Angkor What?

I met a traveler from an antique land,
Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read,
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed;
And on the pedestal these words appear:
"My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.

Sorry for the lack of blogging lately. the Parents are in town and need constant guidance. Off to Cambodia soon!

Of Spikes and Smells

Behold the durian, King of Fruits:



This fruit is widely available across Vietnam. Practically everything about the durian is distinctive, from its large size to it's numerous thorns to, above all, it's powerful and dangerous reek.

For durian smells bad, and there's no way around it. If there is a single durian for sale in the supermarket you will smell it the instant you walk in the door. Celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain employed a rather vivid simile to describe it: 'it takes like you'd buried someone holding a big wheel of Stilton and then dug him up two weeks later'. Travel writer Richard Sterling goes even farther, claiming that the smell 'is best described as pig-shit, turpentine and onions, garnished with a gym sock.' I'm not sure if I'd describe it that way but the message is clear enough.

So, how does it taste? Rather like a mix between mango, Gouda, and cream custard. Does that sound disgusting? I rather like it, but not raw. Only in smoothie or ice-cream form does it become palatable.

Oh Those Scamps

The other day in my 9th-grade class I was playing one of my favorite games, which apparently is called 'Hot Seat'. To play is simple. You Have one student stand with his or her back to the board and write a word behind. Then the rest of the class must help the student in the hot seat figure out what the word is.

BUT, sometimes after the students have played for a while I let them turn the tables and write words behind my back. Usually this is OK, but this time one girl wrote a word and much giggling ensued.

One of the boys raised his hand "Teacher! It is a baby cat".

At this point I got nervous. "Is it 'kitten'?" No, it wasn't.

Kids say the darndest things.

Better Know A District: District 7

Last Saturday I found myself in District 7, aka Saigon South aka Phu My Hung (for some reason every district has to have at least three names) to see a Christmas Concert. I never got to see the concert, but this gave me plenty of time to wander around.

District 7 is located south of the Saigon River, passing through District 4 from the city center. It is also known by yet another name, 'Koreatown', because of the high concentration of Koreans living there.

It is important, however, to realize that most of these Koreans are not simply people of Korean descent living in Vietnam. Most of them are expatriate businesspeople, and by the look of things they;re doing pretty well.

Because, you see, going to District 7 from my apartment I found myself transported out of Ho Chi Minh City into a Korean version of Bethesda, Maryland. Tall buildings, wide well-kept streets, expensive restaurants and a fair bit of greenery. It was pleasant enough but seemed rather unreal.