Downtown Saigon

Here's a cathedral that is a replica of the Notre Dame cathedral:
HCMC Cathedral

Here's the city's main post office:
HCMC Post Office

The interior of the post office:
click here

My Bedroom

Here's my room:
room.mov (4.3M)

FYI:
One could stay at a hotel similar to my room for about $25/night.

Lack-luster

One of my dearest friends commented that I was brave to start anew in as I had moved to Vietnam. I don't know if it's bravery. Maybe, I just [gave up] on "making the most of the [previous] situation". Although, I must say that after living here in Asia for 2 months, my life before seems dull--lack-luster. Granted there were fun moments sprinkled here and there. But, day-to-day life seemed plain, processed, ordinary. The difference now is that I see, or experience, something each day that amuses me putting a grin on my face.

For example, two nights ago, I was riding on the back of my little sis' scooter on a busy street when a boy rides up next to us calling to get our attention. We looked over to see what he wants. He tips his head downward, gesturing us to redirect our line of sight. As if by reflex, we looked down and noticed he's holding a penis! Maybe his. Maybe a dildo. It did look very smooth like a silicone dildo. It all happened too quickly for me to be certain one way or the other. I was rather disgusted, wanting to bop him on the head with my shoe. Yet, I was also surprised at "the balls he had" to pull off such a stunt on a busy street of scootorists. Little sis and I just chuckled in the end. But, I think we should have chased him down to teach him a lesson. :-P

Day-dreaming...

people keep asking me and i continue to them: i really don't know when i will be coming back [to San Francisco/the States]. however, i do believe i will return at some point. i continually meet lots of people who are like-minded (ie, love to travel, not settling down in one place). such is the disease of most foreigners i meet here, it seems. :-}

as i do every friday night, i play bartender at a friend's bar. last night, i met a group of Singaporeans. they were all designers and artists on a long weekend vacation. within the group, one girl originally from New York used to live a couple blocks from me in San Francisco--small world. another girl said she's been backpacking in Thailand and is now making her way up Vietnam. oh, i would love to backpack through VN and the rest of Asia as well! (but, it's not too easy for me to leave my career for a span of time because, at the moment, i have a pretty decent setup). anyway, we exchanged stories and business cards. who knows, maybe i will join the backpacking gal. ;-}

days here are becoming cooler and more beautiful. sometimes i do think about leaving my 9am-5pm--albeit flexible--job.

anyway... :-}

Phu Quoc Island

Phu Quoc is an island west of Vietnam’s southern tip (see map; but, the words Ha Tien is covering the island.). The island is relatively untouched so there’s not much of towering hotels.
Phu Quoc beach

However, on the flipside, you have underdeveloped roads and not many pretty attractions to see. I did see a few resorts under construction. Give the island another 5 years and I think I might revisit. Really, riding an old taxi--usually an 80’s car, or van--over bumpy roads playing chicken with oncoming motorists on a one lane road loses its exhilaration after about 10 minutes (the amount of time it’ll take for you to become desensitized). After the half fear-half laughter wears off, you’re just stuck riding an uncomfortable car on a narrow strip of rocky road.

I’m told:
The island produces excellent pepper. Here’s a picture of my new auntie standing in a grove of pepper trees.
Pepper trees

Activities to try:

1) Hiking to see rivers and small waterfalls.
Small falls

2) Swimming. The water is warm, clear, and calm.
swimming

3) The island is also known for its delicious seafood. Squid fishing at night is relaxing.
Squid fishing at night

The boat crew will cook/grill what you catch. I felt bad for the squid. But, there’s not much else to do out in the ocean. So, I picked up a rod and spool.
Me squid fishing at night

The crew will feed you squid congee (rice porridge). And, it’s reeally good! Maybe, I was reeeeallly hungry.
Got congee!

Tea House

I went to a Tea House to sip specialty teas and to past the time.

Tea House

Going to the tea house is like going to a cafe where you sit drinking coffee and chit-chat. The difference is you poor your own beverage (your tea of choice, such as Lotus tea which is fragrant and a bit strong); and, there's a whole process from pouring to serving the tea.

