Asian Adventure 3 :: 15-17 May '09 :: Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

After a faultless one-and-a-half hour hop on Jetstar to Ho Chi Minh City's Tan Son Nhat International Airport, we secured the (seemingly) set price of US$10 for a trip into District 1 (Sài Gòn), and enjoyed our first experience of rush hour traffic, which has to be seen to be believed.

Never seen a motorcycle lane so full

Our taxi driver was a lady with painted eyebrows who sported a jacket, floppy sunhat and leather gloves. It was sunny and 28 degrees Celsius. This was true heliophobia (fear of the sun) - a trait common in Asia where pale skin is favoured as a way of distancing oneself from those who work as labourers (i.e. outside). Rather different from the West where people are keen to tan themselves as brown as the muck they are as common as, in Eastern eyes.

To get a feel for the area (Pham Ngu Lao) around our hotel before meeting our guide at 1pm, we wandered to grab lunch at the excellent Wrap and Roll and then walked to Thu Thiem Ferry Terminal on the Saigon River, taking in the Ben Thanh Market and the Opera House along the way.

Next up, we were met by the wonderful Van Dang from Connections Vietnam. For the ensuing four hours, Van took us on a whistle stop tour of some of the hidden districts of the City and gave us some excellent lessons in crossing the road. [Just walk very slowly out into the oncoming traffic and they will go around you]. We first journeyed around the famous market and Chinese temples of Cholon and then took a boat into District 2, once again being astounded by the sheer number of motorbikes (even on the boat itself) and the number of people allowed on a motorbike (by law, four at the last count)

Motorcyle Madness

One man, three children? No problem. Let's go!

District 2 has been ear-marked for proposed developments that look like very similar to the Singapore of now. Apparently, though, it's not unusual for such proposals to remain the daydreams of urban planners.

On return to District 1, we checked out the Notre-Dame Basilica (every stone of which was imported from France in the late 1800's) and enjoyed a street-side iced coffee before winding up at the last of the French colonial outposts, the Saigon Central Post Office.

Good to see Uncle Ho lives on inside the Post Office

As the sun began to fall, we embarked on a gastronomic adventure of Vietnamese wonderment. With the guidance of Van, we tried special dishes such as Xoi Man (sticky rice with chicken, shrimps, shallots and spring onions served with pickled mooli, cucumber and carrot) at Che Xoi (111 Bui Thi Xuan Street), Bun Rieu (noodles with tomato and crab) and Nem (flat spring rolls from North Vietnam) at a restaurant specialising in food from Hoi An and Banh Xeo (Vietnamese pancake filled with pork and beansprouts) at Long Huy (129 Cach Mang Thang Tam).

Seriously, everything we tried was lip-smackingly good. It was reassuring to note that Song Que, Viet Hoa and Huong Viet restaurants in Shoreditch and De Beauvoir, London, do a good rendition of Vietnamese dishes. However, the London scene can't quite beat sitting in a bustling restaurant, slurping whilst getting a bead on (a.k.a sweating) and listening to the sing-song chatter of the local Vietnamese. We ended the night by crossing one of the City's largest roundabouts by walking almost straight across the middle of it. Yes, we were only lit by the headlights of oncoming cars and motorbikes, but we were with our trusted Van, and that made anything achievable.

The next morning, we were up early after a breakfast at our hotel of last night's leftover dinners (for real, tasty fried rice, noodles, beef stew etc. alongside toast, cereal and fruit). This time, we were picked up by Giang Minh Nguyen to embark on a journey to the outskirts of the City where we went shopping with Mrs. Nghia at the local market (note: even in the tiny market lanes, motorcyclists do not dismount) for raw ingredients to make delicious goi cuon and beef pho (it's not 'fo', it's 'fur').

Goi Cuon Medley

Can't get enought goi cuon in my daily Singapore life

Beef pho made with real love

Over lunch, we learned how to say 'delicious' (ngon) and 'full' (ngot) but didn't attempt to say 'deliciously full' given that Vietnamese happens to be a very difficult language comprised of sounds that (to the untrained ear) are very similar.

In the afternoon, we headed over to see the two French protagonists of Wonderful District. It was most superb to meet Bertrand Peret and Sandrine Llouquet who gave us a keen insight into life as artists in the burgeoning creative scene in Vietnam. Both are wonderfully talented, forward-thinking, innovative and incredibly welcoming. They are working on a bi-lingual magazine on contemporary art in Asia and events under the Jet Lag brand, including an awesome end of year festival at Mui Ne, about five hours from Saigon.

