The Majestic Hotel in Saigon

I picked a five star hotel because I wanted the security.  I always worry about my photo gear when I travel.  I found this hotel on the web.  It was built in 1925 and it had some of the grandeur one would expect from that era.  I was quite comfortable.

I was greeted by these two ladies.

These images were taken in the lobby.

Journey's end and another one of my Vietnamese favorites, cafe sua da; another example of something the Vietnamese adopted from the french and made better.  It's their version of cafe au lait.

Returning to the hotel after dinner at the market.

Saigon Food.....Yeah Babe!

In our part of the world we've only been cookin' and eatin' for about 200 years.  We still think we do it to survive.  In Europe where it's been about 1500 years since folks were throwin' chunks of oxen into the fire they have it developed as art and vice.  In asia where folks have been cookin' and eatin' for 6000 years they surpassed art and vice a long time ago.  They have discovered eating as a perversion.  No beating Cobra heart for me.  I let the snake live to eat another rat.  I was not in a perverse mood on this trip.  I was more interested in art and there was plenty of that.  The photo below was my dinner with Chris Rose and his girlfriend, Trinh.  Chris is the son on one of my colleagues at work.  He lives in Saigon and teaches English at a local university.  This is one of their favorite restaurants.  It was good.  The dish in the center is a spicy beef preparation.  I had fried tofu with noodles.  We also had spring rolls which were to die for.

This is a seafood stir fry.  It was my first meal.  It was lunch at my hotel while I waited for my room to be ready.

This is a stir fry served on crispy noodles served at one of the market side food stalls cum restarurant.  There is good food in those places for prices similar to what we experience in the family Vietnamese restaurants in our part of the world.  I did not find Saigon to be particullary cheap.  There were bargains but not everywhere.

These are rice dishes.  They were available on a street cart.  I didn't try one but they did look good.

This is my favorite;  Banh Xeo.  It is a crepe.  There is a lot of french influence in Viet Nam.  Trust the Vietnamese to take something the french taught them and make it better.  This is a good example.  They have taken the french crepe and prepared it with coconut milk, added shrimp and pork, stuffed it with bean sprouts and served it up with lettuce leaves and assorted arromatic herbs.  All this is combined with the wonderful Nuc Cham dipping sauce and the result is kicked up several notches.  I found this place on the internet and my Economist cum social scientist cum bike rick driver found it.  Notice the stoves.  They are fired with characoal.

This is a market side food stall/restaurant where I ate.  There were about six of these in a half block along the side on one of Saigon's main markets.  All had menus posted on large signs with a person out front to entice customers.  It reminded me of the restaurants in Paris in the left bank except these were outdoors.  The tables were foldable metal tables with small plastic chairs made with those weird colors only available in the pacific rim.  These folks are trying to make up their minds.

These folks made up their minds.  As they sat down it started to rain.  Not to worry.  These resourceful restarurant folks materialized an awning propped up with a stick, rope and some rocks.  Everybody stayed dry and ate well.

I was seated further in at a long table with a couple of younger Vietnamese guys.  They were friendly and we had a conversation as far as their english would take them.  I don't think they had taken Chris's class but we were able to exchange pleasantries.  My order came.  I had ordered a fried fish.  In my opinion, the Indochinese own this dish.  No one does fried fish any better.  This one was delicious and prompted the nicest compliment I have received since I came to Asia.  The two Vietnamese guys saw my order and handed me a menu and asked me to point it out.  They ordered one.  Thank you.  The dish is shown below.  Note the garnish in the upper left corner.  I had ordered stir fried water spinach along with the fish and garnished it with those sliced hot peppers that were stocked on each table as a condiment.

The photos below were taken in the outdoor kitchens where the food was prepared.  I am always amazed at how much Asians can do with so little and how well they do it.  All of us who like to try Asian receipes in a wok should take note.  Notice the fires.  They are very hot.  They use huge gas burners.   It takes a lot of heat to fire a wok properly.

