Ho Chi Minh Rex Hotel and Reunification Palace Oct 2019

Having a Tiger and enjoying the Vietnamese Spring Roll from 5th Floor Rooftop Bar

Last October, during my  3rd ever trip to Ho Chi Minh, I went again to have a cool beer on the 5th floor of the Rex Hotel, not very far from my own near the Ban Thanh  Market. Rex Hotel in Ho Chi Minh (formerly Saigon) is as iconic as our Singapore Raffles Hotel.

The evening 5 o'clock sky was fading blue and there were only a few guests at that time. It has been rated as 'one of the 1000 places to visit and do before you die' from some  international travel magazine.  

During the Vietnam war, the South was managed by President Diem and General Duong van Minh and the U.S. Generals used the Rex Hotel as their base during the military activities. The hotel is indeed 6 star quality and the facade indeed reflects it.

Sipping an ice cold Tiger, having the nice Vietnamese Spring Rolls and observing the hustle and bustle of the city below, I am truly appreciative of life. 

The Hall of the People's Committee where the surrender papers were signed between the North and the South is all lit up at night. 

North Vietnam overthrew South Vietnam in the summer of 1975 and General Vo Ngien Giap (after the death of Ho Chi Minh in 1969) oversaw the surrender ceremony in the building in the picture above. 

Today's Vietnam is a picture of peace and prosperity and there is tremendous uplift of people's standard of living as can be seen by each subsequent visits to the country. As of writing today, Vietnam also has a very low COVID 19 infection rate, as they put into place very strict immigration and visitor regulations at a very early stage. Kudos to their fast actions and strict contact tracing. 

Handing over the keys to the city 

Vietnam Oct 2019 - a Momento reminding me of my NS Days in the past.

Bike Helmet reminiscent of the CVC (Communications Vehicle Commander) Helmet during my NS days 

Now that I am confined to my house, and nearby environs, I would like to add more random posts to my blog and take up the hobbies which require some focus, which I will put up in my next blog. In the meantime, here is the writeup of my 6 months ago trip to Ho Chi Minh city which still brings back many good memories.

The helmet below and above is pretty cool. I paid something like S$ 40 for it. In Ho Chi Minh, the traffic conditions are awful and there are literally thousands of vehicles mainly Motorbikes (80%), cars (15%) , bicycles and scooters all making a mad dash to and fom their destinations.

Fits me to a 'T" 

I was fortunate to arrive in the morning of the customer visit in District 1 and had a second full day free, before heading back for home on the third day. The places I visited were the Notre Dame Catholic Church (or a replica of the one in Paris), the Reunification Palace,the Imperial Palace and the War Museum.

I last visited Ho Chi Minh in 2011 and had the opportunity to visit the Cu Chi tunnels. That in itself is another fascinating story. 

At the Imperial Palace, I chanced upon the vendor selling this bike helmet and I bought it on a whim. No regrets whatsoever as I enjoy putting it on just to remind me of the days when I was a mortar detachment (or section) commander in charge of a team of 4 soldiers and riding atop the M113 Armoured Personnel Carrier. 

Now that I am past my peak, I can safely say that those days were the 'salad' days of my youth and I served my country with pride. I was attached to the 46 SAR or Singapore Armoured Regiment at Sungei Gedong Camp in Lim Chu Kang from late 1981 till 1983.

My training was very tough, and I was trained as an Artillery Non Commisisoned Officer (NCO). Boy that was one of the most mentally and physically challenging times of my life. When you have trainees throwing up blood, fainting and having major stitches to their limbs, and continue on the next day, I can say that we had to be very mentally tough, for the training was very very brutal back in the early 1980s.  

Mentally, we had to cope with the risk serious injury from falling from the vehicle, the vehicle overturning or the possibility of the mortar bombs (we were involved in live firing sessions I recall twice) not ejecting out of the barrel during a live firing session.  We had one incident when my good friend's mortar did not eject out from the barrel and it was a tremendous stressful procedure to eject out the unexploded bomb from the barrel. 

Luckily we followed proper protocol and the unexploded bomb was kept safely.  

I finished serving my 2 and a half year's  Naitonal Service in 1983 and thereon followed on to University undergraduate studies at the National University of Singapore from 1983 - 87, majoring in Mechanical Engineering.  

When you have been through such tough times, your will to survive and press on gets even stronger. 

I am very very sure that given time and with the social distancing in place we will lower the numbers and life slowly will return back to normal. Its not a quick fix, it will be as early as end of this year but we will overcome this once in a lifetime worldwide crisis of uninmanageable porportions. 

I will take the down time as 1 - 3 months of finding and understanding myself.  

T 59 Tank inside the Imperial Palace Grounds 

It is during our Darkest Moments that we Focus to See the Light

Do not Despair ; We will Overcome Anything 

6th April 2020. Tomorrow, Singapore goes into Semi- Lockdown mode. The Circuit Breaker is applied. What does this actually mean ? For most parts of Singapore, everyone MUST make every effort to social distance from the people around them. That means at least 1.5 m. I will make my 2 meters. In the US it is 6 feet.

>All schools and Universities will be shut, but classes continue online. Tutorials will be held via many apps like Zoom or Webex.

>No dining out. Only take aways

>Going out will be limited to with 1 family member and only to important places such as supermarkets, wet markets, post offices, drug stores and banks and of course doctors and hospitals . Only key companies in segments vital to the economy will remain open. 

> Everyone is required to stay at home. If you must go out, go out singly and keep the exercise to around the neighbourhood. No group or team games. The Community       

Centres, Country Clubs and all social clubs are closed.

>Keep yourself healthy in as many ways as possible. Mental health is more important as physical health. I mean it in the most serious way. 

