It's day 3. We reached Dalat after an overnight coach that lasted 6 or 7 hours. It was rather cold when we got off the coach as our destination was in the highland area of Vietnam. Thankfully, we had put on an extra layer of clothing when we got on the coach at Ho Chi Minh City.

The view in front of Dreams Hotel

Slacking at the Dreams Hotel lobby

I can't help but feel a lot more welcome here in Dalat. The pleasant lady boss of Dreams Hotel ushered us their dining area for breakfast that would be one of the most awesome breakfasts at a budget hotel we would have in Vietnam.

Check out the awesome breakfast spread!

Fruits, juices, coffee, tea, baguettes, cheese, jam, It even comes with eggs in your choice of omelette, scrambled or sunny-side-up.

We were really tempted to just stay longer just for the breakfast, but we were here to tour, so we proceeded to check in only to be informed that Dreams Hotel, with rooms each equipped with its own jacuzzi was fully booked. Oh no! We definitely didn't like this kind of deja vu. The lady boss told us that she had arranged for us to be put up at his brother's hotel, which she claimed was still pretty good, and just 900 metres away. We were really candid when we told her that we had gotten the same treatment in Ho Chi Minh City and were thoroughly disappointed and we would demand for rooms at her hotel if we weren't satisfied with her brother's hotel.

We then loaded up an SUV to bring us over to her brother's hotel. 900 metres away, we alighted and checked into Hotel Thien An. The owner of the hotel was a humble and charming middle-aged man who spoke just enough English to communicate with his guests and get their requests fulfilled. We were ushered up to our rooms to put down our luggage. Suffice to say, the rooms exceeded our expectations. The rooms had high ceilings and really nicely made beds that rivaled hotels with at least 3 stars. The rooms even had an oil painting of passionate lovers to complete the ambience. Plus, the balcony had a nice view of the laid back town. We then went down to the reception area to wait for our day tour of Dalat.

The Girlfriend in front of the Crazy House

Our first stop of the day tour was at Crazy House, a mansion that was built by an extremely influential lady. The story behind Crazy House was her desire to build a house that could integrate into and co-exist seamlessly with nature. My guess was that she was also inspired by Antoni Gaudí's works. The lady still lives today and continues to oversee the construction of the mansion. Anyways, we went on a tour of the place which was great for pictures.

Lots of information about the house and the owner

The Girlfriend, Lifen and Jingjing

Lifen, Annette and Shawn

The Girlfriend

Satisfied with the tour of Crazy House, we moved on to visit the country-side of Dalat. We dropped of at a rather inconspicuous garden that produces flowers for the market.

In all honesty, the garden wasn't exactly a fantastic place to visit, most of the blooms were already harvested, leaving just little hedges to show that the place indeed produces flowers. The Girlfriend commented that it was like Cameron Highlands with less interesting things growing. Nevertheless, the good weather had us frolicking (sorta) in the garden.

Avocados grow on trees everywhere in Dalat, costs like nothing and are much larger than the ones we get in Singapore.

We were dropped off somewhere along a winding mountain road for a view to fall in love with. At the same time, it reminded me of how the urban landscape of Singapore might have created a different kind of short-sightedness where we hardly experience open spaces such as this.

Having soaked up the open landscape, we were brought to a one of the many coffee plantations for a science lesson on symbiotic relationship between coffee and passionfruit.

Coffee

Passionfruit

A shot of the farm hands at the coffee plantation

Lunch was at an unassuming farm that does a little bit of everything from rearing pigs and silkworms to rice wine making to vegetable farming to running an eatery and a convenience store cum gift shop. With the fare relatively simple, dining here was more an act of supporting the local trade than anything else. One thing that we did look forward to for the meal was the consistently good coffee that can be found almost everywhere, including this everything-also-they-do farm. I was also treated to the local cognac infused with herbs, tree bark and other unidentifiable but organic matter. It packed a good punch of potency and flavour that would have me wanting more and maybe never bother with pointless expensive and flat international cognacs.

In the spirit of a school excursion, we were led to visit a silk factory to witness the processing. Silkworms were fed and fattened until they spin their cocoons. Cocoons then meet their boiling, watery grave to be harvested. A machine then unravels the cocoon of its single continuous thread of silk to reveal the carcass of the naked silkworm which are then treated again to be sent to the market for food.

The silk factory workers during their lunch break

The intriguing weaving machine run that produces patterned weaves with punch coded template

Louie, our guide figured we were adventurous enough for a trek and brought us to the Elephant Falls for a wet and wild experience.

