Day One

Tuesday 18 Sept '07

We arrived at Hanoi, Noi Bai International Airport. Afterwhich, we proceeded to our dinner destination via coach. Along the way, I noticed that the streets in Hanoi are not brightly lit (street lamps are spaced far apart). There are very few high-rise buildings and the houses are tall and narrow, probably due to the French influence. I could see the interior of the houses from the coach as most of them did not have proper doors. Our tour guide, Canh, mentioned that most of the Vietnamese want their house to face a main road so that they can do business (e.g. sell noodles). From this aspect, it can be seen that the Vietnamese are very entrepreneurial.

The roads are packed with motorcycles, which is very different as compared to Singapore where there are more cars. Canh pointed out that this was because it is extremely difficult and costly (about USD1000) to obtain a driving licence in Vietnam.

Business Opportunities:

From the brief stay in Vietnam, I observed that business opportunities can be created by anyone, with or without large sums of capital. For example, as long as a family owns a house facing the street, they will start selling something to earn income. Thus, they are making full use of their time. They can go to work/school in the day, and tend the stall at night. I must applaud the Vietnamese for this, as we Singaporeans are usually dead beat from the stress of a single job, let alone moonlighting.