Let's go shopping at the Asian Garden Mall!!

We are now going to visit the largest Vietnamese owned and operated mall in the United States, right here on Bolsa Avenue (#9200), in Westminster. It is so huge and so attractive, it has its own website. You can't help but be drawn to it, because it looks so inviting from the outside, its glass facade permitting you to see two floors of activity. There is no problem parking, at least on that particular day of the week, and they had a marvelous idea, in that they installed shaded seating outside the mall for people to rest and socialize.

 If you live in the area, you can go to their night markets. Though I have not been to one of them, I know the allure of night markets from having been to one in Chang Mai, Thailand and Hanoi, Vietnam. You can check dates and events on their Facebook page.The photos shown of the last night market look pretty lively.
 

First, this is a great place to escape the heat. It is air conditioned, spacious and super clean. You can probably spend half a day just browsing the two floors. As you cans see in the above photo, there are all things Asian plus clothing stores, toy stores, accessories, shoe stores, baby clothes and related items, Asian lanterns and statuettes, incense, false nails...oh yes, see this flat screen TV describing the nail painting procedures:

You can see behind the screens all sorts of little figurines and plastic toys for sale. The clothing stores, by the way, are tailored to the Asian figure. Which I don't have since I am Mediterranean. I was looking for an airy top to wear due to the extreme heat, but never did find it until I returned to New York..They had beautiful Chinese cherry-wood chairs, but I don't think they were for sale. Also, as customary, near the entrance, is an area for burning incense and prayer to the image of Buddha.

People were eating. And there is quite a selection in this Cho's food court.  This is what you see from the second floor:

And on ground level:

I was happy to see that Lee's Sandwiches had a branch here, as their food is so fresh and delicious. Next time, if there is one, we'll come hungry.

I took a photo of a striking piece of sculpture, though I couldn't tell its material. Perhaps you'll know and tell me:

It could be jade, as I have seen extraordinary jade sculptures in our own Chinatown right here in New York, but I wasn't sure. It may have been sandstone.

And this is the top floor as seen from the ground floor..the lanterns are a must. So is the color red.


And for those who crave jewelry (I only like costume jewelry, and colors...colors...colors..) I found this video that shows the bling part of the mall.

Cho Binh Tay - Chinatown Market

Every city in the world most likely has its Chinatown. And Saigon is no exception. The character of the market is quite different than Cho Ben Thanh, but it is surrounded by some beautiful parks and architecture that beckons one to slow down from the seemingly endless madness and bustle one finds inside its perimeters.

Do a cab as it's faster and provides some relief from the heat, which can become unbearable. If you just say Cholon (the word means big market), they will immediately know what you are talking about. Cholon refers to the district where allegedly the world's largest "Chinatown" is found.

An estimated one million people live here, and have their shops and foods and all things ethnically Chinese. In sharp contrast with District 1 where we were staying, which has modern, high rise buildings, Cholon in District 5 provides a time warp that may take you back a few hundred years. Which makes it all the more exciting.

Let's go through the market and continue on outside where a sitting area is available, but the only people we saw sitting were children. The adults appear to have way too much to do to spend any of their time out here. But it's lovely and reminiscent of some of the topiary we had seen on the grounds of the Grand Palace in Bangkok (albeit on a very very much smaller scale). All of the elements for harmony and balance are found; water, beautiful foliage, huge urns where joss sticks are burning continuously, as offering to the spirits, or to keep the evil spirits away. And for more protection, the requisite dragons are in full form, black stone and menacing.

All around the area, you will see pagodas, temples and monasteries built by the Chinese to accommodate the influx of their people into Vietnam. They have their own clan associations, which allow them to respond to their own cultural and religious needs.

An interesting bit of a trivia is that even though the Vietnamese have dubbed the area as Cholon, the Chinese refer to it as "ti-an", which means enbankment. Some of the temples and institutions which were built in the area date back to the French occupation, and others predate it.

When you've had enough fresh air, head back inside the market and start navigating the aisles. They have separated durable goods from consumables, which makes a lot of sense. There is also an upper level with more shops, that are in reality similar to stalls. Most have goods stacked to the ceiling, in certain cases very neatly, and in worst cases, very helter-skelter. The next few pictures will give you an idea of optimization of space. These people have mastered the art.

this is the upper level of the market seen from below

the market shows its age through one of the tiles in front of the hat displays

If I recall accurately, we did buy a suitcase here, after doing some price comparisons, which , are you will find are not necessary here. By our standards, most if not all prices are ridiculously low, and one tends to get caught up in the enormity of the number of dongs rather than their value. 150 thousand dongs is only US$10. Unfortunately, no matter how many times you do the math, you still get sticker shock. At one point, Chuck had a brilliant idea, and devised his own tables of dollars versus dongs. It did help us with the rest of the trip.

