunch of (ok, a smidge of) local knowledge, with no avenue to apply it.  May as well throw it up on the blog for others to use.

But before reading the below, head over to Miss.Adventure's Guide to Living in Vietnam. This blogger just recently concluded her time as an expat in Vietnam, but the archives are informative.  

Anyhow, here's what I would add:

Money/Exchange Rates:

One tip for establishments where they allow you to pay in VND or USD - ask what the exchange rate is. And then decide, 'ok, if I were to sell USD today, would I sell my dollars for that much in VND?' It makes the decision to pay in VND or USD much easier, as I'm generally confused if it is a good thing or a bad thing if the exchange rate is 15,900 versus 17,900 (answer: it depends on what currency you have in your pockets).

Weather:

I know some people say that it actually gets cold in Vietnam, but my experience has not borne it out. Lived in Hanoi for an entire year, and I'm coming up to an entire year in Saigon as well. It does get slightly chilly in the fall/winter in Hanoi, but one can venture about in shorts and tshirts still, even if one does not feature the obligatory Northern American layer of organic insulation.

When folks say that Saigon is rainy, well, that they are correct on. It rained like a mother late summer to early fall this year. I mean, crazy amounts that kept me cooped up inside.

Travel/Immigration/Customs;

The in-bound customs officers are really anal about you bringing in laptops. HCMC's customs folks seem to be more difficult than their Hanoi brethren.

Recently I travelled abroad with two laptops, and then returned with two laptops. And they wanted me to pay customs duties on the second laptop. This is after I had paid fees to bring in these laptops the first time, although those monies didn't end up in the government's coffers, as detailed here.

My obstinance prevailed, and I didn't pay anything; the customs folk made me write onto the customs declaration form that I brought in two computers, and warning me that I will have to take with me two computers when I next leave the country, or else I would have to pay duties then.  

Let me back up and explain the customs process. Upon entering Vietnam, the flight attendants will give you a two part white customs form (for foreign passport holders). You declare items you are bringing in and the like, just like other countries. Upon landing, at passport control, they review your customs declaration, stamp one side of the form, keep the stamped part and then return to you the unstamped part. When you collect baggage and leave the airport, the x-ray your baggage, reconfirm the customs form, stamp it and return it to you. When you next leave the country, you are required to submit this customs form that you are required to keep all this time.

So instead of paying more duties, I wrote down that I have two computers on the customs document, and they allowed me to leave. I don't plan to leave with two computers and, because this is Vietnam, I don't plan to be required to pay any duties upon leaving.

First off, the customs guys were lazy and didn't stamp the part I kept. Second, Hanoi is much more lax with the customs procedures than HCMC. When I flew in and out of Hanoi, I never returned the second part of my form upon exit of the country, because I didn't know it was a requirement. They just give you a new form to fill out. These forms are lying around all over the place in Noi Bai airport.

Long story short, I got myself a blank form and will give the customs folks an unadulterated declaration statement upon leaving - if they complain about the lack of an official stamp, well, the explanation that it was never stamped by the lazy customs officers will be readily accepted, because they know that such lack of rigor is common.

The tip is, when you fly into the country, grab extra blank custom forms from the flight crew. Just tell them you made a typo on your form. Then keep it handy, just to have options. You know, just in case you need to forge shit.

If I really wanted to import shit, not get caught by customs and sell under the radar, I would bring in wristwatches. Vietnamese people are bling'n ballers yo, you can easily unload watches costing tens of thousands here.  I cannot think of a more gauche manner to launder money in Vietnam.     

Cheap Internet

I've never really noticed the Internet cafe pricing in Vietnam, because I'm more of an expat than a tourist, but the other day while running some errands I noticed the pricing menu of this joint.

22k for an hour of computer time - that's pretty darn reasonable, and cheaper than AOL's per minute charges back in the day.

The "Internet card" pricing is for an Internet phone calling card, again not too shabby.

I'm sure you can find cheaper access elsewhere, as this was a more 'upscale' joint in a relatively nice ac'ed shopping center in District 1.

Speaking of the Internet, I met this American guy the other day who was here on vacation with his Vietnamese wife of about a year. They met online four years ago, she in HCMC and he in the US. He's of the cohort who would've served here during the war, while she was actually alive on this planet during it, if just barely.

He seemed like a decent enough chap, save for the multiple laments that he had enough of American women's "attitude" - I wish him luck because he obviously doesn't understand Vietnamese women's attitudes!

Brutal Beijing Olympics Crackdown

Oh my god, the brutal detainment!  This Reuters clip, courtesy of With Leather.  