The descent was pretty steep and it got more and more slippery the further down we went.

A glimpse of the falls half way down

Reaching the bottom

The rapids

Of course, there was more to explore of Elephant Falls. Louie brought us all the way to the back of the waterfall to experience the elements first hand. But first, we had to contend with more slippery paths and ravines.

Reaching soon

Beholding Nature

The thundering roar of the water crashing down undoubtedly reminds me of the vulnerability of man. Literally, it felt like being at the mercy of nature, one slip, and you would probably dragged under by the pounding of the plunge pool and you would stay there until every trace of you ceases to exist.

With everyone nicely drenched, we returned to the top to the visitors' centre which hawked hand woven silk.

Somehow I was convinced to buy a piece of queen-sized silk bedsheet for US$50 without even indulging in the ubiquitous travellers' sport of bargaining. My travel companions were saying that I got ripped off, but as a traveller from a better off land, the transaction was a recognition for the 2 months' effort in creating the end product. Support local trade, lah.

Next we were brought up to a cable car station, which we unanimously decided against riding on. Lovely view up there at the station tough.

Anyway, the cable car station had a huge carved wall. 2 normal sized people for scale.

So back to the hotel since we were all pretty zoned out. I had a little problem adjusting to the cooler weather in wet clothes and consequently got too sick to get out of bed. I was running to the toilet too frequently and I needed 2 blankets on top of my fleece jacket to keep warm. I couldn't get out for the rest of the day. The rest went out for dinner and were nice enough to tar pau a popular local wanton mee soup for me and the Girlfriend. (because she stayed behind to look after me) The wanton mee was nice, but my stomach didn't exactly welcome the food. Thankfully, despite the lack of appetite, I could feel that I was on my way to recovery, just needed a good night's rest, with adequate warmth.

It's day 2 of Vietnam after so long since my post about day 1! We got up for the visit to the Cu Chi Tunnels today.

Breakfast from the hotel was a baguette, jam and butter with Vietnamese coffee. A surprisingly awesome combination despite the simplicity. The baguette was fresh and had that nice and soft chewy centre and a crispy crust. The jam and softened butter went really well with the baguette. But then again, our expectations for breakfast weren't really high...

Before we left, we complained to the manager about the horrible water pressure and the state of the room.

That "fun" sailor uniform

We decided to take the scenic route by the ferry that costs each of us US$12. Here's what we saw on the 3 hour ride...

This...

...and this...

...and this...

...and this...

...and this...

...and this...

...and this...

So interesting was the boat ride that we gave in to the Z-monster and dozed off...

3 hours after we boarded the boat, we arrived at a rather nicely done up jetty with some animals made of fibre glass.

On the contrary, this is a real cow

It was another 5 to 10 minutes' walk to the visitors centre of Cu Chi Tunnels. It turns out that admission fees weren't included in the US$12. So we paid to take a look at this place.

We were systematically ushered first to view a video about Cu Chi Village. Then our tour guide for the day shared about the war between the Viet Cong and the American troops. Much to the credit of the Cu Chi Tunnels, the Vietnam War probably displayed the most intriguing and impressive example of guerrilla warfare. The villagers would behave pro-Americans in the day, but when night falls, they would be fighting against the American troops, ambushing them constantly from well camouflaged spider holes such as this.

The soldier reveals a spider hole from right under our noses.

Jumps in...

And hides and awaits to ambush unsuspecting passers-by.

It definitely got the bunch of us curious. Can we fit into that little spider hole?

To satisfy everyone's curiosity, here's a look inside.

Quite a generous amount of leg room actually.

So I got out for the next person to try. Thankfully, I didn't get stuck. Yup, the Vietnamese managed to keep the American soldiers out of the tunnels because they made the tunnels smaller and narrower so that only the smaller sized Vietnamese could pass through, forcing the enemy retreat from the narrow segments.

Jingjing needed a little extra help to get out.

The Girlfriend getting in and getting freaked out by the darkness when the lid is closed.

Besides spider holes, there were also surface traps that would inflict enough pain to cause trauma to the American soldiers. In warfare, the effective way to destroy troop morale was to inflict maiming injuries with traps so that they would live to remember and relate the pain to the rest of the troops.

Surface traps for the enemies and their attack dogs.

