Finding vegetarian food while travelling

Finding vegetarian food can be a challenge while travelling.

I am not vegetarian for religious reasons, so I am not so strict about use of non-vegetarian sauces when I can't find pure vegetarian places.

However, sometimes, I do find the taste of non-vegetarian sauces or stock quite offending. In Cambodia, I quite grossed out by the meat stock used in the fried vegetable noodles. In Laos, some fishy paste used in the papaya salad was too overwhelming for me.

In general, Indian restaurants would offer some vegetarian options and Italian restaurants would also have at least a vegetarian pasta dish. As stir fry is quite common in Southeast Asian and East Asian countries, it is always easy to ask for a stir fry vegetable dish.

But it is a lot more difficult if you want to try the local stuff. So I am always delighted to find vegetarian local food.

I like Thai food and in Changmai (Thailand), I was so happy to find quite a number of vegetarian stalls. In Vietnam, it was delightful to find all sorts of roadside stalls selling various vegetarian stuff on days which the locals observe vegetarian diets. If you do not dare to eat roadside fares, there are small local vegetarian stalls around. You just of to just to locate them.

This blog is meant to share some of those adventures looking for vegetarian food while I travel.

Typically, I travel on a shoe string budget, which means I normally eat cheap and only treat myself to nicer restaurants occasionally. I also like local fare and not adverse to eating at the roadside hawkers. So you will find that most of the eating places mentioned are local stalls or mid-range restaurants.

Vegetarian Food in Cambodia

I was in Cambodia between 20-27 Dec 07.

It was not too difficult getting vegetarian food if you stick to restaurants that cater to tourists. There is normally always a fried rice with vegetables item if all else fail.

But it's difficult find special local food that does not contain meat. Whereas in Vietnam, it was a lot easier to get local vegetarian food.

Phnom Penh

In Phnom Penh, the best restaurant I found was the Indian restaurant Chi Chas (listed in lonely planet). It was cheap and good. I had my breakfast there for two mornings. The breakfast set consist of 3 chapatis, a dish of dhal and an omelette for US$1.5.

Their ala carte menu was pretty good too. I love the vegetarian samosa and the aloo pratha. The pratha was very crispy and nice.

breakfast set at Chi Chas

The other restaurant I tried in Phnom Penh was Amok. This Thai restaurant is featured in many guide books.

Amok seems to be a pretty popular dish with the tourist as it was advertised in many restaurants. It is a Thai dish made with fish. The guide books kept mentioning it. So I had to try it. Amok restaurant offered the vegetarian version made with either tofu or mushroom.
I had the mushroom amok for US$3. It was pretty good but I thought it was just a curry dish.

I also had pad thai but it was really bad (the noodles got stuck together and the taste was not that good). There was a pretty good vegetarian selection on the menu. So that's a good place to go if you like Thai food.


Siem Reap

Within the Angkor historical park, there are many stalls offering cooked food at various temples. There is normally a vegetable fried rice or vegetable fried noodles for about US$2 a dish. The prices does varied a bit. I found that they have different menu with different prices listed. There was a stall at Bayon which has price listed at $3.5 per dish but offered me "discount" at US$2. I later found that the 2nd stall closest to Bayon offer same fare at US$2 and service was much better.

There is also a row of road side stalls near the old market offering the same thing. Dishes were US$1 and fruit shakes were $0.50.

However, a word of warning: except for the fried rice, all fried noodles and vegetables are cooked with meat stock. I was quite grossed out by the meat taste in the stock. So the best is to stick to fried rice.

I ate at the road side stalls in Siem Reap for 2 nights but found the meat stocked used in the cooking quite offending. I started looking for something else and I found that there was a row of stalls at one side of the old market (Psar Chaa) that were selling Khmer cooked food at prices slightly more than the road stalls but cooked better. I had a Khmer curry for US$1.5 with nem (fresh spring rolls) for US$1. It was a lot of satisfying than those road side stalls though I paid almost the same thing.

