Like many other freshmen, I entered college with a set of aspirations, goals, and expectations geared toward making the most of my time here at UH Mānoa. Part of that was the study abroad experience. With this semester abroad at an official close, I can finally take some time to formally reflect on the eventful and gratifying past few months. Growing up in Hawai‘i’s relative isolation meant that I rarely had the chance to experience life in a foreign country, much less for extended periods of time. I yearned for the opportunity to freely explore unfamiliar places, embrace unknown challenges, and network with new people. The National University of Singapore (NUS) is frequently considered the top university in Asia. Paired with their international approach to education and research, I hoped to develop a more refined perspective of the international business environment. This semester abroad has granted me all of that, as well as some unexpected lessons. Over the course of the semester, I took FIN310A: Corporate Finance, FIN3117: Bank Management, and ACC1006: Accounting Information Systems. Partially due to the need to balance travels, student life, and academics, this semester’s workload was much more challenging than anything I endured at UH Mānoa. Although I did not join any clubs, I participated in the NUS-SGX Stock Pitch Competition, applied for the Yale-NUS Consulting Group, and attended events hosted by SGX Academy, NUS Business School, Tembusu College, NUS Enterprise, NUS Centre for the Arts, and Yale-NUS Society for Academic Research. The sheer number of opportunities available was overwhelming. Singapore’s utopia-esque cleanliness and sustainable architecture was expected, but nonetheless extraordinary. Furthermore, I had the rare opportunity to travel to five additional countries, i.e., Malaysia (Penang), Thailand (Bangkok), India (Jaipur, Jaisalmer, Agra, Mathura, Vrindavan, Delhi), Cambodia (Siem Reap, Phnom Penh), and Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, Hoi An, Hue, Ninh Binh, Cat Ba, Hanoi). The people I have met throughout this semester, from my suitemates in Tembusu College to my fellow classmates, eventgoers, travelers, and exchange students, will all remain an integral part of this shared experience of this period of my life. As such, I will continue to grow the international connections made with students and people from literally all over the world. "What you think is attainable is just a function of what you know at the moment." After undertaking everything packed within the span of four and a half months, I feel challenged to achieve more with my time. The relentlessness of the modules gradually taught me to enjoy the process, the learning, and the hours of work. The expectations at NUS are high and the students always seek to meet or exceed them. Perhaps the most impactful were the unexpected sources of drive from seeing firsthand the opportunities available, as well as the competence and intelligence of NUS students. Although my primary interests are still in equity research, investment management, trading, and financial analysis, I found other fields that may lead to fulfilling career paths. Working through the cases in ACC1006 and attending SGInnovate and NUS Enterprise events have confirmed the practical usefulness of understanding information technology and its rapidly developing applications for the future. It pushed me to add on Management Information Systems as a third major. The unique opportunities at NUS presented to me ideas potentially worth implementing at UH Mānoa in an effort to provide more options and add more value in Hawai‘i for the majority of our local students. This includes hosting our own stock pitch competitions and case competitions—and perhaps the most actionable and community impact-oriented—managing a student-run consulting group open to undergraduate students of all majors providing pro bono services to small businesses and non-profits in Hawai‘i. “And so I learned the secret of diversity. Life is made up of different avenues. Everything can happen in one of several ways, according to different musical scores and parallel logics. Each of these parallel logics is consistent and coherent on its own terms, perfect in itself, indifferent to all the others.” From experiencing Holi in Vrindavan and Mathura to visiting the Taj Mahal and Angkor Wat, traveling outside of Singapore to five countries over the past few months, both with groups of exchange students and alone, has been rewarding. However, it was not the fact of the countries and places visited, but the nuances and details—the dynamic social environment, the vibrancy of the city streets and the countryside, the blend of local cultures and norms—that defined the experiences to contrast with the familiar life in Hawai‘i. From witnessing the ways that many people try to make a living and the sacrifices that they need to make, to trying to understand what the locals value the most in order to improve their productivity and quality of life, I found an interest in the ideas of social entrepreneurship and social impact consulting. Particularly in traveling alone for the first time for three weeks across Cambodia and Vietnam, I met people from all walks of life, each perfect based on different interpretations of success and purpose in correlation with happiness. Perhaps this is partly a moot point stemming from ‘grass is always greener’ thinking without clear consideration for the true limitations of different circumstances. Nonetheless, this shift in perspective has convinced me that rather than obsess over the best steps to take for a supposed perfect career path and inadvertently waste time in inaction (somewhat like the indecision in the often-quoted fig tree vision in The Bell Jar), take a step and accept the inevitable risks, sacrifices, and detours as opportunities to further explore your interests and your own definition of success, regardless of deviation from seemingly conventional trajectories.
