Well, it’s week 2 of God knows how many. And I am at last getting rid of the jetlag. Been a funny week, been so horribly strange to know that way to many are looking at me like I got the remains of a small child in my beard. Never seen pepole jump out of the way in real terror before, at first it was funny but after a day or two it just felt wrong. Now I don’t care about it anymore.
The pepole here in Vietnam are fantastic, we in Europe tend to think we own most things who have to do with beeing polite and beeing an humanitarian. But from what I see here we are cold assholes at times who are to buisy defending our money. Here pepole do acually care for each other, in a totally different and more sensere way than we do
But the man who moves here to be an electrician is a braindead idiot, electronic here is a mess behind belief. Only the clinical insane will try that job here, it’s like crossing the streets. It can be done 1000 times with no problems, but it will only take one problem to make a roadpizza out of you
There will be more, if I survive the traffic
Kengro
So true about the electrical wiring in SE Asia. What you describe to me is akin to what I saw in a neighboring country to Vietnam: Laos.
I actually shot video and took pictures of the horrifically dangerous wiring in public places like open markets and restaurants. One restaurant in particular was built on piers on a riverbank. Now keep in mind, what I describe was commonplace and seen routinely. I saw 220v ungrounded, conventional interior line cord stapled along the pier posts and exposed to rain, right next to pedestrian walkways. The wire sheathing itself looked weathered and brittle in many places.
There were “home made” light fixtures I saw made of 2-liter soda pop bottles, with the wiring through the top half (bottom cut off) and the light bulb wired through the neck. The bottle served as a sort of rain shield.
I saw enormous step-down transformers wired up for neighborhood service, completely unshielded or fenced, on platforms between two poles about 4-6 feet off the ground–and built right next to sidewalks!
Since they wire their homes with no safety ground, it is not uncommon to have appliances end up having a “hot” chassis. But people continue to use the appliance if they do not have to touch the metal exterior–they just tell everyone not to touch the outside. Incredible!
Yes, indeed, it was quite the education to see how they live over there.
maybe a bit like us in past … I always think we have lost a way of life but the Vietnam ( or other countries ) is not idyllic in all time
It’s not what it once was here, the influences from the westerly world are too many now a days. But it still got innocence, a innocence the west lost so long ago that no living man’s great great granddad was even born. And it combines new and old still, in the most beautiful way.
It will be a sad sad day when I have to leave 🙁
have you eaten some food like those ?
http://www.vietnammonpaysnatal.fr/ENGLISH/e_amthuc1.htm
Oh yes, and it’s damn good
of course it must be good ! :p
don’t forget vietnam ‘s ruled by evil communists still, .=vie cong
didn’t you notice the hochimin statue every where in viet cong offices, vietnam poli office==cong an..?
NO need to stay all time in big chaoic city like saigon or hanoi TO ENJOY traffic jams as most newly arriived farang did, there’re lots of ambient small town across vietnma, such as My tho(40 minutes bus journey from ho chi ming)..
Do come to sothern tip -Ca mau, very remote, but quiet, little traffics, many nature around….additionally fresh squid ‘s very very cheap, do buy one kilo and cook by yourself in your kitichen if renting a house in ca mau.
yes is for this reason i say it’s not so idyllic, but in small town or village is better
I will go around and see as much as I can, thevreason for starting in HCM is that it’s a bigger change to meet people who speak English here as I can’t speak vietnamese yet
it’s must be a barrier , the language , how do you communicate? in english ? in french ah ah ?
pick up vietnamese ‘s easy if you stay long!
“Đừng lo lắng”-don’t worry!
many returned vietnam refugees or Viet Kieu can help u on learning vietnamese!
vietnamese ‘re not apathy cold hearted french at least…..