 

 I just love it when people complain about "abuses" that they have no inkling of.  I bet you this is the first time they've been to China.  Are places like China, or Vietnam, perfect?  Of course not.  Could the government do a better job with respect to citizens' rights?  Of course it could - but all governments in the world usurp the power of the people.  It's about hitting the right balance.  Vietnam is not there, but neither is the US.

But, living here, that is hardly my concern.  I'm more affected by the economic hardships that I see daily.  The other day there was a Bentley Continental Flying Spur parked on the street - and across the street, a grandmother was laying out newspaper on the sidewalk for a kid about 4 or 5 to take a nap.  But that's not sexy enough for t-shirts and banners.  

iPhone 3G - Will It Sell?

The forthcoming 3G iPhone will be a hit in the US, with the new low $199 subsidized price and all, but I wonder if it will be a popular grey-market option here.

The iPhone 1.0 is pretty darn popular here in Vietnam - one sees all ages of local folks pulling it out these days.  Will the  3G be as popular?  Will the 1.0 fall off the list of trendy things to own?

Perhaps the 1.0 phone will retain a higher level of "cool" in Vietnam vis-a-vis the States because of the culture of new (that exists everywhere) is tempered by the culture of expensive here.  With the US price drop, on the grey market here, the 3G phones should cost about 1/2 of what the 1.0 iPhones cost ($850 when it was $499 in the US, about $600 when it came down to $399 and unlocking was less cumbersome).

While newer + cheaper generally means greater demand, sometimes cheaper means less demand here, due to the down market connotations.  Phones like the Vertus and the Mobiado are used here because they make a certain statement.  

It'll be interesting to see how this dynamic will play itself out.  The fact that the 1.0 and the 3G will be visually distinguishable will help one gauge this scenario.      

Outlook Interview

I've been reading these "On The Stool" features in Timeout magazine, a 40 page or so weekly magazine insert in the local English language weekly business paper, Vietnam Investment Review.

I would never do a real 'interview,' mainly because I am not famous enough to warrant one.  Plus, I don't want my picture in the paper.  But of course, with this power-to-the-people-by-way-of-blog-publishing-even-though-no-one-reads-ya, I can participate.  Here are my HCMC tinged answers:

Name: D.

Age: older than 50% of the local populace, at least

Nationality: USA

Occupation: Middleman

 

What brought you to Vietnam?
A job.

What is keeping you here?

Said job.

Where do you go to escape?

Any of the local golf courses, which are better than my 'home' courses.

What do you miss about home?

Family, natch.

...what don't you miss?

How the daily news, in all its forms, is so US-centric.

How do you get around town?
Shoes, or taxi.

What's your favorite Vietnamese word or expression?
Du me.. j/k! 

What's your favorite local dish?
Banh cuon.

And what gives you a bellyache?

Baba, definitely baba.  

Favorite street/place to watch traffic?

Because I walk, everywhere.  Though I end up watching lots of traffic in the massive intersection outside Ben Thanh Market.

What was your most embarrassing moment in Vietnam?

I asked a dinner companion "Co la nguoi Saigon, ha?" - she, her husband (whom I earlier called "anh," correctly mind you) and a fourth local cracked up for five minutes before it was explained to me and/or I realized that I should've called her "chi."  Of course said Chi is rumored to be sitting in a Hong Kong jail on money laundering charges these days.  This little story probably summarizes a lot of my Vietnam experience.   

What tickles you pink?

Seeing the local Vietnamese happy. 

What makes you go "Oi gioi oi...?"
Non-native Vietnamese speakers saying "oi gioi oi."  It just sounds... I dunno how to express it.. it's just.. oi gioi oi.

Who would be the first person you'd invite to your birthday party?

Family, natch.  A particular family member.

...and the last?

Family that I don't know, but who knows me.  Or this Vietnamese defense attorney I met who defended Gary Glitter.  Toss up, really.  

What's the quickest way to spend a VND1 million?

Bottle of liquor at a pub/club/whatnot.

What's your hidden talent?

None, because I'm a braggart.

What Vietnamese person do you most admire?

Folks, who toil on the streets for their daily bread, passing the parked Bentley or Rolls or Maybach without giving the same a swift kick in the name of socialism.

What do you want to be when you grow up?

Old, retired, with a lower handicap.  Rich would be good too.

What's in your pockets right now?

Phones- this is Vietnam, right?! - a wallet with US credit cards and identification that I never use here, and some VND all folded akimbo. 

Where would we find you at 10pm on a Saturday night?

