SLEEPLESS IN SAIGON

With already 12 months behind us and decidedly another 3 to go, we made our way back to Saigon, a budding metropolis of young creatives and entrepreneurs. Though it's long been the country's center of commerce for locals and  foreigners alike, in the recent years, there's been an increasing infiltration of relevant fashion, art, and music enhanced by this new wave of progressive minds.

We came here with the notion of setting some groundwork for what's to come post-voyage, excited to be in the midst of this imminent cultural transformation, though mildly circumspect about the fate of age-old traditions. In our hearts, we hope this collision of old and new will coexist well into the distant future, while retaining their respective charisma and authenticity.

TOTES MAHOUTS

We saw so many of these massive mammals during our trip through Africa, but this was the first time ever we got this close to them. Aside from the referral of my younger brother and his girlfriend, we did extensive research into different farms before visiting this one in Thailand. It was important to us that the elephants were well cared for and ethically treated, not exploited. 

Within the first 15 minutes of our visit to Patara, we knew we'd chosen the right place. The caretakers focus on the rescue, recovery, reproduction, and re-introduction of the elephants. Their efforts in the conservation of this endangered species include seeing to the successful birth of 31 calves over the past decade with zero mortality and 8 more on the way.

Just one afternoon with these soft-hearted creatures (who eat 5% of their body weight on a daily basis) and we were smitten. 

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SUMMERITIS

We've come down with a case of 'summeritis' where all we want to do is stay in our hotel room, blast the AC, and watch American films on television. Our criteria when searching for accommodation more recently include cable access, an amenity we hadn't cared for much up until these last couple of days. Apparently, vegging out is necessary no matter where in the world. 

Somewhere between Philadelphia and Hollow Man, we managed to force ourselves outside for a few hours while the sun was still up over colonial Georgetown, our first stop in the melting pot of SE Asia where so many flavors converge, namely Indian, Chinese, and Malay. It was just enough time to check out the street food scene and the street art scene. Of the former, we couldn't decipher what the fuss is all about. There's so much amazing food throughout SE Asia, in my opinion, the flavors do not culminate on this island. On the other hand, despite our couch potato tendencies, we took the town by foot and found ourselves charmed by the patina of the shophouses and the paintings of children sprinkled throughout. We couldn't help but engage ourselves in the 3D aspect of the art before returning to our temporary abode to catch the end of Rain Man.

Side note: We tasted a nice variety of dishes - hainan chicken with different staples (steamed rice, dry noodle, szechuan spice ramen noodle soup), spicy prawn mee, asam laksa, dim sum (har gao, siew mai, char siu bao, jian diu, har cheong fun), BBQ pork and wonton egg noodle soup, cendol & red bean and grass jelly with soy milk, 3-layer milk tea. All good, but not best.   

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