agent orange

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so its been a good few days in saigon and the days they evaporate into a haze by the day. its almost surreal to find yourself encapsulated in a city on the hinges of urban living and globalization yet still very much buttressed by uncle ho and a history so rich. theres an enthralling allure to this city, emanating a certain lustre quite unlike the other cities we've been to. the streets are lined with the extensive array of pho, their national fare of choice and everyone's comfort food on any day, local made cigarettes that seems to tie a common seam amongst local and foreign, and their most celebrated iced coffee; of which they truly are masters of their craft. the cacophony of the cityscape is complete with the parks showcasing the throngs playing soccer, sepak takraw and the like. of course, theres also always good ol' uncle ho's ubiquitous presence which adorns the city, and country for that matter. portraits, busts and monuments, he's the founding father of this nation. having weathered war after another, this country can attest to a history entrenched in greatness.

i gave the customary places of acclaim a miss, adopting to instead lap up the city for what its worth; and copiously rewarded i was. embedded in this make-shift coffee shophouse is the most genial proprietor of uncles, with who i spend a good part of my everyday at. sipping on luscious iced black coffee for sgd .30. the satisfaction derived in return...? priceless. we engage in disjointed discourse with the most fractured english, and he spruces up my vietnamese in exchange. yesterday too i played sepak takraw with the folks in the park, today it was soccer. mighty fine.

went to the war museum today, it was the 'unbearable lightness of being' working at its nasty best again. very heavy. so tomorrow night we leave saigon on an overnight sleeper for nha trang, to seek some respite from the urban ills that characterize any city. had some bia hoi before this, just the consummate way to end the night, and bid goodbye to saigon. wishing you well at home you fellas, stay safe and be good!

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Photos

decadence
rens and i at our adopted home- the coffee joint.

cacophony
saigon by night

tiger cells
from atop an enclosure that housed captured viet congs. affectionately christened 'tiger cells'; they previously were utilized for purposes as the name suggests literally.

lost in translation
propaganda

uncle ho
revolutionary

Comments

[andy]

chao anh! let's go for a spin, i just passed.

[wei]

intrigued by the kopi. bet there's milk in it and its gao gao. plant a kiss for me on uncle ho's cheek will ya. yusof takraw boleh!

[fiona]

miss. saigon.
i m bursting with envy right now...I am missing Saigon so much! those pictures..I have been to all those places...ths coffee was so so good..accompanied by the friendly locals and fellow travellers exchanging their travelling anecdotes..sighhh..and the war museum...it was unsettling, disturbing, but no doubt one of the major highlights during my stay there..JOSES!!!!!! IM DAMN JEALOUS! DRINK MORE BEER HOI!

[Joses]

xin chao (hello)
shao!?! ure distorting the scoreline la. really lead vocals of the stirrers la. yeap jian its GAO no shit. the amt of coffee is just 1/5 of the glass; laced with alot of condensed milk and more ice. they were arnd before starbucks man haha. haha ok fiona i now know why you adore saigon so much. organised chaos. i went to the damn water park myself hahaha damn balls-shrinking. but dat aside, yes bia hoi and bia saigon are their finest finds man. we should do a franchise on it. andy retire the vespa now haha.

[hazel]

hey dude!! just read ur entire blog and saw those beau-tiful pictures tt u took.. wow the sunsets are amazing! i hope i get to see one like tt too=) seems like u are having so much fun there and i tot the pic with u being a "teacher" was damn funny! but cool at least i hope u did educate de kids! u take care and enjoy!

[shao]

may i just say that it is 3-0!!!!!!!!!!!! wooooo!!!!!!!!! you're getting your ass whooped dude!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Joses]

heyoo hazel! haha u'd get ur ass down to saigon soon enough la. its a charming place, really. so i figure you'd have a blast la! rmbr to get alot of bia hoi and iced coffee. and pho. haha feast ur guts out! haha saigon i dont fancy ur chances of getting a prismatic sunset, its an urban jungle out there! shao it is not 3-0 pls. IM STILL IN THE LEAD. i havent missed a man yoo game. dat includes last nite at bolton.