More ching chong ching chong

The other night, Puppy brought home a very drunk lady. After she learned that I was of Chinese descent, she discussed how her chicken fried rice from the night before didn't turn out too well. And later, after I told her I am not a very prolific chef, she said she would call me when she next would make chicken fried rice, so that she would be able to make it properly. Racism.

Brothel bar

The other day in the lobby of my Hong Kong hotel, I ran into PocketMan, a fellow I met several years ago in Sydney and haven't really been in touch with since. We ended up going out for a drink my last night in Hong Kong, a city PocketMan knows well since he travels there for work nearly every month.

We went to Aqua Bar, with a spectacular view of the harbor. After catching up over a few drinks, we headed back toward the hotel and passed an alley where a little old lady stood and implored passers-by to get a drink. Clearly, it was a shady, shady venture, but PocketMan felt up for a little adventure and pulled me into the alley.

We made our way through the alley, past an older man and a little boy eating dinner on some stacked crates, and into a tiny little bar. In the bar sat a blond man with a little Asian lady hanging all over him. Behind the bar were three young Asian girls wearing tank tops with plunging necklines. They had listless expressions on their faces and leaned against the bar so that their breasts looked fuller.

After approximately two seconds in the doorway, I decided I couldn't stand to be in the bar a second longer, especially since I couldn't handle the overwhelming stench of urine. I told PocketMan that I wasn't staying and he tried to convince me to stay for just one drink. I declined and walked out.

At the alley's entrance, a different lady, older than the first, asked, "Why you no stay for drink?"

Huffily, I answered, "Because it stinks like piss in there!" and briskly walked away, with PocketMan following quickly behind.

I'm not the kind of panda who likes to support prostitution, especially where the girls are probably underage, sold into the sex trade by their parents and clearly unhappy to be involved. But I guess it makes for an interesting introduction to Hong Kong's seedier underbelly - and an awkward end to my Asian trip.

Hong Kongference

I spent the afternoon at a conference at the stingray-shaped Hong Kong Exhibition and Conference Centre. I found only three of the nine presentations at the confernce, billed as something about sustainability in the supply chain, to be relevant to me.

Other presentations were either too technical for me (something about fungicides to be used in treating leather, anti-mold mechanisms, hide prices, etc.), but they were mercifully short.

When I looked up how to get to the Centre, I feared I might get lost from the MTR to the building, but smart Hong Kong built a bridge over several blocks of streets, directly to the facility. It was neat being in the iconic building, but I'm ready to get back to the office.

MTR man

I miss living and working in a city. For the past few days, I've been going from meeting to meeting throughout Hong Kong, relying mostly on the MTR (subway) system for transport.

It forces me to walk a bit more, learn how to navigate from place to place and it reduces my carbon emissions! The MTR system is very efficient, fast and clean, which makes it that much more pleasurable. I guess I wouldn't be so keen on public transportation if I still had to deal with Muni.

Ain't no party like a Hong Kong party

After a long day of travel yesterday, I arrived in Hong Kong, the final leg of my Asia trip. My father hosted a big family dinner with my grandmother, my uncles and all the cousins in town. Like always, it was a big feast and I continue to overeat at every chance I get.

When dinner was finished, all the "youngsters" headed out to Lan Kwai Fong to a newish bar called Hyde. But first, we had to get through the drunken masses in town for the Hong Kong Sevens - an annual rugby tournament that brings people from all over the world for a crazy weekend of messiness.

People were wasted, wearing all sorts of costumes, and spilling into the streets. Even for Hong Kong, it was unusually active and reminiscent of Mardi Gras. Probably something that would have been fun for me about a decade ago.

We finally made it to our destination, ordered up some ginormous beers, and caught up. The bar quickly filled up and the party really got going - only to be stopped abruptly by a police raid.

The po po came in with a cute dog who seemingly was sniffing for drugs. They pushed their way through and made it impossible to enjoy ourselves in the bright lights. Apparently, this happens in Hong Kong when nightclub proprietors don't cooperate with or pay off the police. It was a relatively minor annoyance, and we were able to get over it quickly once they left.

And once the lights dimmed again, I noticed a familar face in the crowd - a friend from b-school who was in town for the rugby tournament! I hadn't seen this friend since our graduation in 2004, so it was fun to catch up with him - very random to run into each other in a crowded Hong Kong club.

After downing some magnums of champagne, it was time to call it a night. It was fun to go out with the cousins, tear it up a bit, but return to my hotel without being a complete disaster. I guess that has come with my advanced age.

