stepphenwolf

Long Ho - an old village on the bank of Huong river - just a few miles from Hue, a lovely village with a peaceful life. When I was a little girl I came there often. Many years have passed, so many things have changed but the dream-like memory of that small village is still vividly in my heart and the warm atmosphere of the evening there seep into my mind each time I feel tired of the urban life in Saigon city. Every evening, when the sun had just set behind Ngu Binh hills, all around us we could see the farmers walking home from the fields, tired after a long day of hard work. Some dogs were running toward their owners, wagging their tails and barking happily. The buffalos which had pulled plows along with the farmers during the hot day passed us on the way to the stables. High a top of one buffalo a boy play a lazy song with his bamboo flute as the animal slowly plodded onward. Far away, some cows were chewing the fresh grass. Here and there, kids were flying kites... the river ...

Saigon City Hall 1967-1968 photo by Peter Stevens City Hall 1955 1960s Saigon 1920s the City Hall area Nguyễn Huệ boulevard at that time was named Charner Photo by Leon Ropion ------ Thời Pháp thuộc, tòa nhà này có tên là  Dinh Xã Tây ,  Dinh Đốc Lý,  trước năm 1975 gọi là  Tòa Đô chánh , hiện nay đó là nơi làm việc của  Ủy ban Nhân dân Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh , nằm ngay ở đầu đại lộ Nguyễn Huệ, Quận 1. Đây là một công trình kiến trúc độc đáo của thành phố, được xây cất từ năm 1898 đến năm 1909. Sau khi chiếm được một số tỉnh của Nam Kỳ, người Pháp tổ chức một hội đồng thị xã để cai trị nhưng chưa có trụ sở chính thức, phải đi thuê. Đến năm 1871, chính quyền Pháp mới bắt đầu nghĩ đến việc xây dựng một nhà làm việc chính thức cho Hội đồng thị xã. Khu kinh lấp (tức đường Nguyễn Huệ hiện nay) đã được lưu ý đầu tiên, nhưng vẫn còn e ngại về vấn đề đổ móng xây nền vì nơi đây là vùng đất bùn. Nhiều phương án được đưa ra nhưng vẫn không đạt được sự thống nhất, khiến...

Today is Tết, the first day of the Lunar calendar. We all gain one year in age, no matter the date we were born. Every old Tet we eat sugary lotus seeds and glutinous rice cakes, in the shape of a square made of pork, glutinous rice, and mung beans, wrapped in banana leaves. We wear all new clothes even underneath. Mother warns how we act today foretells the whole year. Everyone must smile no matter how we felt. No  one can sweep, for why sweep away hope? No one can splash water, for why splash away joy? A Tết long ago My grandmother insisted my uncle to rise first in the morning to bless our house because only male feet can bring luck. An old angry knot expanded in my throat. I decided to wake before dawn and tap my big toe to the tile floor first. Not even Mother sleeping beside me, knew.   Bánh chưng - bánh tét Rice cake in the shape of a square called bánh chưng or a cylinder called bánh tét,  made of pork, glutinous rice,  and mung beans, wr...

By David Farley   The cab driver stopped on the bustling boulevard Pho Hue and pointed at a mishmash of incongruent four and five-story buildings across the street. I hopped out and dodged buzzing motorbikes and exhaust-belching cars, trying to get from curb to curb. Then I spotted it: Banh Mi Pho Hue (118 Phố Huế; 84-4-3822-5009), the no-frills sandwich shop named for the Hanoi street on which it sits. Nearly everyone I’d asked had said Banh Mi Pho Hue served the tastiest banh mi in Hanoi. But the family that’s run the shop since 1974 has a reputation for closing it whenever the cooks run out of ingredients. So when I arrived at 7pm on a Saturday and found it still open, I was delighted. Life in Hanoi. (Hoang Dinh Nam/Getty) Translated simply as “wheat,” the banh mi is a delicious and ever-varying combination of deli-style pork, pate and veggies (think carrots, cilantro, cucumber, etc), stuffed into a soft and crunchy French baguette. Regional variati...

Vuong Chi Sinh is the King of the H'Mong people.  The H'Mong is one of the minority ethnics living around the border of Vietnam and China.  The Vuong’s Palace is located in a valley in Sa Phin Commune, Dong Van District, Ha Giang Province, Vietnam, backed by cliffs and topped by a mass of clouds. The palace was used as a residence and fortress during the Vuong Dynasty -  Vuong Duc Chinh and his son Vuong Chi Sinh. Vuong Duc Chinh was a mandarin under The Nguyen Dynasty. Sa Phin is the middle point of opium from the Golden Triangle region of Myanmar Yunnan China to Indochina. Vuong Chinh Duc became rich from dealing goods, especially opium.  The palace is built from stone, fir wood and terra-cotta tiles in the Chinese architectural style of the Man Qing era.  The palace were built with 4 horizontal and 6 vertical rows, 2 stories and 64 rooms for the king’s wives, children and soldiers and  is divided into many areas such as dining ro...

The evening was Saigon hot and the humidity, although bearable, was just enough to pop-out the sweat. The restaurant, on a darken side street, was croded and cloudy with BBQ smoke from legions of charcoal pots being used at the tables of families, tourists, locals and lovers cooking their meat selection....be it  beef, pork, shrim, goat ... or even field rat, but the smell was sensational and alluring. There was no pretense of style or decor, this place was about eating and the menu reflected page upon page of every consumable one, or at least I, could think of to eat, and more. We passed on the roasted goat, pork, and of course the roasted chicken and ..., but we did go with a quarter of a young pig ... roasted over hot coals at the front wall of the eatery. There along the sidewall walk, young sweating men worked at the art of roasting the pink porkers and turning the days old piglets into a taste treat beyond caring about the death of such a young...

That was Long Ho village, an old village on the bank of Huong river - just a few miles from Hue, a lovely village with a peaceful life. When I was a little girl I came there often. Many years have passed, so many things have changed but the dream-like memory of that small village is still vividly in my heart and the warm atmosphere of the evening there seep into my mind each time I feel tired of the urban life in Saigon city. Every evening, when the sun had just set behind Ngu Binh hills, all around us we could see the farmers walking home from the fields, tired after a long day of hard work. Some dogs were running toward their owners, wagging their tails and barking happily. The buffalos which had pulled plows along with the farmers during the hot day passed us on the way to the stables. High a top of one buffalo a boy play a lazy song with his bamboo flute as the animal slowly plodded onward. Far away, some cows were chewing the fresh grass. Here and there, kids were flying kites.....

The Mekong river that takes its rise in China, when reach to Vietnam is divided in to 2 streams and then pour into the Pacific Ocean by 9 estuaries. We call it Cuu Long Giang. Cuu = 9, Long = dragon and Giang = river. There are 2 float marets that are held in Cuu Long river: Cai Be and Cai Rang float markets. Does everbody ever hear about "float market"? Cai Be float market, belong to Tien Giang Province, just about a hundred kms or a bit more from Saigon (Hochiminh city) where I am living. Last summer I took my little ducks and their grandmother for a boat cruise through part of Mekong Delta. From Saigon drove to My Tho, which is about 70 kms (about 66 miles) to the South West of my city. As we drove along, we passed many local industries such as the rice husker, the tofu maker and small business that made floor tiles and bricks. After reaching My Tho we boarded a large river boat which took us upon the waters of the Mekong river and its some tributaries to experien...