Huh? When I arrived jetlagged in Taipei Monday morning the idea of planning the next international flight out seemed distant. The ‘plan’ was to go south this upcoming weekend within Taiwan on a bullet train – no time change, currency or or visa issues. Warmer weather.
Wrong. Cold. This Asia trip was motivated by my pent-up demand to travel. Not just me, a global phenomena, especially in Asia where lockdowns were more restrictive. Remember, still wearing masks in Taiwan and Japan requires a negative PCR test to enter. I was strongly advised by David that if I want to travel I should decide quickly to save money because everyone in Asia wants to travel the same as me before and during CNY. So within 24 hours of arriving in Taipei, I applied to the Vietnamese government for a visa and booked a flight for Friday on an a new airline I never heard, Starlux, a Taipei-based airline whose backstory resonates with locals who envied me and had many questions for me about my experience with them. I chose Ho Chi Minh for mostly business reasons even though it was my vacay. Flew out Saturday instead (story below)
I did not take many pictures in Vietnam, something that I was criticized for upon return to Taipei. While in Vietnam I mostly walked around the downtown area trying to get an understanding of the vibe. What I found is that Ho Chi Minh is a lot like Taiwan 30 years ago: energetic, poor infrastructure, questionable regional and national government competence, entrepreneurship at all levels, creativity, adaptability, young demographic, welcoming acceptance as an international multicultural place, big divides between wealthy/poor and ethnicity which affect life options but because there are so many variants in the city not so much. I had hopes that I would find Vietnam to be the next big thing after China but I learned that there is still a lot of work to do, there is not a shared vision, but I admire the energy at the individual and family-level. Vietnam is definitely improving regardless of the social or economic measure you apply. That progress will be uneven across sectors but does not look to be interrupted by politics, ideologies or war.
The best thing I got right about Vietnam was my choice of the cute Hammock Hotel. The 1st night I was there was miserable since some very energetic and enthusiastic groups chose to have their pre-CNY event(s) [maybe a wedding and a company party], 2 blocks away that actually rattled my bathroom mirror in my sound-proofed hotel until 2am.
One highlight of this trip was to meet a fellow traveler (like Croatia). In this case it was a guy staying in the same hotel. Ben is from Bangalore with his family. We spent more than a few hours on the rooftop drinking free beverages from the hotel. I learned so much about life in southern India thanks to him, his wife and their amazing daughter and their willingness to share their stories and answer my intrusive questions. A highlight.
Had my 2nd motorscooter accident. I drove a scooter in Taipei for 5 years and then in Kirkland for another 10. The first incident was in Taipei 25 years ago, I was driving and bumped into a semitruck that stopped suddenly in front of me and bent the front carrier on the scooter. No one noticed. This time was just as bad. I was trying to cross a 4-lane one-way highway along the Saigon River. There was a break in the traffic so I stepped off the curb into the striped pedestrian crosswalk and got hit immediately by a motor scooter going the wrong way. He briefly thought about making an issue of it and we did have a bit of a staredown but then he realized it wouldn’t turn out well for him so he apologized. No injury or damage to either of us. Just a fun story for me.
I am not doing Vietnam justice by cramming an amazing 4 days into one post. Maybe I’ll have time to dissect this later.
The hotel rooftop was a highlight
Note the hotel next door with fancy restaurant.
The business reason I chose this destination was to understand if the move of supply chain from China to Vietnam and India was a real thing as this affects my company. My conclusion is that there is inevitable momentum but that the transition will take longer and will require some good decisions at the government-level to make it happen so the the short-term trends don’t look good. The underlying logic is attracting a lot of the smart money for mid-term and long-term.
I wanted to go there and actually experience the dynamic. Surprisingly I learned a lot more than I thought I would while taking the Saigon WaterBus up the river and back. Best $1.30 I have ever spent.
I recorded this at the upriver end station while we waited to reboard for return trip.
Visa story: I visited Hanoi in 2019 using a travel agent to get my visa in 36 hours but it seemed like using an agent in 2023 was an invitation to fraud so instead I applied directly to the Vietnam government website that promised a response in 3 days. The on-line process involved a phone pic/scan of my passport and face (which interestingly became a reference point at the end of the whole trip) and some standard questions. David did not believe that the visa would be processed in 3 days because he knew others that were going thorough travel agents and being told there were delays because of the CNY crush. The visa did come through in 3 days and there was no charge for processing unlike using a travel agent. Downside was that I had bought a ticket for Friday hoping that the visa would be processed in two days so I had so I chose to cancel my ticket and buy a new one leaving Saturday rather than trying to change flights. $87 extra but that is completely on me. The visa did come through in the promised 36 hours, David suspected it was because I was a US citizen but I think it was just me following the regulations of the Vietnam official website.
