Posts Tagged ‘travel’

snaps & scribbles | vietnam ::

Saturday, August 15th, 2009

:: see below for some photos and anecdotal (sometimes random) notes from a recent trip I took to southern Vietnam. This was only my second time in Vietnam, so please correct me if I got anything wrong. Thanks.  // AjS

snaps ::

scribbles ::

  • Vietnam is really two words and should be spelled Viet Nam.
  • Pepsi not Coke.
  • I have never seen stores selling caskets before. In Vietnam such stores are all along the roadside. It’s very sad to see a stack of children-sized caskets ready for the sell.
  • There are a lot catholic churches in Vietnam.
  • Vietnamese cemeteries are above ground and beautiful.
  • Warrior sneakers and Tiger beer are the only Chinese brands I noticed in the Vietnamese market.
  • Pho is of course never better than in Vietnam.
  • Motorbikes not cars.
  • Vietnam has some of the most interesting signage, particularly government propaganda anti-smoking, and disease awareness signs.
  • Vietnamese people don’t stare, at you in fact, you’re lucky if they look at you at all.
  • Some local fishing boats look like teacups floating in the water.
  • In-store / shop / home Buddhist shrines have flashing neon lights.
  • Quite a few people speak Mandarin. More than I would have expected.
  • Samsung and NOKIA seem to be market leaders in the hand set space in Vietnam.
  • A few KFC, no McDonalds. A good thing.
  • WIFI internet access is fairly readily available in HCM city. The fastest internet connection I’ve accessed in years in in the HCM city airport courtesy of Vietnam Airlines.
  • Vietnamese coffee is still the best coffee in the world to me.
  • Automobile horns are different…they are considerably louder, at a higher pitch, and more annoying.
  • Buildings are tall, skinny, and deep.
  • Motorcycle helmets is a good industry to be in.
  • “Same same.” is a full and proper sentence in Vietnam.
  • Unlike the most of the rest of East Asia, Karaoke is not a very big deal here.
  • Barefoot.
  • Limes, not lemons.
  • Bugs are bigger here.
  • What’s the point of the last 3 zeros in local currency?
  • The Mekong River is very muddy.
  • The Vietnamese, like almost every country I’ve ever visited (accept Germany) appear to be quite patriotic.
  • There is no subway in HCM city, although I understand that is going to change soon.
  • Although the official name is apparently HCM city, most local people still seem to refer to it as Saigon. Saigon sounds much better, but
  • HCM was a pretty interesting guy and probably worst have a big Vietnamese city named after him.
  • A lot of graffiti tags, but couldn’t really find and proper pieces.
  • There is an odd and very obvious surplus of older Western men with badly done arm tattoos running around this country.
  • Palm trees and coconuts.
  • To my great delight, 8bit Nintendo is still played by the average Vietnamese “gamer”
  • The Saigon River-front in downtown HCM city reminds of what Shanghai must have looked like in the late 80s or so.
  • Bread appears to be a pretty standard part of local cuisine…unlike most other East Asian countries.
  • Petro not gas.

mobile guides | shanghai unlike ::

Tuesday, February 24th, 2009

shanghai.unlike

:: the folks at Unlike have created a series (seven to date) of city guides that they boldly brand “the definitive city guide for the mobile generation.” The most recently profiled city is Shanghai and Unlike does a solid scan of the Shanghai scene. Heck, even locals will probably learn something from this well-crafted guide. And cheers on how utterly sensible it is for a mobile to double as a city guide.

Anyways, the guide is broken into six, helpful categories: Shop, Food, Hotel, After DarkArt & CultureEscapism

    Each category lists best-in-category destinations along with vital information easily accessed from your mobile (address, hours, nearest subway, phone number, etc.).

    I used the Berlin guide while traveling there and it dramatically enhanced my experience. I also played around with the Shanghai guide this weekend and visited boutique hotel, Jia Shanghai, which is ridiculously indulgent and stunning.

    I have only two, simple suggestions for improving the guides: 1) include user recommended / uploaded 1 / 2 / 3 day itineraries (a la Lonely Planet) for those on a schedule and, 2) allow user comments, which will layer additional insight onto each write-up. User uploads / comments will only burnish further what is already a comfortably excellent guide. All in all, kudos to Unlike, who has created a guide that unlocks Shanghai for locals and visitors alike. //

    [ is a guest contributor on 56minus1.]

    snaps | qq group ::

    Wednesday, February 4th, 2009

    :: this photo was taken at a small coffee / milk tea shop called 张三疯奶茶店 on Gulangyu island (just off coast of Xiamen city). The sign reads, “we invite everyone to join this shop’s QQ group (72977748) to interactively socialize (i.e. group chat online).” This shop also doesnt allow kissing and recommends you don’t leave until you share your feelings with your loved one…so delightfully 肉麻! QQ is, and likely always will be, the leading instant messaging software in China. The digital media / communications consultant in me has to ask the question of companies and brands operating in the China market –– if ma ‘n pa coffeeshops the size of my bedroom on a random island in China are engaging with customers digitally, why aren’t you?  // AjS

    qq