My life in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam: Nyt hjem, ny uge og nye oplevelser

Så fik jeg endelig taget mig tid til at opdatere min blog. Som jeg sluttede af med sidst, så er vi danske piger flyttet tættere på vores praktiksteder.

Vi er flyttet fra distrikt 2 der ligger nær distrikt 1 (centrum), til distrikt 12 som er industrikvarteret i Ho Chi Minh City. Industrikvarter her i HCMC kan ikke sammenlignes med industrikvarter derhjemme. Kvarteret her ligger omringet af beboelsesbygninger, markeder, templer, små gadekøkkener osv., så man er på ingen måder afskåret fra mennesker. Tværtimod. Der er meget mere trafik og larm her, og det gør det ikke bedre at vi bor lige ud til hovedvejen.

Det er interessant at se hvilken forskel der er på de forskellige distrikter i HCMC. Distrikt 1 er centrum af byen, den dyre del af byen. Distrikt 12 er et fattigere område, og kommer man længere ind i distriktet, hvor fabrikkerne ligger tættere sammen, bliver kvarteret også fattigere. Dette kunne vi se da vi forrige uge var ude og tage en dyr taxatur for at finde ud af præcis hvor vores nye hotel lå, og prøvede at finde ud af hvor vores forskellige praktiksteder lå i forhold til hotellet.

Vi mærker også tydeligt at det er et område hvor de ikke er vant til turister. Du kan ikke gå ude på gaden uden at alle kigger på en, skal snakke til en osv. Ligeledes er der mange få mennesker herude som kan snakke engelsk. Men så er det jo heldigt at vi har lært lidt basis vietnamesisk så vi fx kan guide taxachaufføren, bestille mad og drikke osv.

At være flyttet tættere på vores praktiksteder gør hele transporten frem og tilbage meget lettere, samt billigere. LTP Vietnam, hvor jeg og Louise Mathilde er kommet i praktik, ligger 10-15 minutters kørsel fra hotellet, og koster mellem 90.000 – 100.000 Dong pr. dag med taxa, dvs. mellem 24-27 dkkr.

LTP Vietnam er en del af LTP Group, som er en dansk virksomhed. Ved LTP Vietnam producere de primært functional garment for mærker som Peak Performance, Vaude, Swix etc.

LTP Vietnam blev etableret i 2008 og har i dag 200 medarbejdere i produktionen.

Produktionen ligger i bygningen lige overfor bygningen hvor kontoret er placeret. Kontoret er placeret på 1. etage i en bygningen ejet af en anden produktionsvirksomhed. Mellem kontoret og produktionen ligger LTP’s Warehouse. Hertil ankommer metervaren og tilbehøret til de diverse produkter. Metervaren bliver her tjekket igennem af en maskine for fejl som pletter osv. Hvis metervaren har nogle pletter eller andre småfejl, vil medarbejderne putte små klistermærker på metervaren, samt notere præcis hvor disse fejl er placeret. På denne måde kan de der klipper, klippe udenom disse fejl. Tilbehøret som poser, lynlåse osv. bliver stikprøvet tjekket. Dvs. at der er nogle der går rundt og tæller om der er kommet det rigtige antal styk af posen med de og de mål osv. osv.

Jeg synes vores første uge har været god. Eller i hvert fald for mit tilfælde. De har været søde til at sikre sig at man forstår hvad det er man sidder og laver. De kommer med en god forklaring inden, samt forklare hvad formålet med opgaven er. Ligeledes bliver de ved at sige at hvis man har nogle spørgsmål, så skal man bare spørge.

De hiver også næsten en med når det er tid til frokost, ligesom om at det er den bedste frokost nogensinde der står og venter på os. Men det er nu meget sødt. Det samme når det er frugt tid senere på dagen, den får man heller ikke lov til at undslippe. Men det er nu rigtig sjovt at se hvordan de flokkes rundt om de der skåle med frugt, det er ligesom at se små børn der har opdaget at der står slik på bordet.

