Today was all about business. Well, some leisure too, but mostly business.

Manpower Group

We did two separate company/ organization visits. First was Manpower Group. Manpower set up an operation in Vietnam in 2008 and they have been growing ever since. The people we met with said Manpower has a great value proposition because of Vietnam’s massive economic growth. **The more foreign direct investment, the more companies in Hi Chi Minh, the more demand for low and high skilled labor. Manpower has been capitalizing on this circle of progress and has found quite a good niche in Ho Chi Minh.

Another thing I was very curious about is the skills that Vietnamese companies are looking for in their employees. I have been very passionate about what skills are really needed to be successful after college. They said that the number one attractive skill for employees is the desire to learn....

This post is going to be very picture heavy. Most of the day today was spent touring the sights of Saigon/ Ho Chi Minh city. On our tour we went to the following places:

The Palace of Reunification (The Presidential Palace),
The Vietnam War Remnants Museum,
The Jade Emperor Pagoda,
The Ho Chi Minh Cathedral,
City Hall of Ho Chi Minh.

The day was not only a good chance to see some tourist areas, but to get a better insight into Vietnamese daily life. The bus rides from place to place were roughly 10-15 minutes, so we got a chance to soak in everything happening on the roads around us.

Here are the pictures of the day. I’ll keep the stories fairly short (believe me I could write a novel on each place alone!)

The Reunification Palace (Presidential Palace)

This is the Presidential Palace, best described as The “White House” of South Vietnam. It was renamed to the Reunification...

27 Hours. 10,853 miles, 2 airports, 1 ocean and one breathtaking destination.

First thing’s first: The Flight:

The flight tracker from Narita to Saigon.

I flew from Chicago O'Hare to Tokyo and then connected from Tokyo to Ho Chi Minh. It all started to become real when we say our giant Boeing 747 taxied waiting for us to board. Tip: If you are ever doing this kind of flight, and you are over 6'0" upgrade to the Economy Plus (or whatever similar deals are on specific airlines). The extra leg room makes all the difference on a 13 hour flight.

Second: The City:

If I had to describe my feeling towards Vietnam so far it’s this. I. am. hooked. It still hasn’t quite sunk what an opportunity it really is to be spending time here. The second we stepped foot out of the airport and into the humid wall of air of Ho Chi Minh, I could tell it was like nothing I had ever experienced before. If...

This is the post before I leave. In 26 hours, I will be on a plane to Tokyo airport and in 45 hours I’ll touch down in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Today is dedicated to getting everything ready to go. I’ll be running around making sure everything is set for tomorrow as well as mentally preparing for the trip of a lifetime.

Bangkok, Thailand. The last stop on our trip.

I’ll try to keep this updated as best I can. I’ll post pictures, videos, stories, insights and anything I find noteworthy along the way. Rest assured, if I don’t post for a while, it’s simply because there is way too much to soak in and put into words! Nevertheless I’ll do my best.

Follow along if you’re interested. This trip is going to be incredibly enlightening for me. I have been dreaming of visiting this part of the world for a while. The history, the culture, the food, the people, the cities, the monuments, the...