Long Hai Beach Resort

I have just returned to Saigon from a week visit at this 4-star resort located near Vung Tau. Linh & her mother weren't feeling well and therefore only Vinh, Dragon Boy & I went on this trip. The Phamily's friend is the "Director" of this hotel and they somehow arranged for 2 free rooms! I agreed to go if I paid for food/transportation. Staff, rooms, property, and food were great! this is a pic of the lobby/receptionist area. For other pics/info see http://www.longhaibeachresort.com/

Long Hai Beach Resort "Cottage"

Top pic is of me and Dragon Boy on porch/terrace of my cottage. Bottom pic is of me & Vinh fooling around in front of my cottage. Room had all conveniences including great A/C, refrigerator and an actual shower!

Long Hai Beach Resort Walkway

The property's grounds were well landscaped and maintained. This is Dragon Boy on "main walkway" of the property.

Long Hai Beach Resort - Infinity Pool

The resort is "beach front" - but the Vung Tau beach is very dirty and crowded most of the time. To compensate for this, the resort had a huge infinity pool overlooking the beach where we spent most of our time swimming, laying in sun, and playing Phom. This is pic of Dragon Boy at pool taking early in the morning before many people "arrived". Note South China Sea in background.

Tet 2012 & "Phamily"

The Pham family (Linh, father Vinh, mother Thuy & brother Long) have really "adopted" me as a family member. Understanding this, my daughter (Kimberley) suggested that I refer to them as the "Phamily" - which I thought was a great idea & they even chuckled when I explained this to them.

The Phamily invited me to spend the entire day of Tet Eve with them. The day began at 10AM when Vinh picked me up at my hotel. We drove many kilometers shopping for flowers/plants for their house <-- an absolute cultural necessity in Vietnam during Tet.
Above pic is me with the Phamily eating Tet eve feast which includes many traditional, culturally significant foods. Vinh took this pic - hence his absence.

We then spent the rest of the day honoring their ancestors with food/incense offerings at the family alter, playing Phom (a traditional Vietnamese card game often played during Tet), debating politics, and general socializing with extended family members & friends. The long day concluded with a trip to the Saigon River front to watch the fireworks ("flowers in the night sky") & back to my hotel for a much needed rest.

Btw - 2012 is the year of the Black Water Dragon which occurs only once every 50 years or so..

First Day of 2012

The first visitor of the new year to someone's house is an auspicious occasion because it represents a pretense of events for the coming year - good or bad luck. Vietnamese heads of households (men) "select" their "first visitors" very carefully & take the "selection process" very seriously. I was honored that Vinh invited me to be the "first visitor" of the year to his house. He picked me up at my hotel @ 10AM -- this is very early for the first day of the year.
This is a pic of the Phamily around the bonsai tree I brought to them as a Tet gift. This is a very traditional gift. It comes with e different colors: yellow (from the southern provinces) and pink (from the northern provinces).

Tet "Good Luck Money"

Another Tet tradition is to give children money placed into red (signifying Tet) envelopes. In other cases, envelopes are given to adults who are "in need" for some reason. The amounts of money is normally small - the intent being to give the receiver good luck in the coming year. This is a pic of me giving "good luck money" envelopes to Long (age 11) and Linh (to help pay for the computer I brought to her for which she repaid me in full)!

Tet Means Off to Relatives' Houses

It is traditional for people to visit other family members during the first day of the year. The Phamily took me to with them to visit 3 different family homes.

This is a pic of Linh wearing her normal motorbike attire. And yes - it was hot - about 90F! Vietnamese women avoid exposure to the sun - their belief is that the whiter their skin the more beautiful you'll look! So - they go to what I consider extreme measures to present their skin from tanning (getting darker). Note that Linh is even wearing gloves along with her hooded sweatshirt! She also has another jacket covering her legs. Face masks are worn for 2 reasons - prevent exposing face to sun & counter the smog (which really isn't that bad in Saigon.

