In Chennai, India (Part 1)

Ah, India... I had been wanting to visit India for many years, even before my first trip to Vietnam. With so much anticipation, I did not quite know what to expect. Yes, I knew it would be hot. Yes, I knew most of the food would be spicy. And yes, I expected there to be lots of people everywhere. It is the simple things that I have learned to take for granted that were lacking, though, and that was by far where most of the disappointment stemmed from.

Now, this post may give the impression that I did not enjoy India. Far from it. I had an overall pleasant experience. And I cannot speak for India as a whole, since I was only in the city of Chennai for the whole two weeks and nowhere else. I simply did not have the luxury of time nor money to go anywhere else. So, keep in mind, this post is only about Chennai, which I was told is very different from all other Indian cities.

Upon arriving, two of my three initial anticipations were confirmed immediately. It is hot, and anywhere you choose to go will be crowded.

You can almost see the heat in the reflection of everything.

The third anticipation would be confirmed a short while later, when I learned that even rice can be too spicy for me.

 This is idly. By itself, it is not spicy, but it tastes like nothing.

Adding either of the other two dishes adds flavor. Spicy hot flavor.

Okay, so anticipations were met, and although I hate dealing with all three of those things, it's what I expected and was perfectly fine with. After all, I had been preparing myself for this experience for a while now, even going so far as to eat wildly spicy food to try to get used to it (which ultimately amounted to nothing). 

It wasn't until I wanted something to combat the spiciness that I began to feel disappointment. Anywhere else in the world, I would order a nice, cold beer with any spicy food, and I actually began to enjoy eating anything spicy, provided there was a beer there to immediately wash it down with.

Well... there wasn't. Alcohol is not served in any restaurant. There are no bars. You can't even buy it at any of the markets. With the exception of five-star hotels, alcohol was nowhere to be found. For some reason, alcohol could only be served inside expensive hotels. Prices weren't cheap, either. The cost for a single beer or cocktail was pretty much equivalent to the price of one back in Los Angeles. At least it was still cheaper than Singapore. On the plus side, I ended up drinking a lot of water instead.

But is that really a plus?

*Note: That picture above may be misleading. That water isn't for drinking. It's for washing your hand. Just the right hand. People in India eat their food with their right hand. For some reason, using your left hand is considered dirty. Actually, I know why, but I won't say here. (Besides, who would want to drink water with a lemon in it? Yuck.)

Along with only being able to drink in a very limited amount of places came another huge disappointment. Last call happened at 10:30 PM. Yes, bars and clubs close at the time a normal person would be getting ready to go out. I was told that many people fix this by throwing house parties afterwards, but for me personally, that fixes nothing except knowing I'm not alone in that disappointment. Also, I wasn't invited to any house parties while I was there, so there's that, too. On the plus side, I probably saved a lot of money this way. And yes, that's definitely a plus.

Speaking of money, I'm sure much of the money saved from not buying alcohol was used on transportation instead. Similar to how some people might get around Vietnam on a motorbike taxi (xe om), people in India could use a tuk tuk to go from one place to another. A xe om might try to get you to pay extra, but negotiations can be handled quickly and the price will be fine. Tuk tuk drivers take it beyond the next level. Firstly, they initially throw out a ridiculously high number, and after too many attempts at trying to get us to understand that it's far or it's late or he needs to turn around (I wish I was joking about this one) in order to justify us paying more, we settle on a lower price that is still at least three times what should be paid.

ASSHOLE

Again, it may sound like I had an awful time in Chennai, but it wasn't at all. In the next post, I'll expand a little more on certain things and places like the movie theater and the beach.

Stella Sounds

I had meant to update this again last Sunday after my DJ gig at Vasco's, but I've been too busy having fun. Sorry, guys, but sometimes certain priorities need to be set.

I mentioned in the previous post about how my iPhone is my camera now, but I didn't mention what is my phone. Behold, the luxurious Motorola that is my standard phone in Vietnam:

Sure, it's no iPhone, but it can be dropped multiple times from any height I would normally hold it at without breaking and no one wants to steal it. Meanwhile, the iPhone stays safely tucked in my pocket until I find a place with Wi-Fi or remember to snap a photo. Also, that's a $2 Tiger beer in the photo. $2! And that's at a place that's a little pricier than what I usually pay.

And speaking of spending $2 on something, here's an awesome bowl of bun thit nuong that I purchased for only $2:

Delicious!

I'm updating this blog right now from Stella, one of my favorite spots in Saigon. I would definitely recommend going there to anyone that asks me about what to do in Saigon, but not because it's anything extraordinary. In fact, it kinda has certain things going against it. It's right in the middle of the backpacker street of Bui Vien, which is always too loud and filled with tourists. The staff sometimes struggles to understand English, so ordering can be complicated unless you point directly at the menu. And the food isn't necessarily cheap, either. So why go there? Well, it has free Wi-Fi, cheap beer, and it's air conditioned. It's a fantastic place to go with a laptop and a few spare hours to kill. A lot of work on writing and music has been accomplished here. Take a look at the bill after a few hours spent there:

343,000 VND! For two meals, three beers, and a coffee. Oh, yeah, that's roughly $17. I don't usually spend that much, but that was between two people. This is where I spent time planning out my DJ set at Vasco's, which you can listen to and download right here:



We have two days left in Vietnam. I already want to come back here.