And they probably had traps made to accommodate the enemy in every possible shape and size. So there were the spider holes for ambush and booby traps for causing trauma. The actual Cu Chi Tunnels was part of a network that was over 200 kilometres long.

Our tour guide of the day explains to us about the Cu Chi Tunnels

Remnants of an American tank.

An obligatory shot of the barrel

The simple but ingenious double hinged door trap that would puncture those family jewels

Unused American bombs which the Vietnamese collected to salvage and convert into their booby traps.

While still on the topic of salvaging parts for other purposes, we were ushered to a hut where my good friend, the treehugger would be proud to wear...

Sandals made out of tyres

Then we were brought to the main attraction - the tunnel itself. Measuring only 50 cm wide and 1.2 m high, the entrance definitely wasn't meant to look welcoming. Our guide briefed the group on the tunnel route, assuring us that there would be exits along the way so that at any time we felt uncomfortable with the cramped and pitch black spaces, we could easily get out of the tunnels.

A trap door going deeper into the tunnel

The tunnel was illuminated with really dim lights just to let you know you are on the right track. Plus, the narrow tunnel meant there was no turning back. To get a photo of those behind me, I had to tuck my camera under my arm with the lens facing the back for the shot. Unfortunately the picture got obscured by the loose straps on my bag.

Lifen and Jingjing on their way out of the claustrophobia-inducing tunnel

By the third exit, I was all alone crawling in the tunnel, it was definitely tempting to get on from the next available exit, but I figured to try out how far I could last in the darkness and cramped spaces. Somewhere between, it almost felt like I got stuck as that portion of the tunnel was intentionally kept narrower. Thankfully, it was still possible to progress from there. I wasn't sure how far I traveled underground, neither was I sure if I would see the end of the tunnel soon enough.

Then I thought I got to a dead end as I felt a wall in front of me. I had to feel around for the path for a while until finally I found that I had to climb upwards to a slightly higher tunnel, through a trap door.

Moments later after a little bit more crawling, I saw the light at the end of the tunnel, and greeted by a little gecko...

My welcome party at the end of my tunnel crawl

So I was out of the tunnel, and was told that I had crawled through 100 m of the tunnel. We then went on the visitors centre where tourist merchandise would be available.

The more "exotic" wines of Vietnam

So when we were done with all the crawling, it was already well past lunch time. We were all thirsty, dirty, tired and hungry. We quickly boarded the coach that would ring us back to Ho Chi Minh City for a proper meal. We tried dozing off on the ride, but the constant sounding of the horn kept the light sleepers up.

Right after alighting from the coach, we unanimously voted for a place to eat. Our guide recommended Kim Cafe which was just across the street from the tour agency office. So we sat ourselves down and ordered.

Vietnamese Spring Rolls

This one is freaking awesome! The dish came along with a yummy sauce which my guess was a concoction of bean paste, sugar, fish sauce and ground nuts.

A close up of the spring rolls

As you can see, the lovely translucent rice sheet isn't shy about showing off the ample contents of shrimp and veggies.

Here, we introduce one of our obsession - Vietnamese coffee!

The Girlfriend enjoying her Ice Milk Coffee

Lemongrass squid

Another favourite among the six of us. The gravy packs a punch and we all drizzled it on our own plate of rice. Almost like sambal sotong, but this one tastes zestier, thanks to the lemongrass.

Deep fried spring rolls

This one has got pork wrapped in them. Definitely good, but not as memorable. It felt rather heavy from the meat and the oil from deep frying.

We also tried a river fish soup which required an taste. While the fish was fresh, it had a very strong muddy taste you would get from freshwater fish. The soup was almost like tom yum soup, but it was more on the sour side which was nice. We ended up just drinking soup and leaving quite a bit of the fish behind.

Gratified with a good meal, we returned to our lodging for advice on other districts. The lady manager of our lodging pointed us to another region away from Ben Thanh Market on the map. So we made our way to that area for some window shopping and perhaps real shopping as well. Along the way we spotted a promising baguette sandwich stand which we would return to.

That promising baguette stall

The area definitely seemed more upmarket, with many individual independent and branded boutiques. I liked what I saw there as the designs of apparel looked much, much more refreshing and exciting than the carbon copy stuff seen in Singapore.

Other than that, there were plenty of familiar, but different street food that awaits the adventurous stomachs. No, I was too chicken to try them.

A hapsening looking pizza place, complete with rooftop dining area.

Grilled corn

Roadside stall selling baguette sandwiches

Barbecued meat

Then we reached junction...