This undoubtedly valuable and forever memorable experience abroad would not have been feasible without the support of the Freeman Foundation and the Shidler College of Business. Just last Thursday, after finishing my last final exam and planning out my last full day in Singapore, I was walking back from the Sheng Siong supermarket near NUS with some cocktail prawn rolls for my mom, when I was hit with a sudden realization of what I owe to everyone that made the past few months possible. That explicit realization of gratitude is emblazoned in my mind and will serve as a force for discipline, humility, and ambition for everything I pursue in the future.
HOI AN I didn’t spend much time in Da Nang aside from the airport and later, the railway station. I had high expectations for Hoi An, but I ended up enjoying the place for all the unexpected reasons. The picturesque Hoi An Ancient Town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is packed with tourists at night, much like a carnival. The city seemed to depend solely on the tourism industry, and the sheer number of tourists and inauthenticity destroyed most of the city’s charm. Although the main streets of Hoi An are busy enough that it isn’t the safest for biking, I biked everywhere—eastward to Cam Thanh and halfway over Cua Dai Bridge, westward back to Hoi An, and northward past Tra Que Vegetable Garden to An Bang Beach—sunburn and dehydration probably caused my fever. Within the Ancient Town, aside from visiting the Japanese Covered Bridge, the Old House of Tan Ky, the Museum of Trade Ceramics, the Hoi An Fine Art Gallery, the March Gallery, and the Fukian Assembly Hall, I discovered Réhahn, a renowned French photographer, at his Precious Heritage Art Gallery Museum and the Couleurs d’Asie Gallery. The friendly, genuine, and deeply passionate people of Hoi An, captured in many of Réhahn’s photos, define my memory of Hoi An: from Phin Coffee, a quaint, tranquil, outdoor coffee shop with a playful little puppy and an enthusiastic barista, to Phi Banh Mi, an unassuming family-run banh mi stand and a cozy place to escape the bustling streets and chat with the owners, to Golden Bell Homestay, whose receptionist evidently noticed my upcoming birthdate when I checked in three days ago and rushed out to wish me ‘Happy Birthday’ as I was leaving on a GrabBike for Da Nang. HUE Hue, the former capital of Vietnam during the Nguyen Dynasty, is home to the ‘Complex of Hue Monuments’, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. I arrived in Hue during Hue Festival 2018. For about $16, I bought a combined ticket for entrance to three tombs and one citadel. From my hostel, I took a GrabBike to the Tomb of Khai Dinh. However, once away from the city center, I was left with no phone signal and only tour busses available. I ended up walking over two miles to the Minh Mang Tomb. From there, it was about five miles to the Tu Duc Tomb. As much as it was calming walking alone on a simple road, the sun was unrelenting and time was running out. An idle taxi parked on the side of the road, but the cost of a taxi ride was much higher than that of a moped ride. My negotiation with the driver caught the attention of a local couple across the street, and the elderly husband offered to give me a ride for 50,000 VND or about $2. We ended up stranded on the street without fuel before a woman came by with a fuel-filled water bottle. Upon arriving at Tu Duc Tomb, an extra eager woman noticed and offered a moped ride for after my tomb visit. By then, it was almost dark and it would be another four miles to my hostel. Realistically, walking was not an option, but I couldn’t show that as her offer price was 600,000 VND, stressing that my hostel was very far and refusing my counter-offer of 50,000 VND. As I continued walking away, she lowered her price little by little, until a local man overheard and joined in with a single offer of 50,000 VND. I agreed immediately. It was too late to check out the abandoned waterpark at Thuy Tien Lake. The next day was much more laidback, beginning with a visit to the Pagoda of the Celestial Lady, Hue Citadel, and Truong Tien Bridge, which was designed by Gustave Eiffel, the engineer behind the Eiffel Tower. Sheltered from the heat, I waited at The One Coffee and Bakery for my overnight train to Ninh Binh. NINH BINH I arrived in a storming Ninh Binh at around 3:00am, eventually catching a $5 un-metered ride with a self-proclaimed taxi driver to the Tam Coc Bungalow. Ninh Binh was the most rural destination of my trip. At this hour, I was greeted only by a waddling puppy. After showering in the dark with tiny insects crawling about, I watched as daylight coyly revealed the limestone karsts surrounding the area. After breakfast, I rented a mountain bike for $2 for the day and made my way to the Trang An Grottoes. The boats seated four people plus a rower, so I was joined by three foreigners who met just a few days ago; one worked at a hostel where the other two stayed. After three hours on a boat