Cuisine is one of the most exciting things to sample, and it's no secret that the Chinese represent one of the three top world cuisines. The other two are French and Italian. At Ben Tay Market, you can not only browse the aisles for purchasing foods, but you can watch people cooking and eating whatever the day's menu brings. The colors and smells will transport you to another world. In some cases, I had absolutely no idea what was in front of me, but I was nevertheless mesmerized by the colors and sheer quantity of variety.

the only thing I can identify here are the scallion pancakes on the extreme right-yummy

they love chilies in this country, and it's the death of me.

of course, everything is absolutely fresh

If I had to guess, I'd say these were mushrooms

The colors here would make an artist drool; the middle pile looks like tiny shrimp

So now you have a preview of a small slice of life in Cholon. Don't wait too long before you visit.

These are a few of my favorite things

These are the ones that I didn't' have to go far to find, but there are others. With two trips to Viet Nam, and time in between in New York to find things I enjoyed there, - most are in the form of food or drink-, others stuff will pop up.

Silk embroidery is one of the specialty handcrafts of the country, and there are two major centers: the first is in Da Lat and the second is in Nah Trang; we were very lucky to find the one in Nah Trang, because we simply were not looking for it. We had been having lunch seaside, and my eye had caught a huge sign that said something about women's crafts. Ironically, no one at the restaurant knew what it was, or perhaps they did not know what I was asking. Curiosity always wins, and so glad it did. The embroidery here is that of a stereotypical Viet Namese with his conical hat, his merchandise and his wheels, without which he probably could not make a living.

I picked that up in Ha Noi actually, not far from Hoan Kiem Lake. You find them everywhere, in little shops, and after a few visits, you begin to know your prices. There are very few which are just black and white, like this one. Most are extremely colorful, and naturally, I have those as well. (See the set of small embroideries top left) They become all the more precious when you have watched the women at work over these huge projects, sometimes, 3 or 4 people are working on one design. I will take you to the art center in another post.

As far back as I can remember, I was always a shawl girl. (woman). That included ponchos, that were hand embroidered, and at one time, my mother-in-law was turning them out faster than I could wear them. I could never understand why every woman in America didn't own at least 10 different shawls. The poncho to the left, for lack of a better word, was purchased in Sa Pa, in the north of Viet Nam. Sa Pa is a mountain resort which was built by the French during the nineteenth century, and if and when you go there, you will think you may have landed somewhere in the Alps. What I loved about this design was the harmony of colors, and the fact that it was reversible.

I had not seen anything like it in Ha Noi. It may not get that cool in Ha Noi, but in Sa Pa, in the evening, this can come in very handy. After all, you are sharing space with Fan Si Pan, the highest peak of the Tonkinese Alps. There are other types of shawls which are just about everywhere. The one I hold very dear was a gift from Van, which I mentioned in another post. She had given it to me when we had lunch at Madame Ann Thuyet Pham. It's a very fine and soft wool, almost cashmere like, and the embroidery is so exquisite, and the color combination of the flowers and petals is nothing short of stunning. Whenever and wherever I have worn it, people have stopped to ask me about it.

Here's another beauty which is a combination cotton/silk and perhaps one other fiber, but I'm not sure. A Ha Noi purchase, and amazingly, when you get back home, you find that it can be worn with a number of pieces of clothing you never remembered you had. Mind you, none of these treasures of mine cost a fortune, but they are treasures nevertheless. Their uniqueness sets them apart from anything else I own.

I am also a costume jewelry fanatic; and for a few years now, silver has been more fashionable than gold, so I was definitely in the right place. For earrings, most of the ones that attracted me were hoops of sorts; interestingly, there were no separate parts, like a post for pierced ears. The earring had a self-closing mechanism which just made life a whole lot easier.

