-April 14-15: Singapore. Yep, I’d never been there and wanted to visit to see what it was like. And I did. Clean and expensive city.

-April 21-23: Nha Trang. Ngan had never been there, and they last time I was there was Christmas, 2006 (when my youngest niece was born). It was a nice visit and I introduced Ngan to sunbathing and the basics of floating (she can’t swim).

-April 27-May 2: Long Xuyen. It’s a long weekend due to two holidays and it’s time for a visit. Looking forward to it.

This traveling stuff takes a lot of time, but I like it. Hopefully this summer we’ll hit a couple more destinations in the country and region.

I also found myself logging onto Facebook at one point to find the contact details of a friend who I hadn’t been in touch with for several years. At this point, Facebook is like a friend and acquaintance depository.

So yes, social media, you beat me; I am dependent on you. However, I will attempt to be more mindful when using these services in the future.

All of this physical stuff is relatively new to me, and I do like the way I feel. However, a slight downside to all of this are the injuries that accompany it.

Not long after I started playing badminton, my knees started to hurt badly. The court where I was playing had a cement surface (as opposed to a slightly softer surface which most standard courts offer) and I was only wearing normal sneakers when I played. The pain continued for around a month and finally subsided after I bought some new badminton shoes with flat soles and little lateral support.

Luckily my running has been mostly injury free (still soreness at times though). However, about a month ago, I was out walking around District 3 in Saigon with Tyler and we were taking pictures of historic buildings. At one point, I was trying to frame a shot and not looking where I placed my feet and stepped on a part of the sidewalk that was broken and loose. My foot twisted sharply to the right and I felt a brief, shooting pain. However, we kept walking and my foot seemed to be fine; I even went running that evening. But then the next day my foot hurt like hell. I couldn’t even walk normally and was really freaked out. I took a week off from running and the pain disappeared and I have been running normally since.

One injury that has been plaguing me since December and I have still not been able to overcome is something that I never thought would affect me: Tennis elbow. For someone like me who didn’t really know what it was, I’d always thought that tennis elbow was some kind of minor annoyance for people who played tennis. I never thought it could be this painful and long-lasting.

In my estimation, things started to go bad after I went back to the U.S. to visit my family for Thanksgiving. After two weeks off of weightlifting, I dived right back in where I left off. I did something wrong with dumbbell curls which strained something. Then I went to play badminton as if everything was fine, smashing and twisting my forearm which is part of the normal movement for the sport. My arm really, really hurt.

I finally reached the point where I took a some time off from badminton and completely stopped with dumbbell curls. I bought an elbow brace. I used a variety of creams and sprays to reduce the pain. Finally, after more than two weeks off, my forearm felt fine and I played again. And my arm was killing me afterwards.

Searching online for treatment, I finally found this website and am following this regime. I hope to ease myself back into the game and eventually be pain free.

As much as social media platforms get billed as the next big innovation in terms of life and living over the past few years, how much have these services benefited me in real terms? I guess that was the question that took root in my mind. I’d noticed for some time how much of the day I wasted looking through Facebook, scrolling on Twitter, checking in on Foursquare, not to mention the other platforms I’d download to my phone and try, all the while seeking social media enlightenment.

I’d begun to feel overwhelmed and exhausted with social media, while at the same time addicted to it and wanting more posts and links to articles and silly pictures and pithy comments.

Finally, just last week, a well-timed letter (you know, made of paper and ink) arrived from a friend, describing a couple at a restaurant that didn’t interact with each other at all, but instead played on their phones the entire time. I think that was the tipping point. Since then, I’ve uninstalled the Twitter plugin for my computer at work, have not looked at Facebook or Google Plus and have not checked in on Foursquare. Enough is enough.

Short of closing my accounts down, I will instead use them as distribution channels for this blog.

Oh, and just from being off of this social media stuff for a couple days, I can already feel my stress levels falling. There is a ton of information out there, but I’ll just choose to read less of it now.

As far as communicating with friends now, and old-fashioned text message will have to do.

