DCDayTripper: April 2012

26 April 2012 ~ Casa Lisboa

Listening to: Cowboy Junkies ~ Angels In The Wilderness (The Wilderness)

Had a work Team Dinner at the Portuguese Restaurant "Casa Lisboa".

We enjoyed the famous dish "suckling pig".

Duck rice.

Sea Bass & Fish Stew.

Classic singers.

And Birthday Cake.

25 April 2012 ~ In Loving Memory

Listening to: Garcia, Weir, Kahn, Baez Acoustic ~ Knockin' On Heaven's Door (12/17/87)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUbeh6mYl6c

When I leave you don’t weep for me.

Pass the wine around and remember

How my laughing pleased you.

Look at one another smiling,

And don’t forget about touching.

Sing the songs that I loved best,

And dance one time all together.

As for me, I’ll be off running

Somewhere on the beach, and I’ll fly

To the top of the tree I was always meant to climb.

When you’re ready, I’ll be there ~

Waiting for you.

Take your time.

22 April 2012 ~ Earth Day

Listening to: Joe Liggins ~ Pink Champagne

I did a daytrip to Halong Bay while visiting Hanoi.

This is the junk boat we rode on.

There were really fun people on the trip:

- a couple from Frankfurt, Germany, and their daughter, who works in Shanghai
- 2 girls from London, one of which is from Kazakhstan
- a couple from Phoenix, but the guy is originally from Marshfield, WI
- a couple from Salem, OR, and the guy was a food wholesaler to Taco Bell

So, I had lots to talk about with everyone!

The scenery was really beautiful.

This is a little boat village - they have a school and a bank even.

Happy Earth Day Everyone!

21 April 2012 ~ Hanoi Market Entrance & Special Treat

Listening to: Megan Reilly ~ Sew (The Well)

Before the cooking class we all went down the street to the Hanoi Market.

A staple of Vietnamese meals is rice.

And a staple ingredient is fish sauce.

Eggs are fresh - and numerous types.

There are not a lot of sources of calcium. One option is frogs, which were squirming around in the green mesh bag.

The other is silkworms.

This was our "special treat" in cooking class. We bought a 1/2 kilo.

The instructor showed us how to fry them up. First you saute them slowly in a small amount of oil on low heat to evaporate off the water that is inside. Then add some more oil and fish sauce, and cilantro, and presto, ready to serve.

I was one of the few in class who actually tasted them. Once you get over the "pop" of biting into them, they are very tasty, and remind me of cooked green peas.

20 April 2012 ~ Customer Go Live - Success!

Listening to: Bush ~ Glycerine (Sixteen Stone)

All of the hardwork has paid off and we actually had Workday's two first AsiaPac customers Go Live this week.

Big sigh of relief. Were all of the hours and sleepless nights worth it? Not sure, but I hope so.

What a journey it's been.

We had a nice celebration today -- with cupcakes.

And here is team picture.

19 April 2012 ~ Hanoi Cooking Center

Listening to: Lucious ~ Don't Just Sit There
I took a Vietnamese cooking class at the Hanoi Cooking Centre.

We went to the market beforehand to see the types of ingredients we would use, and buy a "special treat" to cook up.

I'll share the pictures of market in the next post (and warn anyone who is squeamish to maybe skip it).

There were 10 of us in the class - 4 New Zealanders, 3 Aussies, an American couple from Georgia and me. One of the Aussie's was my cooking-mate.

Our instructor was very good. She explained which types of fish sauces to use when, how to improvise on utensils, and make delicious food!

Our first course was Pho Bo (Beef Noodle Soup). The broth was already made as it takes 8 hours to prepare. Now I just have to find a butcher to sell me a pig's trotter (and cut it in half).

Next up was West Lake Prawn Cakes. Here are the ingredients as we got ready to make the batter and marinate the shrimp.

We also made green papaya salad, Nuoc Cham (dipping sauce for fresh spring rolls) and Pho Cuon (Fresh Spring Rolls).

For dessert was Banana Che - grilled bananas with coconut milk and sugar, sprinkled with sesame seeds and peanuts.

Everyone got this nice apron as a souvenir, as well as all the recipes.

It was a totally cool morning!

