Blog Post #23 - Family's Christmas Vacation through Southeast Asia (Part 1 - Vietnam)

I am back at the office after a fun-filled family vacation through Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos! It would have been a pretty sad holiday season sitting around my Christmas palm tree crying and listening to Bing Cosby all alone. Despite the family bringing along the Christmas cheer, it was not the same in Asia. While the old white guys with beards and jolliness are still around, they are a little less chubby around here and lack the red costume. The Christmas carols were also drowned out by the roar of scooters (Vietnam has 90 million people and 70 million scooters!!!!)

Not Santa

Although the sticky rice industry crashed while I was away (HA!), the rice farmers sent regular update emails (HA!) and I am confident that we will make some great progress in 2017 (YES!). While we may be far away from organic certification or export, we have some business planning workshops scheduled to set the foundations for the LOPA business model. As I have been designing tools to support business decision-making and in the process developing my own set of recommendations in 2016, our objectives will be to connect as a team to review analysis and align on the organization's direction. Important questions for discussion will include where along the value chain LOPA will operate, how we can balance improving farmer livelihood with business profitability, and what roles and responsibilities the existing team will adopt.

BUT that detail is for another post. For now, enjoy some fun pictures from Vietnam. I will soon also post pictures for the Cambodia and Laos legs of the trip.

HANOI

Highlight: Apart from the family reunion in the hotel lobby, the sights, sounds, tastes and 'chaos' of Hanoi's old city did not disappoint. I could spend days wandering, finding local eating spots and people watching.

The reunion!!
I had such a big smile because my flight was only 1 hour to Hanoi versus 20+ hours of travelling by the others

Either I am growing or my mom is shrinking

Talk about a lazy way to see old Hanoi....not complaining though, sticky rice takes its toll on the cardio and legs

HA LONG BAY

Highlight: Being able to lay in bed and slowly float past the spectacular beauty of my favorite Vietnamese restaurant in Calgary.

The classic Jesse pose. Not sure what I am trying to imitate

Wow so pensive....or just sleep standing

We know who does must of the hard work in this arrangement

I think I got lucky with that boat behind us

I want more of my coffees like this. It wouldn't even need caffeine for me to stay awake

HUE and HOIAN

We arrived a week after major flooding and left a week before major flooding. I'd call that a Christmas miracle. We would not want to have missed these ancient cities.

Highlight: The lanterns of Hoian were a more than satisfying replacement for our usual lights on Christmas Eve.

All hail the new emperor! Bringing back ancient styles with the aviators

Blending in with the locals

Careful looking up, you never know what you will walk into

When can we bring these to Calgary?! Maybe hanging off the +15s???

I am glad she was speeding away from us

Get lost in the lantern trance

HO CHI MINH / SAIGON and the MEKONG DELTA

Highlight: The War Remnants Museum is a MUST see in Vietnam. It gives an eye opening and heart wrenching perspective to our usually biased narrative of the Vietnam War. Extremely well made with lots to read and see, giving you a glimpse into the emotion and suffering of the innocent Vietnamese people still impacted by the war.

Here it is!

I told them to jump on a lily pad....poor (dry) sports

The Halasa hats in action

Talk about an assortment. Safeway, you are slacking

Taking a rest with the boys after a long day in the battlefield tunnels

Still trying to fit in with the group

Up next, Cambodia!

Blog Post #22 - Touring the BeerLao Factory with the Director of Supply Chain

It's not every day that you get the opportunity to visit the beating heart of a country, but earlier this week I got the opportunity to do just that. The Office of the Canadian Embassy organized a tour of the BeerLao facility on the outskirts of Vientiane. On a dark night its towers shine brighter than the North Star, and every time you drive by, a spiritual aura uplifts even the most distraught individuals. 

The office where the big decisions are made

The factory where the production process takes place

The smoke stacks look so "beautiful" with the "blue" sky background

If you have not noticed from previous posts, BeerLao dominates almost any social gathering in Laos. It is basically the only beer readily available, and its advertisements dominate almost every restaurant. The company is owned by the government in combination with the Carlsberg Group.

They brew and bottle a number of different Carlsberg family brands, including BeerLao Gold (made with Khao Kai Noi!!!!!!!), Tuborg (brand new in the country) and Lane Xang (a pale lager which I rarely see around Laos).

Although an ordinary tour would be hosted by a guide speaking half-English, we had the amazing opportunity to tour the facility with the Director of SUPPLY CHAIN (who is also a Brew Master) and the Production Manager of the facility. You can call it an early Christmas for me because as a supply chain consultant myself, I was never far away from the director and grilling him with questions. 