Slightly more than a year ago, I purchased an HTC Desire HD running Android 2.2 (Froyo) after being impressed with my friend Hendrik’s original HTC Desire. It was my first touchscreen device, and I had been leery of them before. The device was not my first smartphone as I had been using the Nokia e63, which was a very capable device, but apps did not integrate well and it was a bit on the slow side.

One of the first large customizations that I made to the device was installing Swiftkey X as the default input method. This virtual keyboard is much better than the default HTC keyboard (which I found to be better than the default Android keyboard). If someone like me, who is not highly technical, had been using a device from Android’s main competitor, something like this would not have been possible.

In late December 2012, HTC sent out an over-the-air update which updated the Android version and also updated HTC’s own user interface, also known as HTC Sense. When I first had the phone, I liked HTC Sense, but after a couple months of using the new HTC Sense 3.0, I was getting annoyed by the animations, random reloading for no reason and generally sluggishness.

A friend of mine, Michael, has a Samsung Galaxy Ace, and one time when we were hanging out, he showed me that he had installed GO Launcher, which completely changed the main homescreens, app drawer and lockscreen. I was impressed and installed it myself. It ran well, but I wanted something more.

After doing a little more research, I settled on Launcher Pro, an app that I’d tried previously, but never really given a fighting chance. However, with this second iteration of me trying Launcher Pro on the aging HTC Desire HD, the phone seems to have come alive all over again. Scrolling through the homescreens is fast and smooth and transitions are well done.

Perhaps the best thing about how the device is running now is that I have certain aspects of HTC Sense 3.0 that I like (i.e. app access from the lockscreen, quick settings from the pulldown menu) along with the beauty, customization and speed of Launcher Pro. This, along with the countless other tweaks and customizations that I’ve done with the phone over the course of a year have solidified my admiration for Android and the countless app developers out there who have made such wonderful things possible.

Twenty-four years remind the tears of my eyes.
(Bury the dead for fear that they walk to the grave in labour.)
In the groin of the natural doorway I crouched like a tailor
Sewing a shroud for a journey
By the light of the meat-eating sun.
Dressed to die, the sensual strut begun,
With my red veins full of money,
In the final direction of the elementary town
I advance as long as forever is.

-Dylan Thomas

On Friday evening, Ngân and I went to eat seafood at one of our favorite sidewalk places. When we were leaving and went to get the motorbike, the parking attendant, thinking that I didn’t speak Vietnamese, said something in pidgin English like: “You! Moto?” I replied in Vietnamese, “Xe đó, số 67″ (That bike, number 67, referring to the first two digits of my license plate).

The parking attendant immediately gave me a sheepish look and said, “Xin lỗi anh, em không biết anh nói tiếng Việt” (I’m sorry, I didn’t know you spoke Vietnamese). I told him it was no problem as I got my bike and then thanked him. That was the first time a Vietnamese person apologized to me for assuming that I didn’t speak Vietnamese.

Then on Sunday morning, Ngân and I went to have some brunch downtown. Again, my interaction was with a motorbike parking attendant. As I was taking the ticket to retrieve my bike, I asked the man, in Vietnamese, if I needed to pay before or afterwards. He was a little taken aback, but then asked: “Quê em ở đâu?” (Where’s your hometown?). This was another question that no Vietnamese person had asked me before. Usually, Vietnamese people see a white guy with blue eyes as ask “Anh là người nước nào?” (What country are you from?). But this parking lot attendant used a very Vietnamese phrase to ask where I was from. It was a first for me and made my day.

So after more than six years in the country, I’m still hearing new things, from motorbike parking attendants of all people.

Before I moved in Saigon in June, 2010, I lived in Long Xuyen, An Giang, for nearly five years. I still look on my time there with fondness and try to get back to visit friends and family any time there’s a holiday.

On the occasion of Tết, I was able to spend eight days back in Long Xuyen. I met tons of old friends and went back to eat at all of the shops and stalls where I used to eat. And I also confirmed my theory that the food in Saigon is crap. Yes, sorry to disappoint all of you supposed “foodies” who continue to roam the streets of Saigon pouncing upon everything and calling it wonderful.