Did I mention it was raining this night?  Did I mention Hoi was waiting in his bike rick?  I was wondering how wet I would get on the way back to the Majestic.  Hoi's rick had a top similar to an old fashioned baby carriage.  When I got in the rick he draped a tarp-like cover over my legs so that there was just a small slit for me to pier out of and stay dry.  I took this image on the way home through the slit.

Saigon, Ho Chi Minh City, People

Years ago Vietnam touched my life.  It touched all our lives in that era.  In my case I gave my younger brother.  He was a helicopter pilot who was killed over Cambodia.  Our family was devastated but over the years we healed.  The nation has healed.  As a nation we have opened our arms to many Vietnamese folks.  That has been a good thing. 

Somebody told me Wichita has the fourth largest Vietnamese population in the US.  Maybe so.  I don't know but I know it's large.  Over the years I have made some Vietnamese friends, shopped in their markets and eaten at their restaurants.  Vietnam has touched my life a second time.  This time with a warm, friendly hug.   I have come to love Vietnamese food and my Vietnamese friends.  It has helped the healing.  A trip to Viet Nam has always been high on my list.  I would like to share some images from my recent trip.  This is the first of about four posts on Viet Nam.

This is not me but it is what I did.  I loved the bike ricks.  They were not cheap.  I did bargain but they were still more expensive than a cab.  In bargaining I claimed at one point,

"Five bucks!  They don't charge that much in India and they use gas!"

The saigon bike rick driver didn't miss a beat.  He looked me right in the eye,

"India is a poor country."

There you have it.  Economist, Social Scientist and bike rick driver all rolled into one.

This is how I got around and it was perfect for taking pictures. This lady, street vendor, was captured as we cruised by her in a bike rick.

The fellow below on the left is Hoi: Economist, Social Scientist and bike rick driver.  The fellow on the right sold me a Rolex watch.  It was more expensive than the Rolexs I got in Mexico.  They were $12.00.  This one was $12.50.  It had the date; worth the $0.50.

Behold these two lovey ladies.  They were guest relations at the hotel.  The Majestic.  Founded in 1925.  Very nice and very old school.  I was very comfortable there.

This lady was my favorite subject.  She ignored me while I shot her.  She went about her business of selling grapes in traffic.  She has a very lovely face.

This was taken from the sidewalk as afternoon traffic rushed by; Saigon traffic but definitely not Bangalore traffic. High heels, short shorts, helmet, sweat shirt, scooter cum Vespa: young Saigon's fusion with Western culture.

Here I caught a young family on a scooter in traffic.  This was a common sight.  It is also a common sight in Bangalore.

Two more lovely faces.  The one on the left of course is the grape lady.  On the right below is a lady who was selling veggies in a street market stall.

This lady is a hard worker.  Her smile let me know it was OK to take her picture.  She is cutting pork.  The Vietnamese work miracles with pork.

These were taken a the zoo.  On the left below is a youngin' who had enough zoo.  On the right are a couple of small girls who were part of a larger family who was having a zoo picnic.  Perfect family outing.

Here are two more little girls.  The one on the left was captured at the zoo as she watched a pop singer perform.  Check out the american flag dress.  The one on the right was taken outside a street market behind one of the restaurants.  I had hoped a call would not come in on her cell phone at that moment.  It might have choked her.

City Market

A couple of weekends ago one of my colleagues, Kevin Dobler, came over.  Kevin is a senior member of our organization who is managing the strutural activities on a couple of new airplane programs.  Kevin is also a professional photographer.  He has a blog.  Google "Kevin Dobler".  It is worth a look.  He has been given a Nikon D3X to shoot with for a year so Nikon could get some of Kevin's images out there with their new camera.  On this day Kevin and I decided to go into the streets of Bangalore and shoot some pictures.  We started early, 0600.  Of course any outing like this demands Bangalore's finest rick driver, Rabhi.  He and Kevin are shown here.