But by far, the best restaurant I found was the Soup Dragon. This is featured in the guide books and very popular. The restaurant was packed in the evenings. Initially, I thought it would be pretty expensive. But I took a look at the menu and the prices were on average US$2 a dish. But I was alone and I did not want to queue and take whole table for myself. So I went there during lunch instead. The fresh spring rolls (Vietnamese style) was really fantastic! I always like Vietnamese spring rolls, and this was really good! The soup noodle was wholesome and satisfying as well. It was full of vegetables and mushrooms and the stock was delicious (though it was obviously enhanced with some artificial flavouring). The spring rolls, a bowl of soup noodle and a iced coffee set me back by US$4, which I found really worth the money.

Notes from Cambodia Travels

1. Backpacking alone

I did not make much effort looking for travelling partners, and I end up travelling alone.

Though it would be nice to have some company, I find it quite pleasant to do the itineraries exactly how I like it. The quiet time alone is quite a nice break.

The only issue was when I want to take photographs. But that's when a tripod come in handy. I typically won't bother to bring along a tripod when backpacking. But since I was not moving around much for this trip, I decided one along.

Self pic taken with tripod at Phnom Bakheng. Can't resist the photo opportunities with the linga!

2. Sisowath Quay

(The site of the accident)

It was not on my itinerary at all when I first booked my ticket. But it end up being one of the first thing I had to do at Phnom Penh. I bought fresh flowers and went to the site of the accident to pay respects to the five paddlers who drowned there.

3. Traffic nightmare

The first thing I noticed as the car travelled from the airport to the hotel was that the driver was driving rather slowly even though the traffic was not heavy. I soon found out why. If the car was driving any faster, there would have been lots of accidents. Pedestrians, bicycles and motos cut across haphazardly.

Phnom Penh is laid out in a grid layout, which means there are lots of traffic junctions. Few have traffic lights. At every junction, the vehicles have to slow down and cross carefully.

Even when there are traffic lights, they are often ignored, especially by motos and tuktuks, which will just cross even though the light is red!

At major roads, I find that I have difficulty crossing the road. Even if the pedestrian lights are green, you really have to watch out for the moto cycles and tuktuks.

I also found out that if you made an attempt to step on the road, NEVER step back! Just try to go forward or risk run down by the moto that cut in behind you!

In the end, I decided that I will just pay US$1 and take a ride back to the hotel! (Yes, there were a couple of times I nearly got ran down!)

3. Shopping & Piracy

Adidas seemed to be a rather popular brand. There were lots of Adidas dryfit shirts on sale for US$5. And I saw at Psar Thmei, Singaporeans who were snatching them up like they were free! Some were obviously fakes. But some claimed to the real thing from the factories. I am rather suspicious about it.

My best buys are two pairs of Columbia 3/4 cargo pants for US$4 each at the Russian market. They turn out to be very comfortable. I like these for travelling because I can put passports, wallets and cell phones in the various pockets. I saw the same thing being sold at Siem Reap and I was quoted US$14!

The spare battery I got at Psar Thmei for my camera looked authentic enough. But at US$9, I find it difficult to believe it's the original from Panasonic. I keep expecting it might blow up during charging...

Lonely Planets for US$5 anyone? I was wondering why they were so cheap. But look inside and you understand why. The prints look like photo copies. But they were real nicely bounded. But at US$5, it's really hard to resist. In the end I did get a copy for Lonely Planet Thailand...

I got the book "The treasures of Angkor" at the museum at Phnom Penh. At US$9, I thought it was a good buy, as the paper was good and it had beautiful color pictures. I looked all over and could see no sign that it was pirated. I was expecting something of that quality to cost more then S$30. But at Angkor, I found that the people were hawking the same book for US$7 each, and that can be bargained down to US$5!


4. Camera and battery

I bought the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18 just before the trip. I had been wanting to get a Lumix because I have seen the pictures and colors were real good from my friends with Lumix cameras.