Hue to go

The weather here in Vietnam hasn't been of the expected hot and muggy variety; instead, it's been downright chilly, gray and windy! It kind of put a damper on yesterday's pool party, but spirits were lifted at dinner when our party of 44 descended upon a very delicious Vietnamese restaurant.

And somehow, after about a week and a half of non-stop eating, I roused myself early this morning to hit the breakfast buffet before our day of touring Hue, the former capital of Vietnam situated about 2.5 hours away from Hoi An. Our plan was to do some Hue sightseeing in the morning, followed by some leisurely biking around town.

We started by visiting the former emperor's palace - a compound similar to China's Forbidden City. We went through relatively quickly, our guide pointing out things like the number of gates, different buildings and some statues. To be completely frank, it wasn't terribly interesting, but the cool weather and throngs of other tourists definitely didn't help.

Next up was lunch! We had another multi-course Vietnamese meal in a restaurant where everything from the napkins to the chopstick wrappers felt moist. The food was good, but I probably could have skipped the meal.

Our driver took us a few blocks away to visit a pagoda, where statues had beards and mustaches made of actual hair. It was pretty grody.

For some reason, after the pagoda visit, we were taken down the Perfume River by dragon boat. On the boat, a lady tried to sell us some various arts and crafts, but some members of our party decided instead to sleep. It was kind of a pointless journey, but I guess it probably would have been prettier on a warmer day. It probably would have been smellier as well, so maybe the cool weather was a good thing.

Upon returning to shore, we made the decision to ditch the bicycling part of the tour in favor of visiting the fourth emperor of the Nguyen Dynasty's tomb. The tomb was actually another compound with several buildings, like a smaller version of the palace grounds. It was actually quite peaceful, featured a nice moat, and the damp, gray weather lended a nice peaceful quality to the visit.

Some of Cousin Steppynose's friends decided to rent old-timey garb and get dressed like emperors and concubines for a photo. Since there was no photographer on duty, we took their photos - along with a gaggle of French tourists.

After our time at the tomb, we piled back into the van and headed back to Hoi An. It was a pretty long day, and the tour was only okay, but I was happy to see something other than the tailor's shop!

Let's talk about sex, baby

Today was one of those days that make it all worthwhile. I feel inspired, that my work is meaningful and that there's a sense of purpose behind what I do.

For a bit of context, let me rewind a day. At one point during yesterday's Mekong Delta tour, our guide discussed the country's problem with population control, contributed in part by an unwillingness to discuss sex in Vietnamese culture. As a consequence, not only is unwanted pregnancy on the rise, so are STDs like HIV/AIDS.

Cut to today's factory visit. We recently partnered with a Vietnamese factory to invest in a factory-based health education program for women in developing countries, and today I had the chance to observe a training session.

Since the training was conducted entirely in Vietnamese, I didn't understand the content, but I got a sense of the discussion from the condoms, leaflets and birth control pills that were being used as props and handed out. I especially liked the photo used on one of the instructor's slides, pasted for your convenience above.

Entering today's training, I was worried that the training session might be fruitless, given my understanding of the discomfort surrounding talking about sex. The women in the session, however, seemed very engaged throughout the doctor's presentation. And when it came time for questions, they were eager to learn more! The participants seemed hungry for this information and it was clear that these concepts were new to them. I was relieved to see this level of engagement and felt good that our investment was not in vain.

Today's visit also included a meeting with the factory's management team, who shared some of their experiences in implementing the program. Sure, they cited some frustrations, but most of them had to do with logistics and not the core content of the training. Everyone seemed to believe in the importance of delivering health training. There are opportunities to deliver the program more smoothly, but nothing that cannot be overcome.

But what I didn't expect was to hear the factory managers cite this investment as a potential competitive advantage. Even though the training program was launched only a few months ago, they have already seen participants taking these learnings back to their families and communities. The factory is beginning to earn a reputation as a preferred employer and people in the community seem to appreciate the added investment in worker education. In a time when all factories, across all industries, face tremendous challenges in recruiting Vietnamese workers, this is an obvious business benefit.

In thinking about my career path, I never would have imagined that I'd spend a day at work sitting in a sex ed class in Vietnam, but today has turned out to be one of the most gratifying days of my career.

Rolling on the river

Most of my family has arrived in Ho Chi Minh City, so there are people for me to hang out and talk with during the weekend! Today we embarked on an organized tour of the Mekong Delta - a part of Vietnam apparently known for fertile land, coconuts and high-grade sand.