Tet and Phom

At each of the Phamily houses we visited, delicious food & drink were served, and a Vietnamese card game called Phom is played - similar to gin rummy and played for small amounts of money. This is a group of us playing Phom at Linh's uncle's house. Btw - I'm pretty good Phom player - but not a "winner" by any means.

Tet Temple Visit

It is traditional for Buddhist to visit their temples on the first day of each new year. The entire Phamily visited a 300-year old temple near Linh's Uncle's house - I was invited to go along. It was a beautiful temple run entirely by female monks. This pic is of the female monks serving tea/small sweets to me and Phamily members while we fill-out forms containing the names/ages of our living relatives. These lists are given to the monks with a donation - the monks then pray for prosperity & health in the coming year for each name on your list. Later, prayers were said/offerings made for all of our deceased relations (ancestors). This concluded my Tet 2012 celebrations. Very enlightening, enjoyable, and amazingly terrific people!

Reclining Buddha

Located in a garden outside the temple we visited, was this reclining Buddha. The face of this beautiful Buddha caught my eye - so much so I decided to include it here. I hope that it inspires my daughter - Kim!

Fruit & "Rest Stop" on Saigon Streets

I couldn't resist capturing this odd combination of Vietnamese street "events". As you know, fruit vendors are common - this lady is selling whole & peeled/sliced portions of mango's.
Note that while his mother buys some mango, the little boy "relieves himself" curb side. There are very few public restrooms - so this is a common street scene for both boys & girls - and at times even for men & women!

Anyway - I thought it was a rare and "cute" combination of events to have actually caught on camera.

Old Saigon

Many old, French-colonial-era houses in Saigon have balconies where old women & men often perch themselves for hours to "people-watch" the street below.

Vietnamese Allergy Treatment

Like me, Linh suffers from allergies. In above pic, Linh is taking a home-remedy for allergies = a huge bowel of a warm, dark, broth-like liquid made of herbs. I'll stick to my sudafed.

Saigon Street Sandwich

You can buy a multitude of foods on the streets of any city in Vietnam - everything from famous Vietnamese pho's (noodle soups) to com tam (grilled pork with broken rice - one of my favorites) to 4-course meals to fresh fruits (whole or peeled/sliced portions). I love the sandwiches you can buy from street vendors like the one in this pic. A classic sandwich is a very fresh baguette with a pate, a little lettuce, tomato, sliced cucumbers - sometimes with "special sauces" but I like mine with classic Vietnamese fish sauce. Sandwiches come ready-made (see bottom shelf of cart in above pic) or can be tailor-made with whatever you want!

Fruit

Fresh fruit is always available all over Vietnam from vendors as shown in above pic - available whole or peeled/sliced.

Favorite Vietnamese Fruits

My favorites are mango, dwarf watermelon, and Dragon Fruits.
Above pic is of a Dragon Fruit plant with fruits! I had never before seen potted Dragon Fruit plants - they were being sold in the Tet flower market!

Tet Flowers

Tet, Chinese Lunar Calendar new years, falls on Jan 23rd this year - the biggest holiday of the entire year. One of the many, many Tet customs is to give flowers/plants to family & friends. Many flower/plant vendors sell them - a well-known location for this is a park in Saigon where above pic was taken. The flowers in the pic are potted "Orchid Gardens" that include small bonsai plants, rocks & of course orchids. NOT cheap - a large one cost about 28,000,000 VND (Vietnamese Dong) = US$1,330!

Saigon's Tallest

Above is a pic of a typical Vietnamese gas station - note there are no cars! Left background is the 68-story Bitexco building - now the tallest building in Saigon <-- they had just started building it when I came to Saigon in 2008 and have just recently completed it. Fyi - most floors overlook the Saigon River and the building is 98% vacant.

Saigon Traffic

Saigon street traffic has not changed - it is still incredibly congested both day and night!

End-of-Lunar-Year Feast #3

Like Thanksgiving/Xmas/etc dinners in US, because there were so many people (about 20) feasting, to eat we had to be seated at 3 different tables (kids' table was outside). This is me eating at the "mens' table".
Note motor scooters parked in "living room" - this is very customary in Vietnam. Also note that motorbikes are "parked" just inside the "front door" of the house which fronts directly on the small street outside. The "green door" you see in background of this pic is the front door of the house located "across the street" from the Pham's house (very close). Again, this is very common throughout SE Asia.