However, I kind of regretted it after I got it. I thought I should have gotten the FZ10 instead, which is more compact in size (and $150 cheaper). But in the end I was glad about it because the zoom was really great to zoom into the details of the carvings or things far away.

And the extra battery at I got at Psar Thmei was a real steal at US$9! At Changi Airport I saw it being sold for about S$70. But at that price it can't be original. I was real worried that it might blow up during charging or had a very short battery life. But it ended up working fine. The battery life was as good as the one that came with the camera. It was a good thing I bought it as I did have to change battery twice during the trip.

5. Cheap travels

Ok, this was suppose to be shoestring trip. So I was staying in fan rooms. The rooms at Phnom Penh was US$8 a night at the Dararaeng Sey hotel, primarily because I wanted to stay near the river. At Siem Reap it was US$5 a night at the Naga guesthouse. (It was US$3 for common baths, but I decided that I can spend additional US$2 for attached baths) The room was rather shabby and I considered changing guesthouse at one point because there is a crazy restaurant across the street that plays loud music all the way till 5am!

At Phnom Penh, I found a real good and cheap Indian restaurant called Chi Chas and ate there a couple of times. The Thai restaurant Amok was pretty good too and I had my most expensive meal at US$5.

At Siem Reap, I was eating dinner at the roadside stalls. But I got real sick of it after 2 nights because of the meat broth they used in the cooking. In the end I found that for an additional dollar or two, I could get much better vegetarian food at the Indian restaurants and the eateries at the Psar Chas! The Soup Dragon serve really good food, and has good vegetarian options for US$2 each. But it was difficult to get seats at night though I manage to eat there for lunch.

In Phnom Penh, I walked around quite a bit, though I end up taking motos a couple of times because it was really hot and the traffic is quite a nightmare. In Siem Reap, I cycled to the temples (bicycle rental was US$1.5 a day), but on the last day I decide to hire a moto to bring me to a temple that was too far to cycle (had to pay $15 for the whole afternoon). The vehicles here drive a lot faster than in Phnom Penh. Because the roads are narrow, the cars and buses can drive really close and it was quite a harrowing experience. Not advisable for those who are not good at cycling.

I got some mangos real cheap at Siem Reap (4 big mangoes for less than S$2).

I did not really need a hair cut yet. But at US$2, I decided that I might as well go for a trim! I was served drinks when I got in. After the hair cut, I was given a short massage on the shoulders and neck, and finally a wet towel. I decided that I give give another US$1 for tips! This was at a nice saloon at Siem Reap. I wonder how much those road side barber charge.

Overall, I spent about S$700 including shopping. (Air ticket was about S$300. Airport tax and entrance fees were about US$80. Shopping about US$80.) Not bad for a 8day/7nights trip considering this is peak travel season.

6. Sunset

(sunset from Pre Rup)

Sunset was beautiful. But it was crazy to have hundreds of people perched on the temple at Phnom Bakheng to watch sunset.

I happened to chance upon Pre Rup which was further away. There were fewer people and it was more pleasant there. I spent 2 evenings day. But it was a long ride back to town in the dark after that.

7. Toilets

There were numerous toilets through the Angkor historical park. So it was not a big problem.

However, whoever designed the toilets is a real idiot! The design did not allow for natural light to filter in. The toilets were really dark inside. Many of the toilets had lights switched off probably to save electricity. Using the urinals in the gents were not too bad because of the light that filtered in from the entrance. However, I heard some laddies complaining about not being about to see in the stalls.

A good architect would have design it to allow for natural light and ventilation. That would have saved the need for electrical lighting.

8. Rubbish everywhere

In Phnom Penh, people just bring out their rubbish and throw them on the streets! The rubbish would just pile up as a heap on the road side. The rubbish collector would then come round and scoop them up.

I almost stepped on a poop on the streets. I got a child urinated on my leg when I walked pass. And I could smell urine in the temple grounds!

