Culinary Delights in Saigon
24/06/09
From timelessly popular
street food, high-quality Phở noodle soup chain to
classy restaurants, the good food and culinary
experience that Saigon has to offer are appealing even
to the least food-inclined travelers. Here are some
suggestions to delight your palate in the biggest city
in Vietnam.
Start your day with phở noodle soup, aptly known as the national dish of Vietnam, at one of the Pho24 outlets or Pho2000 near the Binh Tay Market.
Wrap and roll your own gỏi cuốn, yet another famous Vietnamese dish, at the recommendable Wrap & Roll.
Head to the streets for local delicacies and pick and choose your favourite dessert drink from a lineup in Binh Tay Market.
PS: You can still carry on after the dessert!
CLICK HERE FOR MORE PICTURES OF SAIGON
Related link:
Start your day with phở noodle soup, aptly known as the national dish of Vietnam, at one of the Pho24 outlets or Pho2000 near the Binh Tay Market.
Wrap and roll your own gỏi cuốn, yet another famous Vietnamese dish, at the recommendable Wrap & Roll.
Head to the streets for local delicacies and pick and choose your favourite dessert drink from a lineup in Binh Tay Market.
PS: You can still carry on after the dessert!
CLICK HERE FOR MORE PICTURES OF SAIGON
Related link:
-
Kiat's Eye View:
Saigon Street Vendors
- Wikipedia: Vietnamese cuisine
- ThanhnienNews: Wraps and rolls:
fast food Vietnamese style
- NPR: Vietnamese pho chain takes
on U.S. competition
- ~Izzie~: Saigon (for food enthusiasts)
|
Saigon Cable Chaos
28/05/09
Saigon is wired by a perplexing network of cables
hanging above the city streets. They are interesting
elements of the city and amazing to watch although
walking under the masses of cables can be quite
daunting at first. The task of maintaining the network
must be a horrendous one.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE PICTURES
Related link:
CLICK HERE FOR MORE PICTURES
Related link:
-
Kiat's Eye View:
Saigon Street Vendors
- ThanhnienNews: Cable conundrum
Saigon Street Vendors
24/05/09
Like many other Asian countries, street vendors are a
common and unmissable part of street life in Saigon (Ho
Chi Minh City), Vietnam. The vendors here usually carry
their goods on a shoulder pole and many are seen
wearing nón lá (the traditional conical straw hat). The
mobile stalls sell a variety of stuffs and are the best
places to sample local foods! Pictures (from top to
bottom) show street vendors near the Binh Tay Market,
Ben Thanh Market and Notre Dame Cathedral.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE PICTURES
CLICK HERE FOR MORE PICTURES
Strathclyde Jedi Police
30/04/09
The force is with the Strathclyde Police. A
recent survey revealed that at least eight police
officers serving the Scotland's largest force were
affiliated with the Jedi. Who said Glasgow is unsafe?
Buchanan Street, Glasgow (Nov 2007)
CLICK HERE FOR MORE PICTURES
Related links:
Buchanan Street, Glasgow (Nov 2007)
CLICK HERE FOR MORE PICTURES
Related links:
- BBC: Force is strong for Jedi
Police
- Times Online: The Force is with
them: Strathclyde Police has Jedi Knights on staff
- Wikipedia: Jedi Census Phenomenon
The Batak People and Culture
29/04/09
Horas! Welcome to the Batak heartland that
centres on Samosir Island and covers the surrounding
areas of Lake Toba. Sites of cultural and historical
significance to the Batak people can be found on the
island at places such as Tomok, Ambarita and Simanindo
(see Lake Toba Album).
Batak houses, with distinctive saddle-shaped,
twin-peaked roofs, are eye-catching and
unmissable. They can be found all over Samasir
Island in all shapes and sizes, from elaborately
decorated traditional houses preserved in museums
to practical zinc-roofed village houses or resort
cottages by the shoreline.
The following excerpt from Sumatra-Indonesia.com gives some ideas on the Batak architecture and symbolism built into the design:
"The roofs of the house are designed so the back of the roof in higher than the front. The father of the house always sleeps at the front of the house and the children in the back. The higher roof in the back signifies that the father wants his children to reach higher in life than himself. The steps leading up to the small entrance are always atleast 4, 5 or 6 to signify how many children the family wants to have. The small entrance into a Batak house are designed so you have to bow down to enter the house paying respect to the people inside the house."
Batak culture is also known to be rich in customs and rituals. This 53-sec video clip, taken at the Museum Huta Bolon Simanindo, aims to give a sample of traditional Batak dance. The performance (Mon-Sat 10.30-11.10, 11.45-12.30; Sun 11.45-12.30) is not to be missed by culturally inclined visitors to Samosir, Lake Toba.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE PICTURES
Related links:
The following excerpt from Sumatra-Indonesia.com gives some ideas on the Batak architecture and symbolism built into the design:
"The roofs of the house are designed so the back of the roof in higher than the front. The father of the house always sleeps at the front of the house and the children in the back. The higher roof in the back signifies that the father wants his children to reach higher in life than himself. The steps leading up to the small entrance are always atleast 4, 5 or 6 to signify how many children the family wants to have. The small entrance into a Batak house are designed so you have to bow down to enter the house paying respect to the people inside the house."
Batak culture is also known to be rich in customs and rituals. This 53-sec video clip, taken at the Museum Huta Bolon Simanindo, aims to give a sample of traditional Batak dance. The performance (Mon-Sat 10.30-11.10, 11.45-12.30; Sun 11.45-12.30) is not to be missed by culturally inclined visitors to Samosir, Lake Toba.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE PICTURES
Related links:
-
Kiat's Eye View: The
Route to Samosir
-
Kiat's Eye View:
Samosir Island and Lake Toba
- Wikipedia: Batak (Indonesia)
- The New York Times: In the Land
of Batak
- Blogspot/ Frienster: Museum Huta Bolon, Simanindo