Tag: Saigon days & nights

Music From a Vietnamese Funeral

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Back in June, a funeral was held in our alley here in Saigon. At least, we think  it was a funeral. It involved tables and chairs out in the alley, and a band that was playing music from early in the morning until very late at night. I recorded some of the music, because it was pretty interesting. I most enjoyed the guitar solos, and the semi-atonal lines played by the double-reed player. (I’m not sure of the name of that oboe-like instrument, but I call it “shawm”–the old European name for it–in the track titles.) I posted this to my own …

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Spamland

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Sexy Bath Party Game?

One thing I’ve noticed since coming to Vietnam is that the internet is way more spam-laden. I never saw a quarter so much spam in Korea as I do here, and I’m not sure why my spam-blockers don’t prevent the popup windows like they (presumably) did in Korea. A lot of the spam is for online games, especially kiddie RPG-type games. But I’ve noticed other ones, too, and figured screenshots might amuse–or horrify–my readers who can’t experience the WTF? for themselves. (Warning: these may be NSFW.)

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Dread: Saigon Falls

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So, the other night we played through my new scenario for Dread, titled “Saigon Falls,” with my housemates here in Vietnam. It was an interesting experience for a few reasons. For one thing: we were playing imaginary characters living in our real (shared) house. That was odd, because a lot of the story took place inside the house, and the geography of the house played a part in a lot of scenes. It was interesting secondarily because the characters were modeled on the previous occupants of the house we’re staying in, a group of frathouse morons who apparently had huge, …

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The Day I Made a Gumbo…

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… was today. My first gumbo, too. Vegetarian and gluten-free, because I was cooking for the house. Apparently a success. The gumbo itself is sort of a mishmash of recipes I saw online. I found such an incredible amount of diversity among the recipes that finally I decided, there is no such thing as a definitive gumbo recipe. Gumbo is conceptual: stew, with chunks. Herbs, spicy if you like that. Slow cooked. Okra and smoked sausage are nice, but not absolutely required. (The latter I’m omitting only because this meal is to be en famille.) Often served with rice. Beans …

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