I've been on many of these kinds of tours where you're loaded onto a bus, the tour guide tells you about local history and points out sights, you stop at a bunch of stations where people sell "artisan" crafts (at 200x the price it should cost) and you eat a big lunch of local food. The routine's the same, whether you're in Mexico, India, South Africa or Vietnam, yet I continue to go on these excursions.

It's all so fakey, but I don't know any other way to see new parts of the world. 10 of us loaded onto a bus, learned about the Mekong area, and stopped at a temple where people offered to take photos of us with a ginormous buddha, seemingly made especially for tourists. The photographers reminded me of my visit to the Taj Mahal, but the background was a lot less impressive.

We then took a boat to some island where they harvest honey made from bees who pollinate longan plants, so it's especially sweet and fragrant. We looked at a bunch of stuff made from coconut wood and shells, sat down to eat fruit and try the honey tea, then were serenaded by a local "band."

The band consisted of a few musicians who looked extremely bored, two female singers dressed in traditional Vietnamese dresses and one male singer who, sadly, was not wearing a traditional Vietnamese dress. The first song they sang was about the region. The second song was about tourism (Really?). The third song was a love song and I didn't catch what the fourth song was about. I didn't really enjoy the music, but we felt guilted into tipping, of course.

We then got onto these wagons dragged by tiny horses to another spot about a mile away. This part of the tour was a bit sad - the poor little horses were pulling carts of overweight tourists up and down a stretch of road in the blazing heat. I thought maybe this would make a nice campaign for PETA.

After a brief spot to take a photo with a python around our shoulders (no thanks), we got onto little rowboats that cruised down a canal. This part of the tour felt very much like Disney-Vietnam, since it was obvious the boats had motors, but women rowed us along anyway. Vietnam is so charming and romantic!

We boarded the original boat, made a pit stop at another island where a local family made some icky coconut candy and sold arts and crafts made from coconut shells (I overpaid for a small gift for Puppy.), then re-boarded the boat for land.

Then it was time for lunch. These tour lunches are always so awkward. All the tourists sit at tables in one area, while the tour guides sit sequestered in another area of the restaurant. The food, however, was very interesting and pretty good. We had weird puff balls made from rice flour, some frightening-looking fish, tasty vegetables and other dishes I cannot remember. The highlight for me was the super-sweet Vietnamese coffee.

We then bussed back to the hotel, and received a geography/history lesson along the way. I think the most interesting thing to me has been learning that the Vietnamese refer to the "American War." It makes sense that they don't call it the Vietnam War, but I never really thought about it before.

Like a prayer

On our way back to the hotel after visiting a dyeing facility today, the Indonesian social compliance auditor said, "Excuse me if I don't answer your questions. I am praying."

Several minutes later, when he was done praying, he said, "For Muslims, you can pray anywhere if it is an emergency." Apparently, it was an emergency because he was unable to pray during the noon hour, as expected. Since he was leading our audit today during the prayer hour, I guess he had to make up for it in the car!

Fast food world

One of the things I enjoy most about traveling is sampling the local cuisine. I can't help it - I'm an eater.

This morning, after enjoying the hotel breakfast buffet, we traveled for three hours to visit a "nearby" factory. After our tour of the facilities, lunch arrived. I've had some spectacular lunches during factory visits, both at nearby restaurants or on-site. Today, however, was the first time I was given fast food!

Our lunch came from Pizza Hut and consisted of two small pizzas with chicken, some garlic bread and some chicken wings. It was pretty consistent with the Pizza Hut from home, but I didn't try the wings. I'm not sure if the factory thought this would help me feel at "home" (where I don't eat Pizza Hut) or if it was simply what they ordered on a regular basis, but in either case, I was kind of bummed.

Driving back to the hotel, I noticed a McDonalds billboard that advertised a "Prosperity Burger" and made a point of noting that it was "BEEF!" It also displayed the number one could call for "McDelivery." I guess I'm grateful we had pizza rather than a McSpaghetti for lunch.

Sloth and gluttony

Door-to-door, my trip from Boston to Jakarta took roughly 30 hours. And most of those hours were spent lying down and eating. I have barely stood up, let alone walk around, and I basically ate at every opportunity. I ate in the lounges in both New York and Hong Kong, I ate on every single plane, and I'm even contemplating eating the orange on my hotel room desk!

I'm grateful that my company still allows us to fly business class for these long-haul flights. And I'm grateful that Cathay Pacific has those pod-like business class seats. But seriously, I think I may have developed bed sores. And gained 30 el-beez.

