Hanoi, Vietnam: Quang’s Guide to Crossing the Street

We asked our tour guide on tips on how to navigate the traffic in Hanoi by foot. He gave us three options.

How to cross the street?

Option 1. Close your eyes. Just walk and pray.

Option 2. Wear shades and use a stick while crossing the street. The vehicles will avoid you.

Option 3. Fly if you can.

Another suggestion from one of our companions is to wait for the locals to cross the street and walk along with them.

Quang told us that when he was taught how to drive, he was given one rule: Don’t hit anybody.

That was very comforting.

Honesty is good for Business

There are several foreign exchange counters at the NAIA Terminal 3. But this incident made us choose the same money changer all the time regardless of their exchange rate.

In one of our travels we brought 20,000 pesos with us. The 10,000 was changed to the foreign currency while we kept the other half to be exchanged later.

After the transaction, we had some meals first before going to the immigration gates.

Then after the final security check, someone approached us and handed over an envelope.

“Naiwan nyo po.”

Quennie and I were puzzled. Then he explained that the envelope contains the money that we left behind at the foreign exchange counter earlier.

Quennie and I were shocked! We left 10,000 pesos and it was returned to us. They went out of their way to wait for us at the final security check. They never left until they found us. They were probably waiting for us for more than an hour just to return the money.

We said thank you for the kind gesture. I think it was in a hurried way since we had a plane to catch.

But ever since, we always transact with them every time we need a foreign currency during our travel. We no longer compare the rates with other money changers nearby.

Their counter doesn’t have a name. Just the words FOREIGN EXCHANGE. But they are the ones between the Airline Counters A and B.

Have your money changed with them too. Trust me. They can be trusted.

Blog like Seth

I haven’t read any Seth Godin book… yet. But I heard about him. I also read about him and I sometimes read his blog.

I am puzzled by how he writes everyday in his blog. I wonder how it does that. I can’t imagine how one can write everyday. Especially someone like him who is busy.

I want to do that as well. But I wonder what to write.

Luckily, I stumbled upon an interview by Copyblogger.

Do you believe in “writer’s block”? If so, how do you avoid it?

This is a fancy term for fear. I avoid it by not getting it. Because I write like I talk and I don’t get talker’s block.

So here I am writing like I am talking. And so far, I am not running out of things to talk… and to write.

Thanks for the tip Seth.

The Unwish List

One of my money saving trick is making an Unwish List. Basically, the Unwish List is the exact opposite of a Wish List. The Unwish List is a list of things I will not buy… yet.

Not spending is the sure way to save. But everywhere you go and look encourages you to spend. I even think that the very idea of having a Wish List is just a marketing ploy to get people to spend their money.

I have kept an Unwish List since 2015. Some of the items listed in 2015 remain in the list until today. I have never bought it yet. It can be attractive like a new gadget or something useful like a home appliance. But past experiences taught me to delay spending and wait for more reasons to finally buy it.

My Unwish List has helped me save money. Just the simple task of listing them down and making an estimate of how much I need to save to buy all of them is enough to discourage me from buying an item on my Unwish List.

For example, at one time I had a GoPro, a drone, a pocket projector, an airfryer, a Bose portable speaker and an upgraded mirrorless camera in my Unwish List. All in all, I could have spent more than 200,000 had I brought them right away.

Years later, I eventually I bought a GoPro Hero 5 and a cheaper portable speaker.

I really would love to own a drone but I still consider it as an added burden when I travel. The pocket projector is still unjustifiable. My 2 year old camera still works just fine so I dont need an upgrade yet. And I am not convinced of the benefits of an airfryer yet.

What I saved from my Unwished List is spent on travel. So I wonder if I am really saving money after all. Hehehe…

No Internet, No Problem

I realized that I no longer need to turn on mobile roaming or to buy a local sim so that I can access the internet when I’m abroad.

The free internet at the hotel, coffee shops, restaurants, and public areas are enough so I can be connected.

You don’t have to be connected every time. You don’t have to post all your travel activities real time. You don’t have to give live updates or tweets.

You can do all these later when you’re back at the hotel or have a quick check during lunch or dinner if they provide free internet.

Spend the time getting lost. Take a few photos and take more time to discover instead.