Den første arbejdsuge har været nem. 4 dage på job ud af 6 dage. Dette skyldtes at de mandag d. 2 september holder Independence Day. I den anledning skulle hele kontoret på weekendtur til Van Tiet, hvilket betød at fredag og lørdag, hvor vi normal skulle have været på job, var fridage. Torsdagen var ligeledes en nem dag. De havde ikke de vilde arbejdsopgaver til os, så vi sad allerede fra halv to, to og var færdig med dagens job. Dette resulterede i at vi spurgte om det var muligt at gå før, hvilket ikke var noget problem og vi fik derfor weekend 2 timer før tid.

Fredag og lørdag stod på ren afslapning. Eller sådan ca..

Vi skal på baggrund af vores 9 uger praktik, skrive en individuel eksamensopgave som vi skal op og forsvare ca. 3 dage efter vi er landet i DK igen. Opgaven får vi ca. halvanden uge til at skrive efter vi har overstået vores praktikophold. Herefter står den igen på skole på HUTECH.

Så fredag og lørdag blev brugt på at kigge på mulige emner til denne opgave, men hovedet ville ikke altid det jeg ville, så det endte egentlig med at være et par forholdsvis afslappet dage.

Søndag var vi (Linn, Marie-Louise, Liv og jeg) ude at udforske vores nye område. Se hvad kvarteret helt præcis har at byde på. Som nævnt tidligere er det muligt at finde markeder, templer, små gadekøkkener osv. her. Vi besøgte en af disse templer. Her var der liv og glade dage. Ude i gården var der en masse børn der legede i en stor rundkreds. Til vores overraskelse begyndte nogle af disse børn at snakke engelsk til os, og der var da også nogle ældre tøser i blandt der spurgte om det var muligt at få taget billeder med os. Man er jo helt berømt hernede bare fordi man er europærer, men det kan virkelig også blive trættende i længden.

Templet var rigtig fint og stemningen omkring var meget afslappende og du kunne næsten ikke hører larmen fra bilerne ude på vejen. Eller også var det bare fordi du blev påvirket af den afslappende og rolige stemning der var på templets område at du ikke tænkte over det lå lige ud til en hovedvejen.

Mandag – Independence Day

Vi havde alle aftalt at tage sammen ind til distrikt 1 for at se hvad der egentlig sker sådan en dag. Vi havde fået af vide af Mr. Phu, vores lærer den sidste uge på HUTECH, at vi skulle tage ind omkring Reunion Palace.

Vi startede dagen ud med en tur ned til den lokale bager. Herfra tog vi en taxa en til byen efter morgenmaden. Vi startede dagen i Diamond Plaza (shopping center) for at se hvad de havde og byde på. Vi har primært kun været i Vincom centret og Parkson (center), så det var da spændende og se forskellen på de forskellige centre. Diamond Plaza virker til at være en blanding af Parkson og Vincom. Stueetage er opbygget ligesom Parkson, med makeup og parfumer på nederste etage. På 1. sal ligger der butikker med dametøj, sko og tasker, og 2. sal byder på herretøj, sport og igen tasker. Prismæssigt virker Diamond Plaza til at være dyrere med nogle af butikker end fx Vincom.

Herefter gik turen til Vincom hvor vi også indtog vores frokost. De andre piger er altid ellevilde når vi er i Vincom.. SUSHIIII.. Det er himmelen for dem. Godt at de har noget kaldet Food Square hvor det er muligt at få så meget andet også. For Sushi er godt nok ikke lige mig! Men det er altid rigtig hyggeligt her, og du har stadig muligheden for at sidde samlet selvom man ikke bestiller fra det samme sted. Du skal bare bestille din mad, købe drikkevarer ved en anden bod, og så er der tjenere der bliver kaldt på via en klokke, og så kommer de med maden når den engang er færdig. Du får bare et nummer med fra ”boden” hvor du har bestilt/købt din mad, og det er ud fra dette nummer de finder en i mængden.

