We have been partly in the lockdown in Malaysia since March 18 in Malaysia. Nic and I was lucky when we had come back in time from our trip to Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC).
 |
| Meet Uncle Ho at the HCMC post that is still in use! |
We went for a week to visit friends in Vietnam and relax a little. It was also my journey after birth on the day-a bit of me that I try once a year. Every year I try to visit a new country that is a flight away.
 |
| Nic and I went to the reunification palace or the independence palace. |
 |
| Inside there were many old, stately furniture, but not much. If you are in Saigon, just skip it. |
 |
| More old furniture. A little terrible to me. |
 |
| But food was great! This was in a popular bistro called Propaganda. What a name. |
I don’t like transits and last year I made a big solo trip – Penang to Narita for a transit and then Narita to Honololu. It took me almost 30 hours per route, including all these stops and long transit or layovers. I made this trip so that I was selected for a program to take part. I had such a fabulous time in Hawaii (thank you East-West Center) And again I found the time to bring shops and pleasure together.
 |
| Outside the emergency lady Church in HCMC. But I didn’t manage to get in. It is renovated. |
As someone who runs a business, it can be difficult to take time. Not because I don’t want to. It is because life and business are involved. Most of my pleasure or holidays are often mixed with a little business and networking.
It was the same for this trip to HCMC.
 |
| Eat Street Food in Vietnam with friends and Vietnamese beer. |
I was there to celebrate my 46th birthday with two friends that I met in Hawaii last year. Norhani flew out of Manila to be with me and ha thu. Ha Thu was our Vietnamese friend, also from our Hawaii program. I called it our Asean meeting since we represented our three countries – Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines!
 |
| The two Asean friends of me, still and ha thu. |
However, that was a strange week in HCMC, since no news received that President Duterte ordered a lock. She freaked out when she didn’t know if she could fly back to Manila. Fortunately, she came in the past, one day before the Lockdown by Manila City.
At that time I was not too concerned about the Covid situation in Malaysia in my own funky way. It was more like that, should Nic and I still continue our plans for HCMC? We had booked our tickets and our Airbnb about two months earlier and checked our Vietnam friend when the Covid situation in Vietnam was under control.
Wherever we held, we saw how Vietnamese put on their facial masks. We also conducted ours just to be safe.
Anyway, I have been back in the last 30 days and under some of Lockdown. I didn’t go out of the house for food (Nic does it). I also worked more because it is so easy to bring more work into more work, because at home and life for this strange cauldron of the routine seems to go.
I said Nic today: “I have been more productive than most months in the last 30 days!”
The partial closure or what we call MCO here is good for me. I have no meetings to concentrate on the real work that my attention needs. I have done more on the phone with friends and customers.
I thought a lot of what I have to do to reinvent myself (and that included running FB live) And suddenly I am convinced with inquiries about cooperations and interviews! I may have a second career as a FB Live host, Haha, which an idea is not bad because I like to work, communicate and support.
And of course friends who have opposed online methods to market online methods strive to find out how to sell online. And they come to me for advice.
It is certainly bizarre like once, all of humanity is on earth at home, works at home and eat more at home.
I also went yoga and even crochet! I even made Pumpkin Pau last night.
But I didn’t tie on Netflix because I am not a TV fan or a K-drama fan.
What about you? What happens to you and your life in these unusual times?