Probably drinking somewhere.

...and 10am on Sunday morning?

At the Him Lam driving range.

Your favorite nocturnal beverage?

That would be a martini, Bob.

Your show-stopping karaoke song of choice?

Ice, Ice, Baby?

What will you call your memoirs about your time in Vietnam?

Um, VA to VN has a certain ring to it.

Who will play you in the film adaptation?

School yard friends have said, alternately, that I look like Christian Slater, Keanu Reeves or Emilio Estevez.  So one of them.  Did I tell you I went to a school for the blind?

...and your dying words?

Fuck. 

Oh Burn!

An External Flame, To My Leg!

So I finished lunch at a local stainless steel tabled eatery and got my change.  It's a very popular spot that draws crowds, which in turns draws the destitute and damaged who are looking for some financial assistance.  

One thing that is different between Hanoi and Saigon, as I've noted in past posts, is that there are more panhandlers on the street here, by a few orders of magnitude by my reckoning.  I would hazard the reasons range from the fact that Saigon is at least twice the size of Hanoi, to more persistent central government efforts to sweep away the issue in the capitol city, to the climate in Saigon, which allows for outdoor living year round (as long as you have a poncho).  

These days I give to panhandlers more than I did while living in Hanoi, probably because I walk around much more and see many more people.  

Anyhow, back to today.  I got my change and headed to the old woman who had been loitering outside the restaurant for most of my meal.  She was on the street, and I on the sidewalk, separated by a row of parked motorbikes, which, being Vietnam, were naturally also on the sidewalk.  I squeezed into a crevice between two parked bikes to reach the woman and was about to hand over my change when I yelped like a Pomeranian.

Gosh darn it, I burned myself on a bike.  And I don't even ride a bike!  That fateful bike's exhaust had one of those heat dissipating covers to the exposed muffler that I burned my leg on.  I guess they don't work too well.  

After making myself feel better by donating some money, I walked off cursing and wincing every few steps.  I'm sure that provided a modicum of entertainment to the midday lunch crowd.  

The picture shows that the burn isn't very bad, or perhaps it hasn't shown its true effects yet, as it was snapped moments after the above incident.  As you can tell from the leg hairs, I'm not a typical motobike burn victim in Vietnam; they tend to shave their legs and wear skirts.  If you look hard enough, you'll see a bunch of women walking around town with welts or scars strategically placed on their calves.

It hurt enough that I went looking for some medical care.  A tip for all travelers - if you don't know where something is, and you're not too confident with asking the random taxi driver hanging around looking for a fare, head to any big hotel.  With the accident occurring in District 1, I went into the next hotel that I saw and asked the front desk for directions to the closest pharmacy.

The pharmacist was nicer than expected when she suggested the essentials to treat my mild burn.  Perhaps she's had occasion to meet up with a muffler or two.  The burn cream, "Made With Assurance in India," and bandages cost a little less than $2 USD.  Offsets the pain just a little bit.        

Obama Backs Off Wright

So I couldn't fall asleep and I turned on the tube to while away the time.  Flipped to CNN and caught them carrying a live Obama presser in NC where he's a bit down, explaining how he's now disavowing Rev. Jeremiah Wright based on the latter' comments at the National Press Club the other day.

Because I'm still wide awake, I head over to Youtube to catch the NPC presser, all 30+ minutes of it, including the question session.  

Wow, the Rev. was pretty darn middle-of-the-road and melba toast like in his comments.  I'm not an Obama-bot and am far from calling myself a Christian, but this dude made a lot of sense.  I have no idea what the controversy is all about.

For an old Reverend, he was acting a bit silly, sorta like a college jock preening in front of his frat buddies, during the question -and-answer session.  This was mostly due to the fact that the audience was filled with friends and supporters who lustily clapped for him - he was just egging on the crowd, having a bit of fun.  Also, the NPC woman was overmatched, in wit and theology, so his overenthusiastic parries of her questions, or to be fair, written questions from the assembled press that she delivered, and the ease of his deflections, only served to goad him into more mugging for the crowd.  

Wright did state that he thought the US Government is capable of having had developed the HIV virus - of course it is capable, but HIV is a shitty biological weapon if it was crafted as such - and that 9/11 was, in part, provoked by past US Government policies.  These are definite political third rails, but, at least for the latter 9/11 statement, a lot of folks would agree.  One of them happen to be named Ron Paul.  

I have no idea what the fuss is about.  That Obama is now disavowing Wright makes him look more political than principled.  But of course I would think that, because I'm for the other guy (or gal).  