Jeg tror vi alle endte med at shoppe mere end regnet med. Men vi havde en rigtig hyggelig dag. Vi afsluttede vores shoppingdag på NYDC, en af vores alles yndlingsrestauranter hernede, med god western mad. Normalt er priserne en del dyre på western restauranter i forhold til vietnamesiske, men jeg synes egentlig ikke at NYDC er så dyr igen. Eller jo, hvis man jo sammenligner med de vietnamesiske restauranter, men hvis du sammenligner med andre western restauranter, så synes jeg ikke det er galt.

Efter maden var det jo så meningen at vi skulle have været henne og se hvad der end ville ske ved Reunion Palace. Men det virkede stadig ikke til at det var her tingene ville ske. Vi endte derfor med at tage en taxa hjem igen. Det havde også været en lang dag med shopping.

Det skal lige huskes at siges at NYDC ligger næsten rundt om hjørnet fra Reunion Palace.

// Translation

New home, new week and new discoveries

Finally I found time to update my blog. As a ended my blog last time, we, Danish girls, are moved closer to our internships.

We moved from district 2 near district 1 (the center of HCMC), to district 12 which is the industrial area in Ho Chi Minh City. The industrial area isn’t as we know it from back home. Here the area/neighborhood is surrounded with residential buildings, markets, temples, small street kitchens etc. so aren’t cut off from other people. On the contrary, there are so much traffic and noise here, and living right next to the main road, doesn’t make it better.

It is interesting to experience how different the various districts are in HCMC. District 1 is the center and the most expensive part of the city. District 12 is an area which is more poor, and if you travel further in to the district is gets more and more poor. This we experienced when we the week before moving, took a taxi to found out exactly where our new hotel was located and where our internships were located compared to the hotel.

It is clear for us to see that our new neighborhood isn’t use to tourists. You can’t walk on the street without everyone looking at you, trying to talk to you (in Vietnamese) etc. In addition, only a few people in the area can speak and/or understand English. But then it is lucky that we have learn a bit Vietnamese so that we know how to order food and drinks, how to guide the taxi driver etc.

To be moved closer to our internships, makes the everyday transportation much easier and cheaper. LTP Vietnam, where Louise Mathilde and I are interning, located 10-15 minutes from the hotel, and costs between 90.000-100.000 Dong (24-27dkkr) per day with taxi.

LTP Vietnam is a part of the LTP Group which is a Danish company. LTP Vietnam primarily produce functional garment for brands like Peak Performance, Vaude, Swix etc.

LTP Vietnam was established in 2008 and have 200 production workers.

The production is located in the building across from the building where the office is located. The office is located at 1^st floor in a building owned by another production company. Between the office building and the production building, at the right, is LTP’s warehouse. This is where the finishing fabrics and accessories (zippers, bags etc.) arrives.

The fabric is being check for possible errors like stains etc. with the help from a machine. If the fabric has stains or other flaws, they employees will put small stickers on the garment and note exactly where the flaws are on the fabric, so that those who is cutting the garment can cut around these flaws.

They take random checks of the accessories to make sure that they have been given the correct quantity.

I think the first week have been a good week. Or at least in my case. They people at LTP have been really kind to make sure that you knew exactly what you were working on. They give you an explanation before they putting you to work, and to make sure you know what the purpose with the task is. They also keep on saying of you have any questions, please just ask me.

At lunch time they kind of drag you with, like if it is the best lunch ever there is waiting for us. But it is kind of sweet. The same happens during the afternoon when it is time for fruit. Here there is no way you can escape either. But it is funny to see how they gather around the bowls of fruit, like little kids who have just discovered candy on the table.

