I Too Went Onsite!

anika987 · Dec 1, 2016

blackbeauty84 said: ↑

Please god One on-site..

Plleeeaasssee god just one on-site.....

This used to be my daily prayer.

Working in IT industry I always had the dream of landing in Heathrow or JFK with bag full of Papad’s, Pickles , Podi’s and getting clicked at Times square, Trafalgar square.

My prayers for onsite came true with a sudden call from my boss on a Saturday evening.

‘Sorry to disturb you. I called you to check whether you are ready to travel abroad immediately? ‘

Other than ‘Salary is credited’, this is the best sentence that I have ever heard in my career.

‘Yes…’ I replied before even he could complete the sentence.

Yaaay....Now I too can start drafting status like ‘Love you…London’,’ My first spring in Texas’

I walked to office next day with my head held high.

‘Hey Initiate the Travel request fast.’ My boss shouted on spotting me.

‘Is getting Visa that easy?’

‘It’s visa on arrival for Vietnam. Now raise it fast.' he answered.

Hang on..VIETNAM

Vietnam??

Then the realization dawned on me that I agreed for travel, without asking which country it was for. I would love to go Onsite, but Vietnam?????

After lot of discussions, debates, deliberations, finally..................................... I was forced to agree for Vietnam trip

I think I should have given god, list of countries that I wanted to travel .My prayers were way too general.

Where is this Vietnam in world map?? What is its capital?

I landed in Vietnam before I could find answers for these questions.

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And it so happened richest phase of my life was when I was in Vietnam. I always had 50 lakhs in my purse. Can’t believe right?

De-monetization? Rupee fluctuation is worrying you? 1 USD will give you a handful of 21,000 VND. When I visited it was somewhere around 26000. You have currency notes of 100,000, 200,000, and 500,000. A trip to market would cost you 200,000 and Taxi charge would be 500,000. There’s where I held 50 lakhs worth the money in single hand and felt rich.

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On my first day in client office, I realized this is the place I wanted to be. Yes… I entered to the Client office at 12.40 and saw someone sleeping in his desk. Wow.. Everyone around the world has a problem opening their eyelids post lunch. Then in an adjacent room many more people were sleeping. I wondered whether did I step into a dormitory by mistake?

Later I came to know that their lunch time is from 12.00 to 2.00 and during that time they can officially sleep. This afternoon nap is supposed to be for increasing productivity. I completely fell in love with the client.

Ever since I knew this productivity factor, I’m following that in off-shore as well ,but bit unofficially .

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We went for sight-seeing to the scenic place called’ Perfume Pagoda’ , organized by one of few tourist operator who speaks English. At lunch, I asked them for vegetarian food as I'm a vegeterian.

Spot came the question “Vegetarian??what does that mean??”

As that was the first time I was posted with such question, I told him that I eat only Vegetables and Fruits

Once he shared this information with cooks & other workers in restaurant , I realized how Zoo animals would feel. They looked at me as a different species and handed me a full uncut cabbage for lunch!!

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Meanwhile my mom threatened that she will not allow me inside the house, if I didn’t get her a handbag. I entered the famous night market of Vietnam for the same. .I spotted the handbag and asked for it’s price in all language that I knew.

As it wasn't going anywhere I took out my mobile and typed a ?

Shopkeeper typed 100,000 in her mobile

I typed back 25,000

She shook her head and decreased the amount a little. I shook my head and increased the amount a little. After several iterations, Finally we nodded our head at 60,000

Hence proved bargaining doesn’t need words and an Indian can bargain despite knowing the language.

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I also got my boss a gift for sending me onsite. I got him a bottle of ‘Snake wine’, wine produced by infusing whole snakes in rice wine.

Nowadays my prayers are very specific.

Please god just one onsite....America,UK,.Australia,Canada
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Hilarious is the word!! )

If they take this as a movie with actor karthi the hero,movie would be instant hit.

I am complimenting you dear.you have a way with words and a great sense of humor.

beautifullife30 · Dec 1, 2016

very funny....

Began my day reading your snippet...should say worth it! Hope my day turns out as beautiful as your snippet!

VaniVyas · Dec 1, 2016

Good Narration.... Loved it...

Akanksha1982 · Dec 1, 2016

Superb @blackbeauty84 I was laughing like crazy as I read it.
I have been to Vietnam several times for work. So I could totally relate to your experience. Night market is wonderful. It is much better in Saigon than in Hanoi. Halong bay is wonderful. There are many wonderful indian restaurants in Hanoi. In Saigon, there are Indian temples as well, one of them around 70 years old.

I love the country, the people are honest and friendly.

Your snippet was well written. Hope God grants your specific wishes.

Going back to complete my laugh.

blackbeauty84 · Dec 2, 2016

SGBV said: ↑

This is hilarious. You brought back all my past memories.

The clear prayer request reminded my cousin, who used to tease me the same when I ended up landing in central african republic (CAR) in my first international assignment.
In fact, I used to be a die hard fan of Australian cricket team; thus liked everything about Aussie. My childhood dream was to settle in Australia, so I've started looking for jobs in the Aussie the moment I passed out of the college.
But God had other plans for me, and I ended up working for some international civil organization that work for uprooted people.
My cousin used to say, "be specific in your prayer. You always wanted a job abroad, and God did give you a job abroad. It was your fault that you did not mention Australia.

Then I could very well relate to that bargaining thing.
Those days, we had lot of regional meetings in Bangkok, Thailand, so I used to travel there frequently.
The night markets and shopping in the Bangkok streets are fun.
They don't speak Eng, and we don't understand Thai... But we bargain though.

Great post
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wow..It must be quite an enriching experience for you to visit CAR countries. My company's clients are mostly in Asia/Africa so we get most of the on-site there.
Great that you bargained without knowing the language!!

blackbeauty84 · Dec 2, 2016

Amica said: ↑

@blackbeauty84, I loved going to Vietnam with you.

Was it good?

I hope the Cambodia trip brings another snippet.
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Ha ha I didn't fancy eating cabbage so i remained hungry..Mostly cambodia trip will be on early next year..will definitely record my experiences

blackbeauty84 · Dec 2, 2016

anika987 said: ↑

Hilarious is the word!! )

If they take this as a movie with actor karthi the hero,movie would be instant hit.

I am complimenting you dear.you have a way with words and a great sense of humor.
Click to expand...

U have great imagination. Karthi as hero!!Hope I get the credit for story. Jokes apart thanks for the compliments. I'm really overwhelmed by the comments and likes received for this piece. Means a lot to me.

blackbeauty84 · Dec 2, 2016

beautifullife30 said: ↑

very funny....

Began my day reading your snippet...should say worth it! Hope my day turns out as beautiful as your snippet!
Click to expand...

Thank you beautifullife. Hope all the days are as beautiful as your name

blackbeauty84 · Dec 2, 2016

VaniVyas said: ↑

Good Narration.... Loved it...
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Thank you Vanivyas

blackbeauty84 · Dec 2, 2016

Akanksha1982 said: ↑

Superb @blackbeauty84 I was laughing like crazy as I read it.
I have been to Vietnam several times for work. So I could totally relate to your experience. Night market is wonderful. It is much better in Saigon than in Hanoi. Halong bay is wonderful. There are many wonderful indian restaurants in Hanoi. In Saigon, there are Indian temples as well, one of them around 70 years old.

I love the country, the people are honest and friendly.

Your snippet was well written. Hope God grants your specific wishes.

Going back to complete my laugh.
Click to expand...

Thank you Akansha. Yes Vietnam is a very beautiful place. I stayed in Hanoi as well. Only hiccup is the language part..apart from that everything was great.