Michael Powell's Blog, page 35
June 13, 2017
Making the Classic Vietnamese Coffee
Coffee wasn’t a part of their culture until the arrival of the French, but Vietnam is making up for lost time. Today, the country is the world’s third top coffee exporter, behind Brazil and Colombia, and the drink has become a integral part of the country’s lifestyle. We went to our favorite neighborhood joint, Cỏ Cafe, to learn how to make the perfect cup.
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The Vietnamese like their “cà phê” sweet. Real sweet. As if spoonfuls of sugar weren’t enough, they also add sweetened condensed milk. T...
June 11, 2017
Rooftop Bars in Saigon
Saigon is a city in constant flux, and there’s no better place to appreciate this than from above. Seemingly every building has a rooftop bar, allowing you to check out how the skyline has changed since… well, probably since yesterday. (Is that a new skyscraper over there? I’ll bet it has a rooftop bar!)
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We were not big fans of the Backpacker’s District, but at least it had one bar that won us over completely. The View Rooftop was one of favorite spots in the city. The price...
June 8, 2017
Sunset at Turtle Lake
One of our favorite places in downtown Saigon is the circular pond at the intersection of Phạm Ngọc Thạch and Võ Văn Tần streets. Every afternoon, especially on the weekends, the pond becomes a popular area in which to hang out with friends, eat junk food and wait for night to fall.
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According to one story, Turtle Lake was conceived during the presidency of Nguyễn Văn Thiệu, who had been told by a Feng Shui master that there was a dragon sleeping underneath Saigon. Its head was at the Preside...
A Successfully Botched Visit to the Giác Viên Pagoda
You know those annoying people who, after totally and unquestionably having failed at a stated goal, will pretend that it’s what they wanted all along? “No, it’s actually better this way! Seriously, we’re glad it worked out like this!” Well, we’re going to be those guys. Because finding Giác Viên Pagoda closed for renovation turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Really!
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Giác Viên is one of Saigon’s most historic temples, originally constructed in 1789. It’s located in District 11, on the...
June 7, 2017
The Ho Chi Minh City Museum
The Ho Chi Minh City Museum introduces visitors to the city’s culture, currency, industry and geography. The exhibits are interesting enough, but the real reason to visit is the chance to explore the charismatic Palace of Gia Long in which it’s housed.
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One of the country’s most important rulers, Gia Long was the one who finally united the disparate pieces of Vietnam, conquering Hanoi in 1802 and declaring himself emperor, first of the Nguyễn Dynasty. This palace bears his name in tribute; it...
June 6, 2017
Saigon Street Food Journal #5
Here’s our final compilation of our favorite Saigon street food. This is the kind of chow which makes us smack our lips, smack smack smack. The kind that makes us chew with our mouths wide open, so that we can smack as loud as possible! The kind which sticks in our tooth gaps, so that after our meal, we sit around with a toothpick for 30 minutes, picking and sucking our teeth… wait a second… have we gone native?
Journal #1 | Journal #2 | Journal #3 | Journal #4
Bún Chả[image error]
It often happens in Vi...
June 5, 2017
The Mosaic Madness of the Linh Phước Pagoda
To the east of Dalat, in the village of Trại Mát, you’ll find one of Vietnam’s most amazing temples. Completely covered in carefully-arranged shards of broken glass and pottery, the insane Pagoda of Linh Phước provides a sight unlike any other.
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We had already seen the Crazy House and the Crazy Embroidery Village, so I wasn’t too surprised to find that Dalat also boasts a “Crazy Temple”. I think there’s something in the water, here, because pandemic psychosis is the most likely explanation be...
June 4, 2017
The Tiger Cave Falls in Dalat
At the end of a perilous dirt track to the east of Dalat, the Tiger Cave Falls seem to have fallen off the city’s tourism radar. During our visit, there was nobody else there… and we got the feeling that it’s been that way for a very long time.
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Arriving at the Tiger Cave Falls was an adventure in itself. We were on a motorbike, but after passing the town of Trại Mát (and its incredible mosaic temple), the pavement disappeared and the track became progressively worse. A number of times, I had...
June 3, 2017
The Cable Car to Thiền Viện Trúc Lâm
A long cable car connects the lake of Hồ Tuyền Lâm to the city of Dalat, dropping people off at the foot of Thiền Viện Trúc Lâm, a temple that sits atop a hill overlooking the water.
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If there’s a cable car within striking distance, you can bet that Jürgen and I will be taking a ride. Even though we weren’t all that interested in visiting the temple, we couldn’t resist soaring above the forests and hills which surround Dalat. And the ride was just as beautiful as we knew it would be.
The Thiề...
June 2, 2017
The XQ Emboridery Village in Dalat
A couple kilometers north of the city center, we found the XQ Embroidery Village, a bizarre mashup of a gallery, factory, museum and theme park. While exploring the village, we also felt somewhat mashed-up. Were we supposed to be confused, amused, creeped out, or impressed? Because we were feeling all those things at the same time.
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Even after having spent an hour there, I’m still not sure how to describe the Embroidery Village, or even whether to recommend a visit. It’s like its own neighbor...