through nine caves and three temples, I bid farewell and biked to the Mua Caves. Here, I fell victim to a parking scam. The road to the entrance was lined with vendors offering parking for 5K to 10K VND or about $0.25 to $0.50, however, parking was actually free right at the entrance. Later, as I was leaving, I saw two girls on mopeds hesitate when told to park despite their guide telling them to ignore the scammer. As a fellow tourist, I thumbed them onward to skip the parking and shared a good laugh with the scammer as I told her that I respected her audacity. The hike up to the peak was moderate, but the view was almost spiritual. There is something about sharing a sunset with people you don’t know from all over the world. This was unexpectedly a defining moment and the height of my time in Vietnam. CAT BA After experiencing the debilitating drawbacks of overly touristic spots, I decided to forgo the famed Ha Long Bay for now, in favor of Cat Ba Island. With the same few popular attractions, I frequently ran into people originating from Ninh Binh with whom I shared the bus-boat-bus journey to Cat Ba. Among others, I shared the dorm room with an Australian couple who’ve been travelling in Vietnam for over a month and a solo traveler recovering from a motorbike accident due to loose gravel at a construction site. At this point, I was fairly exhausted and spent most of my time in the hostel and at Yummy Restaurant tasting dishes and playing with their puppy instead of on snorkeling, kayaking, and island-hopping tours. The next day, I caught a ride to Cat Ba National Park and hiked up to Ngu Lam Peak for an expansive view of the treetops followed by a short visit to the Hospital Cave. As Cat Ba is known for its cheap yet fresh seafood, I had oysters and garlic squid at Quan Family Restaurant before hiking up to Cannon Fort at sunset. Despite deciding not to book one of the many cruises through Ha Long Bay, I originally wanted to get to Yết Kiêu to hike up to Bai Tho Mountain for an expansive view of Ha Long Bay. However, getting in and out of Cat Ba Island was too time consuming and getting through the entrance of the hike was logistically questionable. HANOI Hanoi, an interesting mix of grand streets and tight alleyways, bustling with life in every corner, was best explored on foot. In my two remaining days in Vietnam, I walked my way to various attractions and food places: Banh Mi 25, Pho Gia Truyen, Cafe Giang (home of the original egg coffee), Den Ngoc Son and Hoan Kiem Lake, Bun Bo Nam Bo, Hoa Lo Prison, St. Joseph’s Cathedral, Cong Café, Hanoi Street Train, Lenin Park, Flag Tower of Hanoi, and the Temple of Literature. On May 8, after visiting the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and stopping by Banh Mi 25 one last time, I took a GrabBike to the airport for my flight back to Singapore. SINGAPORE Upon returning to Singapore, I spent the remainder of May 8 and the entirety of May 9 reviewing for my Accounting Information Systems final exam on May 10. May 11 was my last full day in Singapore. Previously, my mentality was always that there would be another time to explore Singapore. However, the end of studying abroad came faster than I expected, and there was still so much that I wanted to do in Singapore. At this point, I probably did more sightseeing in foreign countries than in Singapore. As a last-ditch effort, I sought to make the most out of my last day, kicking it off with a visit to the Cloud Forest, Flower Dome, and Supertree Grove at the Gardens by the Bay. Don’t forget to show your NUS matric card and/or Student’s Pass for heavily discounted ticket prices. After grabbing some chai tow kway (carrot cake) at the food court in The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands, I visited the ArtScience Museum. Partnered with Google, Lenovo, WWF, Panasonic, and Qualcomm, Into the Wild: An Immersive Virtual Adventure included an augmented reality tour of the Southeast Asian rainforest. For every virtual tree planted accompanied by a pledge to WWF, a real tree will be planted in Rimbang Baling in Indonesia. Art from the Streets, the second main gallery I visited, showcased the progression of graffiti and street art with artists expressing individuality through design and technique and making relevant and powerful statements for the social and cultural movements of their time. Personal favorites from the gallery include JR, Tarek Benaoum, Futura, Vhils, FAILE, Blek le Rat, Banksy, Tanc, Sten Lex, and Shepard Fairey, with Rero and Zevs as artists with some of the more simply distinct and recognizable styles. From the ArtScience Museum, I walked across the Helix Bridge and passed through Esplanade for a view of the Merlion before continuing to Suntec City to check out the Fountain of Wealth, the largest fountain in the world. Passing by the historic Raffles Hotel, which was unfortunately under renovation, and Singapore Management University, I walked to the National Museum of Singapore. Among a few smaller exhibits, the Singapore