Statue at a roundabout

And someone came up with an idea to do this...

The route we took eventually had us ending up at Ben Thanh Market. But in the evening, stalls are set up out side, along the streets surrounding the main building, much like Lau Pa Sat in Singapore, only less polished.

The Rooftop Cafe

Last destination of the day was this Rooftop Cafe at a hotel (name I can't remember) just beside the Opera House which was touted to have the best night view of the city.

The opera house with Ho Chi Minh's statue

So happily, we went there for a round of drinks and to experience the best night view. But it turns out that a huge neon sign was erected at the vantage point and it perfectly block any glimpse of the best night view.

Still we made it a point to enjoy ourselves.

Partially at my expense...

Once we were done with our outing to the Rooftop Cafe, we returned to the Promising Baguette Stall for our last meal of the day.

Unfortunately, due to blunders from both the customer and the business owner in payment, an argument erupted. One of the helpers had demanded for money for one of the baguettes we had already paid for. Problem was, the boss in the cashier role didn't acknowledge the payment and it led to a lot of unhappiness and some profanities exchanged. We had to get our ever helpful hotel manager to mediate in the native language. But before that could happen, we were chased away from the stall.

The hotel manager later advised us that we should make it an effort to pay only when we receive the goods in future to avoid any confusion.

We then returned to our room to wash up and prepare for our 6 hour road trip up to Dalat.

Spotted a roadshow outside Heeren set up by EpiCentre for Apple stuff. Along with it was a digital workflow set up for studio photography. So I decided to put my equipment to the test.

All shots were taken with a D300 with a AF-S Nikkor 18-200mm 1:3.5 - 5.6 G ED DX

Exposure: 1/125
Aperture: f/4.2
ISO: 220
Focal Length: 36.0 mm
Flash: No Flash

Exposure: 1/125
Aperture: f/5.6
ISO: 900
Focal Length: 200.0 mm
Flash: No Flash

I am once again impressed by the D300 and the 18-200mm lens for its capabilities, blah, blah, blah... I'm really just posting this for the photos taken. Blah-blah-blah, blah-blah. Or I would be taking fun photos. Blah-blah-blah, blah-blah, blah-blah-blah!

While it is true that chocolate is good for you, check the cocoa content of that chocolate bar.

Cadbury tells you the half truth by omitting that their products contain only a small portion of the good cocoa and a lot of milk solids and fats, which build up fatty deposits in the coronary arteries. Does that mean the little bit of cocoa in Cadbury chocolates can neutralise its fatty contents?

If you want truly nutritious and healthy chocolates, get the dark variety with a high percentage of cocoa stated.

If you want calcium, try the foods listed here: http://pediatrics.about.com/od/calcium/a/06_calcium_food.htm
Milk, yes. But milk chocolate? Nope, not in the list.

I totally agree that everything should be taken in moderation. But which brand and quality do the United States and Switzerland eat? Fine dark chocolate or fat laden types with little or no cocoa content?

That said, there are of course chocolates worse off that Cadbury.

These billboards were spotted at a dedicated section for Cadbury products in NTUC Fairprice at Changi Airport Terminal 3.

Nestle and the advertising agency, you're kidding me, right?

Sorry, but it's already hard to associate "healthy" with instant noodles in the first place, much less "The ultimate healthier choice".

An ambiguous "Healthier." might have made you more credible.

P.S.: This was first spotted in April, so this is an overdue post.

An underwater housing for my D300 some day...

But first, I got to practice shooting underwater with this.

Trays with sponges were deployed to collect the drips.

Read the cover carefully, Robert Ludlum is not the author for the latest instalment. An awfully apt title though, Bourne betrays the original author, perhaps?

At least in countries outside US, and especially in Asia, Quentin Tarantino wouldn't have any association to HERO directed by Zhang Yimou. Which reminds me, Zhang's name isn't on the front cover as well. (I think)

Not factually wrong if you are in USA. Because QT convinced Miramax to distribute the movie in the US with Quentin Tarantino in the billing.

Of course, QT did get permission from Zhang Yimou to distribute the movie in USA.

Oh yah, this DVD was found in Singapore.

Not really, or at least I think it wasn't. Here's why:

A Malaysian contact on my multiply thought that the Malaysia Prime Minister Office website got hacked and posted a screen shot of the hacked page with the URL in it.

On closer look, I suspected something amiss about the URL, why would a the PMO site link to a geocities hosted page?

