left my heart in saigon….

my shots were abysmal, but the mate’s were amazing. 17-35mm on a full frame eos 5d is the shit! (that’s right mr. shahran, you are banned from carrying any wide angle lenses when you travel with me from now on)

ben thanh market at sunset (taken by shahran ali)

all in all, it was a very good trip this time round, though i do wish i could have more time absorbing the city rather than being couped up in a cold server room for the majority of the time i am there.

i usually get the “look” when i mention that i am heading off to vietnam for a trip. people usually put vietnam in the same league as thailand is with all it’s famous sleeze and what nots. fact of the matter is it’s really the opposite. prostitution is illegal and massage parlors really do offer proper massages without the “specials”. sure the people running the places are very attractively dressed, but what goes behind the walls are really no where near sleeze levels. massage areas are open with about six patrons being worked on at the same time in the same room. in fact, the patrons are required to leave their clothes on while they are being worked on (they’ll even give you a tshirt to change into if you do not want to wrinkle your business shirts).

what is attractive about these massages is it’s price. 70000 VND (just $5 USD) would give you a full body massage, foot reflexology, ear wax clearing, hair wash with head massage, a facial and also a drink. you’ll have to tip the masseuse who works on you as they do not get paid from the parlor – 100000 VND (about $7 USD) would usually be more than suffice. at that price, i think its one of the hidden gems of saigon that i would put as a “must-try” for anyone who visits vietnam.