Why Vietnam needs bigger traffic jams to boost its mobile ‘net

Having lived in Jakarta for most of my career, the legendary commute with the obligatory traffic jams made me turn to mobile internet for many of my personal and work needs, like email, Twitter, news browsing, and traffic info services like Infoll and Lewatmana. This is one of the reasons mobile internet has surged in Jakarta, and is only pushed higher by cheaper data rates, addiction to social networks and location-based services (which are only relevant on mobile-internet enabled devices).

Then, what happens in a city where the commute (and traffic) is not so bad, and you can get a WiFi connection virtually at any coffee shop, restaurant or mall in the city?

read the rest of the post on e27.sg.

Began, the (Groupon) Clone Wars have, in Vietnam

Groupon clones seem to be everywhere these days. This is most notably seen in Vietnam, where I am living right now, where according to this article there are about 10 sites live or about to go live. Among them, there’s the Groupon-esque section of Zing, which is arguably the largest youth-oriented portal in Vietnam. There’s Phagia.com.vn (formerly Groupon.vn), Cungmua,Kenhgia,Muachung, Hotdeal.vn (an IDG investment),  and Nhommua.

Read the rest of the article on e27.sg.

Make Sure It's Worth It

Dreams in our sleep are often filled with unconnected images and occurrences, yet perhaps the half-conscious mind tries to make sense of all of it by tying these instances into a somewhat credible output it can remember, no matter how absurd. So anyway...

Two nights ago, I dreamt of a district attorney feeling frustrated about a tough case, almost ready to give up.

Last night, I dreamt of the same lawyer, finding case files she apparently threw out her car on the highway earlier that day, on her doorstep, with a note: don't give it up. it's worth the fight.

Every day we are faced with challenges, easy and difficult, that demotivate us in doing our daily work. So sometimes you have to ask yourself, is it worth it? Is all this effort going to have the benefits or outcome that you need?

Sometimes it is good to keep sight of your priorities, objectives, or simply just what will make your life happier.

"Dari Surabaya?"

A few weeks ago, Saskia and I were waiting for a taxi at our apartement's taxi stand. There were many motorcycles going in, out and around the apartement's entrance, but there was one guy who just stopped near us and looked at us. We were feeling uncomfortable since he was looking at us, wondering if we were doing something wrong or strange (or if we looked strange), but finally, he spoke:

"Dari Surabaya?"

Out of all the questions in the world, he asked if we were from Surabaya or not. Maybe we were obviously Indonesian (so was he) and he decided to skip that question, so he perhaps decided to test the next question (being the obvious Javanese that we are). But imagine, standing on a street corner of a foreign city, and suddenly being asked something about your origins in Indonesian.

ha ha ha.... that was slightly weird.

After 2 Weeks in HCMC

Let me share you a few fun facts and trivia after two weeks living in HCMC:

1. like Jakarta, it's motorcycle town. They rule the roads. Almost everybody goes by motorcycle. And it takes me 20-30 minutes with motorcycle taxi to go from home to the office.


2. It takes slightly longer to ride a taxi to the office. Why? Because the traffic lights are frequent and short-timed, and everybody obeys the speed limit. Yeah, everybody. Of course, it's cheaper by motorcycle taxi.


3. Just like Jakarta, it's tough to find available cabs when it's raining, and sometimes it floods. But [so far], there have never been any mind-boggling traffic jam-inducing floods. I still can get home, even at rush hour, within 30 minutes.


4. The air is clearer here and there's still a fog at 8 AM (when I leave for work).


5. My office's office hours are 8.30 AM to 5.30 PM, but of course the hours are relatively flexible.


6. Almost every cafe and restaurant has free, fast WiFi. Even so, most Vietnamese settle for their version of "warung kopi" on the street side, with very short chairs and tables. Even when there's a flood.


7. Oh, the definition of flood here is perhaps ankle deep, and usually subsides quickly.


8. The food is great.


9. The Vietnamese language has a phonetic system, where one word can have different meanings if pronounced differently. Try giving directions with the wrong pronunciation, and the taxi driver will just look at you with a confused look or laugh. But they will appreciate foreigners who put effort in learning the language, even if only a bit.


10. The internet industry is somewhat on par, if not more advanced compared to Indonesia (at least in some sectors). Groupon-type businesses generate real money and traffic, and there is a local site called Diadiem.com which is a directory and maps service, complete with 3D view - so complete, that Google buys data from them. Mobile internet is still in its infancy.


11. It's definitely not Blackberry country. Signing up for BB service costs you around USD 150 just to register, and USD 25 for monthly service (and you have to deposit 6 months upfront). On the other hand, standard GPRS data packages are cheap and people generally use Nokias and iPhones.


12. Did I say the food is great?

So far, I love it here. The work I am doing is tiring but worthwhile, and at least I don't tire myself out going to and from the office. My current company believes that Indonesians are good workers and bring a lot of value (there are at least 4 Indonesians in the various branches of my company), and I hope to maintain that belief. I am also hoping that many more Indonesians can work overseas also, at least for part of their lives. Perhaps we're not on the ground at home helping to build the nation, but we are working in the midst of various nations showing the quality of work and life that Indonesians have to offer. That, I think, is also a patriotic duty and I hope I can fulfill mine well.

 

Yeah, I Came And Watched Vietnam Idol, Live.

Saskia and I came and watched Vietnam Idol tonight, to see what Sacha has been busy working on these past few months. Anticipating watching from the sidelines, a guy from the office got us seats, and got seats for our guests, Budi Putra and Elvi Susanti

Needless to say, we didn't understand a word of it. But it was certainly a fun night, with interesting burgers and fries to boot.

The New Apartement!

Hey, here's some of the pictures of our apartement in Ho Chi Minh City.

Sent from my BlackBerry®
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