I tried to putting a different URL in place of the geocities URL and it worked, I successfully "hacked" the Malaysia PMO website.

So I shared my findings with the Multiply contact and by the time I was done posting the reply to his post, the Malaysia PMO website was down and "under construction".

I can't be sure what exactly happened, but I'm guessing the tech support behind the PMO website must have had a knee jerk reaction from the screen shots that might have been circulated. If so, then it has been yet another case of self-pwn. Way to go, neighbour!

Hmm... Does anyone have a screen shot of the PMO page with a pr0n site "hacked" into it? :p

I confess, I'm a newbie at traveling. In fact, I hardly stepped out of the country for the few years that I've been working, with the exception the occasional visits to Malaysia. Yes, you could call me a swakoo (mountain turtle) for that matter. Vietnam in my impression before the trip was interesting as it was dangerous. A few close friends had shared experiences of getting pick pocketed of their wallets and other valuables while they were there, warning me to be careful and alert. It didn't take any advanced algorithm to derive that I should not bring the better camera.

My well-abused camera bag holding a D70 body, 18-70mm, 50mm and 70-300mm lenses, SB600 speedlight and various battery chargers.

Of course, a n00b traveler like me didn't go alone. I had the company of the well-traveled Girlfriend and her friends and friends' friends.

We would fly on a budget flight to Ho Chi Minh City. Thankfully, there were no delays, unlike my first budget experience on Air Asia. 2 hours later, we landed at Tan Son Nhat International Airport.

People waiting to fetch their guests.

We were ushered into a SUV that would bring us to the hotel. Shops in different shapes and sizes line up both sides of the streets.

Along the way to our lodging.

Plenty of motorcycles and pedestrians stream endlessly along and across the roads, so horning was something really common as a form of a friendly precautionary signal to fellow road users.

Vietnam's preferred form of transport

We had initially booked a night's stay at Madam Cuc situated in Bui Vien. But when we arrived, we were moved to an inferior hotel run by the lady boss' relative. Worse, we were placed at the top floor of the building. Walking up flights of stairs was one thing, but the worst was the pathetic water pressure that would make our showers in the evening miserable.

Bui Vien

We didn't waste time to set off on our free and easy walk about Ho Chi Minh City. With our luggage out of the way, we proceeded to the local money changers and then got ourselves a few bottles of water. Armed with a tourist's map, we trotted our way around.

The common narrow, deep and tall architecture seen all around.

Unlike Singapore, their cables are above ground, which makes for an interesting sight for me.

Ho Chi Minh City is surprisingly simple to get around with some basic map reading skills. Thereafter, it is a choice of renting a motorcycle (which doesn't require a driving licence, only confidence), flagging down a taxi (pretty cheap by meter, averaging 1 to 4 US dollars) or just by foot (if you have the time). Bicycles if you are confident enough on the roads that hardly employs traffic lights. The motorists here are definitely more responsible drivers that look out for pedestrians vehicles. We only need to confidently walk across the streets and the motorists would automatically take proper evasive manoeuvres to avoid us.

Plenty of art galleries like these all over Ho Chi Minh City selling quality art work and replicas of the masters.

Yet another art gallery with plenty of creations on sale.

Along the street, we saw many ladies in Vietnam's national costume, the Ao Dai. An Ao Dai is made to flaunt the Vietnamese ladies svelte figures. What we noticed as well was that quite a number of Ao Dais worn by ladies on the streets were rather translucent, leaving little to imagine what goes underneath. The conspiracy theory we shared was that it is probably one of the reasons why some Singaporean men took Vietnamese brides. Other draw factors possibly included are virtuousness, entrepreneurial spirit, hardworking, independent and persistent nature.

Ladies wearing the Ao Dai, Vietnam's national costume.

We decided to stop for lunch as we didn't know how far off our first destination would be. Being from wonderfully sanitised Singapore, we opted for a clean looking place and decided on Bun Bo Hue. I guess it is only wiser to dine at a cleaner looking place while traveling as we never know how clean the road side stalls can be. Anyway, eating in Ho Chi Minh City usually doesn't cost an arm or a leg, paying slightly more in a restaurant can be considered a form of insurance.

The 2nd floor interior of Bun Bo Hue

Bun Bo Hue serves up a slightly different variation of Vietnamese cuisine. Specifically, it serves up Hue cuisine. They don't serve pho here, but a thick noodle variety similar to that found in Penang laksa.