I’m not sure what exactly makes food in Saigon sub-par, but one theory that I have is that the meats and vegetables used simply aren’t as fresh as they are in the Mekong Delta. Perhaps the dust and pollution makes the food here less tasty, or worse, has affected the cooks to the point where they can’t taste as well.

Anyway, without further ado, here are some of the best dishes and meals that I had in An Giang during the Tet holiday.

My mother-in-law’s xá xíu, or char siu in English.

On the grill

On the table

Unlike the bright red variants found in restaurants, this is much more traditional. It is marinated for several hours and grilled with charcoal, which gives the meat a delicious, smoky flavor. It’s served with đồ chua (pickled carrots and turnips) and everything is dipped in soy sauce with chilies. Absolutely delicious. I think I could eat a couple pounds of this stuff.

Bột Chiên, a delicious street side snack.

Freshly served up

Being doused with sauce

Bột chiên is as close to a comfort snack food that I can find in Long Xuyên. I always order everything they have,  and they fry it up with an egg and serve it with a distinct sauce and grated, pickled papaya. Nothing in Saigon even holds a candle to the bột chiên in Long Xuyên.

Bò Chiên Nước Mắm at Quán Bình Dân

Sizzling on the grill

Okra covered in chili sauce on the grill

Beef doused in fish sauce and then grilled. Does it get any simpler? Does it get any better? As much as I love the beef, I am also crazy about grilling up okra covered in sate sauce and then dipping it in fermented tofu. Awesome. And yes, still have not found anything this good in Saigon.

Cháo Trắng Với Cá Cơm và Đu Đủ

Perfect late night snack

I love this stuff. Rice porridge with beans and coconut milk, served with tiny pickled fish and pickled, grated papaya. Simple, cheap and delicious. I certainly have not found the savoriness of this dish in Saigon. The places I’ve had it here are very bland.

Bò né at Quán Tùng

Sizzling goodness

Affectionately known by some as the breakfast of champions, this is quite the way to start your day. Beef, macaroni, onions and an egg all served in a sizzling skillet (cow-shaped, to boot) with a side of lettuce and tomato, just to make you feel a bit less guilty. You eat it with a baguette as well.

Bò né on Nguyễn Thái Học Street

Even more sizzling goodness

This is yet another variant of bò né in the town of Long Xuyên. Note that at this particular place, there are no noodles and there is a generous dollop of pate. Another excellent breakfast. And I have never, ever found bò né in Saigon that comes close to the goodness of bò né in Long Xuyên.

Hủ Tiếu Mỹ Tho

Another evening snack

“What is hủ tiếu Mỹ Tho?” the so-called Vietnamese foodies say while scratching their heads. It ain’t hủ tiếu Nam Vang (i.e. it doesn’t have shrimp or quail eggs) and it’s a lot better, in my opinion. There’s lots of meat. And then a little more. Very filling for less than a dollar a bowl. And the owner still remembered me, even though I hadn’t been there in over a year.

Cháo Lòng

Tons of nutrition looking at you

Many people might not agree with me about this one. But I have to say, don’t knock it before you try it. “Cháo” is rice porridge and “lòng” is inside. Basically, it’s rice porridge with a lot of pig offal in it. I like it with lots of chili peppers and a kind of fried bread called “bánh củ cải.” Put it all together and it’s delicious. I am also sentimental about this dish because when I was saving money for the move to Saigon, I ate dinner here almost every night. When you’re saving money, dinner for less than 50 cents makes sense.

Hủ Tiếu Khô at the Swimming Pool Cafe

Noodles and broth separate, please

Why order your hủ tiếu dry, you may ask? I don’t have a good explanation. But it’s just delicious. The pork is savory, the noodles have just the right amount of tenderness and it makes one hell of a breakfast. A good buddy introduced me to this wonderful dish years ago, and for two months, I lived across the street from this cafe. An amazing, and unique, dish.

Grandma’s food in Tân Châu

Check out the spread

On the third day of Tết, Ngân and I went to visit her grandmother in Tân Châu, not far from the Cambodia border. I found out later that her grandmother has been involved in making and selling food for her whole life, and it surely showed. The flavors in these dishes absolutely came alive. There was thịt kho, a traditional Tết dish, mì xào giòn (crispy noodles) and tender chicken stewed in herbs. The food was so good I found myself not being able to stop eating. Possibly the best food that I had in An Giang on this trip.