The hoop with the multi-colored metal pieces is the most popular in Sa Pa. Everyone wears them, from the little girls who would be chasing after us (another fabulous story coming), to the older women. But then again, everything they wear is multi-colored, because of the "montagnard" sense of fashion which is somewhat the same as the tribal people we encountered in the North of Thailand. The other silver hoop is less ornate, and I didn't like the way the silver bent itself after using the earring a few times. Lastly, there was a bronze hammered metal hoop that was irresistible. At this time, I will admit that I have lost one of each, but I refuse to let go of the mate.

This necklace would have made Cleopatra jealous. Again, it is worn mainly by the mountain women of Sa Pa, and I bought this during the famous Saturday market, where people from all over the region come and make purchases of just about everything, including foods, fowl, fruit and natural dyes like indigo. There are also things like hooves, and pigs feet for sale. The market is colorful, and a wonderful smell of mountain air mixes with incense and the laughter of children.

The pillow covers you see are again typical of the geometric design and color combination of the north. Ironically, I purchased these in a shop in Ha Noi, before I had ever set eyes in Sa Pa. When I returned, I found more pillow covers, but with different designs and color combinations. Indigo had become prominent. The pillows are set on a love seat in my office, which I purchased when I moved into my new apartment in Bayside in 2004. I never bothered to look at the manufacture, since I assume most everything now is made in China. However, one day, as I got behind the loveseat to find a plug, I looked at the tag, and was shocked! The sofa was made in Viet Nam!

I am a fragrance nut as well. This is deep rooted however, and began with my working for a fragrance manufacturer in my early twenties. They ruined me for life, in that I would change fragrance almost as often as I would my underwear. It had become unthinkable to wear the same fragrance every day.
Some aspects of that habit have not changed, and perfume and colognes are not cheap state side, especially with my taste. Though the bottle of finished, I managed to find Kenzo's Flower perfume which sells for $63 on the internet, for a fraction of the price. I also helped myself to 2 bottles of Burberry for women which you see to the left, and 2 bottles of Hugo Boss. Sai Gon has much more variety than Ha Noi, for some reason, and that is where I will head again the next time. You can also find your favorite perfumed lotions, men's after shaves, make up, - everything you need below duty free prices.

The lacquered sandals you see here are as stunning as they look. They have about a one inch heel and I wore them once, on the Emeraude cruise, at a special dinner. Oddly enough, I had an evening dress to match. These were picked up at the Ben Thanh market in Sai Gon which is an adventure in itself. The day you go there, make sure you have no appointments to keep.

I will try to end this with two important food types which entered my vocabulary since 2005 and never left. One is pho, which is broth with noodles and the other is Ca phe sua (coffee is too simple for this beverage). Of course, one can always go to a Viet Namese restaurant just about anywhere in New York and get both of these items, ready made and served. But, there is something very rewarding when you are home, and decide you are going to make pho, and you get out the biggest pot you can find and go at it. Without the little magic cubes which I found at the Viet Namese market, it wouldn't be pho. Of course, you need rice noodles, of which you will find an astounding variety, lime to taste, but I usually slice a lime and throw it in the broth because I'm a maniac for lime. You can add fish, like prawns, or fish balls which are only available at Asian vendors. Some like beef or chicken, but if you're going that route, why bother? The fish is tastier and healthier. It's the simplest dish of all, and the most rewarding.

By nature, I'm not a coffee drinker. I was weaned on black tea since I was a child, and that's just the way it stayed. From time to time, I will have a latté or a cappuccino, but that's the extent of it. All of that changed in Viet Nam. The coffee there is a remnant of the French influence of café au lait, and they have managed to do something to it by adding sweet condensed milk, and serving hot or cold. The coffee comes with a gizmo that filters it; it's hard to describe, but I have photos for later posts. Making a long story short, it's available here in packets and all you need to do is add hot water.
If you wish to have an iced coffee, then make the hot water anyway, mix your coffee with about 1/3 of a tall glass, and then a fill the rest of the glass with ice cubes. And presto. Starbucks will never make it in Viet Nam, because they just don't need it there.

Day Trip to Bac Ha

start walking....

You must have surmised at this point that this blog is not going in any particular order. If not, let me preview then by saying that in order to get to Bac Ha, you would most likely be coming from another town, like Sa Pa, for instance. Sa Pa serves as the nexus for many day excursions, such as this one, and others for trekkers, which you'll never hear about from me as climbing is out of the question. We are now in the northwest part of Viet Nam, and this is a gem of a place for rubbing elbows with tribal people. Very much like Thailand, where we did see tribes as we went north of Bangkok, into Chiang Mai, and further north. There are striking similarities between those tribes, owing to the fact that they all are groups split from the original southern Chinese miao tribes.

