Ho Chi Minh City, the City Still Known As Saigon

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam. Copyright © 2023 Terence Carter / Grantourismo. All Rights Reserved.

Perhaps for the same nostalgic reasons that Mumbai’s locals prefer to call their city Bombay, Ho Chi Minh City, as it was renamed in 1975 after the fall of Saigon, is, we quickly discovered, still fondly referred to as Saigon by the locals. We don’t care what it’s called – we loved it. Although I’m not … Read more

Recipes for the Best Asian Inspired Cocktails in Bangkok

Recipes for the Best Asian Inspired Cocktails in Bangkok. Soul Food, Bangkok. Copyright © 2023 Terence Carter / Grantourismo. All Rights Reserved.

I’ve been eager to gather these recipes for the best Asian inspired cocktails in Bangkok for some time. Aside from martinis before dinner we are wine drinkers. We’ll always order a bottle of wine with dinner or glasses of matching wines if it’s a degustation menu. Except in Asia. Because nobody makes cocktails like Asians bartenders … Read more

Meeting the Mask Makers of Dan Sai, Isaan, Thailand

Exploring the Isaan: the Mask Makers of Dan Sai, Thailand. Copyright © 2023 Terence Carter / Grantourismo. All Rights Reserved.

Located in a lovely valley amid gently undulating hills, Dan Sai, in the Loie Province of Thailand’s Isaan region, is a town of dilapidated wooden houses that is famous for Phi Ta Kon, a boisterous three-day rainmaking festival, also known as the Ghost Festival, which coincides with a grand merit-making event known as Boon Luang. At … Read more