Akita Cup

This Akita-brand of porcelain cup makes a lovely piece of art at home and I was really fortunate to have received a pair of them as gifts-one with azalea and the other with a crimson olive flower design.

I use it to drink Japanese tea -which needs to be slightly cooled- and thus explains why the cup is not suitable for coffee, even though coffee doesn't look strange in it. Bone china cups are best for coffee.

A Pretty Star in Can Tho

I thought I'd pamper myself for a night after having lost a night's sleep at the three-star hotel. The walls are thin over there and the guests next door just didn't care what time they were arriving -and how noisy they were.

I checked out this four-star that I saw on the Internet. I was impressed of course. At last I was reminded how a bath robe looked like, but there was attention to more details here:

It's a resort. After ending work at 3 pm, I sped back to the hotel for a rest in my room. Colonial styled fan, wooden flooring, plants in the living area and in the corner of the toilet.

Relaxing. When I looked out of my room, the view of the Mekong was stunning.

In the night I had a decent French (?)-Vietnamese kind of fusion dinner. The waitors were anxious to chat and make my dinner enjoyable.

Great service. I also like the art pieces around the restaurant.

There's a free cruise that I thought I'd love to reserve but ran out of time. So I just took my walk around the hotel along the concrete bank.

I swam at 5:30 am - which was already very bright - and then had a hearty breakfast before checking out.

A great place to be - though the water in the swimming pool made my teeth feel very strange...But I'll be back.

A Small Star in Can Tho

A Picture of the Street on the River Bank

This is a hotel with no international stars on it, and I have no idea if it's got a domestic star or not. Anyway I accidentally checked into it without reservation and pre-trip research.

After alighting from the domestic inter-city public bus, I hopped onto a cab (a black Mai Linh limousine type) and was driven to Ninh Kieu III which I saw on the internet before departing Ho Chi Minh City. Reviewed as modern and clean it was, the lobby did not look welcoming. It is cold and has a "metallic" feel because of a large elevator (lift) that is visible near the check-in.

I asked the receptionist for a room, and she came back with a question of whether I had advanced booking. I said "No" and she said, "No more rooms". So off I went to Ninh Kieu II and then to Ninh Kieu I. I didn't like the look of Ninh Kieu I and went to the hotel beside it. Garden Hotel? Can't recall, but it was fully booked as well. I was left with no choice and checked into Ninh Kieu I which had a room for me.

There was a heater, phone, and a tiled toilet with lights which were working in the room. All these for 280,000 dong and breakfast. I didn't think I would sleep with the very hard bed. But later on I realized that there was something that made me lose my sleep- an annoying mozzie which refused to leave the room. So I kept the dim lights over my head on for fear it would come too near.

When I saw the first ray of sunlight, I packed everything and went out for breakfast at the motel's restaurant across. It was packed with guests from the sister hotels of Ninh Kieu which belongs to the commercial arm of the military, I suppose.

I went around the long table which was overloaded with food: sweet potatoes (yum!), banana, papaya, apple (didn't look too good), baguette, etc. They were not displayed very appealingly but I was happy that it had warm soy milk. That is great in Vietnam. I hesitated to try the snails with noodle (bun oc)because I could imagine what went into the lakes but I wasn't disappointed. Could it be the veg condiments in it that made it so good?


At the end of my breakfast I was quite pleased that I checked into this small place for a night. The laundry staff were pleasant as well. Although I'd expected it to be noisy, it wasn't. The three-star hotel nearby which I later checked into was noisy, indeed, with domestic travellers arriving late in the night.

I found the grilled fish and the restaurant beside that three-star hotel rather unforgettable, though. I remember this restaurant well because it wasn't my first time there. I went there three years ago, and was surprised to find "farm rats" on its menu alongside snake and other animals. Now it's got a "new" variety of fish which I didn't notice before. It's the basa fish.

Gee...what is the basa? I was curious how it would look like but surely grilled fish must be good, I thought. I waited for 30 minutes accompanied by the local Viet kung fu drama serial on TV. Gosh! What a long wait...I was going to give up when the lady manager smiled and said, "It'd be out soon". Really? OK...Waited another five minutes before the fish appeared. Big it was!

It was fleshy rather than crispy and didn't taste bland or bitter like fishes in rivers. It is from the sea I was told. I think I would like to try it again the next time I go to Can Tho. Being on the Mekong delta, the city offers a great variety of fruit, veg, and seafood.

I'd recommend papaya at Saigon-Can Tho Hotel's restaurant. I was craving for some local deep fried tofu (not silken type)in fact, and walked into this hotel by chance. Instead of finding my favourite tofu, I ordered three glasses of papaya juice at one shot. The girl Trang did the papaya shakes superbly... I may try to stay in that hotel in my next chance for those papaya, nice service staff, and the hotel's good location.

A Genuine Five-Star Hotel, Ho Chi Minh City

Not a bad interior, I thought, when I first lugged my luggage into this room. I will take a nice rest here before my departure. Soothing colors, tasteful pictures -yes! I can sleep well.
The phone and everything are working well- good! Now I will go to the restaurants to explore a bit.

Rather pricey food they have here. Buffets at its cheaper restaurant on the ground flloor - but they come with reasonably good wines. So I'll take that.
In the night, after my last appointment, I stepped into the lobby and it began to pour in torrents. Phew! I like the view of such monsoons, when I am cozy indoors.

