Friday--

Today was the best day by far as of now and it will take a lot to top it. After breakfast, we got on the bus with the Vietnamese students and headed off to Intel. It was located in an industrial park much like VSIP but this one dealt solely with high tech technologies. We went into Intel and it was very high security. We were each given badges and we had to scan them on our way into the plant. This was almost the same as the security that we received at the U.S. Consulate. The badges were really cool and I wanted to keep one but I couldn't unfortunately. We took a quick factory tour of the 500,000 sq. feet facility that Intel had just built. The factory is not complete yet but it gave us an idea of the high tech machines needed to create the microprocessors that Intel makes. Before the workers go into the factory they wash their hands in a row of outdoor sinks. It was kind of odd, but given the level of detail in Intel products, I can understand the need for cleanliness.

Next we took a tour through the corporate part of Intel. It was your typical office space with cubicals but it was cool because it had signs above the cubicals separating the different departments. Next our tour guide took us to a relaxation room. This is a room where the employees can go to relax, take a nap, or just take a break from their work. If that wasn't cool enough, she took us to the next room, which was a game room with pool tables and a Playstation. Across from that room was a kitchen and another lounge area. We then went into a briefing room where Rick Howarth, the general manager of Intel Vietnam briefed us on Intel.

Here are some of the things I learned about Intel Vietnam:

Intel Vietnam is a $1 billion investment and will become an assembly and test plant. Intel brings in about $40 billion per year and turns a profit of about $5-12 billion a year. 75% of Intel's Business is offshore and 1/3 of the business is in the Channel (to independent sellers). Intel in the future plans on expanding to an $80 billion corporation. They plan on developing consumer electronics, which will put a microprocessor and therefore the Internet in TVs and refrigerators. They also plan on developing mobile Internet devices that will have full computer functionality and will be about twice the size of a cell phone. They also plan on continue to develop low cost netbooks and finally to implement embedded applications in products such as BMWs. At capacity, Intel Vietnam will hold 4000 employees and will have between $5-30 billion annual revenue.

I asked a couple of questions on about the integrated graphics card and the new smartphone they are going to come out with. The answer to all this is the ability and engineering for Intel to be able to make their chip exponentially smaller therefore allowing more graphics and other components to fit on the same chip. This allows for reduced cost, improved performance, or a combination of them both. Rick Howarth was very informative and very helpful in answering all of questions with enough detail to satisfy those asking without boring the business students. This has been my favorite site visit so far and if we were not pressed for time, I would have asked a couple more questions.

Next we went to lunch at the Victory Hotel and I did not eat much. I just had some rice and some delicious clams. After lunch we walked in the sweltering heat to ACDI/VOCA which is a private, non-profit organization that supports economic growth in developing countries. We met with Nguyen Ngoc Anh who described to us the process of farming and cultivating cocao, which is the current project in Vietnam. They are teaching farmers proper techniques and giving them the necessary training they need to be successful in the Mekong Delta, Central Highlands, and the Southeast Region. They facilitate the training through the $12 million dollar project here in Vietnam. They have 1 model farm and 1 model fermentary and drier. Overall they have 22 model farms and 76 demonstration plots. Tomorrow we will go to a cocao farm as well as a fermentary to experience first hand what we learned today.

After ACDI/VOCA, Kyle and I took motorbikes to the market where we bought more presents. After this we walked a couple blocks to a row of jersey shops where we both brought a Vietnam jersey and I bought an Italy jersey and pair of shorts. I got both my jerseys and pair of shorts for about $8. We took a taxi back to the hotel and took a shower and hung out for a little while before going out to dinner.

Tonight our Vietnamese friends were taking us out to dinner. We rode on the back of their motorbikes to a small little restaurant where we had the third floor to ourselves. When I was getting off the motorbike, I burned the back of my calf on the tailpipe and it hurt a lot. Inside the restaurant the girl next to me was very sweet and asked the waitress for some ice in Vietnamese to put on it. We talked about everything at dinner and it was a great time. I had some rice and some crab soup. It was a really fun dinner and the Vietnamese are so much fun to joke around with.

After dinner, we went to this amazing coffee and ice cream shop that reminded me a lot like Coldstone. We ordered just about everything on the menu from smoothies to ice cream to coffee and it was very delicious. They had the ice cream with many topics mixed in on a waffle cone and overall the place was very westernized. I sat next to Lizzy (her American name) and talked to her most of the night about how I liked Vietnam and telling her about America. We sat in the coffee shop for well over an hour talking about everything with everyone. It was so much and by far the best time I've ever had a coffee shop and the best time I have had here so far.

After coffee they brought us back to the hotel on their motorbikes and I managed to get off of mine without burning my leg. We said goodbye and went upstairs to hang out for a while before going out. Tonight we went to the Bar Factory, which was a bar/club with a dance floor. They played American music to techno beats and they were kids break dancing and it was a lot of fun. I would definitely go back to this place.