MEXI COLOR THEORY: CASA HYDER

While in San Miguel, we stayed with several friends at one of the most spectacular homes I have ever slept in: Casa Hyder. Over a period of three decades, the house was painstakingly built and decorated by the Hyder family from Ft. Worth, Texas. The bright colors, variety of textures and patterns from around the world, and huge number of Spanish, Italian and Mexican artifacts is impressive.

The facade of the house from the street.

One of many outdoor seating areas.

The dining room.

The main living room.

Our bedroom.

My favorite space was the open air entrance gallery, filled with hunting trophies and Mexican ceramics, and lit with a huge Morrocan lantern.

The layering of vivid colors and patterns had me excited to get home and redecorate. I realized, however, that all this color in a tight urban space would be too much. I need color and pattern like this in shorter doses and spread over a larger space to keep from going crazy or burning out on it.

I spent hours just wandering around the house over and over. I hope I get to return to Casa Hyder someday. For more information on the house, check out this New York Times article.

PAKSE, LAOS

We were due to exit southern Laos into the Khorat plateau of eastern Thailand before reentering Laos via land at the capital, Vientiane. Unfortunately passport issues (never leave home without at least three extra pages in your passport than you think you need!) meant we were afraid of being denied reentry. As a result, we chose to stay in the provincial capital of Pakse and fly directly to Vientiane the following day. Pakse is not a place I recommend going.

Laos was originally a series of rural Buddhist kingdoms, aligned with more powerful neighbors. When the French seized Lan Xang (as the Lao kingdom was called) it was mainly as a springboard for aspirations of further expansion, and as a buffer against Siam. The colony remained the neglected step child of the French... in fact, even in 1940 it took longer to get from Luang Prabang (the former royal capital) down the river to Saigon than it did from Saigon to Paris via steam ship. In other words, Laos was isolated and without much infrastructure for most of its history. That remained the case right up through the communist victory in 1975. Now that Laos is opening up, the main players in development are Vietnam, Thailand and (most powerful of all) China.

Behold a Chinese contribution to former isolated provincial backwater, Pakse: the Champasak Grand Hotel. We seemed to be the only western tourists in town, which is developing its infrastructure to cater to Thai visitors who cross to gamble and karokee for cheap. The Chinese designed, Lao staffed, Thai patronized mix at this hotel is bizarre.

The Champasak Grand has mastered the communist-does-capitalist interiors of my nightmares.

I didn't know what a "slimming cryo massage" was, but I was NOT going to find out.

What you cannot garner from this photograph is the fact that a single Kenny G sax composition played on repeat at an unacceptable volume. The lobby was the only place to get internet access, so we heard Kenny in our dreams for the next few days.

All materials fabricated with off-gassing toxic chemicals and assembled in an unsafe manner by unlicensed contractors. All furniture made from old-growth Lao mahogany forests in factories over the border in China by children making $1 a day. Views of the water treatment plant.

The view from the other side of the hotel is of a humongous, tacky mansion being built by the Vietnamese owner of Laos' largest coffee producer. Pakse is a little glimpse into a Laos that will come about if the one party government, which sensors the press and freedom of speech, allows the country's more powerful neighbors to exploit the resources and labor of their country. It is a sad and scary vision.

SAIGON

I consider myself a lover of fast-paced cities and a pretty savvy urban dweller. New York is my home; I love Tokyo's futuristic complexity; even the vastness of London can be exciting when the weather isn't totally gross. Nothing, and I mean nothing, could prepare me for the totally frenetic, youthful viberance of Saigon. There is a throbbing energy, packed night markets, throngs of teenagers everywhere, and insane traffic weaving through it all. I had heard that compared to the exotic crumbling charm of Hanoi, Saigon seemed more flashy but with less character and culture. I did not find that to be the case at all and hope that on my next trip to Vietnam I get to spend more time in this fascinating city.

One of the highlights was the food. My husband was sick and sadly missed all 36 hours we had in Saigon trying to recover and gear up for treking temples in the heat of Cambodia (more on that soon). This meant I was on my own, with the (absolutely necessary) help of my sassy and fun guide Chau, to discover Saigon's food scene. She and I ate at two ends of the spectrum: a trendy, organic, locally sourced neo-Vietnamese eatery as well as a hot, smelly packed night market bazaar stand. Both were outstanding. I don't even know all of what I ate, but here are some pictures of it!

Besides the food, the War Remnants Museum was an emotionally difficult but totally required highlight. My other favorite was the former Presidential Palace, now known as the Reunification Palace. This weird 1960's relic was designed by Vietnamese architect Ngo Viet Thu for the South Vietnamese president Ngo Dinh Diem. It stands where the original French colonial Norodom Palace once stood. That residence was home to the French colonial governors of Indochina and then the South Vietnamese president until it was bombed by Diem's own airforce in a US backed assassination attempt in 1962. The US had of course propped up Diem's corrupt regime during the Vietnam war until he became a liability and we decided to throw our hat in the ring to help get rid of him. The assassination attempt did not work (a later one did) and Diem ordered the construction of this new modern residence in place of the Norodom Palace.

When South Vietnam fell in 1975, the image of the Northern Vietnamese tanks crashing through the gates of the compound signaled to the world that the US had lost the war and Vietnam would be one communist country, hence the new name, Reunification Palace.

Inexplicably, the new govenment left nearly everything in its place as a museum (of victory, I suppose?). All the furniture, draperies, wall treatments, etc. are still there, and the building is a strange relic of swinging 60's meets Vietnamese design. There is actually no air conditioning, but the structure remains cool from open windows and cross ventilation worked throughout the spaces.

My favorite room was the "signatory room," covered in lacquered panels and featuring these bizzare but fantastic James Mont style seating pieces and case pieces.

Love the curtain rods/valances as well. Those are the lacquered wall panels.

The entertainment room. Here is where the president gambled, smoked and partied while the war raged. Those good times would come to an end soon...

The private theatre. Diem was a huge movie fanatic.