9. Beggars & Child prostitution

The first thing I noticed upon arrive at the airport was sign boards about protecting children from prostitution. Such signs were pretty common everywhere. It appeared that it might have been a big problem in Cambodia.

There were also lots of beggars everywhere. Many of them children. It was quite sad sight.

I did not give to any beggars -- you know the rhetoric about how that does not help them to be financially independent and may play into syndicates who control the beggars. I also saw how one Taiwanese gave some money to one child and was suddenly swamped by a crowd of children asking for money.

But I could not help but wonder, it which point, it really just become an excuse for not feeling or lack of compassion.

While eating breakfast, I saw a few kids carrying plastic bags, collecting left overs from the customers. I contemplated buying a few baguettes and gave to them. But in the end, I did not move. It was one of those moments of inaction, torn between compassion and cynicism, paralyzed by indecisiveness.

On the flight back, on the airline magazine, I read about the Riverkids Project. I think it is probably more helpful to support programs that empower the people rather than giving money to the beggars.

Last respects

The first thing I had to do in Phnom Penh was to visit the site of the drowning and pay respects to the five dragon boaters. I woke up early and made a trip to the market to buy five lotus flowers and bouquet of white chrysantanum. It was early in the morning and the pontoon was quiet except for a few tourist boats. The pontoon was a pretty big structure, bare and rather ugly, and I understood how fatal it can be if trapped underneath it. I said my quiet prayers with a sense of desolation, and then watch the river carried away the five lotus flowers. Go in peace, friends. 22 Dec 07. Phnom Penh.

情痴

人间自是有情痴
此恨不关风与月

-欧阳修 《玉春楼》 (唐)

Inspiration

I pray not for a lighter load, but a stronger back to carry a heavier load.
- Reuben Kee

There are not many people who touch so many lives, and inspired so many others.

Dedication

Farewell

In The Straits Times today, there was a heart-wrenching photo of the dragon boat team members kneeling by the Tonle Sap river, paying their last respects to the 5 departed paddlers.

I had not know the 5 paddlers personally. But I seen them around enough to recognize 4 of them. In fact, I had been admiring 2 of them for a while...

The sense of loss was really close to heart.

I could not help but reflect on how fleeting life can be.

We are but paddlers in the sea of Samsara. Perhaps we may yet paddle again together in lives to come.

I shall hold you in my heart.

无缘

《莲的心事》 席慕容


我是一朵盛开的夏莲
多希望
你能看见现在的我

风霜还不曾来侵蚀
秋雨还未滴落
青涩的季节又已离我远去
我已亭亭　不忧　亦不惧

现在　正是
最美丽的时刻
重门却已深锁
在芬芳的笑靥之后
谁人知我莲的心事

无缘的你啊
不是来得太早　就是
太迟！

After the River Regatta 2007

Finally, the Singapore River Regatta was over.

It was a tiring weekend. But it had been fruitful nonetheless.

Over all, the FLUS team performed beyond my expectations. The hard work the team has put in for the past few months had really borne fruit. While we still made a couple of mistakes and still fall short the goal of getting into the finals, we had made good progress compared to where we were at the beginning of the year and at the June race. Even in terms of timing, we did pretty well. The mixed race showed us what we were capable of achieving and it was a great morale booster.

However, there were still many things we did not do well, and earned quite a bit of scolding from our coach.

Moreover, in terms of management, I had made quite a number of mistakes and bad decisions as well, and probably hurt quite a few people in the process. I was really sorry about it.

I just have to learn from there and pick up the pieces and move on.

We aim for even better results at next year's regatta!