People usually herd when they travel together...here I am with some newfound friends; I was very surprised to see many young women travelling alone.

Our first encounter with the tribes of Viet Nam happened during our visit to Ha Noi a year earlier, as I had a check mark next to the Museum of Ethnology. Had we known what was in store for us there, we would have planned for an entire day at the Museum, rather than a couple of hours. The collection they have put together is nothing short of amazing, and on the second floor, we began to learn about the tribes, their habitats, their origins, and their vibrant colored garbs. I think we decided at the moment, subconsciously, that a trip to the north had to be on the agenda at some point. You'd be amazed to see how many people they can load in this little bus

We'll stick to the people of Bac Ha and their little corner of the world for now. From Sa Pa, if you are going on a "guided" tour, which really means someone who knows how to get there is driving, and you have a mini-bus filled beyond capacity making its way. Not all minibuses are created equal; some are old and in dire need of new shocks, and as the road is mostly unpaved and quite rocky, prepare to be jolted for 100 miles or so. To help with orientation, here's a little map of Northwest Viet Nam; you can then see that from Sa Pa, you are moving northeast.

The day to go to Bac Ha should be Sunday, as this is when everyone gets all dolled up to shop and mingle and gossip etc..Your tour will start early, around 7:00 am or so, as it takes about 3 hours to arrive. The predominant tribe in the area is called the H'mong Flower Tribe, and they are instantly recognized by the head dress which consists of a headscarf tied in the back, with mostly pastel colors, but some with red as well. It can get more complicated with two scarves: one tied to the back, and the other, in a different pattern, tied under the chin. (no it's not that cold there). The scarves are usually woven in a crisscross pattern, and here I'm tempted to call it scotch plaid, but that's too somber. Have a look at the pictures which will save 1000 more words, at least.

these young women wear no headgear whatsoever; perhaps a new generation?

All buses have a specific drop off and pick up point which is smack center of the village. As you get out, you find yourself immersed in long ribbons of winding color in call directions. Everything is sold here, from jewelry, to wovens, to meat (pigs especially), to tobacco and humongous joss sticks, which I had to have. The scent is very Ha Noi, and every time I use one at home, what immediately comes to mind is the ride from Noi Bai airport to the city. Also quite interesting to watch were the men who were smoking tobacco (at first we didn't think it was tobacco!) through hollow bamboo reeds. Also, tobacco is sold loose at the market and I suppose it's easier to inhale through the reed than to have to roll it in paper. We must have gone back and forth in the food tobacco area, where a communal lunch seemed to have been taking place. They were all sitting on small plastic chairs and passing bowls around. Nearby the vendors' lunch area were kitchen utensils, pots and pans, home goods not geared to the tourists, but for the inhabitants of the area.

feeding baby with chopsticks!!

For those who stay here for a few days, though for the life of me, I can't imagine why, there are small hotels that will accommodate. Make sure you reserve in advance. Bac Ha is not by any means "gentrified" as is perhaps Sa Pa, but it should remain the way it is, otherwise its charm and genuine character will be lost, like all things that are overexposed. Yes, there are eyesores, but nothing you can't get through with a good pair of hiking shoes. Most everything costs the same, so don't knock yourself out looking for the "bargain" of the day. We made the mistake when we first came to Viet Nam of thinking that going from VDN 30,000 to VDN 15,000 was a big deal. It's not; we're just talking about a US dollar difference.

One thing is noticeable almost instantly: the women are doing all the work. They are carrying heavy loads, selling the goods, feeding the children, and still smiling. It's amazing. It's almost as if the men blended into the background. You'll find them wearing the green army helmets most of the time, riding donkey carriages.

The H'mong Flower tribe is one of about 55 different ethnicities in Viet Nam. Because most of the tribes live in the mountainous north, they were given the name "montagnards" by the French. As with most Viet Namese, they made their way here from Southern China for socio-political reasons. They are, for the most part, an agrarian society with skills in textile dyeing, weaving, and fashioning silver jewelry. The more than quarter million Viet Namese who inhabit the U.S. are from the H'mong tribes.

The video below, which is about 3 minutes long, spotlights Sunday Market in Bac Ha. Though the color is a bit faded, I have compensated with the pictures that we have taken which show the vividness and joy of the clothing and people.