City market was our first stop.  Rabhi's suggestion.  It was a rich photo op.  Folks from the surrounding villages come in to sell.  The area of the market we visited featured fresh herbs, veggies and flowers.  Kevin and I stuck out and were an oddity.  The village folks were curious in a friendly way.  Most were happy to have their pictures taken.  The ladies below especially.

The flowers were brilliant and everywhere.

I forget what this lady was selling.  I was taken by how happy she seemed.  Here she is flashing a beautiful smile that brings a lot of sunshine to this page. 

 Many people scurried about like characters from Alice in Wonder land.  They brought goods in through the crowds that were shoulder to shoulder.  I don't speak Kanada but I know I was hearing, "get outta the way!"

This fellow was very friendly.  Kevin got a great image of him and has posted it in his blog.  He is selling tender coconut which I have discussed in previous posts.  These were a bargain at 5 RS.  They are 10 to 20 RS on the streets.  He was eager to have his picture taken. 

Here Kevin is enjoying this great natural bargain.  As I have said earlier, there is a lot of lore surrounding this drink.   

I love this image. Such a bright red saree. Such an intimidating figure. When I saw her, all I could think of was "Jabba the Hut".......in a good way.

Fresh herbs.  Corriander and mint.  Other things I didn't recognise.  As we walled throught this area the air was filled with their odors.  That combined with the brilliant sights was a great sensory experience. 

The prices were good.  These heads of cauliflower were about $0.07.  What I saw here was much fresher and better looking than anything I have seen in the local supermarkets in my neighborhood. 

 I love to do this.  These folks always get a big kick out of seeing their images.  I usually will ask if they have internet access.  Some do and for those I send them the pix.

This image is from a different area.  The area is called Avenue Road.  On Avenue Road they feature mostly text books and stationery items.  Here this fellow is selling bananas. 

These Folks are Serious

Atheists and agnostics pay attention!

Conversation Overheard on Commerical Street

Tell her to call when she gets to California

Why'd she want to go to California anyway?

            Well maybe she got tired of hangin' out with oxen.  Do they wear sticks in their noses in California?

Street Food

Street food around the world has been heralded on cooking shows by the likes of Andrew Zimmern and Anthony Bourdain.  Asian street food seems to capture the award for variety and as we've all seen Zimmern demonstrate, it is unusual.  India is no exception although I don't think what I've seen in Bangalore will make Bourdain's top ten list any time soon.  Wait, I take that back.  There are some chats and Pani Puris that might just qualify.  These items are hard to describe.  They are delightful combinations of texture and taste; sweet, salty, hot and sour; crispy, cruncy, soft and wet all in one dish.  Other street dishes are simple and straight forward.  In this post I have tried to capture some of the variety here in Bangalore.

These pictures were taken in two locations not far from each other.  SJP road selliing electronics and Avenue road specializing in text books and stationery items.  Both districts are in "old" Bangalore and according to Nagaraj, my driver, known for good street food.

Start with this series.  Fried chili peppers and slices of India's version of Wonder bread.  Dipped in a batter made of ground lentils and fried in hot oil.  The peppers are served with a red sauce of some kind and the fried bread is served with a green chutney.  Avoid the green chutney.  It is thinned with water of unknown origins.  The fried bread reminded me of our own fried twinkies.

The raw ingredients

Slices of fried bread and a pot of the dreaded green chutney.

More fried bread as it comes out of the oil.  Did the Chinese steal the Wok from the Indians?  Those guys pirate everything.  Price:  about $0.30

This is sugar cane juice.  Sold by the glassful, taken right out of the cane and often flavored with ginger or some other aromatic.  In our part of the world we take another step and make delicious sirups.  These guys stop here.  I have not tried this and don't know the price.

