Which means "Good morning!" in Vietnamese.
Argh. Too many pics snapped on the trip equals to much squinting of the eyes and more deliberation with the mind over which looks best up on a blog. Mine, in case you were wondering. No, you weren't. And, since at this point I am beyond caring which angle makes the architecture bleed glorious technicolor, which can go stick a rainbow prism up its own ass for all I care, I'll be picking random shots with peepers shut and hope for brilliance to shine through the apparent arbitration. Onwards...!
Argh. Too many pics snapped on the trip equals to much squinting of the eyes and more deliberation with the mind over which looks best up on a blog. Mine, in case you were wondering. No, you weren't. And, since at this point I am beyond caring which angle makes the architecture bleed glorious technicolor, which can go stick a rainbow prism up its own ass for all I care, I'll be picking random shots with peepers shut and hope for brilliance to shine through the apparent arbitration. Onwards...!
Arrived in Changi airport with maximum luggage and minimum fuss. Bagels dipped in milo was the order of that drowsy morning, with an opaque grey sky to enliven the armosphere.
Flight time was shorter than expected, a mere 1+ hour to Ho Chi Minh city across that neck of the South China Sea.
(Dan took a random slide of the arrival hall after we touched down. )Our first glimpse of the new world paved out before us was surprisingly familiar. At first glance , it looked just like we were still back home, with the same birds and trees, same grey fencing used like the ones you see in new housing areas here, even the same arrangement of the flowerbeds in the gardens surrounding the airport. Upon second inspection, however, I began to get a more balanced feel of the place, having spotted many tall buidings reminiscent of Hong Kong when we got on the bus, and I came to the conclusion that it was a strange fusion of both the Oriental and South-East Asia.
Half an hour into the city, the bustling streets were enfused with the ambient sounds of a thriving city, intersperced with beeping toots of the scooters which dominated the roads.
There was also a curious mix of culture; an eclectic mix of old and new, as many traditional buildings gave way to soaring new skyscrapers, and dilapitated old shophouses were squeezed up alongside important-looking banks.
The alleyway that led away from the main road were were traversing enticed my mind to tread down those beaten paths and find out hitherto undiscovered mysteries; the atmosphere of old worlde realness was almost tangible in its manifestation.
Later, we went to one of the aforementioned silver monoliths for a an authentic Vietnamese dinner (don't recall the names of the dishes, sorry) but it was a pleasant fusion of chinese and local delicacies nonetheless.
These young people kindly acquiesced to a pic after much hand gesturing and bizarre facial expression on my part.
The name of the mall/skyscraper we were in.Thus, after a hearty meal, we set off back to the hotel, turning in early for the toll of the day's exhortations weighed heavily on our eyelids, and tomorrow's account will be set ....tomorrow.
