an afternoon coffee

Originally uploaded by cyberbaguioboy.

I took this photo a few hours before my flight back to Manila. They say I had to taste Vietnamese coffee. So I went to a nearby coffee shop called Highland coffee. I ordered an ice tea and tuna sandwich to go with the Saigon blend. Among Filipinos, Vietnamese coffee is like “barako.” It’s strong. The aroma alone keeps me awake on a sleepy and slow afternoon. They serve it on a silver strainer (the size of a teacup) mixed with hot water and about a tablespoon of coffee. The strainer is placed on top of a coffee cup or mug. You’have to wait for a few minutes for coffee to drip into the mug or cup. Then they use condensed milk as creamer and sweetener. Reminds me of Sagada coffee.

looking up

Originally uploaded by cyberbaguioboy.

Look Up!
What do you see?
Pale green leaves,
a blue sky,
oversize umbrellas
that keep me protected
from the afternoon sun
No, look up!
What do you see?
I see God looking
down on me.

sunrise in Saigon

Originally uploaded by cyberbaguioboy.

A yellow orange glow peeks
from the East
Patches of grey clouds
start to fade
The dark concrete silhouettes
of skyscrapers
Give in to the morning light
The river reflects the heaven
Wake up! It’s 5 AM

view from room

Originally uploaded by cyberbaguioboy.

the afternoon comes
with a fading light
that bathes the city in orange
Saigon river from afar
boats moving while I watch
from my hotel room
I find bliss

the menu

Originally uploaded by cyberbaguioboy.

I’m looking at the menu at Pho24, a Vietnamese restaurant in Saigon that serves noodles and dimsums, I think. This place is like our version of Chowking. It’s cheap and filling.

beef noodles at pho24

Originally uploaded by cyberbaguioboy.

I love noodles, mixed with beef stock and vegetables. Of course, don’t forget the meat.

Here’s an excerpt of a travel story I wrote for INQUIRER.net’s Roadtrip section.

Saigon on a motorbike
By Erwin Oliva
INQUIRER.net

HO CHI MINH CITY–It was hard to miss the swarm of motorbikes on the streets of Ho Chi Minh City, also popularly known as Saigon. The Vietnamese love motorbikes. Young and old, men and women dressed casually or formally, young couples, friends, neighbors — every person you can imagine was riding motorbikes. It was an amazing sight.

Motorbikes came from all directions. Crossing the street required guts — lots of it. The motorbikes seemed extensions of their feet. They moved around streets like pedestrians in a sidewalk. They followed an invisible line. They never bumped into each other despite the absence of traffic lights. It was, as one foreign journalist described, an “organized chaos.” But I watched them with delight.

On my way from the airport to the Claravelle hotel in Saigon (which happens to be right beside the Opera House), I saw two guys side by side talking (note: not on the same bike) while negotiating the streets of Saigon. I saw another man in his 30s talking with someone on his mobile phone not minding the risk of slamming into approaching motorbikes from the other direction. My eyes followed him. I was afraid he might hit another motorbike. In Saigon, bikes outnumbered cars. There were taxis in the city. But motorbikes were everywhere.

There are some four to six million motorbikes in this city alone, thanks to the cheap imports from China. But this is Saigon, a place featured many times in movies and in books like “The Quiet American” by Graham Greene.

So I got a bit of a surprise when my Vietnamese friend and journalist Cam Tung Huynh of Saigon Times invited me for a ride on his motorbike on a Sunday night. I never imagined seeing Saigon this way after what I briefly saw that day. But what the heck, I said to myself. This is my only chance to see the city at night, Saigon-style.

Donning my corduroy blazer, jeans, and a tight-fitting black shirt with the big word “Guitarded” embossed on it, I followed Tung to where the motorbikes were parked. The air was humid that night. But it felt cool to be riding on a motorbike on a Sunday night in Saigon.

HO CHI MINH CITY –It was hard to miss the sea of motorbikes negotiating the roads of Ho Chi Minh. Just like in Taipei, Vietnamese love motorbikes. Young and old, men and women, were riding motorbikes. It was an amazing sight. People on motorbikes were coming from all directions. I could not stop thinking that motorbikes were like extensions of their feet. They moved around like there was an invisible route that they had to follow. They never bumped into each other despite the absence of traffic lights in some tight crossroads. I watched them with delight. There were two guys side by side talking while on their bikes — yes not on the same bike. Then I saw another guy talking with someone on his mobile phone while he negotiated the Ho Chi Minh’s traffic. My eyes followed him. But apparently, he knew how to do multi-tasking. Cars were outnumbered. Motorbikes were everywhere.

I did this little MTV using Windows Movie Maker early 2006. One thing you’ll notice in the video is the traffic going to the Great Wall. And when we got there, the place was filled with so many people of different sizes, shape, age, and color. heh.

I sent this photo straight from my e-mail to this blog via Flickr! Cool cross-posting feature from Flickr, an online photo sharing service. I’m also going to try to send photos straight from my mobile phone. Hope it works.

By the way, this is a photo of the Hong Kong airport with fellow tech journalist Jen posing. I hope we also have such an airport in the Philippines

Originally uploaded by cyberbaguioboy.