History Gallery was one of the most interesting and by far the most comprehensive, detailing history spanning from pre-colonization to present day. After about two hours in the museum, I made my way through Orchard Road to Basilico in the Regent Hotel for a final dinner with family friends. I learned later that on the same level of the hotel is Manhattan, which is widely considered the best bar in all of Asia. By now, it was already around 9:30pm. From the Somerset MRT Station, I decided to head down to Marina Bay Sands for a final look from above of Singapore’s skyline. Coincidentally, the exchange students were throwing a farewell event at CATO, which was fairly empty when I dropped by. Although I heard the crowds came in later, I ended the night at the nearby Blu Jaz Café where there was a live jazz band playing mostly 70’s and 80’s jazz-funk and soul pieces. It was a Friday night, so the place was packed; the striking ambiance of people singing and dancing together seemingly without a worry on their minds was unforgettable. For me, Hawai‘i was at the very top of my mind. TAIWAN
At 10:25am on May 12, I flew from Singapore to Taiwan. When I was younger, I would visit Taiwan at least once a year, but now, I would only visit about once every two years. The last time I visited was in December 2016, and two years before that, I learned to drive, ride a moped, and bike (finally) in Taiwan. This time, the only agenda was to spend much needed time with my grandparents, aunts and uncles, and cousins. In the evening of May 16, I left Taiwan for home. Before daybreak on April 18, I made my way to Changi Airport for my flight to Siem Reap, Cambodia, marking what would be the start of three weeks of solo travel across Cambodia (Siem Reap, Phnom Penh) and Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, Hoi An, Hue, Ninh Binh, Cat Ba, Hanoi). Leading up to this day, I had every desire to plan out this journey more or less to the hour. Nonetheless, quite intentionally, I had only booked this departure flight, my return flight from Hanoi to Singapore, and my first night’s hostel. Of course, with enough research, I would more than generally know what to expect from each part of this trip and be able to detail my itinerary based on the dizzying abundance of online reviews and recommendations. However, since I was traveling alone, it wasn’t necessary to plan everything out. In this way, I could minimize the possibility of regret and adapt and adjust along the way. I ended up forgoing a few places that I was originally interested in visiting (e.g., Nha Trang, Mui Ne, Ha Long Bay and Bai Tho Mountain, Sapa and Fansipan) in favor of a more relaxed three weeks. Rather than chronologically detail everything like prior blog posts, I will summarize and highlight a few experiences to keep these last posts from becoming longer than they are already. Visa Application For the Cambodia Visa, I opted for the $30 Visa-On-Arrival. Contrary to some concerning reports online, the process was painless and efficient. Upon arrival at Siem Reap Airport, you may hand in your visa application, passport photo, and passport, and watch as an assembly line-like row of officials process your visa. The separation of duties with payment means that there is no scamming and that change is provided. For the Vietnam Visa, I planned to apply for it in person at an embassy in Phnom Penh. However, I heard that dealing with the embassy was known to be troublesome and sometimes cost more than hiring a travel agency to work with the embassy. For a 1-month single entry visa with 2-day processing (which includes the current business day, essentially meaning within 24 hours), I paid Cina Travel a fee of just $2 for a total of $42. Transportation In Cambodia, locals assume I’m Cambodian. In Vietnam, locals assume I’m Vietnamese. As much as I appreciate people speaking to me in Khmer or Vietnamese, I inevitably can’t keep up this chameleon-ing act without speaking their language. As a tourist, I must face all the perks of my unescapable status. As I make my way around the city, I meet motorbike taxi drivers at every street corner (and sometimes far away) bombarding me with questions: “taxi?” “moto-bike?” “where’re you going?” and locals subsequently guessing my ethnicity or where I’m from: “Japan?” “Mom, Dad…Korea?” Rather than hiring one of these eager drivers, I found that Grab, in this case, GrabBike, offers more reasonable (and non-negotiable) fares. For example, in Siem Reap, you may hire a GrabRent Remorque for $20 for 8 hours, which is usually much cheaper than directly hiring a driver off the streets. Further, walking and biking are also cheap and enjoyable ways to get around in the city and in more rural areas. However, some areas have no connection or no drivers nearby for Grab. In these cases, it isn’t difficult to find locals willing to give you a ride for a price. Most often, the initial price will be extremely high, so it’s important to remain stubborn and either respectfully refuse their offer repeatedly