Back in the 'Nam

It's been almost a week since I came back to Saigon. This is my third time since 2008, and it will be much shorter than either of the other two trips. Much, much shorter. The difference is that now I don't have to make new friends all over again. This is actually my first time traveling somewhere where I already know people living here and can feel right at home immediately. It's a pretty awesome feeling.

Within the first two hours of us landing in the country, Héloïse and I were already greeting many old friends at a big street-side gathering for food and drinks. Here's a not so great photo I quickly snapped:

My iPhone is my camera this time around, and I try not to have it out as much as possible, especially in crowded areas. As you can see in the photo, the table took on an L shape because of the amount of people in our group. What you can't really see in the photo is the awesome cajón rapping session we were having in the corner. This is the kind of thing that happens all the time here. It's not an event. It's normal. And it's exactly what I was looking forward to the most.

It's been almost a week now, and we only have a little more than a week left. The time is flying by way too fast. Next up on the agenda: Bass Republic at Vasco's. I went there last Saturday with some friends and was shocked at how much it has changed. Even the parking area is gone now. It'll be interesting to DJ there again. It'll be almost as if it's a brand new place.

I'll finish this post with a quick video I took while waiting outside to pick Héloïse up from work. This is rush hour in Saigon. Yes, I drove a motorbike in that. Yes, they are driving on the sidewalk. And no, it's not a big deal. It's just Saigon.

Back to SEA

Yeah, yeah, yeah... I know I'm already in Southeast Asia, since I'm in Singapore, but I haven't really made it any kind of home.

I'm going back to Vietnam in a few hours. I haven't been gone that long, but so many people I met and got to know are gone and I'm sure many places have changed. It's sort of like a homecoming, but I know I shouldn't expect to experience the same things I did just seven months ago. That being said, a lot of people ARE still there, and I'm very excited to see every one of them. No matter how comfortable I began to feel in Vietnam, every day was always a new experience in some way, and that's what I'm really looking forward to right now. That and riding a motorbike again.

I'm done packing and have about an hour or so left to kill before I need to go to the airport. Am I doing anything productive? Well, I'm writing this blog. But really, no, I'm just listening to music, playing scrabble on my phone, and lying in bed. This music is definitely pretty awesome, though. Can't wait to DJ at Bass Republic again with Jase and Dan (DMN SLYR).

Here's a taste of what I'm planning to play on April 7 at Vasco's:

It's different than my usual style, and that is why I'm really excited.

Welcome to Singapore

I really should have created this blog three weeks ago. This just goes to show how awesome I am at procrastination. Luckily, there really isn't any point to this blog other than jotting down cool things I think are worth sharing with my future self, so if anyone else reads this and enjoys it, then I have gone beyond my expectations.

I came to Singapore with no leads on any jobs, not very much money, and without knowing anyone in the country aside from my girlfriend. My good friend, Moe, was here when I arrived, but left for Dubai just a few days later. So this is definitely a new experience for me. At least in Vietnam I already had a job lined up for three months. Here, I have nothing but time for three months.

My main goals are pretty much the same for whenever I'm between jobs back in Los Angeles: 1) write and 2) make music. I hate that it takes me so long to do either, but what can I say? I'm picky about what I share with others, especially when it comes to something I create. I'm working on changing that.

I do have a (small) source of income writing online. It's barely anything, but it helps to pay for the extremely overpriced alcohol I'm starting to feel like I no longer need. Still, the thought of living in a foreign country working as a writer definitely appeals to me. The fact that I use the money to buy alcohol is a sign that being a writer is something that comes naturally to me.

I probably won't update this blog very often. I'm pretty bad at taking pictures of anything, but every photo I post here will be one I've taken during my travels (unless otherwise stated). I'm even worse at keeping any kind of journal. I've tried this twice before and both times gave up after only a few entries. Thinking that I'll only update it a few times in the next three months might make me want to come back, though.

I'm going back to Vietnam for the third time in two days. I didn't take many photos or write much last time when I was there for a year, so we'll see what two weeks brings to this blog. At least one entry, I'm sure.

It's 2:42 AM here, and I'm still not sleepy. Before I left, people asked if I was trying to get myself on Singapore time by staying awake until the early morning and sleeping until the afternoon, but the truth is that that is always my schedule no matter where I am. I'm pretty sure it's because I hate the sun.

Now I'm going to waste a little more time on random websites I go on frequently and try to fall asleep by 3 AM. I'm really starting to hate this routine.