Asia Tour 2011 - Visit to HCMC

After an non-stop week in Indonesia, Executive Director, Ryan Doan, and Professor of Business, Dr. Scott Janke, stop at the last city on their Asia Tour 2011 - Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon), Vietnam.

The weather was warmer down south. The humidity was slightly bearable. Dr. Janke was surprised to see how developed HCMC was compared to Hanoi. HCM is a huge city, far more modern than Hanoi, with no Old Quarter and looks in some places almost European, except for the millions of motorbikes. High-end shopping malls, night clubs, and UK/Western-influenced bar/restaurants litter the streets. On the first night of arrival, the two relaxed at the Park Lounge inside the Park Hyatt, HCMC. This classy venue looked like a lounge in L.A. It was as if we are at home!

In HCMC, Dr. Janke was invited to lecture on Project Management for a small group of Vietnamese profesisonals. The students gathered in a classroom hosted by our parnter school in HCMC. Dr. Janke served as a management consultant for such firms as Deloitte & Touche and Bearingpoint (formerly KPMG Consulting) and holds a Project Management Professional (PMP) certification from the Project Management Institute (PMI) and was able top share his expertise on the subject with the students.

In other business related matters, Ryan visited with officers of other colleges to try to establish additional partnerships. HCMC has a population of 7+ million and a young workforce eager to gain education. Higher education in Ho Chi Minh City is quite developed, concentrating over 80 universities and colleges with near half a million students. IAU hopes to be the one to assist in educating this young population to help the Vietnamese economy grow. Vietnam is hailed as the "sleeping tiger". Vietnam attracted 1,171 new foreign direct investment (FDI) projects with a total registered capital of more than $60.2 bn in 2008, according to the Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

There was some sightseeing. In HCMC, the Notre-Dame Basilica is a cathedral located in the downtown of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Established by French colonists, the cathedral was constructed between 1863 and 1880. It is a large structure, beautifully maintained. Another wonderful sight was the Saigon Central Post Office is a post office in the downtown Ho Chi Minh City, near Saigon Notre-Dame Basilica. The two also took a ride on a popular people mover - the transport cycle rickshaw It is also known in Vietnam as a cyclo (pronounced see-clo). They took the cyclo to the Reunification Palace formerly known as Independence Palace. The Reunification Palace was the home and workplace of the President of South Vietnam during the Vietnam War. It was the site of the end of the Vietnam War during the Fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975. It is amazingly well-kept and now serves as a museum for the public.

The trip winds down as the two prepare to go back to Los Angeles. Welcome back!!!

View photos of the visit to HCMC.