After our enormous lunch, we decided that we had not had quite enough delectable cuisine so we headed to An Vien (178A Hai Ba Trung St, District 1), in the luxurious settings of an old French villa, where the highlight was a delicious king prawn soup that was garnished with edible flowers.

On our final day, we took in the War Remnants Museum and the Reunification Palace before heading to have our last Vietnamese coffee at the wonderfully secluded Serenata (6E Ngo Thoi Nhiem, District 3), an open-air cafe-bar with live piano music tinkering around the walls of an old villa. I could have sat there all day, had it not been for the necessary journey back to Sin City.

All in all, we had a magical time in Ho Chi Minh City. What made it really special was the chance to meet locals and experience a little bit of their daily lives. It is, after all, the people that make a place.

Fourth month, fandango

This month, we have mostly been entertaining:

- Dash's parents (my soon-to-be-in-laws!). We kicked off their arrival with a homemade Malaysian chicken curry and the next day, enjoyed a walking tour of Kampong Glam and Little India after a ride on the Singapore Flyer. We were immensely glad not to have been trapped and winched down seven hours later.

View from the Flyer - you can see Temasek Tower (where Dash and I work) on the far left):



The next day, we journeyed East to Changi Village and stopped by Changi Chapel and Museum, which showcases informative accounts of the Japanese occupation and various prisoners' paraphernalia. We then welcomed the intermittent seaside breeze as we ambled along Changi Point Boardwalk:



They were then picked up by their Malaysian guide and driven around the mainland taking in the wonders of Malacca, the Taman Negara rainforest (one of the world's oldest rainforest est. 130 million years old), the Cameron Highlands, Penang and Langkawi for ten days before re-joining us in Singapore armed with a bunch of excellent tales of adventures and experiences highlighted by a super collection of photographs. Their favourites were the Cameron Highlands for its cooler climate and 'English kitchen garden' feel and staying in the Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion in Penang.

On their return for another weekend in Singapore, we completed a tour of Chinatown, taking in the excellent Chinatown Heritage Centre, the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple, the Sri Mariamman Temple and inter-connecting streets and alleyways. We also checked out the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) which houses the futuristic models of Singapore (including the up and coming Marina Bay Sands Resort complete with Singapore's first [controversial] casino and eagerly-awaited sky park on the 51st storey):



Our final sojourn was to Jurong Bird Park and the lush peacefulness of the Botanic Gardens.

Eating highlights: Karma Kettle & Rhapsody (Dempsey) - rather eclectic "traditional European and colonial" menu. Wouldn't go back and can't now it's reported closed. Si Chuan Dou Ha - superb Chinese restaurant on the 60th floor of the UOB Plaza. Would go back just to witness the tea boy's ninja pouring skills. Melt @ The Mandarin Oriental - an array of international delights at this sumptuous buffet that never disappoints. Tiong Bahru Market - Tiong Bahru Pau did us proud and served up some breakfast items that were not too outlandish for our English visitors. Halia - beautiful setting nestled within the natural environs of the Botanic Gardens, one cannot fail to delight in the splendour of this restaurant.

- Tiong Bahru Tippling Club. We held our first party to christen our home with laughter, smiles and liquor. It was thoroughly enjoyable to welcome all of the people we had met so far to sample some of my edible treats and Dash's beats.

and being entertained:

- By journeying across the Southern Ridges. Our two hour walk encompassed the newly opened tree-top walkway at Telok Blangah Hill Park and the superbly designed highest pedestrian bridge in Singapore, Henderson Waves.



- At Giles Petersen's Worldwide Festival. Sadly, a rather disappointing turnout due to poor marketing meant that the beach festival was lacking somewhat in atmosphere. The music was OK for a commercially sponsored event. We continue on our quest for the 'sound of the underground' in Singapore. Slowly slowly, catchy monkey, as they say.

- By the tremors felt after the explosion at Marina Bay. From Temasek Tower, the 'boom' was accompanied by views of the mushroom clouds of smoke after the blasts went off in triplicate. An odd scene in 'Safety Singapore'.

- By the amusing Chinese anecdotes that my colleagues have been treating me to. (i) Not only does Milo make you "heaty" but a whole bunch of other foods can also make you feel 'hot' or 'cold'. (ii) Putting too much Milo into your mix of hot water and milk will create a "Milo Dinosaur" and you can even order one of these in a coffee shop. (iii) The local Chinese pudding place at Amoy Street Food Centre sells such delights as 'yam paste with gingko nuts' and 'turtle pudding'. Now, which one of those is going to make me hot or cold (or just plain sick)? (iv) For not wishing to try the aforementioned puddings, I have been labelled a 'sua ku' (lit. mountain turtle). Yes, imagine a turtle that hid in its shell all day and lived in the mountains. True, it would not be a very adventurous individual. However, I reject the suggestion that said turtle would enjoy 'turtle pudding'.