Use offline maps. Ask for directions. Talk to strangers. Stop and smell the flowers… and the food.

Internet can wait.

Hanoi, Vietnam: First Impressions

Here are my first impressions of Hanoi, Vietnam. I did very little research on the place except for the running event I will be joining on Sunday. So it will be another adventure…

1. Modern infrastructures are rising. The airport is big, clean and organized. The highways are very wide. Not many skyscrapers… yet.

2. I’m staying at the Old Quarter area. The roads are smaller now. Last night, it was quiet and peaceful. But this morning, the roads are crowded with motorcycles.

3. Motorcycles rule the roads here in Old Quarter. They just zip past the intersection even if a car or a person is crossing the street. They are not that fast but you have to be alert.

4. I arrived at 2:00 in the morning and the hotel had their front door chained from the inside! No kidding. It was locked with chains! I wonder why it has to be that secured. Now, I’m having second thoughts staying late at night around Hanoi. 😛

5. I went inside a stationary store. They have nice notebooks, pens and art materials. Among the designs are references to the war. They seem to be very proud of this part of their history.

6. I love the houses here. They are narrow and tall. One house would look like blocks stacked on top of each other. Each floor would have a different design from the other floors.

7. Where are the fast foods? I haven’t seen McDonald’s or KFC yet. No Jollibee too?

8. 30+Mbps wifi!!! I think I will love it here.

A (Four) Million Dreams

It’s my first time to visit Vietnam. I’ll be running a half marathon at the Halong Bay Heritage Marathon on Sunday.

I had my Philippine Peso changed to Vietnamese Dong. With the current conversion rate, I should be getting 4 Million Dong!!!

However, the money changer only have 3.5 Million Dong.

I complained!

“All my life I dreamed of holding 4 Million in my hands and you are half a million short!”

Life is unfair.

Give Up to Move Up

This year I told myself to give up gaming so I can have more productive time.

Last year, I really got hooked playing Civ 5 that I spend hours trying out every character in the game. I also played other titles. All in all, I think I spent 3-4 months of gaming in 2017. I felt that 3-4 months could have been used for something else more worthwhile and productive.

So I stopped playing on my laptop. I still play casual games on my phone though. But I haven’t played my favorite RPGs and Strategy games. I logged zero hours of gaming in my Steam account for the year.

It was tempting to start when I was idle at times. I still haven’t played the Protoss Campaing for Starcraft 2 and Lara Croft is back with the new Shadow of the Tomb Raider. And there are several games I bought at Steam but never played yet.

But I had back up plans with the extra time I gained for giving up gaming. Maybe that is why I was able to resist the temptation to play.

I signed up for a gym. I get to workout 2-3 times a week. Sometimes even for a 4th visit if time permits.

I read books. Lots of books. I finished several novels and non-fiction books. I enjoyed it a lot and inspired me to start writing as well.

I had new projects. This kept me busy and had very little time to think about playing.

I also achieved new skills like developing an AI Bot. It was like playing a game while I tinker with the logic of creating a bot.

I would probably carry the same plan next year. There are new projects again. I would renew my gym membership for another 6 months. I already bought books that can last for 3-4 months of reading.

I am thinking of pursuing new passions too like doing yoga in the morning and learning to play the guitar just to compete with Gab.

I missed gaming but I think I could have missed more if I haven’t stopped.

Starting Again

I wanted this blog to be simple. Nothing fancy.

No ads. No pop-ups. No pressure.

No photos also. All words. Unless it is really necessary to add some media like photos or videos.

I have changed the template to be very minimal. I like how it looks now. I also deleted some old posts and drafts that no longer reflects the direction of this blog. I also removed all the tags to start a new one.

I am still holding on to the categories but I need to clean that up too. I am just hiding it for now.

But all these changes to make it simple is taking me more than three hours already. It is not easy to start over again.

I’m Back

I have been wanting to write again. Like really write. Not because I have to but because I want to.

And write whatever and whenever. Not because I am paid to do so or because I have a deadline to meet.

I just want to write freely. Without regard if someone really reads it or will like it.

Writing down my thoughts feels relaxing. I started writing personal stuffs for 2 years and it feels good to have that outlet for whatever thoughts I have. Some of those are worth sharing.

This blog has been asleep for more than 3 years. I think Daddy is ready to write again.