Cat people

Walking home after dinner with Reebs and her husband, Puppy and I were discussing our cat nanny, the lady who visits with Stefano Di Mera and Victor Kiriakis when we're both out of town. We described how she got around with a cane, loves to eat the sweets in our home and leaves cards describing how she spends her time with the cats.

Just seconds after we discussed the nanny, we heard a lady exclaim, "Hello cat people!" and lo and behold, it was her! She was making her way down the street, wrapped in a black wool coat, a hat and a fur muffler around her neck, which she said was "a former client." Cane in hand, she intercepted us, gave us hugs and asked what special treats we'd leave for her during her Christmastime visit. She complimented Puppy on the banana pudding he made when she last visited.

I don't know how I feel about being referred to as "cat people" in the neighborhood.

Sydney walkabout

I remember now why I fell in love with Sydney when I last visited 4.5 years ago. Not only is it a beautiful, manageable city, the Australian people are so friendly and warm. Passing through for a mere 14 hours is simply not enough time.

Since I'm no longer a dance, dance, dance all night panda, I retired last night right after my work dinner commitments. So this morning, I was able to get up early, visit the hotel fitness center, eat a proper "breaky" and go for a stroll through the city.

I walked down to Circular Quay, enjoyed the views of Harbour Bridge and the Opera House, got myself a coffee, headed through the Botanic Gardens and wandered around Hyde Park, which hosted an interesting photography exhibition with gigantic photos on banners strung from trees. I meandered through the commercial district, walking through all the shops that were still closed on Sunday morning, and returned to my hotel.

After spending time in so many cities where walking is impossible (motorbikes, lack of sidewalks, unsafe conditions, families living in makeshift shacks on the sidewalks, dying children, poverty, sheep), it was nice being in a city where the infrastructure allowed a leisurely stroll. And fortunately for me, the rain let up as I stepped outside and I could enjoy a sunny Spring day. I need to plan a trip to return.

Farm life

On my second day of visiting wool farms, I got the chance to get up close and personal to the sheep. We first visited a farm near Wellington, and I had a lovely time discussing our challenges in wool sourcing with the farm owners.

Coming into this trip, I didn't realize that the farms were family-run businesses, often passed down through several generations of farmers. At the first farm, we were warmly greeted by the farmer, his wife and their two adorable children. The farmer's father, who also lived on the property, also joined us, but his wife was off playing bridge with her friends.

We shared coffee and a very delicious cake, discussed issues like sustainable farming, wool prices, yarn quality and animal welfare. Then, we drove off and chased the ewes from one paddock to another before heading off to the shed where the rams were being kept for grooming (in advance of tomorrow's ram sale). In the shed, I got the chance to feel the wool, touch the sheep and enjoy the lovely aroma of a mob of sheep. Let's also mention that my shoes will not be making the journey back to Boston with me.

We then broke for a very nice lunch, prepared by the farmer's wife, and we were off to the next farm where I was able to get my hands on some freshly shorn wool, to examine the differences between this sustainably raised sheep and conventional wool.

The people I've met have been so welcoming and open and generous that I feel very lucky to have spent time with them. For each of the three farms I've visited, it's clearly a family affair with wives and kids contributing to the overall well-being of the farm. It's actually a very idyllic lifestyle and one that's much simpler than the faster-paced city life I'm used to. At one farm, the farmer was marveling at how incredible my host's BlackBerry seemed!

When we discuss wool and garments at work, we really don't discuss the human element of the farmers who toil away day after day and whose entire livelihoods depend on raising high quality sheep. This trip has brought a whole new dimension to my understanding of the supply chain.

Health class

In high school, I had to take the mandatory semester of health class, where we learned about physical fitness, sex education and nutrition from an older man with too much energy who talked like a gnome. I wasn't so great at concentrating in this class and my health education culminated in getting kicked out during the final exam for talking and being asked to return once I completed it. Once finished, I came back and passed out donuts to a few of my friends.

Now that our company is investing in a health education program with some of the factories that produce our goods, I sure hope none of the factory workers we enroll have the same cavalier attitude I did in high school.

While in Ho Chi Minh last week, I had the chance to kick off this initiative with a factory and the local Vietnamese NGO that will be delivering the health education curriculum. Essentially, we're sponsoring a program that helps female factory workers gain a better understanding of reproductive health, nutrition and sexually transmitted diseases, among other health issues. In turn, factories experience lower absenteeism rates, reduced turnover and higher productivity, thanks to healthier workers. And investing in women has impact beyond just those who experience the health training. Women take what they learn, apply it to their families and help to uplift entire communities.