Next month, more friend-making, party-attending and general enjoyment in the sunshine, as well as welcoming our next set of guests: my parents! Most excellent.

Third month, growing roots

This month, we have mostly been feeling like we are starting to grow roots in Sin City. As this really is 'Asia-Lite', a coin termed by mainly given this fair isle's cleanliness and welcoming nature, we are now bedding down in our 'home from home':

- Caught up with some aunties, uncles and my granddad over a superb selection of Malay and Indonesian dishes at the locally famed Zion Road Nasi Padang. Thanked my blessings for my poor attempts thus far to learn Mandarin. I only had to endure indirect chastisement (via translation) for confirming that I do not give my parents any money. This being an age-old tradition here, my granddad was very curious to know whether I am partaking. Having only reached the post of a launderette worker, his state pension is woefully small but he is lucky enough to rely upon (and will be until he checks out of this life) the generous donations of his children. He accused me of 'not being filial enough'; however, being told off in a foreign language never quite has the impact of the real deal, so I comforted myself in my ignorant English shroud and tucked into another spoonful of curried eggplant.

- Being of the type who've spent their twenties in and out of various nightclubs and outdoor festivals around the world, it was with a degree of sadness that we attended the last party at the now defunct KM8 beach bar. The fact that the website is still functioning is a sign that the spirit of this place may never die. They are, in fact, replacing the chillaxathon-day-space-morphing-into-raucous-night-time-ravathon with a more upmarket venue, which the 'authorities' believe will calm down the racing heartbeats and washed out drunken faces of the locals and expats who frequented KM8. Little do they know that rich people can be just as (if not more) ludicrously behaved than those without Liberia's deficit in their sky-rocket. Oh well. If it gives the 'authorities' more feeling of 'control' then it must be good. Right? I look forward to visiting the new space armed with a bottle of Bollinger and a picnic hamper. I might tuck a couple of glowsticks in the side pocket, though, just in case.

- Had a curious dining experience at Red Star, Dim Sum Restaurant, which is famed for being one of the only and one of the best Hong Kong style dim sum experiences, where they push overflowing carts of dumpling-filled bamboo steamers from table to table. After queuing for 20 minutes on the monumental hangover from the night before, we were finally directed towards a table piled high with dirty dishes and half-chewed pork ribs on a chilli-stained table cloth. After another 5 minutes, someone came to clear the dim sum detritus and I had learned the order of the day: Due to the enormity of the restaurant and the age of many of the waiting staff, the push carts just didn't quite seem to be making the full rounds. Many of the carts were surrounded by locals of all ages like bees round a honey pot. These bees, however, were armed with hungrily waved yellow scorecards. I whipped our yellow card out of its holder and spent our entire lunchtime hastily munching on a few dumplings and then leaping up to grab a front row spot at the next new cart. In all of this kerfuffle, I was unable to locate even one 'aunty' who was serving my favourite, har kau. Red Star was apparently started in the 1970s by four top chefs in Singapore. Clearly, their philosophy of "economical, value-for-money, and tasty food" died when they did.

- Wandered around the eerily deserted Haw Par Villa, a Chinese mythological theme park. The Ten Courts of Hell is by far the best bit. Where else in the world, let alone Singapore, can you marvel at dimly lit sculptures of drug dealers being pulverised by a millstone, prostitutes having their arms and legs cut off and liars having their tongues cut out. We left feeling smug that we were 'good citizens' and unlikely to face a mean looking long-bearded Chinese dude before being sent to our deaths.


Kids, this is what happens to you if you're bad. Just say no.

Spot the monkey.

- Attended a great birthday dinner at the ridiculously named "Brunch". Thankfully, the choice of name was the only error on the part of the owners. The outdoor BBQ buffet was excellent with king prawns, cod, steaks, lamb chops, and sausages brought to our table and a help-yourself salad and dessert bar. Of course when washed down by a 'free-flow' of beers and wines, most meal experiences would be "like, really great and I love this and that and blah" but I do recall moments prior to being hit by intense inebriation when my taste buds were telling me good things.