Hue noodles - comes in a spicy broth with a layer of spicy oil

Combination Rice Cakes

Everyone loved this dish for the lovely, chewy rice cakes with a myriad of toppings. The simple fish sauce served as a Mida's touch. Plus, it comes with a handful of pork skin that are fried till crispy.

Deep fried spring rolls

With full stomachs, we carried on our walk to Ben Thanh Market. While searching for it at a junction, a helpful American on a motorbike stopped by to help us find our way and dispense travel advice. The gluttons in us had to ask, "Where's a good place for pho?"

To which he suggested Pho Hoa tucked in a far off corner of the city. He spoke in fluent Mandarin in between sentences, he had picked it up in his years working in China. We thanked him as he rode off to his next destination.

Round about with monument

The price of a typical "branded" t-shirt here is about US$3.50, so make sure you don't end up paying too much. To get a good price, one good trick is to walk away when their initial asking price isn't ideal. Almost all the time, they will respond with an intermediate price. State your final price and be ready to walk away if the price is not agreeable. Of course, don't be a jerk and state unreasonable prices or bargain for the fun of it. Bargain only if you genuinely want to buy the item.

Plenty of trinkets and bling

Pudgy me at the War Remnants Museum

Vietnam War was probably one of the most badly fought wars by the United States. The atrocities that they committed in Vietnam are well-documented here. One of the most appalling things I saw here was the American propaganda that was related through the pictures. There were tons of pro-America shots of soldiers in extreme conditions and their operations in Vietnam. Even the use of Agent Orange was drummed up as an awesome American thing to be proud about.

Next was the section that included the photographs and documentation coming from the Vietnamese point of view. People suffering from napalm burns. Children crying in the streets. Farmers executed based on suspicions of being a communist. Vietnamese men and women staring death in the face with dignity as they were tortured or awaiting their impending deaths. Mass burial grounds with bodies piled up.

Then there was the section where the effects of Agent Orange was displayed. Plenty of the people in the pictures suffered extreme deformations. Preserved still births with deformations were also displayed.

Also on display was a replica of the prison which the US troops housed the prisoners-of-war. Torture chambers housed a myriad of apparatus designed to prolong suffering and trauma. From extremely confined cells to highly experimental torture procedures, the US Troops weren't short of ideas.

But probably the worst of all is what happens today. Many Americans still think that they did the right thing during the Vietnam War and unapologetically glamourised it in many recent films. I find this appalling.

Plenty of Americans left apologies in the guest book after touring the museum. They never knew what their troops did in Vietnam until their visit here.

The friendly Chinese-speaking American on a bike

The next thing we knew, we got caught in the rain. One observation: the locals prefer ponchos and their conical hats to umbrellas. Anyway, it was also time to meet up with Lifen's friends who have arrived on a later flight.

We linked up at the Notre Dame Cathedral to take shelter, but we couldn't get in for a look because they had started their service.

The Notre Dame Cathedral

Unfortunately, the directions given were rather iffy and we almost gave up just steps away from the eatery! We had walked along Pasteur Road for the longest time, and luckily the signboard was spotted just before we abandoned the mission. I guess it was nice to know that we burned a good amount of calories to find the place too.

Eating pho at Pho Hoa

Pho Hoa is pretty much like the old kopi tiams we have in Singapore. It has got lots of the local charm and character that a traveler should immerse himself/herself in. The place is packed with locals, so it has got to be good in a way. And it was so. It turns out that this eatery is featured on the Lonely Planet guide book for Vietnam. Predictably, the people at my table gorged ourselves silly with the food. Oh yeah, the beef could a little too tough for your liking. Nevertheless a great place for great local food.

With our meal settled, the unanimous decision was to hop on a taxi to get back to Ben Thanh Market for another look-see. The market enroaches into the adjacent streets in the evening as stalls are set up for business. However, the stalls inside the market would close for the day.

Street food at Ben Thanh Market

Pretty oramental shoes

Only to be attempted by strong stomaches

Hmm...

We decided to return to the hotel on foot. Along the way, we walked through a park where many motorbikes were parked. On a closer look, couples were seated either on the bikes or on benches. It was a sight to behold, the park was dotted with couples in embrace all over. The Girlfriend suggested that they probably don't have many places to pak-tor in Ho Chi Minh, that's wny they congregate here.

Couples spending time at the park at night

As it was Lifen's birthday, the rest of us decided to spring a surprise mini celebration for her. We went to a nearby hotel for some drinks and snacks and order cakes, one had a candle...

