Always Trust What You Read in the Paper

Before making the jump to Saigon, I told most anyone who would listen that one of my goals was to work with the public sector in its charge to administer the tourism industry. Shortly after I arrived, the opportunity to do just that landed in my lap. A colleague in the hotel industry offered me a seat on the Tourism Working Group (TWG) of the Vietnam Business Forum (VBF). The VBF was established by the International Finance Corporation, an arm of the World Bank. There are other working groups each representing a different sector (Capital Markets, Manufacturing, Infrastructure, etc.), and each group has its own ministerial counterparts; the TWG works with the Ministry of Culture, Sports & Tourism and the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism.

Side note -- Beyond learning Vietnamese, I had three goals to accomplish when I landed: 1) Sign on with a top-tier real estate development firm (check), 2) consult with the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (check) and 3) open up a swank cocktail lounge a la Milk and Honey (still looking).

The VBF meets biannually and provides an opportunity for each working group to present their position on issues affecting their respective industries. One of the critical challenges Vietnam's tourism industry faces is the lack of infrastructure in terms of hotel accommodations, transportation and education, and the TWG used its time at the forum earlier this month to speak about the lack of hard and soft infrastructure.

The local news picked up on the infrastructure story -- see the above article which sources the TWG's position paper quite heavily. In fact, the article is a cut and paste operation, copying entire passages of our policy recommendations. I think the only original copy here is the verb tense change. We can look at this two ways. On one hand, it's great that we're generating ink for the issues and the press is telling the story we want and using our language to do so. On the other, this gives readers no assurance of editorial integrity. I'm of course thrilled to get published under someone else's byline but have to pull out that age-old cliche that 'you can't trust what you read.'

American Muscle in Vietnam

Nothing screams America more than a 1966 Fastback Ford Mustang, and for my parting request in the States, an old friend obliged me by whipping me around in the above beauty to check out his new restaurant in Park Slope and run an errand in the boondocks of Brooklyn. My ultimate mission was to hit up LeNell's liquor store. Tonya LeNell is a venerable spirits expert, and it's safe to say that her Red Hook shop, run almost exclusively by Southerners, offers the city's best selection of bourbon. 

The extraordinary fact on the 1966 Fastback that Nick pulled out of the garage at the Manhattan Classic Car Club is that it's cast in paint colors only available to Ford employees. 

Recently approached by a local Frenchman in Phan Thiet about buying his lot of 3 classic Fords, I thought it an interesting idea for some of my hotelier friends here in 'Nam. Most hi-end hotels have luxe cars to scoop their VIP guests from the airport and whip them around as necessary. But the below set of Fords, which are all for sale, would break the status quo of Benzes, Beamers, Bentleys and Rolls-Royces used at most 5-star properties. 

The seller is asking US$22k for the entire lot but will settle for US$20k. He doesn't want to sell them individually, knowing that it will be difficult to find three separate buyers. He was a little unclear about their provenance, and I'm unsure if the engine even turns on any of them, although the seller claims that they are all in good condition. The one thing that the pics won't tell you, and which he divulged, is that the convertible is faux; a previous owner chopped off the hardtop to make way for wind whipped hair.

The initial concerns from a local hotel GM of a reputable international brand are 1) maintenance issues and 2) road conditions. Do we even have shops that can maintain and repair vintage whips in Vietnam? And even worse, the roads here are sometimes equivalent to the surface of the moon, not exactly ideal driving conditions for classic cars. 

But to entertain the idea of fitting these into my garage, I called in the expert for his opinion:

"They all look pretty clean, but it's really hard to value classic American cars overseas, as the manufacturers sent different models with different specs. The other issue is knock off parts used for repairs. When pricing these, you have to factor in the cost of insurance, the reality of keeping these things on the road and the wear-and-tear on the essentials: engine, interior, stereo, etc."

Nick's offer for the lot sight unseen is US$17,500 with an itemization of  US$10k-12k for the Fastback, US$5k-8k for the Fairlane and US$5k for the convertible.

I wager that American Muscle Cars as hotel amenities in 'Nam can generate more than US$20k worth of editorial ink. I'd bet the Fairlane on it. Pony up boys. 

 

Village Incognito

I recently visited Son La in the Northwest region of Vietnam on a fact finding mission with the Netherlands Development Organization (SNV). I wanted to learn more about the potential of pro-poor tourism, particularly SNV's program in Moc Chau, and decided to trek along with their guides for the weekend. The itinerary was a simple overnighter at a home-stay in a Muong village and a day trip to a tea plantation before heading back to Hanoi. 