End-of-Lunar-Year Feast #2

This is a pic of 1 of 2 tables set-up with the many varieties of feast offerings. In addition to these, many food items were presented/offered on the kitchen counter.
Note small bowls in front with chopsticks - these are given to each person who then fill them (repeatedly) with whatever offerings they want. Many different dips/sauces are also offered/presented next to the food for which they are most appropriate or intended to be used with. Everything was delicious albeit I disliked some - like a cow stomach stuffed with chopped organs & baked or boiled - not for me. But - I thoroughly enjoyed 95% of the 12-15 offerings (yes - I counted them)! Note the spring rolls which were superb (almost as good as Max's).
Note that is my Cha Da (iced green tea) in foreground of pic.

End-of-Lunar-Year Feast #1

Asian cultures have 2 major dinners (feasts) during their Lunar New Year (falls on Jan 23rd this year = Year of the Dragon) or Tet celebrations: one on new years day and the other to celebrate the end-of-the-lunar-year (normally done sometime during the last 3 weeks of the lunar year). These feasts also honor the hosts' ancestors. Only closest relatives & friends are invited to these dinners. I was surprised & honored to be invited to the Pham family's end-of-lunar-year feast - which I attended yesterday.
I counted 16 guests + 4 Pham family members = 20! The Pham's guests, like them, were "intellectuals" = journalists, doctors, medical/pharmaceutical sales reps - even a "university philosopher". Resulted in great discussions/debates re politics, economies, democracy, etc!
As I have said before, preparing a huge variety of great traditional foods is incredibly labor intensive. It took hours for Linh, her mother, grandmother, aunt, and the wife of a Pham family's close male friend (total of 5 people) to prepare the food. This is a pic of Linh and others preparing some of the food. Other ladies were on the roof terrace barbecuing pork and making a very good Vietnamese "flat/rice bread".
The very cute (as well as friendly) little girl in the pic is the daughter of one of the Pham family's relatives or friends (I was really confused about who was who).

Reconnecting With "Lost Friends" #1

Yesterday evening I had an opportunity to reunite with Hoang's extended family.
This is a pic of me with Hoang and his father in front of his father's house. During US war in Vietnam, his father was a soldier in the ARVN (Army of the Republic of Vietnam) working with US forces in Chu Chi -- where I was stationed (1966-67) as a Patrol Leader in a Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol or LRRP. Interesting to note that Hoang's father's wife was, unknowingly to Hoang's father, a Viet Cong (VC) at the same time he was working as an ARVN with US forces (talk about "sleeping with the enemy")!

Note that Hoang's father is very tall (just over 6') for a Vietnamese. Hoang is just 5'2-3"). Me = 5'8".

BTW - Many of you have asked about the weather here = "dry season" = 90F high during day, 72F low at night, relatively low humidity, and usually a constant, pleasant breeze.

Reconnecting With "Lost Friends" #2

This pic is me treating Hoang's family to a feast at one of their favorite neighborhood restaurants. From left to right are: Hoang's wife, Hoang's sister (6+ months pregnant with first child), Hoang's father, Hoang, me, and Bill (the US Texan I helped Hoang's sister "find" 3+ years ago & now married to Hoang's sister and living with her in Saigon). Btw - the restaurant was next door to a tennis club (in background of this pic).