until the price becomes reasonable, or find multiple potential drivers and have them bid against each other. You know you’ve reached the reasonable price when they get annoyed, call you crazy, and walk away when you ask for an even lower price. I’ve listed the transportation options I took for longer travel segments and their respective cost in USD and time spent: Singapore to Siem Reap | One-Way Flight (Malaysia Airlines) - $87.64 - 3hr 5min with 2hr 55min layover in Kuala Lumpur Siem Reap to Phnom Penh | Cambodia Post VIP Van (government-owned) - $9.00 - 5hr 30min Phnom Penh to Ho Chi Minh City | Giant Ibis Bus - $18.00 - 5hr 30min Ho Chi Minh City to Da Nang | One-Way Flight (Jetstar) - $62.78 - 1hr 20min Da Nang to Hoi An | GrabBike - $4.72 - 40min Hoi An to Da Nang | GrabBike - $4.85 - 40min Da Nang to Hue | Vietnam Railways SE4 - $3.27 - 2hr 41min Hue to Ninh Binh | Vietnam Railways SE4 - $20.81 - 10hr 31min Ninh Binh to Cat Ba | Booked via Tam Coc Bungalow (bus-boat-bus) - $13.11 - 4hr 30min Cat Ba to Hanoi | Cat Ba Express (bus-boat-bus) - $11.00 - 3hr 30min Hanoi to Singapore | One-Way Flight (Scoot) - $59.00 - 4hr 30min Accommodation From hostels to hotels to homestays, there is an overwhelming number of options for accommodation. I typically booked via Booking.com upon filtering by price and reviews the day before arriving in a new city. Aside from my stays in Hoi An and Hanoi, where I spent extra (about $20 per night) for some peace and solitude, I stayed in dorm rooms (about $3 to $7 per night) with anywhere from 4 to 24 beds arranged as bunk beds. In hindsight, if I wasn’t recovering from a fever in Hoi An and spending much needed time in Hanoi to regroup in preparation to leave Vietnam and then Singapore less than a week later, I would’ve preferred staying in a dorm room. Some nights, only a quarter of the beds were occupied, but regardless, it was inevitable that I would meet interesting travelers along the way. SIEM REAP Before I could freely venture Cambodia and Vietnam, I needed to complete a group Bank Management term paper (analyzing Qudos Bank using the CAMELS framework and comparable banks as benchmarks). Rather than spending this time in unchanging scenery, i.e., my room in Singapore, I dedicated most of the first three days in Siem Reap to this endeavor, spending hours at a time in nearby cafes and biking (rented $2 per day) to the Angkor National Museum and War Remnant Museum for breaks. The day before leaving Siem Reap, I hired a local tuk-tuk driver to explore Angkor Archaeological Park, beginning at sunrise with Angkor Wat and followed by Bayon, Baphuon, Ta Prohm, and more temples and terraces than I could handle before retiring for the day by early afternoon to enjoy more beef lok lak, fish amok, Khmer fried chicken, and red curry. I learned that my driver lives in housing costing $20 per month and wants to go to university but doesn’t have enough money despite having no children or wife. The prior night, I had dinner with 31-year-old Matias Yoon, a torchbearer for the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics with plans to travel for two years, beginning in South Korea and onward to Vietnam, Phnom Penh, Siem Reap, Nepal, India, and further westward around the world, in an attempt to ‘renew’ his perspective after his last job working a night shift. PHNOM PENH In Phnom Penh, I spent my time in and around the National Museum of Cambodia, Wat Ounalom, Sisowath Quay, Wat Phnom, the Central Market, the eerie and disturbing Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum and Choeung Ek (Killing Fields), the Independence Monument, the Statue of Norodom Sihanouk, and the Cambodia-Vietnam Friendship Monument, ending with a traditional dance show by Cambodian Living Arts at the National Museum of Cambodia. In the hostel, I met Cosmin Mee. Originally from Austria, he flew to China two years ago to learn Shaolin kung fu before moving to Cambodia to teach English. HO CHI MINH CITY Crossing the Cambodia-Vietnam border was an experience of lax security, an empty duty free building, and an abnormal amount of casinos. Upon arriving in Ho Chi Minh City, I had a bowl of beef pho at Pho Quynh and sampled local dishes at Cyclo Resto before mapping out the next day in preparation for an exhausting full day of walking and sightseeing. The day included visiting the Ben Thanh Market, Saigon Square, Cathedral of Notre Dame Saigon, Saigon Center Post Office, Independence Palace, War Remnants Museum, and Tao Dan Park, as well as a few cafes for the heat and lunch and dinner at Pizza 4P’s and Bun Cha 145. During my stay in the hostel, I met an English teacher who was from Norway, probably in his early 20’s, and is now based in Ho Chi Minh City. The next morning, I took my flight to Da Nang. |
ABOUT ME
Keng-Chia Chao BBA Candidate in Finance, Accounting, & Management Information Systems Shidler College of Business, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Archives
May 2018
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