Tag: 2012

This is wear the nouveau rich and middle class expats want to live these days. A mixture of Vietnam with a taste of the west. This will be the norm for new apartment…

It changes every year it seems. This is what Saigon's skyline looks like today. Really beautiful but the sad part is that in about 5-10 years, it will just be…

Tropical Storm Pahkar passed by Saigon last Sunday. A relatively smalls storm causing significant damage. We lost power for nearly 2 hours where I lived. It has been a…

Shamu, the famous Sea World whale, makes a great stuffed animal. It also makes a great villain for his evil arch nemesis, Hoshi, the Vietnamese cat. Hoshi does not seem…

Evenings are always interesting in Saigon. Buildings turn on their lights, there are no dark spots in the city anymore, it seems. Saigon is developing into a Western…

Nice cool morning riding along Truong Dinh in District 1. I stopped at the red light on Nguyen Thi Minh Khai. The city was unusually busy at this time of the day. Don't…

If you love inexpensive Japanese food, then you should make a move to Saigon. The Sushi Bar has nearly 5 locations across the city. You can easily get a full course meal…

The Tet lights are still up in Saigon, Vietnam. It makes for a beautiful evening ride into downtown Saigon (District 1) at night. This is probably one of the best times…

These Tet gifts, made up of coffee, cookies, tea, etc., are sold everywhere before the Tet holiday starts.

Vietnamese are now celebrating the Year of the Dragon during their Tet celebrations this week. Today is Day 6 of Tet. Right before Tet, Vietnamese bring their Tet trees…

A very popular restaurant in Saigon, Vietnam. I really liked this pool with a small walkway. It was quite relaxing.

A friend, Lawrence, just married his Vietnamese bride yesterday. The wedding ceremony and reception was a fusion of Western and Vietnamese traditions. It was my second…

Visited my friend Dylan's place at the Saigon Pearl Apartments located about 10 minutes from District 1. Here is a good shot of the Saigon River with District 2 (An Phu…

Heading towards Le Thanh Ton street in District 1 on Nguyen Cuu Van street, riders will always be greeted by the GemaDept Building. I have only been in this building…

This is my favorite Turkish dish called Iskender. I first had it in Istanbul, Turkey, back in the summer of 2002. Every chance I get I eat it. By far, this is the one of…

The Turks like to joke, if you want to stay up a week, drink some Turkish coffee. Oddly enough, despite the graininess of the coffee, it is quite good. Do not worry…

I am a huge fan of Turkish food having first tried it in Taraz, Kazakhstan, back in 1998. It was nice to see a high quality, reasonably priced Turkish restaurant opening…