The first work week have been easy. 4 days out of 6 days at work. Due to the celebration of Independence Day on the 2^nd of September. Because of this, the whole office were going to Van Tien on a weekend get-away, and it meant that we had Friday and Saturday off from work. Thursday was also a easy day. They didn’t have much for us to do, which meant that we, already from approximately 2 0’clock were finish with our job for the day. We therefore asked them kindly if it was possible for us to leave work early. With no problems we end up leaving work to hours before.

Friday and Saturday were pure relaxation. Or kind of..

Based on our 9 weeks of internship we have to write an individual report which we are going to defend approximately 3 days after arriving in DK again. We get almost one and a half week to write the report after the internship. And then we are going back to HUTECH for a few weeks with school again.

Therefore, Friday and Saturday were spend on looking at possible subject for the assignment, but my head wouldn’t always cooperate with me, so it ended up being a couple of relaxing days anyway.

Sunday Linn, Marie-Louise, Liv and I decided to go explore our new area. To see exactly what it had to offer us. As mentioned earlier it is possible to find markets, temples, small street kitchens etc. We went to visit one of these temples. Here the atmosphere was full of joy. In the yard in front of the temple, there were a bunch a children playing in one big circle. To our surprise, some of these children started speaking English to us and some of the older girls asked us if it was possible to take picture with us. Over here you are a celebrity just because you come from Europe. In the long run it is a bit tiring to be asked all the time if they can take a picture with us.

The temple was really beautiful and the atmosphere around it was very relaxing, and you couldn’t really hear the noise from the cars on the road. Or maybe it was because you were affected by the relaxing and calm atmosphere which was at the temple’s territory so you didn’t give it much thought that is was located next to the main road.

Monday – Independence Day

The Vietnamese people celebrate the 2^nd of September, the day they got independent from France in the year of 1954. Even though they only were independent for 2 weeks before USA and Japan invaded the country, the Vietnamese still celebrate this day.

Most people have the day off, but most restaurants and shopping centre are open on this day, which were lucky for us.

We had all six of us decided to go into district 1 to see what really happens on a day like this. We have been told by Mr. Phu, our teacher the last week on HUTECH, that we should go to the area near the Reunion Palace.

We started the day with a trip to the local bakery. From here we took a taxi into the center of the city. We began our day at Diamond Plaza (a shopping center). It was our first time here so we were interested in seeing what they had to offer. We have primarily only been to the Vincom Center and Parkson, which also is a center, located just nest to Vincom, so it was interesting to see the how this one was different from the others.

Diamond Plaza seems to be a mix of Parkson and Vincom. The ground floor is build up as in Parkson with makeup and perfumes on the ground level. The first floor offers shops with women’s clothing, shoes and bags, and the second floor offers men’s wear, sportswear and bags as well. Diamond Plaza seems to be a bit more expensive with some of its stores than for example Vincom.

After spending some time in Diamond Plaza we went to the Vincom center for lunch. The other girls are always very excited when we are at Vincom.. SUSHIII.. It is heaven to them, which I don’t understand. Then it is good that there is something called Food Square where it is possible to get a lot of different food. But it is always cosy to be there, and you still have to possibility to sit together even though you don’t order from the same place. You just need to find a place to order your food, buy the drinks at another booth and then there are waiters who is being called with help from a bell when your food is ready and then they will bring you your order. When you are ordering you get a number with you from where you have placed your order, and it is with the help from the number that they will find you among the others.

I got the feeling that we all ended up spending a whole lot more than first planned. But we had a nice day. We ended our shopping day at NYDC, one of our favorite restaurants with great western food. Normally the prices are a more expensive at western restaurants than at Vietnamese restaurants, but I don’t really think that NYDC is that expensive, not compared to other western restaurants, but compared to Vietnamese it is.

After dinner we were suppose to go to the Reunion Palace to see what was happening, but it still seemed like nothing was happening. We therefore decided to take a taxi and went home. It had also been a long day with shopping.

I should remember to say that the NYDC restaurant is located almost around the corner from Reunion Palace.