Asia
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A day in the Mekong Delta
There is a reason why the Mekong Delta is called the ‘rice bowl’ of Vietnam. It’s a region that is blessed with endless rice paddies. The delta is so huge that it literally covers about two thirds of the southern part of the country. Farmers till their rice paddies The facts first The Mekong Delta covers more than 15,000 square miles. In fact, the Mekong river that finally ends here is, the seventh longest in Asia, and the 12th worldwide and traverses six countries including China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia and of course, Vietnam. It’s biologically diverse, with a variety of animal and bird species. It’s also the agricultural heart…
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Aah Saigon!
Ho Chi Minh City, popularly known as Saigon, can be a chaotic place that asks whether you are ready to go along for a ride. Motorbikes rush past on a busy street in Saigon It starts the moment you arrive into the city. At first, the hustle and bustle of the busy streets can be quite overwhelming, especially with the number of two-wheelers that zip by. However, in time, you realise there is a certain order to this chaos. Let me explain. Crossing the streets must be the most daunting task any traveller would face in Vietnam, and especially in Saigon. While the four-wheel vehicles are fine, it’s the sheer…
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War Remnants Museum
A visit to the War Remnants Museum is a must if you are visiting Ho Chi Minh City, or Saigon as it is popularly known as. While not for everyone, it is an absolute must if you want to understand what transpired under both the French colonialists, and during the Vietnam War. A tank outside the War Remnants museum building Its history The museum originally opened on the 4th of September 1975 as the Exhibition House for US and Puppet Crimes within the former United States Information Agency building. However, with the normalisation of diplomatic relationships between the Vietnamese and US governments, it was renamed as the War Remnants Museum…
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Independence Palace
On the 30th of April 1975, at approximately 10:45am, Tank 390 from the North Vietnamese army crashed through the wrought-iron gates of Independence Palace. The first tank to break through the palace gates And with that, the Vietnam War came to an end, literally at its gates. Waiting for the North Vietnam soldiers in the reception chamber was General Minh and his cabinet. It was only 43 hours before that he had become head of the South Vietnam state. For those visiting Ho Chi Minh City, or Saigon as it is popularly known as, Independence Palace is a must-see. Especially if you are interested in history and have a fair…
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The Golden Mount
It is one of Bangkok’s oldest temples and dates to the Ayutthaya era which lasted until 1767. A shrine inside the Golden Mount Originally called Wat Sakae, King Rama I had the temple restored during his reign which lasted between 1782 and1809. He had it renamed as Wat Saket Ratcha Wora Maha Wihan, or Wat Saket as it is popularly known as. The hill itself is man-made. For many years, it used to be the highest point in Bangkok. Today, it is more famous for its 80-meter-high structure Golden Mount and the gold-plated stupa that sits on top of it. It also hosts a nine-day temple fair each November, during…
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Party all night long
As the sun sets over Ho Chi Minh City, or Saigon as it is popularly known as, there’s one street that is slowly waking up. Bui Vien Street. A street vendor in costume If there’s one word that, to me, describes this street, it’s ‘Madness’. It’s loud. It’s bright. It’s seedy. It can get aggressive. And it goes on till the wee hours of the morning. It’s got to be one of the craziest streets I’ve ventured into. It’s no wonder, as it is also Saigon’s backpack quarter. Which means cheap hotels and hostels, and even more cheap beer and street food. Massage parlours flourish and disco lights light up…
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Cu Chi tunnels
There are two different Cu Chi tunnels. Yes, Ben Duoc and Ben Dinh are part of the same tunnel network. However, they are two different sites. Mannequins of Viet Cong women soldiers Your experience will be different, depending on which of the two sites you visit. I visited Ben Duoc. It is a bit further from Ho Chi Minh City, and is also less crowded. The tunnels are also a lot more authentic and closer to how they were during the Vietnam war. Ben Dinh on the other hand, is mostly reconstructions. Keeping in mind the large number of western tourists who visit, many of the tunnels are wider to…
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NAM Vietnamese Kitchen, BBQ & Beer
It was the last leg of our Indochina trip and with money running low, we wanted to stay in an area that wasn’t expensive. Which is why any decent place around Bui Vien Street made sense. It is, after all, the backpacker quarter district in Saigon, Vietnam. View of Bui Vien street from NAM Kitchen We also wanted it to be in District 1, which is what most reviews recommended. We chose a hotel next to Bui Vien Street. It’s where all the action is, we were assured by some well travelled friends. On hindsight, we should have asked what kind of action it is that they had in mind.…
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Temple of the reclining Buddha
On the banks of the Chao Phraya River lies Wat Pho. Also known as the Temple of the Reclining Buddha, it is Bangkok’s oldest and largest wats. Today it is also known as Wat Phra Chetun or the Temple of the Reclining Buddha. One of the entrances to Wat Pho A bit of history When King Rama I established Bangkok around 1782, he ordered the construction of the Wat Pho. It was built on the site of an older, Ayutthaya era temple called Wat Photharam, or Podharam, right next to the Grand Palace. In fact, some of his ashes are enshrined within the temple. The temple complex was further renovated…
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A royal visit
It’s not every day that you gets to visit a palace. So, when you visit Phnom Penh in Cambodia, a tour of the Royal Palace is an absolute must. Oudong, about 40 kilometers from Phnom Penh used to be the capital of Cambodia. It was here that the kings had their royal residence, for more than 250 years. However, in 1865, King Narodam I decided that Phnom Penh would be the capital of the country. He relocated in 1865 and went about recruiting the best to construct the Royal Palace. Among them was the architect Neak Okhna Tepnimith Mak whose brief was simple – design a palace that was, well,…