> No drinks at the coffeeshop downstairs the block, no gyms open, no pubs, lounges, KTVs, or nightclubs. Restaurants only offer take out service. No plays, theatres and all nightlife will be shut for 1 month. 

>It is absolutely necessary we BRING DOWN the numbers of newly infected. There ialready local transmission which is going on and many are unlinked. So until and after EVERYONE does their part by staying home, and doing the right things, life MAYBE can return back to something resembling our past lives. It will not be easy but truly focus on life and once we get some semblance of control, we CAN then resume something like our past lives used to offer us. 

If NOT, then it will be a massive lockdown with major inconveniences and changes in routines to life, just look at most parts of Europe. It really saddens me.  

For me ? Let me give you my plan for the one month ; I will treat it like a case of 'me time'. Be positive and keep a diary of what I eat, how much I exercise and I will try to lead a balanced lifestyle (easier said than done I know). I also try to get as much sleep as I can for this way, my immunity is as strong as possible to ward off this dreaded virus.

For starters I aim to get 8 hours of solid sleep. Once I awake I am now eating a lot of fruits and fibre for breakfast. Then its upstairs to my 'me room' or attic to telecommute with my staff and check emails with customers. The new normal now is communicating with many apps from Zoom, and now Team for meetings online.

Plus points is that, I can take naps as and when the mind gets tired. And showers when it gets too hot. My attic is not airconditioned and I like it that way. 

Focus on doing what is right, then everything will be alright. 

We will find the vaccine, and when that day comes, then we can truly move on.

Till that day,its time to batten down the hatches and press on.

Stay Home, Save Lives, The Lives you save may be yours and your loved ones. 

Seven Wonders - Fleetwood Mac

Really Cool Song ! 

Skiing - One amazing whole body workout sport ; this was in 2011 in Tomamu Resort Hokkaido

I love skiing as a winter sport. As my body is past its peak, I have to accept that my knees may not be able to take the swerving and turning at such high speeds coupled with the incline of the slope. But with the swishing of each 'S' curve and the cold wind blowing in my ears, it is an exhilarating experience !!!
  
Tomamu Resort in Hokkaido Japan 2011 was the 4th time we went skiing having first had a taste of it in 2006 in Korea. The next 2 - 3 years we did 2 ski camps in Korea, 2007 and 2010. I recall I reached Intermediate level and could ski down Intermediate slopes with little difficulty. 

Then we went for 2 wonderful ski trips first in 2011 Tomamu resort and then the last one (regrettably) we visited Rusutsu in Hokkaido in December 2012.  

Let me be clear about this sport ;

You need to be physically fit and core strong as when you fall, you need to get up from an inclined slope and most likely lying on your side.Additionally, the energy required to ski for a whole day will easy burn off 1000 over calories from the moment you put on your skis to then trudging and skiing somewhat to the skilift station 

Wear a good helmet, this is really important to prevent any novice, or intermediate skier to encounter a serious concussion or even death. The great Michael Schumacher went into coma for many years after a skiing accident and all but shortened  his useful successful life first as an F1 driver and then as a celebrity.  

Take lessons. YMCA has good ski camps for 5 - 6 days in total, mainly to Korea and 
Japan and I strongly recommend going for them. They have all expenses paid trips which include the airfare, ski resort, group ski instruction and then coaching from beginner to intermediate. 

Buy your own ski clothes and ski goggles. Hygiene is most important. Enough said

Rent skiis from the resort till you are at an expert level or advanced enough then decide to buy custom skis. 

I am good or fit enough for perhaps another 10 years max. So I hope and pray I can still ski another couple of times. 

George Calloway interviews Dr John Campbell ; very insightful

Shanghai May 2006 ; Weiss Technik Sales Training

with Frank Rigley (VP of Sales) 

The global COVID - 19 health pandemic leads me to look back at some old and happy memories, just to remember the 'good old days'. This was when we were sales agents for the then largest environmental chamber manufacturer in the world Weiss Technik. My company QRA International were agents from 2003 to 2012 or 10 years more or less. The first few years representing them were relatively easy and Asia, particularly China was the booming market for Weiss International sales.

These pictures were taken during their second Sales Training in China and it was held in May 2006. Our team of 5 were made to do presentations and at that point in time, we had offices in Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore. N. Kannan (Malaysia), myself and Sebastian Lin made up the team to China that time. 

With Dieter Haus and Tibor Csombordi (Hungary agent) 

The schedule was normally 4 1/2  days of lectures, tutorials and factory visits followed by 1/2 day of tour and the last day, normally was reserved for certificate presentations, pleasentries and goodbyes. 

Shanghai was and is the most futuristic city in China and each day's training was a learning experience for every one attending as we shared each other country's experiences, difficulties and success stories. 

Sebastian presenting on behalf of QRA team to Mr. Hehl, and Fred Schweitzer (Sales Manager)

It is safe to say, that these meetings will never be replicated as far as I am concerned, since 2012, my company has parted ways with the Weiss Technik group and I would like to say that we have made our own mark in the Athletic Chamber business as well as in the Test Business since that fateful day in 2012.

I recall the then management team at Weiss with fondness, Mr. Karl Heinz Hehl (MD), Mr Rudy Kreuzer (Technical Manager), Mr. Dieter Haus (Sales Director), Mr. Willie Dern (Service Director), Mr. Charlie Kaus (Service Manager) and my closest associate and friend, Mr. Frank Rigley (Regional Sales Manager). 

Japanese agent, Frank Rigley, N. Kannan, Tibor Csombordi, Pakistan agent, Ian Firth (Australian agent)

We will never walk this path again. 

So gather ye rosebuds while we may, 

Old Time is still a Flying

And that flower that smiles today,

Tomorrow will be dying.

Robert Herrick