…which would be good in a way were there nice things to do or any other benefits that help to keep a good mood on the long run. There is not the sensation of Bali’s surf, the fresh air of Switzerland, the traffic safety of Germany, the cleanliness of Singapore and the intellect of Berlin or Bonn. Fortunately, this year brought some little variety into metro-urban everyday life, and it were friends that made the good days during these months.
Dr. and me at our classic Aussie pizza place – get stuffed and share memories of the past in Bonn and Asia
Just one week later than Richard had left, Dr. Scharfsinn arrived in the South and we had one of our typical weekends in town. As there is not much choice, we have again spent all the time either in restaurants, in coffee-shops, on the motorbike or having some beers in the nightclubs. We could already call Al Fresco’s, an Aussie pizza place in downtown, the very classic one out of all food venues we have ever visited, except of maybe the canteen in Bonn. The Hanoi and the Saigon branch of the place to get really stuffed had let each of us already fill up several frequent-diner cards in the past. My pepperoni pizza wasn’t the best choice this time, but the restaurant had let us enjoy the atmosphere of your regular revivals when meeting up in the country. Again, it was great to talk and discuss on old and new issues regarding the country, the life and all issues of common interest.
one of downtown Saigon’s new lounges – labelled by an impressively extravagant dark design and an uncompromisingly effective use of space by the help of ingenious interior design elements
This time, we have also met again Trang and Mai. It was on our Southeast Asia trip five years ago that our paths had crossed in Saigon and we had also met those two girls. The first time in this city was exactly five years ago. At that time we were backpackers. Now we live and work in the country. When Dr. Scharfsinn had met Trang it was also that I had met Thuy Hang. Five years that already make up an eternity. Back then it was not yet fashion to have a web blog. But still, the scenes from those days are captured in my inner eye even clearer than any record on this blog could express it. So much has changed since then. Saigon has changed, we have changed, people have changed. Somehow the world.
And still, I don’t get rid of the feeling that in the past somehow all was better – the old question often raised with the friends back home or wherever they meanwhile stay. The less one knows, the more peaceful life seems, the younger one is, the more enjoyable it may be. Seeing all the people working and the way they socialize, it is hard contemplate their way of enjoying life. For me it needs to be different, but I could not even tell exactly how, and thus, the search for that way is difficult. Nonetheless, being a child on a lonely way is still better than being a corporate slave indulging in purchased happiness. Five years ago it was just traveling, without much money, on a backpack, without a mobile phone, hitting the road and discovering a part of the world the down-to-earth way. Meanwhile, it is career, responsibilities, making money and running behind new goals that make life what it is – and this on a global scope. Isn’t it better with less? Wouldn’t it be nicer if we had all stayed in our home city? Living an ordinary life, with less to cope with and self-fulfillment during leisure-time instead of through experiences from an international career? Having started this game, it is money that became an important goal. Not for the money itself, but for the freedom, the luxury of intimacy and the mobility and the time to buy with it. It has become important; more than ever before. But it has to be without selling myself and all of the time that was given to me. Looking back, it is also that one realizes that we know much more now than in those backpacker days, and we can make use of our skills in order to built the future. Much is open and there are choices. One has more means than ever before to change things to one selves advantage. Remaining is the question how this future will look like and where it will be. Shall this question be the one to focus on or shall it be fine to drift like in the past, understanding the future as a way rather than a destination? Probably the right combination will make it. Following several old and new goals, and leaving the way to reach them open.
luxury gated community townhouses in Hanoi – dreaming of a better life and searching for a way to realize it without becoming a corporate slave
Saigon is stressful, boring and always the same. Living here takes its toll and requires commensurate benefits. Very quick after settling-in, I had already felt that I needed a change in many regards. Waiting much too long with accepting other offers or just going into a new direction, I have finally resigned form the company after almost two years and will be in Germany as of end of June. For sure it was a risky undertaking in times of a global economic downturn but I am still confident. Things would not change fast enough for me to be satisfying. Thus, it will be Bonn and Neuwied for a few months. The stay in Germany will mainly serve the accomplishment of my Master’s thesis which has totally fallen by the wayside while being engaged with the job, the family and the city. Friends will be seen and celebrated. The time with parents will be enjoyed. A tight training plan for the gym has already been set-up and I will detoxify from the dust and dirt of Ho Chi Minh City.