Lost Friends Found

Hoang was my principle "motorbike driver" in Saigon during my 2008, 2009 & 2010 visits to Vietnam. He became a trusted & close friend. His wife "owned" a street coffee stand that I attempted to but could not find during my first 3 days during this trip to Saigon. I thought I had "lost" them forever.
Fortunately, on my 4th day trip to her street coffee stand location, she was there! She had been sick at home and, therefore her coffee stand was "closed" (vacant)! This is a pic of me with Hoang & his wife at her street coffee stand. Of course, I am holding one of my favorite Vietnamese coffee drinks = Ca Phe Sua Da (pronounced phonetically).
Hoang is now a taxi driver (wearing his "uniform" in this pic) - a major step above a "common, street motorbike driver" and, as he should be, very proud of his upgrade/accomplishments.
For 3+ years during my previous trips to Vietnam, I became close friends with Hoang as my motorbike driver - including helping his sister "find" and reunite with her American boyfriend in Texas (he is now living with her in Saigon and she is pregnant with their 1st child!); helping Hoang's son resolve some major problems (financial) with the Vietnamese "mafia" and military; confronting Saigon police re resolving "kick-backs" associated with her street coffee stand.
Hoang has invited me to re-visit his extended family as we have done so many times during my previous trips here. I look forward to seeing them and will provide blog updates accordingly.

Saigon Landmarks - Ben Thanh Central Market

Some of you have noted that I have not yet included any Saigon "postcards" in this blog series. So - above pics are of Saigon's famous Ben Thanh central market. Built by the French in late-1800's (when Vietnam was a French colony = French Indochina) to centralize & control (primarily sanitation) a marketplace where the French could purchase daily meat (fish, pork, poultry, beef, goat, horse, etc), produce & fresh breads, it still thrives. Product offerings have expanded considerably since it was established 120+ years ago and now includes everything from live frogs to T-shirts as well as many food stands. Albeit many tourists visit this market daily, its primary customers are Vietnamese. Although not air-conditioned, it is always surprisingly cooler inside than it is outside.
FYI - French Baguettes long ago became and still are very much Vietnamese favorites as well as an integral part of their daily cuisine (just like the French)! And they are delicious - every morning I have a fresh baguette (with fresh, homemade jams) and fried eggs for breakfast.
My hotel is located just 2 blocks from this market ("behind" from pics' perspective). So - this is my primary "hood" in District 1 of Saigon.

Friendships & Feasting

I continue to renew my Vietnamese friendships - especially those with the Pham family. Here we are eating lunch at a famous Saigon eatery in the heart of District 1 - known for their pork (my favorite), duck & chicken and terrific rice noodles! Note that the pic includes Linh's mother - Thuy (@ left in pic) - a rarity because she is normally always preparing food and is extremely "camera-shy"! Linh's brother Hoang (aka "Dragon Boy" because Hoang in Vietnamese = Dragon) is dressed in his school's "uniform".
Unfortunately, I have not yet been able to find several of my old Saigon friends - but I continue to search for them. Fortunately I also make new acquaintances daily.
Other updates: I have finally completed negotiations with my old hotel's new owners and I am settling in; "Uncle Ho's Revenge" is sub-siding.

New Year's Day Dinner Feast - 2012

Yesterday I was invited to the Pham's house for dinner to celebrate the first day of the Western new year. This is a pic of Linh helping to prepare dinner in their "new" kitchen - an all-day, 2-person, labor-intensive endeavor (her mother was BBQing pork on the roof-top terrace of their house)! As is always the case, the meal was delicious!

This was my 1st visit to the Pham's house during this trip. They spent the entire previous year renovating their house - including adding a 3rd floor and "terrace", all new furniture, LCD TV, etc! I was very much impressed and amazed with all they had accomplished.

Btw - Linh DOES smile a lot albeit not in these recent pics. Also - no "feasting group pic" because we were rushed & I just forgot to take more pics - Linh's father was late getting to work (as a newspaper editor) & had to also drive me back to my hotel.

Welcome 2012 in Saigon

I welcomed the 2012 new year with the Pham family - Linh, her brother ("Dragon Boy") and her father (Vinh) <-- Linh's mother was working. This is us having dinner/coffees at a cafe on a main street in Saigon.
Most Asians "party hardy" during Tet - the Chinese new year which is January 23rd this year. However, the Western (our) calendar new year is quickly becoming a popular "party night" in Saigon. It was great seeing and spending time with the Pham family again!
I am still adjusting my body clock - switching my day hours to night hours and vice versa!