It is difficult to explain to NONTRAVELLERS the onion-like nature of CULTURE SHOCK and DEEPER UNDERSTANDING which comes from prolonged contact with the ALIEN and UNKNOWN. I have always have BIG trouble with finding the RIGHT words. Fortunately there are in the world bloggers like Crossing Borders, who can capture the essence of this feeling, thus:
"Still, this deja vu has a freshness to it - everything feels more complex and connected for being familiar. If the first time to Vietnam I was so overwhelmed by the differences in culture that I simply drank it in quickly like a shot of strange and potent liquor, than this time I'm feeling comfortable enough to reconsider the smallest of details - to strech an awkward analogy, this time around experiencing Vietnam feels like sipping a glass of wine to consider its delicate and complex bouquet of flavors. These flavors are endless to list, but I hope to impart some of them in these blogs to come...
I revisited Vietnam in March this year (2007), and I hope to be back there in September, for another round. Since March's visit was really my 3rd (or 4th, if you counted my stay in Ho Chi Minh Airport with Chie in 2005 -- a little slice of life in Vietnam, but still possessing its own dynamics), this means I am becoming a novice expert at Vietnam and the nature of travelling there. But as Crossing Borders writes, there is no end to the cultural depth and excitement of an alien land -- due perhaps to the fractal nature of reality.
For more about bars and clubs in downtown Saigon, Khamtran has compiled a little guide here. Some of the places Kham recommends are:
Allez Boo: 197 Pham Ngu Lao Street, District 1.
Comments: Always full of backpackers and local girls looking for a date for the night. Open until about 4:00-5:00am. Saigon Pho: 266 De Tham Street, Pham Ngu Lao Ward, District 1.
Comments: This is one of few bars in the city that remains open around the clock. Very reasonably priced food and booze. Also has a surprisingly large food menu selection. Lush:
2 Ly Tu Truong Street, District 1.
Comments: A very decent club with the best hip hop and rnb mixes I’ve heard in this city. This place gets chockers on weekends. Open until about 1:00am and later on weekends.
plenty of places in Ho Chi Minh City to eat Bun bo Huế, among them:
Kim Caf・瘢雹瘢雹瘢雹瘢雹瘢雹瘢雹瘢雹lt;/strong>: 270 De Tham, District 1.
Said Cooking With the Single Guy's Vietnam travel page: "I ate at this caf・瘢雹瘢雹瘢雹瘢雹瘢雹瘢雹瘢雹because it also has a travel agency right next door where I arranged my tour of the Mekong Delta. This place was like a dive, but the food was clean, hearty and cheap. This noodle dish, of course, is not Vietnamese but a traditional Singaporean dish that I order often back home. The base is thin vermicelli rice noodles and it's often served with eggs and shrimp in a curry base. It was filling!"
There are fifteen tables in this shop; however, the food is delicious enough to satisfy all difficult customers.
The menu includes: bun bo Hue, banh canh.
Hu Tiu Hong Phat: 389-391 Vo Van Tan St, Ward 5, District 3. Phone: 08 839 0187. Map/price details: click here.
This is said to be one of the best hu tieu restaurants in Saigon, with air-conditioning, wide rooms and a "good sanity condition", according to the vnnavi.com.
Hu Tieu Nam Vang Ty Lum: 93 Huynh Man Dat St, Ward 7, District 5. Phone: 08 923 5904. Map/price details: click here.
This place has been serving native Cambodian Hutieu flavors ever since the 1970s.
For more about bars and clubs in downtown Saigon, Khamtran has compiled a little guide 