Today, Monday, I had two business appointments both of which I believe went very well. I must say that having business cards with one side printed in Vietnamese made quite a hit and perhaps helped to underline that we are serious about doing business in Vietnam.

I am having dinner tonight with Duong who I had met earlier today. I find him remarkably easy to get along with, a quick smile and quite witty. More on that dinner later. Duong’s office building or perhaps more like a townhouse is in old Han Noi, as they say here, with staff occupying two of the floors and the third used as storage. In the afternoon, I went to my second meeting along with my interpreter in to the Ba Dinh District which meant a lot to me since almost every district in Hanoi looks, well, just like the next. My interpreter kindly counseled me that sections of Hanoi are divided along historical trades and crafts so that one street may focus on silk and silk-relative crafts, other streets may just focus of wood and cabinetry, or one street strictly for paintings and very clever reproductions. Bring whatever picture you want they can reproduce it perfectly.

My meeting went well though it was a little bit like having to pull a tooth to get my client to say anything let alone just in Vietnamese. Using a translator is an interesting process. She was good and you eventually pick-up the best way to give measured and fairly direct questions and not meander around the barn for to long before getting to the point. We got through it all. When leaving, he offered his driver and car, a rather grossly over sized BMW with enough room for a couple of Vietnamese families. Sitting in the lap of luxury looking out through shaded windows and the little old lady’s with traditional peaked peasant hats balancing their wares on their shoulders and the never ending onslaught of motorbikes, five sometimes six or seven in a row all vying for a sliver of a spot between cars. We passed a quaint little city park with a large statue of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin looking generally PO’ed over something and everything. He undoubtedly pined for the Moscow winters, the great purges and anything that would take him away from this oppressive heat and humidity.

Just a few words about my dinner with Duong who I found to be a truly nice person, pleasant personality, ready smile and quite the joker. He picked me up at my hotel and off we went to a seafood restaurant. Imagine, if you will, a three story family-style restaurant. On the way you pass a row of BBQ grills with an incredible medley of aromas. Inside, one goes from one floor to the next floor, side rooms here and there, servers holding dishes move past you along narrow hallways.  You have people dining of all ages from little kids in parents laps, young couples, aged parents and more than one confused Westerner.

As soon as you sit down they put a little shot glass of sweet wine/liquor which one promptly downs then a nice sized grilled lobster tail and a plate of spring rolls appear as if from thin air. Bottles of Hanoi beer are popped open, then a few more small dishes appear. Duong suggests I some flavor to my food with pepper paste and slivers of hot red peppers that leave us both gasping for air, sweating like dogs and enjoying it tremendously. My host told me his story and I told him mine. At that point, I was more than comfortably full. He smiled and said we should try some dinner. And off we went downstairs to choose our dinner from a buffet-style that extended from room to room. From one station to another, Duong suggesting I try this or that grilled fish from the north of Hanoi; a special flat dumplings made from rice from the Hue Region near the Perfume River, grilled pork on skewers, grilled pieces of beef, crispy spring rolls, and many more that I cannot remember. For desert we had passion fruit – which looks like a raw egg actually sitting in a half of the fruit -and delicious. I tried a small yogurt to which I followed my host and added rice fermented with red wine. Bizarre? Yes but it tasted fantastic. When all was said and done, he asked if I had ever eaten dog. No thanks and he laughed saying next time in Hanoi, we would try it.

Off to Saigon early AM where I have a very full day of meetings scheduled.  See you down south.