Life is a highway
The sound of motor engines and horns. Brum, beep, brum, beep. The city awakens to another day. Thousands of motorbikes hit the streets. The blood that circulates the body of the city. Round, and round, and round they go. Whoosh. No time to stop and ponder. Drivers take the highway laws into their own hands. Red does not mean stop here; just proceed with caution. If you can’t beat them, join them. Hop on the back to reach your destination. Helmet on, feet positioned in place. Get comfortable because there is no chance of repositioning once the engine is throttled. Watch as the bikes flood past. Taste the toxic pollution fill in your lungs whilst the beaming sun exposes itself on your skin. This is no ordinary city, this is Ho Chi Minh City.
I couldn’t write my first blog about my time in Vietnam without first mentioning the motor bikes. They are the number one mode of transport here. Fancy walking? No chance. The paths wouldn’t pass as such in the UK, not even in Warrington. Bulges, divots and holes. Not to mention the paths being flooded with parked vehicles, street food stands and roaming (or dead) animals. Also watch out for bikes using the paths as a way of dodging slower moving traffic on the road. Its bonkers. You must always be aware of your surroundings in this city, or you may require a doomed, unplanned trip to the nearest hospital. But I have to admit, the adrenalin hit is great!
Ten days in and I feel quite comfortable here. I mean, I am far from calling this place home, but I came here with an open mind and the mentality to try as many new things as I can. Success comes from continually expanding your frontiers in every direction – creatively, financially, spiritually and physically. Always ask yourself, what can I improve? Who else can I talk to? Where else can I look?
The Vietnamese are generally a friendly people. They always strive to help, even if they don’t speak English. Alongside that, the city is home to more expats than any other city in the country. Not surprising given that HCMC is the largest and most populated in Vietnam. I have rejoiced in meeting backpackers in the bars. Most starting their Vietnam journey in HCMC with the plan to travel North to the capital in Hanoi, or arriving having just completed the famous backpacking route down the spine of the country. Whilst it is good to speak and mix with the locals, by the time the weekend arrives it is refreshing to be able to talk to Native English speakers in the comfort of a rooftop bar. There are plenty of other TEFL teachers here too, allowing us to share in our experiences.
Many expats call this city home. There are so many opportunities to create a business here. The country is booming, and HCMC is at the centre of it all. You should always be continuously looking for ideas, gaps and voids that you could fill. The corporate world as we know it is dying. It’s over. That whole “job” thing. The corporate safety net that the Industrial Revolution created. We thought we were “safe”. That we didn’t have to make it on our own anymore. That big corporations would take care of us once we paid our dues with a university education. Well, that is a myth. I truly believe we are now entering a new type of economy – the ‘idea economy’. With the growth of technology, of robots and of automation, people will be forced to create their own platform to make money; we will be forced to think for ourselves, in order to survive.
At the weekend a few of the group fancied going to a nearby sports bar to catch some good old EPL football. Given the lack of licensing laws over here, we even managed to watch some of the 3pm kick offs simultaneously (this was in the evening for us, given that Vietnam is six hours ahead of GMT). Sadio Mane practising his karate moves to the left of me, Lacazette scoring a peach past Begovic to the right. Could it get any better than that for a Saturday evenings entertainment?
We were there for a while, and I wondered over closer to the bar to catch the score-line of my beloved Arsenal. I got talking to an Aussie guy. Turns out he was the owner of the joint. He gave me a tour of his private wine bar, also introducing me to his wife, a successful Vietnamese business woman. About an hour past and we were still talking. My group all ordered taxis home, but I stayed drinking with Andy. He has owned the place for three years, having managed chains of bars all over the world. He even spent a good number of years living in the UK. I couldn’t believe it when he told me that he had visited my home city, Lincoln, on a boozy weekend trip. Small world hey!
He was an inspirational guy. He gave me some useful tips to get by in the city, and on how I should look for opportunities for growth. His birthday is next week, and he invited me and the group to the bar to celebrate his big day. I asked him whether there would be loads of people attending. He simply replied, “I don’t care, either way I’m getting smashed!” - I think I am going to love this guy.
Reflecting on my chance meeting with Andy, and on my first ten days here, teaching English in Vietnam has given me the chance to challenge myself. The lessons at the schools thus far have been stimulating. You are forced to think on your feet. Expect the unexpected. Come the end of the day, the job can be highly rewarding. But there is also that open goal in the back of my mind directing me to look out for other opportunities. To be an idea machine. Living in another country for an extended period provides a massive opportunity to see the world differently. To think outside the box that was handed to you at birth. My dream is to be an entrepreneur, and I hope that during the next nine months in Vietnam, I can move a step closer to that dream.
Build your own platform, have faith and confidence in yourself. Define success by your own terms.