- Hung out at Helipad after over-indulging in chargrilled items and freeflow. Now, I'm all for al fresco tippling under a hot Italian sun, but when it comes to outdoor binge drinking on a Singapore rooftop with not a breath of wind, I am less amenable. After tucking in to a couple of the drinks made by drunkards (at many Singapore bars, you can order whole bottles of spirits and disproportionately small carafes of mixers to ensure you set sail into oblivion), I consoled myself by resting with my feet in an ice bucket, much to the disdain of my fellow companions. I decided it should be time to go home after I started to threaten them with poorly-expressed ideas of where I might be soon placing cubes of my 'foot ice'. Despite Helipad's unimaginably challenging route of access, we managed to find our way downstairs via a brief respite of air-conditioning and out into the sweltering humidity. Beginning to run out of fingers for the number of times I have fallen asleep in the back of the taxi on the way home.

- Endured and enjoyed our second Asian Adventure!

Next up is local touring to show our home city to our first guests from London. Expect tales of meanderings in the searingly hot sun and taste-bud tantalisation interspersed with some more weekends involving liquid inebriation and getting high (on life).

Asian Adventure 2 :: 10-12 Apr '09 :: Penang and Langkawi, Malaysia

Experienced a catalogue of errors in Langkawi. After doing a heritage site 'sweep' (a bit like in the supermarket but without a trolley and numerous canned items) of Penang in just under four hours (during which time, the roadside roti canai and the floating villages were the key highlight), we left the colonial charm of Georgetown and just half an hour later were deposited on the south western beach of Pantai Cenang, Langkawi. We soon discovered our 'strip' was little more than a mixture of ramshackle huts selling ring-stingingly chillified Nasi Lemak (pictured below) and enough gaudy flower-powered fashions to take you on a much-needed psychedelic journey through this drug-free tourist-saturated wasteland.



Added to having found two enormous dead rats on the beach outside our hotel, we discovered that the only snorkeling trips available from our area were day-long adventures. It was not a good feeling to find this out at 0945, when the last trip had departed at 0915. To attempt a mitigation of intense disappointment, we plumped for an 'island drop' which involved chartering our own boat with the promise of a 'private island' experience.

Within the hour, we were feeling the horrific effects of being 'lost in translation'. Clearly, in Langkawi, 'private' means in full sight of (i) the embarkation jetty, (ii) numerous speedboats trailing brightly coloured banana boats, and (iii) a few parasailing nutters. Needless to say, there was no snorkeling to be had. As the incoming tide began to lick our towels, we decided to go on a recce of the island. Turns out it was a dis-used wildlife sanctuary, complete with eerily quiet cages, slowly rotting picnic furniture, and a satisfyingly scary Monitor Lizard Pond.

With the sighting of one of the lizard 'escapees' and a large sign advertising the fact that 'Earth Tiger Tarantulas' could be spotted nearby, our minds were infiltrated by images of being chased through the undergrowth by the natives in true Blair Witch Project style. We retreated back to our strip of sand that the tide had kindly re-exposed and took some comedy shots to make ourselves feel better:



The two saving graces of our trip to Langkawi that we sought solace in and would recommend, should you become stranded and need to leave your resort to venture into this sadly disheveled area: Matahari for an excellent Malay tasting menu and the Beach Garden Resort Bistro & Beer Garden (fill your mouth with too many words and delicious seafood all in one evening). Overall, Langkawi received a poor score on the Asian Adventures Matrix, beaten so far by the rustic charm of Pulau Sibu and heritage sites of Penang.

Second month, shiok shiok!*

This month, we have mostly been eating, drinking and hanging out...

- At the third birthday celebration of Loof where we stumbled amongst a throng of locals and expats enjoying this little drunker's paradise a-top a building opposite the rather more posh Raffles Hotel.

- At Supper Club where, rather than eating, we danced to 'club classix, vol. 1, dimension 3' and lazed around on the enormous white leather covered "beds". Thankfully, we were not there for this ball-aching performance from "Miss Stevieous".

- At the Oasis, at the Grand Hyatt Hotel. We enjoyed the alfresco poolside setting, watching steam rise off the decking and listening to the gentle sway of the palm trees in the post-downpour air. Some of the items off the grill were a little overdone but this was balanced by the array of delicious sides of fresh salads, vegetable dishes and beautifully warmed bread. We opted for the free pour of house wines, which were fine but sadly warmed too quickly by a combination of heat from the grill and the calefaction of the evening.

- At soon-to-be-closed KM8, where we enjoyed endless supplies of wine and beer served to us by patient staff whilst we stood under a beach umbrella during a storm complete with fork lightning and thunder cracks for two hours. Hilariously good fun watching people still attempting to play volleyball and regularly face-planting into huge puddles of sandy rainwater. Drinking whilst drenched - quite a fun experience.

