Ask any of my friends here in Saigon (especially my Vietnamese friends) and they will all tell you that I’ve assimilated to daily life in Uncle Ho’s city extremely well. I enjoy Pho Bo and Ca Phe Sua Da on the street just like any self-respecting local. I hoard Vinamilk Sua Chua every time I go to Co.opMart. And except on days when I’m traveling outside of HCMC, I never miss having a Banh Mi Tuoi or two with Tra Da or Ca Phe Sua Nong at MY Bready on the corner of Nguyen Van Thu and Mac Dinh Chi.

But there are times when I just want to remind myself that I’m a foreigner. A stranger in this wonderful land of moto madness. On those days, I usually troop over to Vincom Center to soak in the atmosphere. But nothing says Nguoi Nuoc Ngoai better than stuffing yourself at a fast food chain like KFC. The meal above is Com Ga KFC or KFC Chicken Rice. For only 40,000VND (about 2USD/94PHP), you get a bowl of chicken and vegetable soup (which is what makes the meal distinctly Vietnamese), rice, a large drink, and a piece of KFC’s finger-lickin’ best. Add 9,000VND and you get the egg tart (which is worth 12,000VND outside of the combo meal). Ngon!

Taken with my Sony Ericsson W350i

Life is full of surprises for those with the eyes to see. I was browsing around the Art section of Fully Booked in Greenhills and came across this interesting juxtaposition. Whether intended or accidental, and whoever the “artist” was, I will never know. But it doesn’t really matter. It made me smile. Art is alive in someone. That’s all that counts.