The tea house--literally a house, four stories high--seems to be a popular place to chill. Each floor has two rooms with about five little tables in each room.

Tea House

The room I was in had no vacant tables. We requested a room with less people, but there were no other tables available. A pleasant time was had...

Thoughts

It’s been about six weeks since I arrived in Saigon, and I think I am starting to miss my San Francisco [home]. Flashes of scenes and neighborhoods of SF pop into my mind. I miss my previous apartment with the red wall and orange bedroom. I miss leisurely strolling around the neighborhood of Potrero Hills. I can picture driving down Portola and seeing the view of downtown and the Bay Bridge with lights shimmering in the evening sky.

Yesterday, I had lunch at a restaurant called Havana. The drinks menu sported the famous silhouette portrait of Marxist Revolutionary, Che Guerera, in Andy Warhol style. …You know, the painting by Andy Warhol of the nine squares of Marilyn Monroe in different duotone color combos. I could describe the décor but I don’t think it’s very interesting. Basically, it’s not Asian-looking. I look at the menu and was a little disappointed to find that nearly everything listed was not Cuban. There were many Vietnamese and Italian dishes. There were only a handful of Spanish dishes. So, I ordered a Vietnamese style lunch combo—nothing else was appealing. The patrons at the table next to me were speaking Spanish. The table next to them had people speaking in English about San Francisco. I didn’t feel like I was in Vietnam. Sitting inside that restaurant, I felt as if I was at an hispanic eatery in a heavily Vietnamese populated city like San Jose, CA—or, the neighborhood of Little Saigon in Los Angeles. Then, I look out the window and see swarms of scooters on the road—not cars—and I realize again that I am actually in…living in Vietnam.

Shopping

Here's a pic of a department store in a mall called Diamond Plaza. Very posh for Vietnam.

Diamond Plaza

I am standing at the Shiseido counter looking for a present for a friend's birthday dinner that same night.

Still in work clothes, I went to the Sheraton for the buffet style dinner. The food was good--it better be at $24/person. Or, maybe I thought it was yummy because I haven't had non-Vietnamese food for a while now. In Vegas, or Reno, you would pay about the same price but have three times the selection of foods to eat.

group photo

test

this is a test to see that i can post to my blog via email.
--
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Sign-up for Ads Free at Mail.com
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Yay! Yes it works, but the above extra text appears also.
I will still have to go into blogger and manually clean up each emailed posting.

Rush Hour

Here's a picture of the _tailend_ of morning rush hour around 9am.

Front view:
in front

Back view:
behind me

Buddha's Birthday

Today is the 15th day of the fourth month of the lunar calendar, I'm told; and, that it is the Buddha's birthday. Tidbit info for ya.

Dining Out

It's been about 5 weeks since I came to Vietnam. I'm enjoying myself very much. Everything is so inexpensive. Everyday, I try out a new restaurant during lunchtime which costs a little less than $1 (USD) per meal. A meal includes rice with choice of main course, choice of stir-fried item, a beverage, and fruits for dessert. Can't beat that!

Fine dining is also less expensive than what it costs in the US. I had one of those Frenchie dinners at a restaurant named Le Caprice (http://www.thelandmarkvietnam.com/photo23.html), where you are served in the following order:
1. appetizer
2. sorbet to the palette
3. main course
4. chocolates - teaser to the dessert, I guess
5. dessert/ports
6. cheese & crackers

Coffee falls in there somewhere. I had beef carpaccio for starters and seared duck foie gras--one of my favs--for my main course. For dessert, I had strawberry flambe. Yummy, yummy dinner. We finished about 4hrs later at a little pass midnight. I'm not quite used to that. :-} The main courses (fillet mignon, rib eye, lamb, rabbit, etc.) cost about $10-$15 dollars less than they would in the US.

For a "regular" family dinner outting, less than $20 can get you seafood (hotpot-style) that will decently stuff three to four people.

For about $4, you can stuff 3 people with vendor food such as spring rolls, boiled duck eggs, buttered mollusks and snails.

Getting hungry now...