Thang Nguyen 555
Cultures on Collision Course
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Author: Thang Nguyen 555
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To have a good time takes some planning. To organize a dance party for instance.. Yet, here in Saigon, it’s happenin every night of the week, and more so during this festive holiday. Clubbing however is for stress relief. It got sight, smoke, sound and scene. The feel. Players know where to go, to spot…
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Rolling black-outs in the city occur here quite often. So it’s refreshing to ride through District 1, where the Saigon River occasionally delivers some wind-tunnel effect. Lightings are up to prepare for the upcoming holidays. Bakeries are setting up kiosks everywhere in town, pushing their Moon cakes. We got Givral joining the confectionary space traditionally belongs to…
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She said No, but her body language said Yes. He said Yes, but his other language said No. How to figure it out? Context is key. Mothers love you your entire life, but never said “I love you” directly. Teachers who were mighty proud of their students’ achievement, but remained stern and strict behind thick…
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Years ago, I met a GI in West Virginia. He couldn’t recall the name of a bridge in Saigon, only that it’s a fork on the road. I blurted out, “the Y bridge”. Something came rushing out of the man’s eyes albeit well-hidden behind thick glasses. He was instantly transported back to a time and…
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Rain pours so hard here in Saigon. It feels like a city wash. Yet bike traffic never ceases. Wet city streets didn’t stop weekend spontaneous racing. Hard-earned money got washed away just as quickly as it is earned, mostly at beer stalls. People press RESET and go on. It’s not too different elsewhere. Just differs in intensity…
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“I want nobody nobody but you” blasted out from, of all places, busy Hang Xanh circle, Electronics Supermarket by Thailand. Buy a laptop, got a free phone. Flat screen tv‘s, refrigerators and karaoke systems. Should be the envy of our proverbial Maytag man since N American market has been saturated for a while. How many TV’s can you fit…
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It’s been a few days since full moon. But people here in HCMC still burn incense and ceremonial money for the dead, most particularly, for deceased mothers. Meanwhile, there is a class of women entrepreneurs who don’t mind drink you under the table, drive to work and in every aspect, personify the softer side of Saigon.…
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I attended Quyen Thien Dac and the Nilsson Trio (Jazz) performance a while ago. Cultural exchange. But “fant” or on-the-dime invention is not new here. Saigon traffic has already been jazzy, zigzagging at every turn. I was with friends. He himself brought an ensemble of jazz men to Vietnam a while back. Mighty proud of my friend…
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Forbes recently printed a McKinsey report about the coming consumer society in Vietnam. In other words, we will soon see La Vache qui rit in supermarkets along side real cows which are still allowed to roam free in the country side. Vietnam 2040 will very much resemble US 1950, when the going was good: chicken in…
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Yahoo News had a piece about Diaspora, the return. It features Mrs Nguyen Cao Ky, who is now a proud owner of a Pho restaurant in former Saigon. She said to have spent a few months in the US, and the rest in Vietnam. Other Viet Kieu expressed similar sentiment: “when I am here, I…
Thang Nguyen 555 