The local NGO partner shared the approach, plan, curriculum and impact assessment with me and the factory management team and made sure to point out that "We don't discourage sex, we just want them to be safe!" I think this made the Korean managers a bit uncomfortable.

After the kick-off meeting, we had a chance to tour the factory, meet some of the workers who would be participating and discuss additional outstanding issues. The factory tour also proved illuminating because it is a very well-run and organized facility. It's one of the nicest factories I've ever visited, so I'm glad we've chosen a high-performing partner to launch this initiative with.

I feel lucky that I've had the opportunity to bring this program to my company's supply chain and I enjoyed participating in the kick off. These are the kinds of projects that make me excited for my job and keep me optimistic about the impact my role can have. In addition to this facility in Vietnam, one factory in Bangladesh is also implementing the project with our sponsorship. As we monitor the performance of these projects, I'm hopeful that we will be able to demonstrate both health benefits and business benefits so that we can continue to launch similar initiatives with other high-performing garment factories in our supply chain.

Only fragrant fruits, please

Checking into my hotel in Semarang this afternoon, I noticed a small sign at the reception counter informing guests that cigarettes and "strong odors" are not allowed in the lobby. I figured maybe some guests had a BO problem, but when I got to my room, I saw a sign with the following:

Dear Guest,
The Hotel has a policy of not permitting the following:
* Durian fruit is not allowed on the premises.
* You are not permitted to remove the mattress from the bed and place on the floor and other furnitures moving is prohibited.
* Smoking in Non-Smoking rooms is not permitted.

I guess the hotel has had its fair share of interesting incidents in the past.

Monster dinner

Last night the factory management team I'm visiting treated me to a traditional Indonesian dinner in Jakarta. We ordered a whole feast of dishes with lumpia, noodles, tons of seafood and ... the most ginormous prawns I'd ever seen in my life!

Before ordering the prawns, the factory owner asked if I would be adventurous enough to try one of the restaurant's specialties. Not one to shy away from a culinary challenge (I even ate crocodile last week in Vietnam!), I agreed to try a prawn and it was delicious! Normally, I hate the work involved with de-shelling prawns and twisting off their spiny heads, but I simply went for it and relished the results!

Shopping mall land

As far as I can tell, Singapore is simply one big shopping mall. And everything is insanely expensive, so I'm not sure why one would bother coming here to buy anything.

For my day off, I went to the Marina Bay Sands hotel and casino, featuring a pretty cool "Sky Park" with incredible views of the city. It also has a shopping center with luxury brands that I can't afford.

After I got bored of the Marina Bay Sands, I headed to Orchard Road, which is simply one huge mall after another. I really don't know where people here get all their money to support all the shops.

Singapore slinged

Because I couldn't fly directly from Vietnam to Indonesia, I decided to spend a night in Singapore, someplace I'd never been before. Plus, it gave me the opportunity to see Japo-Latino, who's in the country on a two-year expat assignment.

It was also nice to speak with some native English speakers, and I appreciated not having to keep up my halting, slower version of the language, which I'd been using for just over a week.

We hit the local bars and I was introduced to a "flaming lamborghini," some sort of syrupy-sweet cocktail that bartenders light on fire. Totally unsafe, totally strong and totally too much. After that, I really didn't need any more drinks, but we soldiered on and I drank way too much.

And per local going-out rules, once we'd drunk too much, we hit the food stalls at Maxwell Market and stuffed our faces with tasty street food.

Motorbike madness

On Day 3 of my visit to Ho Chi Minh City, I finally got the chance to leave the hotel. On today's agenda was a factory visit outside of the city, so a car picked me up to ensure that I got to the right place.

The streets of Ho Chi Minh are swarming with motorbikes. It's a pretty unbelievable sight - thousands of people on their bikes, zipping along, moving with or against the "flow" of traffic, weaving through each other and through any cars in the road and basically causing chaos.

At first, it's simply overwhelming, but soon you realize there's a certain rhythm to it. People aren't really aggressive drivers like in the states and there seems to be an unspoken rule about road etiquette. Even when the traffic lights are out (which is often, thanks to unstable electricity), people maneuver through intersections just fine, not really stopping for each other, but slowing down to make way for oncoming or turning traffic.

The only place I've visited that compares is Delhi, but there the density of motorbikes doesn't quite compare to what I've seen today. And where there are motorbikes in Delhi, they're usually loaded with entire families, which I haven't seen here in HCMC ... as much.