I'm happy with the amount of Viet food that I've had and so ordered a Club Sandwich for a change. I wonder if it'd be like the one I had in the "five-star" pub up in the north. What a surprise! Pleasing taste, colors, texture and fragrance. Great bordeaux too.

The lunch buffet that I had in the day had fresh seafood and salads as well.

After the night I plan to swim in the morning. The pool is of a decent size compared to the other hotel that's located in District 5. I'll come back to this for the peace, soothing colors, good food, and the smaller tourist crowd -service aside. I must add, though, the price-tag is a little higher.

"Autumn" cravings

20 November 2010: It's rainy and the temperature has somewhat dropped by a few degrees at night. That's Singapore's autumn.

Next week, K will leave for Japan for ten days(envy)while I continue working. He's actually heeding my advice to go to Nara (greater envy) with his gal. I miss Nara. One thing that I like to tell History majors is, "The remnants of the Tang dynasty are seen daily in the place where I used to stay..." - and then see their eyes broaden.

A. asked me what I thought his morning toast look like one day, suddenly. I answered "Kofun (ancient tomb)" and he said, "Right". Anyone who hasn't the experience of living in Nara would not have blurted that answer.

Especially in autumn, I occasionally have urges to eat some mochi. Strangely I thought of eating a sakura mochi in September this year -although the mood/season wasn't quite right. I managed to buy one which didn't taste bad (I wonder if that was because it was slightly more expensive than usual - at SGD2.80 for one?) I bought two and gave one to K. I'd thought he would puke and warned him that he'd need an acquired taste. Well psycho. prep did help. He enjoyed it, even chewing the leaf which I thought he would discard. Bravo! He passed the "Japanese cultural test" that I set before his trip.

I really had great warabi mochi when in Nara. Maybe soon I'll head to Takashimaya and grab some...

Hoi An's Three-Star

15 November 2010: This thi xa (rural town) has become a city. One of the most obvious transformations is that the price tag of everything is higher than that of a few years ago. While the cab fare from Danang Airport to Hoi An was about 180,000 dong four years ago, it's now 270,000 dong at least. The trip back from Hoi An to Danang is cheaper - about 240,000 dong on a squeaky clean car - which I booked at the hotel where I stayed.

As usual, I am not here as a tourist; I have been here at least seven times. The atmosphere is still pleasant to me but food, overall, doesn't excite me. There are several 'specialties' such as banh bao banh vac ('white rose') - like ha kao except for its tougher skin and its filling -which is pork. The dish is however given a leash of life thanks to the crispy browned shallot (hanh kho) and fish sauce (nuoc cham). It's not served with fresh herbs as one would expect in Vietnam, but these dumplings are aromatic on their own.

Another specialty is Cao Lau- thick flat noodle with shredded carrot, sometimes even cabbage,and bean sprouts topped with 'crouton-like' flat square pieces of deep-fried flour - all a quarter-immersed in soya-based gravy.

While food may be limited in choice, accomodation is not. For such a small place, Hoi An surprisingly offers quite a range of hotels to suit various budgets. For a few nights I went to the same hotel where I used to go. It's clean; it's like a mini-five star without the amenities. But there was a pesky mozzie which hovered around me at night this time because I dislike using mozzie-nets. Well, I didn't sleep well. So my hotel in Danang compensated me for my loss of sleep and my half-filled stomach...

I'll be back again, though.

Danang's Four-Star Hotel

9 November 2010: This time I am back in Vietnam for the longest period ever since leaving that country. My first stop is Central Vietnam.

Having been in Danang only twice in the past, one day each for the previous two trips -one five, and the other ten years ago, I can hardly recall its townscape. What I vaguely recall is that it's not a crowded and bustling city, hence many times less suffocating than the city in the south. The boulevard by the river is broad and easy for walks. The traffic is not maddening; its more accessible public spaces are peaceful and clean. People on the road generally are less aggressive, I think.

This is my first time staying at this hotel. When the door to my bedroom swung wide open, I liked my room immediately. When I look out the wide window, the view of the river is most comforting. Nevermind if its color is brown in the afternoon - since I am not in my room then most of the time.

The pacquet flooring and the space are impressive! Never anywhere in the south or central have I met with such spaciousness for a "standard" hotel room.

The restaurant draws few people at noon and in the evening. Its breakfast spread is average -but rye bread is good and so is My Quang - the noodle specialty of Central Vietnam. The only dish in the morning that is least appealing is the pho that they prepare when officials from the north come to stay. I brought with me my daily supply of coffee.

The Vietnamese papaya salad is my favourite choice at the restaurant. I ate it numerous times, and each time, the chef tried to decorate the dish differently, sometimes serving it in a fruit and other times, plated with two pieces of crispy and warm banh da (nem) studded with sesame. He would also carve the tomato like a rose or sometimes, simply cut and decorated around the plate.

The ASEAN teams were in town for two conferences and they put up in the hotel as well. I met some familiar faces and chatted.

I would rate this four-star higher in quality than some five-stars in the southern business capital. Laundry is reasonably priced and the airport is just ten minutes away. Since I am not in Danang for the beach, being by the river bank and enjoying the sight of the dark water surface stripped by neon from that TOSHIBA office across the river when the night drizzles, or admiring the hues of the morning sun dispersed among the clouds and mountains provides wonderful breaks from daily routine.