These next two are tender coconut.  The top is whacked off to fashion an opening for a straw.  Whacking with a big machete in one hand and a tender coconut in the other likely takes practice.  So far all the tender coconut vendors I have seen have had eight fingers and two thumbs.  After the juice is consumed, hand the coconut back to the vendor.  He hacks a sliver from the outside and cuts what is left in half.  Using the sliver he scoops out the flesh.  He hands back the flesh served on the sliver.  I have tried it.  Its OK.  Not as sweet as one might expect.  Price: $0.25.  There is a lot of lore about these tender coconuts.  They are not supposed to be consumed in the sunlight according to some and others don't seem to care.  Most everyone testifies to some restorative effect some even claim a medicinal aspect.  If you take a tender coconut it is supposed to cool you down.  I was not feeling well a couple days ago.  My driver, Nagaraj, claimed I was eating too much spicy food and my body was overheated.  His remedy:  eat tender coconut in morning for several mornings to "cool" down from the spices.  Believe me , I appreciated his concern even if I considered his reasoning shall I say "unorthodox"?  The times I have tried tender coconut have been rather uneventful.  No perceptable decrease in body temperature, no particular change in my aura although in one case I did feel somewhat refreshed.  I think it is an acquired taste.

There are two items shown next.  In the picture below and on the left in the double pane is a type of chat.  It demonstrates a combination seen here in India that is new to me.  Crispy rice, almost like rice krispies, is combined with chopped tomatoes, onions, chilies and some sauce for a savory cereal.  It is served in a paper cone and eaten with a plastic spoon.  I have not tried it but it always looks good.

The pane on the rignt and below the double pane, roasted peanuts.  They are roasted in that wok filled with sand.  I haven't watched to see how they remove all the sand, but they do. This is one of my favorites.  I have it often in my neighborhood and there is never even as much as a grain of sand.  They are served in a paper cone for $0.10 to $0.20.

The next one is unusual, at least to me.  It is a bean.  A white bean, firmer than a great northern.  They are piled on the cart cooked.  It is served with a marsala mixed in a cup.  Chili powder, onion and tomato are mixed together in the cup.  The beans are added, all is mixed and dumped into a paper cone.  By the way all the paper cones mentioned here are fashioned from the pages of discarded magazines.  Little is wasted.  I suppose in part because there don't seem to be landfills.  Maybe there are but I haven't seen them or seen anything to make me believe they are in use.  Everything that is not thrown in the rivers and streams seems to be discarded on sidewalks and in the street.  Back to the beans.  They are good and I suppose good for you as snacks go.  I have had them several times: $0.20.

This is Pani Puri.  Another type of chat.  I have not tried this yet.  It looks like another interesting combination of textures.

I have to say this next one was my favorite on this outing.  It's a sandwich, a panini of sorts.  A street panini made using very little resource.  A small gas burner and a sandwich cooker coated, no caked, with carbon.  So caked that it took me a minute to figure out what it was.  The sandwich is made with Indian wonder bread.  There is a green chutney, onions, cucumbers and tomatoes.  Since the green chutney is cooked, it is not dreaded.   The whole thing is clamped into the sandwich vise right behind a big dollup of butter.  The vendor holds the vise over the small gas flame until the perfect moment; out pops the toasted sandwich.  My guess is the generous coating of cabon on the vise is a big part of the secret; experience is the rest. If he cleaned the vice the sandwiches would probablly not be good.  Price: $0.30.

He's ready for an order.

So are these.

Note the dollup of butter in the vice.

The carbon coating is the secret.

A perfectly toasted sandwich every time.

He was actually smiling and looking at the sandwich until he saw me with a camera.

Corn.  Nothing very exotic here.  It's prepared a couple of different ways.  Char grilled or boiled.  I have tasted char grilled.  It was OK.

This is char grilled.  Note the characoal  on the lh corner of the cart.

This is boiled.  Note the pot.

Fruit.  Always good to look at.  Always looks very apetizing.  I have not tried it.  This looks like some form of papaya.

More fruit.

This is jack fruit, aka durian.  It smells so bad it is outlawed in confined areas.  I tried it in Kerala.  Not bad and what I had didn't smell.

Finally, I don't know what this is but I'm pretty sure it's edible.