Censorship

错过

《送别》 席慕容

不是所有的梦　都来得及实现
不是所有的话　都来得及告诉你　
疚恨总要深植在离别后的心中　
尽管　他们说
世间种种最后终必成空

我并不是立意要错过
可是　我一直都在这样做
错过那花满枝桠的昨日　又要
错过今朝

今朝仍要重复那相同的别离
余生将成陌路　一去千里
在暮霭里向你深深俯首　请
为我珍重　尽管　他们说
世间种种最后终必　终必成空

《有故事的歌 有故事的人》圆满结束

筹备了一阵子的节目，今天圆满结束，终于松了口气。

担心着没有反应。担心着节目冷清。

还好大概有二十人出席。节目也进行的挺顺利， 大家都能一起分享，也没冷场。这还多亏了主持的功劳。

接下来，要忙着龙舟赛的筹备了！

错把过客当归人

《错误》 郑愁予
　
我打江南走过
那等在季节里的容颜如莲花的开落
　
东风不来，三月的柳絮不飞
你底心如小小寂寞的城
恰若青石的街道向晚
跫音不响，三月的春帷不揭
你底心是小小的窗扉紧掩
　
我达达的马蹄是美丽的错误
我不是归人，是个过客……

思君

只缘感君一回顾，使我思君暮与朝
—古乐府

I found someone

I found someone, I think I'm falling...
- bdanime

Posters for People with stories

I just came up with a new publicity poster for the PPC event People with Stories. I was trying to decide what would capture people's attention, and finally decided on putting in a hunk.

The first poster was a graphic of a guitar. I thought that was too dull, and never used it.

The second one I came up with was the one with a boy and a fox. I like that one. But I wonder if people recognize the boy and the fox or not. I guess those who recognize it may understand why I thought it is appropriate to the theme of the event.

However, it appears that the blurp was too vague. Apparently people did not know what it was about. The poster is probably a bit too cartoonish. Not attention catching enough I guess.

The response for the event had been wanting. I decided it was time to revamp the poster. I was thinking about what who catch people's attention, especially if the poster is on a webpage like Fridae. Finally, I decided a hunk who probably do the trick.

It took me a couple of days to do this one. But I am quite satisfied with the effect. My concern is that it may be too male centric and may not bring in the girls. I bounced it off others, and indeed the comment was that it is probably going to be alienating to the girls.

So in the end, I use back the boy and fox picture.

By the way, for those who recognize it, the picture is modelled after the Korean hunk Bak Jeong Su (boy, he's really hot!)

红豆

只道红豆汤好吃，
不知此物最相思！

有故事的歌：《化妆舞会》

这是《有故事的歌，有故事的人》活动的文章。
(http://peoplewithstories.blogspot.com)
............................


《化妆舞会》，于台烟唱， 梁弘志词。

初听这首歌时，约是中学或初院时期吧。青春时期，对爱情充满了幻想和期待。而羞涩的我对说不出的爱情就只能以这首歌来抒发。

《化妆舞会》有着浓浓的灰姑娘情结。一个不起眼的人，有着那一点点自卑，一点点期盼。
对喜欢的人，只能远远爱慕。终于有那么一天在化装舞会里近距离相处，却没勇气卸下面具，因为怕看到他眼里有淡淡的后悔。

歌里的那么一段，一直深深地描绘着我的心情。

朋友们都说，我长得平凡而无味，
却总是没人注意到我的内在美。
或许这是个流行戴着面具的世界，
而我也尝尽了忽略的滋味。

在外表与身材挂帅的同志圈子里，我对这断的感受甚深。

人长地不帅又有一点龅牙。从小家境穷，穿着始终朴素，也不打扮。长期始终没人注意到我。

青春时对倾慕的帅哥，只能远远暗恋，终日幻想或许有那一人会发现我的内在美而喜欢上我。当然那始终是个痴心妄想。

后来在互联网上，开始寻找伴侣。不管在通信时是如何地热烈交往，到了最后见面过后都是不了了之。

岁月流逝，只觉得，在这充斥着青春与美色的同志世界里，大家都戴着一种虚伪的美丽。

大家忙碌地生活，匆匆地接触，浅浅地认识，忽略了旁人，同时也受到了忽略吧？

但我从不抱怨。毕竟自己是这社群的一部份，要怎样的社群，需要大家一起打造。而我也不能说我从不以貌取人。人生就是这样。

只是，渐渐，心灰了，意也阑珊了。

对爱情，我始终停留在灰姑娘阶段。

一个人时，弹着吉他，唱着于台烟的这首歌，心情依然感慨。

Anyone can cook

Anyone can cook.
But only the fearless become great.