Arriving in the coastal city of Nha Trang and discovering - a beautiful and relaxing weekend trip
spending the first evening on the beach promenade breathing fresh air – man-made tourism destinations will probably always remain preferred spots for life and leisure
Before I would be leaving to Germany, Hang and me went to Nha Trang for a couple of days of closeness and relaxation, just being the two of us and doing nothing but discovering a new place. We enjoyed the sun, the fresh air, motorbike rides along the coast, sightseeing and a museum, Sushi and fresh seafood and a party on the beach. Nha Trang is quite a nice city, and were there good job opportunities for expatriates I could well imagine to live here. Tranquil, peaceful and clean, with its blue coastline and a green mountain range around.
sightseeing at the Po Nagar Tower of the Cham culture on a hill above the city
the tranquil city as a perfect escape from the rush metropolitan life
Then there was my visit to Dr. Scharfsinn in Hanoi. Flying on a low-cost carrier for the first time it was again that I noticed how demanding I have become, be it through rising age and the need for more comfort, being spoilt by better financial means or a need for more safety travelling with more valuables and responsibilities. Suddenly a guesthouse in Bangkok doesn’t work out anymore and it needs to be a three-star hotel in a central area. But claiming to be the kind economizing personal expenses and optimizing I always find a good way to get a good level of service for a good level of expenditures. In this way, Hanoi also became a nice event which was both affordable as well enjoyable. It was great to enjoy the cosy Hanoi atmosphere again, all the interesting alleys, and the older and more sophisticated architecture.
the streets and alleys of Hanoi seem much more relaxed and peaceful - always cosy in a way
Dr. and me on a short motorbike excursion to the banks of Red River
reunion and morning coffee with Long and Dr. after a long time away from the capital
The conservative capital seemed much more peaceful to me than the southern metropolitan hub. For living there, however, it might still be rather boring. So another option to exclude if one does not want to give up lifestyle for career. Possibly me and my generation is quite spoilt. In Hanoi, we had beers in Dr. Scharfsinn’s – one has to call it luxury – apartment, followed by a motorbike ride to an island on the next noon, some cruising through Ciputra, a gated community which is being further extended around the Westlake, pizza several times, and e small reunion with Long from Dr.’s project I had also been shortly affiliated with some time ago. The nice weekend went too fast but there will be another chance to meet in Bangkok in June.
Some of our staffs at the branch office in the water…
…some on the sand.
The next trip was with the whole staff of the branch office to Vung Tau, which is a small city by the sea not too far form Ho Chi Minh City. We had just one overnight, but the day on the beach was great fun and seafood fir lunch was most delicious. It was nice people I have been working with here and I will miss them. In any job, people is the most important factor, and I hope that upon my next assignment it will be good people again to work with.
the Reunification Palace with the tank in front that hit the main gate in April 1973 ending the Vietnam War or the Amercian War as the Vietnamese call it
fascinatingly modern socialist architecture and interior design
On the final weekends of this term’s stay in Vietnam we went out in Saigon to see old and new places in a city where the past is always present and yet history. I was impressed by the socialist architecture of the Reunification Palace, it’s for that time futuristic design and interior as well as the size of the area and the surrounding park right in the heart of Ho Chi Minh City. Last weekend we went to the zoo with Yen Linh. She became a good friend – one of the people who are there when one needs them. Another pity of the global lifestyle is that one has to leave friends one has not even have spent enough time with in order to get to know each other really well. Unfortunately, the world wide web is not substitute for meeting each other, but in some cases it is even the initiator of the real meeting and still it helps to keep in touch. Who knows, there will probably another chance to have a coffee sections, a barbecue or just beers out on Bui Vien Street.
Altogether on a nice visit to the zoo...
…Hang here and Thien Phu there…
Thank you, Yen Linh!
After Germany, it will either be the same place again, Saigon, or possibly another spot on earth. The Rhineland would be quite nice, or a smaller city in Vietnam, big Bangkok or the promised island? It is not yet sure at all whether to work in the same industry, for any other business corporation, back to idealism and work international organization, pursue an academic career to try to get into the consulting business. We have to see how everything goes on.
Yeah, yeah! Nicely coated toy with an expensive number plate driven by a wealthy young couple