The scenery is beautiful, and while there was a couple from Spain traveling with another tourism outfit, this area is certainly off the beaten path. The trek down takes you through the villages of other ethnic minorities, namely the Thai and Red Dao, where they were bleeding a dog in preparation for a nightly feast. 

From the Muong village, you can easily hike through glistening rice paddies to a nearby waterfall and hot spring. Watch out for leeches. They're out there. And back at the village, there is little more to do than eat and drink with the locals. I think they were upset when I bowed out after about 10 shots of wine -- which is their classification for a gasoline-like alcoholic fermentation -- and ripping the tobacco bong once or thrice. 

In the morning when it came time to settle up with the homeowner, who is also the head of the village's tourism board, I gave my thanks and handed over what was due (about US$5). And while there aren't many people taking these trips, less than 500 people have come to this village as a tourist, major tourism companies are looking at developing this area particularly the town of Moc Chau, where companies like Exotissimo are offering biking tours through the tea plantation. 

In the meantime, this hidden village will remain off the map. It reminds me of Tom Robbins' book, Villa Incognito. 

"Meet me in Cognito, baby

Of course we'll have to color our hair

The best thing about life in Cognito

Is that everybody's nobody there."

The Singapore Model Part 2

An island guarded by a Merlion (half mermaid, half lion), Sentosa is a manmade wonderland for grownups and kids alike. While the view isn't all that pretty (it's of the Singapore Port, the world's busiest in terms of tonnage) -- Sentosa is about the only option that Singaporeans and visitors have for R&R en plein air. 

The most amazing thing about the island is that it turns a pretty penny for the state bank. The island is accessible by a bridge, monorail and, on weekends, about 5,000-10,000 guests make the jump via cable car each paying $13 SGD to take the roundtrip ride. Once there, rest assured that the majority of these visitors take the luge down to the beach ($10 SGD) and then buy some nosh ($8 SGD) and might even catch a ride on the Tiger sponsored Watchtower (priceless -- actually, I passed so don't know the cost). 

The island got an injection of hotels and themed activities about 4-years ago. The word on the street is that the guy responsible is an Aussie and that he was recently plucked by developers from the UAE to come do for the Emirates what he did for Sentosa. 

The Singapore Model Part 1

Former British colonies have one thing going for them: the usage of the english language puts them at a greater advantage to develop their economies. (Sorry Vietnam. You got the tongue of love, not economic prowess.) After a recent visit to Singapore, I now understand why people use the term "The Singapore Model" in the context of superior urban planning and infrastructure. For a society that was kicked out of its neighboring country, Malaysia, for being too poor (they were all fisherman with no natural resources) and too other (they were 70% Han Chinese), Singapore has got it going on. It's one party government demonstrates the virtues and possibilities of an autocratic system, and with 4.5 million residents and a foreign reserve clearing US$171 billion, it's in the top 20 wealthiest nations in the world.

Singapore is a theme park for grownups where they dedicate an entire month to shopping, chop up centuries old chapels into malls and restaurants, have more than just the Ministry of Sound but of Manpower too, and even pump airCon in outdoor pavilions. There's a story about Governor Nelson Rockefeller that contributes his slamming down a half eaten grapefruit on the master planning model of Albany, NY as the origination for "The Egg" amphitheater. Well, I wouldn't be too surprised if that's how Singapore's arts center came about. The spiky dome structure is commonly called The Durian, a putrid smelling fruit banned from most hotels. 

Two of the top architectural landmarks recently developed are the LaSalle arts center designed by Singaporean based RSP and Vivo City, a shopping mall of course, designed by Toyo Ito. LaSalle has a Mies Bauhaus thing going on, and the rooftop park and outdoor terraces of Vivo City are very derivative of Gaudi. Yet, in the shadow of its inventive architecture, the cityscape is quite sterile and, frankly, too damn clean for me. If they could pass a law to tell you where to stand, they would. Heck, I was breaking the law everyday as I chomped on my nicorette -- chewing gum is outlawed. 

Chill 'Mon

Sea Island Resorts is close to my heart. Not only are we an investor in the community but some of my fondest memories are on its shores. A not so glowing review of Sea Island Resorts just hit the WSJ that points to another subject matter dear to me: service. The writer makes note of slip ups in service and dirty trays neglected by staff. The review is a little nit picky, but it would seem that someone forgot to check with HR about staff training. 

On the flip side, you always have to take Finicky Travelers with a grain of salt -- me included. I'm in fact one of the worst people to have critique an operation and have ruined more than one date by picking the service to pieces. Sometimes you just got to kickback, relax and realize that beach time is just a little bit slower.