Lifen the birthday girl in Vietnam

By the time we were done at the cafe in the hotel, every one was pretty zoned out. It had been a long day. So we returned to our hostel for the night.

Unfortunately, most of us had been allocated the rooms at the top floor and the water pressure there was absolutely miserable. The ladies had a really hard time showering, especially when they were shampooing their hair. Oh well, it was budget lodging, we will think of something tomorrow.

For those who attended service last Sunday at FCBC, Pastor Lawrence brought up the logic against Atheism again: To be an Atheist, you got to know EVERYTHING. And that makes God the only one qualified to be an Atheist.

So in good fun, here's a comic strip about the God-and-Atheist debate.

Credits to Mr Lim for his blog post on it and Shannon Wheeler for a good sense of humour.

Whoopee! I received my SPREE purchase!

My first SPREE purchase

4 weeks ago, I decided to give ST701 SPREE a try. I figured I would try to get something that would be nice-to-have-but-not-essential-to-life kind of thing. So in case the transaction could not be completed, I wouldn't be too pissed.

Last Friday, I received an email telling me that my purchase had arrived in Singapore for re-packaging and delivery and that I should expect to receive it in 3 to 5 days.

Earlier in the morning, I received a call from the delivery man explaining that he tried delivering to my home but no one was around to sign for it. He arranged to deliver to my office today instead.

He arrived after lunch to deliver the package. :)

I understand that quite a number of people have had bad experiences with the SPREE service by comGateway. For those who did, do take time to relate your experience in the comments. I might be able to bring it up to the necessary parties for action.

And now to plan for my next dive trip...

Here's the chat conversation I had with Kate, from comGateway's help desk.
I just find that she was just so overly formal with every word she used, I suspected she was probably a chat bot, or someone who just reads and clicks on template response sentences.
What do you think?

Kate: Hello, welcome to comGateway's help desk. How may I assist you?

Me: Hi, I would like to purchase the following item from Amazon.com: Olympus 202172 PT-043 Stylus 1030SW Underwater Housing However, I am unable to proceed because it is slightly over the USD 195 limit. Would it be possible to put USD 195 for the price first and then have the actual amount charged to my account through you? Please advise if this is possible, thanks.

Kate: Kindly be informed that this is not possible.

Me: btw, which courier service do you use for the delivery?

Kate: May I ask you that you are referring to merchant to US office?

Me: No, I am asking about the delivery from US to Singapore. Sorry I didn't make it clearer.

Kate: We regret to inform you that we are unable to advise

Me: Thanks for replying, though I can't say your answers have been helpful.

Kate: I apologize for this

Kate: May I know whether you require further assistance?

Me: Nope.

Kate: You are most welcome. We wish you a pleasant day and thank you for using comGateway. Goodbye.

So that was a few days ago.
The good news: Just an hour earlier I received a phone call from comGateway regarding my spree box and the USD 195 limit problem. And they were able to work around the limit problem. Yay!

And this marks my first online shopping transaction.
I think "gratifying" is an apt word to describe it. :)

Your turn! Start shopping at ST701 Spree now!

It's amazing how someone half a century old remains so relevant in this day. I quote a friend: "She seems to get better with age."
Even more amazingly, what he said over ten years ago stays true even today. No, I am not talking about wine here. It's Madonna, and she's looking better than ever on here new album cover.

Unfortunately, the iconic artist herself did not grace the event to launch her new album, Hard Candy held at Zouk. Oh well, it would be a miserable party by her cultural icon stature to attend anyway.

But still, credits to Zouk for throwing the party with all the bell and whistles paying tribute to Madonna and her new album. Snippets of Madonna trivia adorned the walls all over as I entered the main area. Models distributed various candy treats and over-sized lollipops with sticker of her latest album cover. The whole setting was awfully fun, in a cheesy kind of way.

The music for the night was all Madonna's music new and old. All were great, just that you probably couldn't tell which one came from the new album that the event was supposed to promote. In between songs, the large screen aired excerpts of interviews with Madonna sharing about her music.

At the central dance floor, a boxing ring was erected for the main event of the party, Muay Thai. According to the host of the night, MTV VJ Taya, Madonna keeps in shape with this rigorous sport. Her well-toned arms are definitely testaments of the tough training associated with this martial art.