A little detail for the other supply chain nerds reading this blog

Operating basically as a monopoly in the country, there is no worry about sharing secrets that I could take to the competition. Rare access to control rooms and other wonders that you would not get on a tour of Labatt or Molson back home.

The tanks for mixing / boiling water and wort

Once the beer has fermented in storage tanks, it moves along to these buildings where it is bottled

Sourcing the PPE that I am wearing is apparently a big challenge

Conveyor belts cris-crossing in every direction

Pressing this button stops the country

Considering how dominant BeerLao is across the country and how infrastructure quality is unreliable, the Supply Chain Director says most of his time is spent dealing with logistic and transportation challenges. On top of making sure the country stays well hydrated, they must also coordinate the return and recycling of the millions of bottles, which have already contributed to a couple million Lao smiles the night before.

Smiles which sometimes (often) includes my own.....

1.5 million crates at 30% storage capacity....can I take a few thousand?

That's a lot of crates to move down roads that I even struggle to take my bike along

Although we did not have time to discuss more about the logistical nightmare that keeps him up at night, from what I have seen, there is no shortage of BeerLao across the country. So they are definitely doing some right!

And the best news, they have figured out the export market and Beerlao is sold to CANADA, the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Ireland, Japan, Vietnam, Cambodia, France, Thailand, Denmark, Hong Kong and Macau, Switzerland, China, Singapore, and the Netherlands.

Try to find it at your local beer store and let me know what you think of this unique rice beer.

A beer factory tour would not be complete without an open bar at the end

I am leaving for the airport in an hour for the start of a Christmas vacation. Although I would like to continue providing regular blog updates, I plan to leave my computer behind. While I am sure the five of you reading this blog will be patient for my return, I promise a full summary of the vacation when I return to Vientiane in January.

Have an amazing holiday season and happy New Year!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Blog Post #21 - Buddhism

I am not a religious person and tend to avoid all discussions related to the subject. Although I may not understand the teachings of Buddhism, I have made many surface-level observations. It is deeply ingrained in Lao and Southeast Asian societies, and therefore I encounter monks, temples and other Buddhist influences on a daily basis (the following pictures are from my travels in both Laos and Thailand)

Helping the monks learn English (Laos)

Temples are everywhere in Vientiane. All uniquely beautiful (Laos)

Monks get special seating at airports (Thailand)

I have always thought highly of Buddhism, but spending extended time here, I have even more respect for the religion and its followers. You do not have to believe in it yourself, but its hard to deny the many positive influences that it can have. Everything from the beautiful temples, the friendly monks, and the welcoming, generous people...to name only a few.

It is rare to see free food for tourists...except at some temples (Thailand)

It must takes years to decorate some of these stupas (Thailand)

Inside is even more impressive (Laos)

Pretty surreal and calming listening to the monks pray to Buddha (Thailand)

You will not see me attending temple prayers on a regular basis, but all power to you if it makes you happy and helps you find a little peace in your life.

 

 A little serenity in the heart of Bangkok

Monks are always happy to talk and show me around (Thailand)

My hair matches! (Thailand)

Over the next few months I hope to learn even more, and hopefully add a little positive 'Buddha' to my life back home.

Have an awesome weekend!

Blog Post #20 - Top FRESH finds at the Market

Let's just say that a stroll through the market in Laos is nothing like walking through your neighbourhood Safeway. It can be a sensory overload, and decisions are more complicated than Doritos Sweet Chili Heat or Cheddar Sun Chips. Instead, would you like your squirrel with spicy sauce or salt? I still haven't decided.....

Song birds have never sounded (tasted) so sweet....

I hear they make great pets.....in a soup

Can it get more fresh than a couple of squirrels?!.....the ones on the left are just sleeping.....the guys on the right are tanning (I don't think they are squirrels)

These fish were still jumping in the basket.....now that's FRESH

These guys were a little bit more dead

Caught her smiling at me ;)

These next fresh finds are from Thailand (more specifically Khao San Road. If you know anything about Bangkok, Khao San is not overly authentic so not a true reflection of Thai freshness).

Doesn't look very appetizing

More like an expensive tourist trap

...but I still dived in to give a few bugs a try

But one of my favorite freshest finds from LAOS....

LAO-TUCKY FRIED CHICKEN!

Still a FALANG (foreigner) at heart. 

Enjoy the week ahead!