- At Mimolette where we mooched around amongst stick-thin models who towered above the locals and who looked as if the alfresco wind might carry them off into the Straits of Singapore. Given the derisory door policy ("Every Friday night is a very exclusive Guest List Only party called Trybe. You need to be on the list or have a friend that is a member put you on the list. Mimolette does not entertain guestlist queries, but members of Facebook can look for "Trybe Doorbitch" and request to be her friend. She has the last say on who makes the list."), I doubt we will be returning in a hurry.

- At the S$30m Krisflyer Business Class Lounge at Changi Airport. I was lucky enough to be posted for two days to Paris for work. Relaxing in the oasis of calm, I couldn't help but think, "I've finally made it". Sad, I know. Only those who know of my previous job misery, will appreciate why this experience is the pinnacle of my career to date. I am now a convert to the fact that working life should offer you the chance to sample freshly steamed and delicately fried prawn gyoza from a slowly rotating glass help-yourself cabinet and Tiger beer on tap as you wait to board your flight, listening to the soothing tones of a piano being tickled in the distance.

- Aboard Singapore Airlines in Business Class. Already feeling naughty for having had dinner before I left home and then sampling the delights in the Krisflyer Lounge, I declined the glass of champagne offered within ten minutes of sitting down in my seat made for 1.66 people and instead enjoyed a freshly squeezed orange juice to wash down my fresh-from-the-oven roasted nut selection. Service with a smile (and always addressing me by name) was impeccable and I thoroughly enjoyed the little touches - the freshly pressed white linen tablecloth laid out on my oversized tray table, the orchids in the bathroom and the exquisite between meal snacks - before settling down into my horizontal bed. Rock and Roll. Got six hours' sleep, which is pretty unreal. Arrived, for the first time in my life, feeling refreshed from a long-haul flight.

Next month holds more food sampling in advance of the soon-to-be in-laws' arrival in April, the "last ever" KM8 beach party and a weekend trip to Langkawi. Bring it on!

* Meaning of 'shiok!' - commonly used in Malaysia & Singapore. It conveys a feeling of strong physical/emotional pleasure, excitement or tingling taste buds(when used with regards to food).

Asian Adventure 1 :: 13-15 Feb '09 :: Pulau Sibu, Malaysia

- A three hour car journey and a twenty minute exhilarating speed boat ride out to Pulau Sibu, where we spent our first weekend out of Singapore.

Our beach front hut at the Sea Gypsy Resort

View of the bay

We loved it so much, we got engaged. Next stop, diamond hunting!

First month, lah

This month we have mostly been enjoying...

- The Tan family clan's eight course feast at the Ritz-Carlton, where we enjoyed our first 'yu sheng' salad, a symbol of prosperity and good health amongst the Chinese.

- The ten-feet long fire crackers set off at Lunar New Year in Chinatown. Sadly, the credit crunch put paid to the rest of the fireworks display, which lasted all of 1.5 minutes.

- Hiking to the top of Bukit Timah Nature Reserve. Good combination of sweat, monkeys and inch-long ants. Shame about the 'view' from the top - there isn't one. There are, however, two large electricity pylons. The stuffed tigers in the cabinet on the way out are an interesting reminder of how Singapore was before condominiums and cranes.

- Our first (and last) ride on a tandem in East Coast Park. There is no 'I' in 'team' and certainly not one in 'tandem', either. We consoled ourselves with a seafood feast at 'JUMBO'.

- An impromptu lion dance in the Funan DigtaLife Mall, whilst shopping for electronics. Being treated to a lion 'triplets' (each comprising two people) balancing on a large red ball on a make-shift see-saw was rather good value given that it was free.

- Our resident cockerel, who belts out a proper 'cock-a-doodle-do' every Sunday morning. Life's great down on Tiong Bahru Farm.

- A Geylang gander at the seedy side of Singapore. Sadly it was not quite dark enough to hide the scars on the faces of girls whose lives have been dedicated to the 'entertainment of men'.

- Seeing The Prodigy in concert at Fort Canning Park. Despite being (at one point) too close for comfort to a bunch of British lads who were moshing small Singaporeans into the ground and being victim of a golden shower, which splashed onto my ankle, as yet another ridiculous British man decided that relieving himself in a small plastic cup was a good idea, it was still cool to hear classics such as 'Voodoo People' and 'Out of Space'.

- Counting the calories of local food, now that we have joined 'Globo Gym' in an effort to get fit and lose some of our London weight. The spinning class we tried was not only one of the most difficult things we had done, but it was also hard to stifle giggles at the small instructor shouting in her best Singlish, "Dun gif up, lah!"

- Our first Asian Adventure!

Next month, further explorations into the dining, nightlife and entertainment scenes as we find our feet on this fair isle...