MTV VJ Taya

Anyway, there would be two matches for that night between 4 ladies. I was darn suspicious that the matches would probably be intentionally staged a-la WWE. I mean, Girl-versus-Girl Muay Thai reeks of more of cat-fight than the esteemed sport. It didn't help that Taya added that the fights would be given a "fun" twist.

The first fighter was introduced to the audience when her prancing around with a fencing sabre, clumsily poking an imaginary target. Then it got worse with the second fighter appearing in the ring looking like a geisha. Oh yah, both of them had video clips aired before their appearances exaggerating how bad-ass they are in the ring and how they kick serious butt with less than a total 18 months' of training between them.
Riiight...

So the fight went underway both fighters went head on and unleashed endless flurry of merciless punches and kicks against each other that would make bouncers look like wimps. Each blow emitted shockwaves that could be felt by the audience. No, wait, I was kidding. Actually, they pranced around each other and daintily kitty-scratched, er, I mean punched each other, and occasionally delivering surprise but off target tickles, er I mean, kicks.

As the rounds came to an end, rather buff topless guys stepped on to stage with a placard to signal the next round, just like real boxing matches except with the roles reversed. They definitely earned plenty of wolf-whistles from the crowds.

Then something interesting happened, one of the fighters adopted a awesome strategy of attacking the opponent's fists with her face! It was so effective that her adversary relented with apprehension when blood trickled from her nose! The crowds approved with louder cheers in sadistic ecstasy to drum up the aggression in the fighters. Screams of approval for more blood were everywhere. "More! More! More!" they cheered.

When the match was over, the referee announced both fighters as winners.
"Kelong!" the crowds booed and jeered in good fun. Obviously, the results was staged. But there would be a prize for the favourite fighter that would be decided by the audiences' cheers, the fighter with the louder support walks away with a brand new Samsung MP3 player.

Next up would probably be one of the most embarrassing moments ever. Taya introduced a British lady kick boxer who has won 7 consecutive British Championships and a European Championship. She was invited to Singapore for the event, but there wasn't anyone locally who would step into the ring with her. A challenge was then issued to the audience for anyone, male or female, who would spar with her. As you might have guessed, nobody took up the challenge, and the 7-time British Champion and European Champion was all alone doing her kick boxing display thing in the ring until her time was up and left.

The crowd was expecting a more exciting second match following the blood from the first match and the display by the British champion. Their cheers significantly louder as the fighters of the second match arrived on stage.

Unfortunately, the fight turned out to be a less eventful one, with one fighter carelessly tripping over her opponents foot in the first round. The fighters were considerably less aggressive compared to those in the first match and it definitely look a lot more like an actual cat-fight with plenty of rather comical kitty-punches. But everyone there was still well-entertained by the fight. The presence of ample alcohol definitely helped to keep everyone happy.

Predictably, both fighters were announced as winners but they got into a tie with both garnering equally strong support from the crowd. The host eventually awarded both fighters with an MP3 player each.

Oh, and if you didn't notice, the best thing to happen for this whole event was that I still have no idea how Madonna's new album sounds like. So now I probably have to buy, beg, borrow or steal to satisfy my curiosity.

This review is written for youth.sg
Direct link: http://www.youth.sg/content/view/4661/54/

Jeff Chang possesses one of the most distinctive and unmistakable voices in the Chinese music industry that can achieve keys few would venture to. His pristine vocals delivered those familiar gentle soothing ballads that he has come to be known for. Attending this concert was likened to artistic appreciation and tasting of fine wine.

It has been a while since Jeff Chang performed in Singapore. Like many veterans in the music industry, Jeff has also somewhat slowed his pace of producing records, choosing to take time to produce quality albums and going on world tours. On top of that, his record company had also chosen to reduce promotional efforts in Singapore. While his albums are still available here, local fans got to see less of their idol. But like all good things worth waiting for, appreciative fans of Jeff Chang filled the Max Pavilion to the brim.

As it approached show time, crowd warm-up came in the form of die-hard Jeff Chang fans with their blinding props. At the same time, I spotted some familiar faces...

Say, isn't that a mini-star?

Unlike his previous concerts, this one was drastically different. Jeff was accompanied by the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts Orchestra to provide an element of classical grandeur as well as additional dimensions in the music. The concert started with the orchestra performing an overture of Jeff's signature songs.

At the same time, the giant frames at the back ran a slideshow, showcasing art works by masters from various eras. Suffice to say the stage and lighting design was quite spectacular that it looked convincingly lush and Victorian, yet modern.