-from Ratatouille

礼物

寂寞的都市人，
你什么都不缺，
或许，除了爱情。


但是，
爱情却从来不是礼物！

天冷就回来

现在对着收音机 听自己唱的歌
我的他问为什么 幸福不快乐
我微笑着说 我也不懂得
他想出去走一走 我对他点点头


天冷你就回来 别在风中徘徊
我猜我眼里有明白 还有一丝无奈
天冷他没回家 我仍然在等待
明天的雨点撒下来 那滋味就是爱

一人一半，感情不散。

今天看了陈子谦的《881》，不禁动容。

已经许久没被感动了，眼泪似乎收藏不住，一面看一面哭着。

喜欢戏里的歌曲。 （要买原声碟！）
喜欢戏里的服装。
喜欢许多有意思的短句。
喜欢男女演员。 （尤其是戚玉武！帅呆了！）



一人一半，感情不散。
一人一点，感情不减。
一人一口，永不分手！

山虽无言

山虽无言，天地有情。
水虽不语，人间有爱！

Vietnam trip 21-28 Jul

Here's a review of the Vietnam Trip. Overall, it was a very pleasant trip and I won't mind heading back again.

1. Places visited.
Danang, Hue, Hoi An and day trips to My Son, Cua Dai beach and Marble Mountains from Hoi An.

2. Expenses.
Air fares on Silk Air $360. Travel insurance $33. Total Hotel USD$20 for whole trip. Transport about US$20. Food, admission fees, shopping: about US$100. The whole trip cost about SGD$650.

So far, of all the countries I visited, Vietnam has the best deal in terms of accomodations. Our accomodations costs were : Danang US$22 for 2 rooms. Hue US$9 for tripple share. Hoi An US$12 for tripple share. At about US$3 a person, I am getting attached baths with hot showers, aircon, TV and mini fridge! The day before we left, we popped into a nice hotel in Hoi An, they quoted us US$20 for 3 people, with much nicer rooms and free buffet breakfast and use of their small swimming pool!

For the record, the cheapest accommodation I've stayed in so far was about US$1 at Vieng Vang in Laos! It was US$10 for 3 rooms shared by 9 people.

3. Interesting experience

I got to row the bowl shape bamboo craft used by the local fishermen! (no photo evidence because I did not bring my camera the day I went to beach.)

The owner of the Karma Waters Cafe at the Cua Dai beach was kind enough to let me try it when I asked him about it. You move the craft using a sculling draw (figure of 8 draw) with a paddle, similar to the sculling draw used when kayaking.


The local markets also offered interesting experience. We had interesting time bargaining and buying slippers, fruits, chilli, tee shirts, coffee powder and snacks in the local markets.

4. Food
Vegetarian food turned out to be pretty easy to find. And food is really cheap. A bowl of pho at a local stall cost only about 60 cents. A lot of Vietnamese observe vegetarian food on the 1st, 14th, 15th and last day of the lunar calendar. On these days, many of the road side stalls changes to selling vegetarian food. All I need was to look for the tell tale word "Chay" which means vegetarian. (Same pronunciation as the Chinese word 斋)



It turns out that it was not easy to find good vegetarian pho. A couple of places used dried pho instead of fresh one. I ended up liking the Bun noodles and Mi Quang more. It was also difficult to get fresh spring rolls. most of the time, what I ordered turned up to be fried.

In Hoi An, we found a restaurant called Riverside which we liked very much and ended up eating there most of the time.

The coffee was also very good. Very strong and potent, with a nice aroma. We bought many packs of the coffee powder back.

5. Things missed

It might have been nice to cycle to the tombs in Hue, and in the Cham Kim island.

I found out about the excursion trip to Lonely Island and Cham Island a little late. Would have been nice to do that.

