Sunday morning was cloudless – a rarety for Saigon – so I went out early and ended up coming across three markets: the local one by my villa, then the giant Phu Nuanh market, then the Tan Dinh one further down the road towards downtown. Here are a few of my favorite people from the markets…
Exactly my sentiments…
A few more here…
This is why I visit Vietnam every several months. I run a small software development company. It’s a lot of work but we all sit together at the same table, in all senses of the word. We work together in a villa. We take our meals together. I sleep in the office, to save money and because it’s much more comfortable than a hotel. Last fall, when our sales fell behind expenses and our American bank (“We are local! We are here for you!”) refused to extend us a credit line to make payroll, our staff graciously accepted partial salaries for three months. Then our sales pulled back ahead of expenses, and we paid them all back. I think there’s a lesson in there somewhere. But these people have already learned it. They are living it.
Located in the middle of the French Quarter of Shanghai, this park is full of retirees from the generation that knew the opulence, decadence and culture – of the British and French colonial period.
See more below…
I was lucky to see Yasin Farid during his first ever visit to the U.S.
Yasin is the country manager in Afghanistan for PARSA, an NGO that is run by Fran’s sister Marnie. They showed a short documentary made about their efforts to educate children in Afghanistan in the shadow of the Taliban (who don’t want any females to be students or teachers).
More pictures below…
I can’t believe I have three daughters who have graduated from college. Looks like my investment may have paid off…
Oh. Almost forgot to mention. Here’s the gorgeous graduate:
Markets are not just about things. They’re about people.
Here are some of the vendors – and a few customers – of yesterday’s “local market” by Remodelista in the Georgetown area…