Tipping, the Scale

Ah.. it's been a while since I've teed off in this space.  Maybe because I'm bothered from the lack of actual, real live golfing in my life.  Hitting the greens is a bit more relaxing than just hanging out at the range.

Anyhow, after moving down to Saigon, I've scoured the 'net looking for advice on where to eat and what to do.  I'm trying to discover more about this town, but there is only so much aimlessly walking in the midday heat that I can accomplish.  Getting coordinates to destinations would be helpful.

Such research on Vietnam ends up being a review of English travel logs and expat blogs.  Ergo, this rant.

• people talk about giving $1 to someone (local), and then comment on how that's like 50% of the average yearly pay of a Vietnamese national.  Get a clue, m-fer.  The per-capita GDP is about $2,600 (in 2007) [corrected: this is the PPP (purchasing power parity) figure, as chicken leg man - Anh Duoi Ga - pointed out], but that accounts for the 50+ million folks who do not live in the city.  When was the last time you visited a province?  A lot of locals have spending power equal to your teaching salary, so stop trying to figure out how they're sporting nicer phones than you.
• in the same vein, tip people appropriately you cheap bastards!  Folks write about going to foot massages and tipping 30k VND, like that's a big deal.  Listen, in jobs here where a tip from the customer is expected (aforementioned massages, golf course, etc.), the service folks get a very minimal base salary.  It's like your friendly bartender at home, who can legally get compensated below minimum wage.  If you were able to talk to the folks who have been kindly kneading your feet, or schleping your clubs, you would realize this.  That $15-20 USD caddie fee - the caddie sees 15-20k VND of it!  Per day!      
• here is the tipping scale for a LOCAL - you are not, so pay more.  Foot massage: 50k; body massage: 100k; caddy (18 holes): 100k.
• stop bitching about the women here, and how they are so materialistic.  Women are materialistic the world over (so are men - hey, look at me!).  It's just that your mangy ass could not attract the materialistic women back home, but, praise the lord, $omehow you could here.  Let's see - you can't really have a conversation with her, you met while you were either shopping for nice goods or sitting at a table nursing some $100+ bottle of whisky, and you got her number within 30 minutes.  Now you look askance when she expects, at minimum, some nice bauble of a gift the next time she sees you?  Welcome to the real world, from San Francisco to Saigon.
• so you end up entertaining a materialistic girl.  Stop snooping around to see if she has other boyfriends - she does, just like every other like minded girl in the world.  And then it doesn't work out, so it ends. Be happy that you could entertain one, even for a bit of time.  Talking about bitch slapping people, even in jest, just makes you look like an asshole.  Or more precisely, a special kind of asshole, mixing misogyny with a faint whiff of racism.  After all, unlike a MySpace battle in the suburban jungle back home, your targets generally do not have knowledge of your digital putdowns.  

Saigon is a great city, bursting with life and people.  In a lot of ways, it is like every other metropolis, but it's a lot safer than the cities I know in the States.  So if you're uncomforted by the noise, or the masses, or the incessant commerce, then go back to your Podunk hometown in Australia, or the UK or whatever.  If you want cow-tipping, move to Hanoi :)

And the people here are just like they are everywhere else - from the desperately poor to the fabulously well off.  On average the locals may seem naive and less worldly, but they are like the corn-fed Iowans who had more of a say than you did on our next President.  

So spare some consideration for the kids selling gum, or the old folks selling yesterday's English language papers.  And marvel at the hard working women (and some men) who go about recycling plastic bottles, cans, cardboard, grocery bags and styrofoam, among other sundries.  They're reducing your footprint of waste on the world.  And stop for a moment, or at least slow your rush to the next nightspot for the evening, and take in the street sweeper and city garbage collectors, who work with brooms made from twigs and rope that they have to fashion themselves.  Apparently, the government's sanitation department has a sparse procurement policy.

It has been wonderful to enjoy the humanity of Vietnam, and to experience the humility that it evoked.         

Return to Vietnormalcy

Less than 12 hours after landing, it's back to 'Vietnormalcy.' In time order, the following occurred:

1. immigration/customs: I knew-of-a-friend-of-a-friend who was going to help grease my way through customs. No, I wasn't bringing any incendiary pamphlets in tow with my overweight luggage.

Rather, I was bring in a suitcase of IT equipment to outfit a small office. I wasn't about to sell the equipment, so I don't think I should be taxed on it, but who knows what the customs guy would think and how would I explain it to them. It would be the same as me bringing cash into the country to start a business - I shouldn't (and don't) get taxed on that. So I was (morally) comfortable with trying to slip through. This was my version of FDI (foreign direct investment), as I am adding capital assets to this country.