We went to Marble mountains en route back to Danang Airport. It turns out to be quite a pleasant place. We were only stopping 1 hour and there was not enough time to visit the whole place. Should have spent more time there.

If I ever go back to Hoi An, I will make sure I look up the catalogs and bring them there! You can get clothes and shoes tailor made very cheaply.

And I want more good pho and fresh spring rolls!

Hoi An

When we arrived in Hoi An, the bus made off with our luggage while we were checking out the rooms. We had to take a taxi to the bus station to get our bags back. Certainly not a good way to start.

We ended up back at the guest house where the bus dumped us and got a room for US$12 a night for 3 people.

Hoi An is a pretty nice and laid back place, with lots of old houses. A bit like Luang Prabang. Except the whole area seems to cater to tourists, with rows of shops selling the same thing. Even though the roads are filled with tourists, I still don't know how the shops survive. Every where you walk, there are people asking you to buy something from them.

This morning we took a day trip to the My Son ruins. There was not very much to see. It's sad that most of it had been destroyed by the Americans during the war.

In any case, this is turning out to be a trip of eat, relax and shop. There are shops that make shoes for as low as US$20. Food is good, and cheap by Singapore standards.

Tomorrow, we will just head out to the beach and laze around.

Day at Hue

Today was a lazy but pretty enjoyable day at Hue.

We got up early in the morning -- daylight starts at 5am and I didn't sleep that well (suffering from not-my-bed-syndrome).

We had a crappy breakfast at one of the guesthouse's cafe. The pho was not fresh (cooked from dried pho) and the soup taste like cooked with msg.

We had an early morning and headed straight to the Dong Ha market to look around. It's a pretty big local market and there are lots of interesting stuff here. Vegetables, grains, fruits, grocery, clothes... We ended up shopping a lot more than we expected. Bought T-shirts (S$2.5 each). Bought slippers (S$2 each). Bought Vietnamese coffee (bargained from S$5 to S$2.7 per pack). Bought water melons, snacks.... CK's did all the bargaining and he's really good.

In the end, instead of heading to the Imperial Palace, we decided to take a cab back to the guest house and dropped our stuff first. Taxi fare's cheap anyway. (like S$2 for a short trip).

We had our most sumptuous and expensive lunch so far (S$18). But the food was good and we enjoyed it. I'm really enjoying the food. Still haven't had enough of pho yet. And yet to try the fresh rice paper rolls.

We headed to the Citadel in the afternoon. There isn't much left of the imperial palace, most of it being destroyed in the war. It would have been more enjoyable if the sun was not so hot. But still it was nice sitting around, hiding from the hot sun while the afternoon drifts away.

CK was clearly unimpressed, having been to grander stuff in Beijing. He did not think he'll come back. But I won't mind coming back again. Hue has its own charm.

As we sit in the short stools by the river side, drinking juices and coffee, I thought it would be nice if I have a partner who enjoy such trips with me.

Tomorrow, we'll be heading to Hoi An.

Good morning Vietnam!

I am now blogging from the lobby of the hotel in Hue. I am paying only US$3 for this stay, with aircon and attached bath with hot water. Quite a bargain huh!

We arrived at Danang yesterday and checked into a budget place by the river. Compare to what we are paying for at Hue ($9 for 3 people), it's kind of expensive ($22 for 3 people). But the location was nice and it has a balcony view to the river.

This morning we went to the Cham museum. It turned out to be a bit of disappointment. Danang is kind of quiet place, without much tourist. But I think that's also the charm of it. Things are cheap. People are pleasant.

When we arrive in Hue today, we stopped right in the middle of a tourist trap and were mopped by touts from all over. There are lots of shops catering to tourists and prices are not as cheap compared with Danang.

It turns out that vegetarian food is quite easy to find in Vietnam so far. This afternoon, I had my first bowl of vietnamese Pho at the veg join in a temple in Danang. And it cost only about 60 cents! Tonight in Hue, we went to a more high class restaurant. The food was pretty. There was a vegetarian venison, which CK claimed was good enough to satisfy his craving for meat.