In Conclusion

If you’re looking to experience the real flavors of Vietnam, get out of the city and get away from the tourist path where all of the flavors have been dumbed down and all of the meat and vegetables have lost their crispness due to refrigeration. Personally, I think the dishes I listed are some of the best in the country. Don’t believe me? Try it for yourself.

I flew back into Vietnam and wanted to hit the ground running, but stumbled instead due to delayed flights and congestion which left me very hard of hearing for a week or so. I finished a class in early December. A friend’s wedding was near Christmas. I had a wonderful Christmas morning with Ngân and a great Christmas party with a close group of friends (featuring homemade eggnog!).

The New Year has just passed and now it’s time for the pre-Tết squeeze. People are restless waiting for the holiday to arrive. I’m looking forward to a decent amount of time off. However, I just got started with a tough new class in finance, which I will be able to pull through, but it sure looks hard at the beginning.

When speaking about Tết to other expatriates in Saigon, there are usually two reactions: 1. I can’t wait to get out of the country. Or, 2: I can’t wait for Saigon to empty out and for the traffic to die down.

I am neither one of these. I have, and will always, as long as I live in Vietnam, go to Long Xuyên for Tết. It’s where I met my wife. It’s where we got married. It’s where my wife’s family lives. It’s where some of my best and oldest friends in Vietnam live. It’s where I started in Vietnam. It’s my “quê hương thứ hai.”

I have always believed that expatriates who leave Vietnam during Tet are missing out on the country at its best. Fewer vehicles are out on the streets, which makes every town and city more peaceful. There are always invitations to eat and drink. You can take a nap or go for coffee at any time and it’s normal. Now that I have in-laws here, I basically have a supply of savory thịt kho, bánh tét and fried lạp xưởng almost any time I want – who would pass that up?

Certainly, I can identify with the expatriates who wish to stay in Saigon to experience a peaceful city; I would enjoy it too. But the thought of trying to celebrate a holiday in a sprawling, impersonal hunk of urbanization is too much for me. For Tết to be Tết, I need to be surrounded by friends, family and a friendly town that I know well.

Everyone in Vietnam enjoys Tết, and this includes expatriates. I guess I have certain things that I need to do, certain people I need to visit, and certain things I need to eat for the Lunar New Year, and all of them can only be found in Long Xuyên, An Giang.

To be honest, I had no idea what to expect. Vietnam is certainly not known for its ballet corps. But we had been impressed with an orchestra concert last month and were excited to see the performance.

Overall, I was impressed with the dancers. They were quite talented and several of them really stood out. It was easy to follow the story and the costumes were pretty good as well. I was impressed to see a group of people who literally put everything they have into a performance. When I perform on the guitar or violin, I use small motor skills and musical knowledge, but these dancers use their whole bodies and all of their strength and focus into producing something beautiful.

My only gripe of the performance is that they didn’t have an orchestra performing the music live. The space in the opera house is very limited, so maybe there just wasn’t enough room. But of course there were errors with using a CD and briefly during “The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” the music cut off.

More seriously though, not having an ensemble to play live robbed the performance of its soul. It felt like I was watching a singer lip sync or something. The music of The Nutcracker is what is timeless about the suite. Choreography changes with every performance, but the music stays the same, and musicians can really pour their soul into producing something beautiful.

Overall though, I was satisfied with the performance and would recommend it to others.

After my last post about the attending a performance of the symphony at the Saigon Opera House, I learned from @TylerWatts and @Vietnam720 that pictures from inside are rare. So during the intermission I snapped a few more pictures for your viewing pleasure.

And we will be attending more orchestra performances next month at the Saigon Opera House.

Looking at the interior ceiling.

From ground level near the stage, looking up at the balconies.

A view of the textured ceiling above the stage.

On the lower level under the overhang of the balcony.

The left side of the performance hall.

The main chandelier in the lobby.

Another chandelier in the lobby.

Decoration on the lobby wall.

A cherub decorating the banister.