Bypassing (or at least quickly being processed) by immigration and customs is definitely a Vietnam thing. I got escorted through the diplomatic line and got out of the airport pretty darn quickly.

2. highway accident: so the off-duty customs guys drove me back into town. On the highway back - the Thang Long bridge - we crossed the scene of a deadly accident. Some person was evacuated 20+ meters from their motorbike. Luckily for me, it was dark and I didn't have good visibility out - it's sad but true, I can't bear to look at the bodies on the ground. In the year or so, I'm up to about half a dozen now. And folks wonder why I don't own a motorbike.

3. ripped off by customs: so I got back to town and the customs guy demands payment. I figure we sorta split the difference or something, but nope. Full payment. For every single computer. Normally, you would get credit for at least one computer as personal use or something (I've brought in two, went through legit channels and no tax or duties).

So, basically I'm getting ripped. It's past midnight, there are two guys, I have 150+ kgs of luggage, I'm a bit hung over from the flight and my local contact is fast asleep. God dammit. So I paid up.

Lesson learned - getting reamed by the government is less painful than getting reamed by crooked government employees on the take.

4. pho breakfast: next morning, jet lagged and pissed as heck for getting separated from my VND, I attended a pho breakfast. Not a big deal, but this was with a group of shareholders of a publicly listed company. We were eating at a local joint that is popular with the local business crowd, enjoying their 20k bowls of noodle. I can't imagine going to a NYSE-listed shareholders' breakfast in a local diner or something back in the States. Certain things are a bit different 'round these parts.

No Delegate Lead for Obama

As the adage goes, vote early, vote often, so we snuck the little one into the booth and cast an extra ballot.  Ok, so not really, but the kid, being a DCite, got into the game early.

Our time back here coincided with the presidential primary, so we went out and voted.  Our guy (or should I say, "gal") didn't win, so that was a bummer.  I'm still a supporter till the race is called.

The genesis of this post came as a reflection on Preya's post titled Why Voting For Hillary Now Is Bad For The Democratic Party.  Originally this post was to be titled "Voting on Vacation," but that sounded a bit pedestrian next to Preya's nicely titled thoughts. 

A simple response to Preya is that I do not agree that voting for Hillary now is bad for the party.  But on a wider view, I don't understand the hoopla and lack of analysis that we get from political reporters during this election cycle.  Yeah, Obama has won more states, but there are few who ask "do those states matter?"

For instance, Obama (re)started his momentum with a win in South Carolina, taking a 26 to 14 delegate tally.  But when was the last time the Democratic nominee won South Carolina in the general election?  You have to go back to 1976 when Carter took this neighbor to Georgia over Ford.  

Can we reasonably expect any Democratic nominee to turn this demographic tide?  

Of course, similarly, Hillary won Arizona and took a 35-27 advantage.  But will that mean anything in the general against McCain?  That delegate victory should be discounted when we are sizing up who would be the best candidate in the general election.  After all, as Al Gore showed, it's not about winning the popular vote, but rather, squeeking out wins in places that matter.  

Going by the Red State-Blue State breakdown for the 2004 Presidential Election, and using CNN's numbers on the pledged delegates and superdelegate estimates as of today, we see that, crazily enough, Hillary and Obama are tied (!!!) with 785 delegates in "states that matter."

"States that matter" are the 19 states which were blue in the 2004 Presidential Election.  After all, when viewing things thru the lens of trying to win the general election, is it really important to know how Kansas thinks on Clinton v. Obama?    

Clinton and Obama are tied in states that went Kerry - of course to win in 2008, they would need an additional state (Florida, or Virginia perhaps) while holding onto these states that matter.  Clinton took the 'non-contested' Florida results while Obama took Virginia.

Note also that these tied delegate numbers do not include numbers for Michigan (a blue state), which Hillary won (no delegates were awarded due to the calendaring issue) and for Pennsylvania, which won't hold the primary till April 22nd.

I am not saying that SC Democrats 'do not matter' - I am saying that Democrats in non-blue and non-purple states cannot help a Democratic nominee win in November with their action at the polls.  Given that, their actions at the primary polls should be discounted.  Heavily.      

Gifting Dilemma

So we're on a short break from Vietnam for personal reasons - i.e. the kid. Heading back means one thing - pressure to get gifts for local friends and acquaintances (so nothing for ya, Thirsty!).

Even though I've lived there for over a year, I have no idea what a nice (inexpensive) gift would be. Suggestions anyone?