So far, it's been quite pleasant. Food is cheap. Transport is cheap too. And the coffee here is quite nice, though very strong.

Will be heading to the imperial palace tomorrow. Hope it's won't be as hot as today!

Hue. 11:20pm

Canon in D Major

I don't know much about music and is not a fan of classical music either. But I like Canon in D Major a lot.

I first come across this from the soundtrack of the Korean movie The Classic.

I did some search on the internet and found that it had a simple chord progression, played by 3 violins 2 bar apart. It's just simply melodies overlaid on top of each other till it became a very rich composition.

In the 2006 animated version of the anime series Kanon.

Canon in D is played in the café Yuuichi and his friends visit. In a later episode, Sayuri mentions the piece, "When the same melody plays repeatedly, little by little it'd turn into a rich and beautiful music. Just like this, even if a person lives a seemingly unchanging life, little by little things will change."

So, little things in life may be mundane. But overlay them together, little by little we can build a rich and beautiful life.

And this guitar rendition of the piece is pretty awesome!

Who did I leave behind?

Watched Asian Boys III last night.

It was quite good, though I thought the script of the 2nd part was a bit too rough, a bit like stuffing it down your throat. Personally, I think the play write over-did the part on bring his fiasco with MOE into the play.

Ben Xiao was cute as ever, though he seemed to be less bulky then before. But I think he looks better now.

But what got me thinking was the part when Nicholas faced the Nicole he had left behind in London.

Who did I leave behind in my personal journey? Which part of me had I abandoned?

过客与桨手

在短暂的生命里，我不过是个过客，
负着前世的业力来，承着今生的修行去。

在轮回的娑婆阎海中，我不过是个桨手，
在惊涛骇浪中浮沉，在浩瀚汪洋中摆渡。

暗恋完结篇

December 01, 2006 原载：http://laink.blogs.friendster.com/laink/2006/12/index.html



十多年的暗恋，昨夜突然结束了。

十多年前就注意到他了。
从还是阿兵哥的时候。
这些年来，曾擦肩而过；
乘过同一辆巴士；
在泳池看过他的体魄和泳姿；
看过他和母亲上市场；
在人群中发现他的影迹；
到最近发现原来他在同一间公司上班...

自始，都是在远处欣赏，暗暗爱慕。时而幻想或许有童话般的结果。

昨晚，终于近距离面对面地相遇了。

就在他无视地走过后，我突然有一种凄凉： 他始终看都没看我一眼。

突然一惊: 这十几年来的恋慕就这样结束了。

友人问：心情如何？

说实在，并没什么。

自始至终，我都明白这不过是一种 “ 癞蛤蟆想吃天鹅肉 ” 的痴心妄想。所以从来没真正投入感情，也没期待什么结果。

那么，也许这并非恋情，不过是一种爱慕和梦幻的情结。

所以我没有伤心，除了那一点点完结的失落。

真的没有。

虽然我还是不经地想起慕容席的《一棵开花的树》那一段：

而当你终於无视地走过
在你身后落了一地的
朋友啊 那不是花瓣
是我凋零的心！

－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－
后记：
April 30, 2007 http://laink.blogs.friendster.com/laink/2007/04/post_3.html

重温郑智化的《把情感收藏起来》，突然无限感慨。

什么是我一直该对你作的诗，而我一直都没有作？
什么是我一直该对你留的泪，而我一直都没有哭？
什么是我一直该对你认的错，而我一直都没有低头？
.....忘了曾经虚度的青春，永远永远不再重来。

唱着唱着，想起不久前写的《暗恋完结篇》，忽然想说：

什么是我一直该对你说的爱，而我一直都没有开口？

岁月从掌中逝去。青春永远永远不再重来。我只能把感情继续收藏起来。

Travellers and Paddlers

We are but travellers in life and paddlers in the sea of Samsara.

生命过客，娑婆桨手。