Last night, we were walking back home from work, we passed a group of five tourists, probably out for a rambling walk in the city after dark. The usual characteristic chaos of Saigon had wound up for the day. Shutters had been downed, and gates fastened. There was little activity on the streets.. a couple [...]
Vietnam can stun you – but not if you grew up in India, like me. To me, Vietnam feels like home, and more home than India sometimes. But Vietnam has so much in common with India, at least superficially, that on my very first evening here, I forgot I was in another country! Until my [...]
I’ve never been a fruity person. He he.. Well, in some ways yeah.. but never been an active member of the fruit-lovers’ clique. I turned my nose up at the pitiful squishy oranges that came in the ration, and the blackened bananas. Mangoes were too fibrous, except the bihari malda, apples too tart, pomegranates too seedy [...]
I know a post is overdue but Phu Quoc is too close to my heart to be written about at the moment. Here are the pictures though.. hundreds of them. Just for the sake of a memory and a date entry. http://picasaweb.google.com/Pulkit.Vasudha/PhuQuoc
I had two days off.. believe it or not.. it was my first two days off in a row since I started working at ILA. So we took off to Vung Tau, a small seaside town about 125 km from Saigon. We’d heard the hydrofoil was the romantic way to head to Vung Tau, so [...]
…women dare to walk about in dirty, stinking feet. Vietnam is a country of salon services. Manicures and pedicures can cost as little as 10,000 dong (or 50 cents) each, feet cleaning costs about 60,000 dong ($3), hair cuts cost 40,000 dong ($2), and getting your nails done (which is a mani/pedi plus painting the [...]
Well, considering I’m not doing much with it anyway, and it is slipping away from me for lack of practice. I really don’t mind doing a language exchange with people who want to learn Hindi. At the very least, you could learn a few useful phrases for when you’re traveling in India, and I will [...]
Surprisingly unmentioned in guide books and expat magazines in Saigon, Akbar Ali has been around for a good number of years and serves a smashing chicken curry. Akbar Ali is located at 240 Bui Vien, in the Pham Ngu Lao (backpacker) area of Ho Chi Minh City. I have to say, Akbar Ali is our [...]
Our three week quest for good kebabs came to an end last night at Shahi Quila, or Royal Fort restaurant. Shahi Quila is located at 226 Bui Vien, in the Pham Ngu Lao area of Ho Chi Minh City. The chicken tikka kebabs were so good, they inspired (sic) me to write a review. Soft [...]
I had read online that the airports of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City are just ramshackle buildings with few flights taking off the tarmac on any given day. Imagine my surprise, when we stepped off our (very colorful) Thai Airways flight, through the aerobridge, and entered an airport which could’ve been anywhere in N.America [...]
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