13 April 2012 ~ Old Quarter Hotel and Spy Bar

Listening to: Rich Wilbur ~ Milwaukee Here I Come (In The City)

I stayed at the Hanoi Old Quarter Hotel. When booking my hotel I was surprised to learn they actually offered rooms with no windows, so that ended up being a priority for my booking. That and wanting to stay in the Old (French) Quarter, in order to be in walking distance of most things.

The hotel was rated as 3 ***, which I guess I would agree with now that I've been there. It had local charm. Just old, but clean, and interestingly furnished.

The funny thing about the bottles on the top shelf is that they were fake old perfume bottles with solidified colored water (or something).

And the room was spacious (probably as big as my HK apartment!), with a fan and air conditioning.

And a jacuzzi tub.

Breakfast was included. The first morning there was a bowl of eggs sitting on the table, so I assumed they were boiled...but NO...I cracked to peel only to get raw yolk all over my steamed bun. YUCK. I was supposed to ask the staff to fry up an egg for me. I stuck to the yogurt and fried rice (the bacon would have been tasty but horribly undercooked.)

Stopped in for a local beer at the quaint pub about 2 doors down. Definitely a Western scene. But the beers are cold and refreshing.

12 April 2012 ~ The Little Kitchen

Listening to: Mazzy Star ~ I'm Sailin' (She Hangs Brightly)

Happy Birthday! I think this little guy is 2 today, but I don't have any recent pictures.

After I got to my hotel, it started pouring down rain. So, decided to take a nap. Great way to start vacations (I had the same opportunity in Taipei).

My co-worker actually warned me about going as there was a mild typhoon heading that direction, but except for that short rain, the weather was great.

After my nap I was hungry, so decided to venture out and see the nearby Hang Be Market, and find some lunch.

This is a typical scene.

Here's a video I took while walking on the market streets.

http://youtu.be/dv8LtPPHvR8

Interesting temple, and amazed by the criss-cross of wires everywhere.

I found a plaza and The Little Kitchen to have lunch. Here's the address and phone number if you find yourself in the neighborhood

I ordered "beef loc lac" - which is beef (duh), onions, green peppers, tomatoes and pineapple. Delicious!

And this was the organized street chaos I got to enjoy during lunch. There really are no traffic rules.

http://youtu.be/0Nwix8qwgcg

I felt like I was dropped into a beehive, but the bees were scooters and the buzzing was the honking of horns.

11 April 2012 ~ Vietnamese Dong

Listening to: Led Zeppelin ~ No Quarter (2/12/1975, Madison Square Garden, NYC)

Happy Birthday!!

It's a short flight from Hong Kong to Hanoi, just 2 hours. I flew there on Dragon Air. They served dim sum for breakfast on the flight.

When I arrived in Hanoi the airport was a little chaotic, but was able to exchange some money (they need to get rid of a few zeros, as $1 US = 20,000 Vietnamese Dong) and find a taxi.

When I exchanged 500 HKD I got 1.3 million dong. (That's about $64 US.)

Here are a few pictures of the currency notes.

All have Ho Chi Mihn on them. He was a Vietnamese Marxist-Leninist revolutionary leader who was prime minister (1945–1955) and president (1945–1969) of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam(North Vietnam). After his death, Saigon was renamed for him.

The taxi ride from the airport to the hotel was 315,000 dong -- agreed to before I left the airport.

Here's where I stayed on the map.

This is a customer go-live week, so I will be working long hours and my posts will be as available. But I have LOTS of pictures to share (yes, I know currency notes and a map are not the most interesting). So check back often.

This was a great vacation overall. I don't think I'd like to live in Hanoi, but the concept of no malls and no buildings over 4 stories was quite appealing. It felt like a new cultural experience, as very little English is spoken on the streets. It's the complete opposite of Hong Kong.

My perceptions of Vietnam are based on US History textbooks, memories of news reports and protests of the War (American or Vietnam, depending on your country), and movies such as Apocalypse Now, The Deer Hunter, Born on the Fourth of July, etc. so it was good to experience first hand.

I've also decided I don't listen to nearly enough Led Zeppelin anymore.

10 Apr 2012 ~ Back from Vacation

Listening to: Koko Taylor ~ Don't Mess With The Messer

I went to Hanoi, Vietnam for the Easter holiday break. Just got back so haven't even downloaded pictures off my camera, but wanted to be sure to get online to give a Happy Birthday shout-out.