Antidote to Burnout

Happy Birthday to Hiền

Happy Birthday to my wife Hiền today. Here she is 34 years ago at the Saigon Zoo: We had a party on our roof deck last Sunday night, inviting Hiền's cousins that live in Ho Chi Minh City. We brought... Read more →

Hiền's first blog item...

Here is my wife Hiền's first blog posting (remarkable because she usually does not like to write or express any enthusiasm), so here goes -- for her friends: Hi, to all my friends, We have finally settled in Ho Chi... Read more →

A wedding on the hem...

This is Sunday, and the family across the hem from us has been preparing all week for the wedding of their son. Today, the family first went out to go to the home of the bride and then they returned... Read more →

The typical water supply for a house in Viet Nam...

A while back, Khanh commented on my posting about our new apartment that we should explain the water system. In that posting, I showed a picture of one of the bathrooms and noted that the bathroom is also the shower... Read more →

Approaching civilizations other than our own...

Preya has posted a very thought-provoking essay on her blog Dreaming of Hanoi (she currently lives in Colorado). This essay goes to the heart of why westerners choose to visit, live and work in Việt Nam. Please read her essay.... Read more →

Bánh Xèo in Chợ Lớn

noodlepie has defined the wonderful Vietnamese dish bánh xèo very well in a posting a couple years ago about a restaurant in Sài Gòn (District 1 downtown). This dish is a very thin crepe or pancake with shrimp and pork... Read more →

Planning Ho Chi Minh City...

The following article from yesterday's Vietnam News confirms population growth figures for Ho Chi Minh City: Planners evaluate overflowing city (20-03-2006) HCM CITY — With HCM City’s population projected to hit 10 million by 2010, local planners are working hard... Read more →

Life is Good...

I am back in the game with my new ADSL connection to my house. No more internet cafes until we travel out of town. We have actually had it for a few days now, and I have been too busy... Read more →

Design Touches 1...

In addition to the series on modernist HCMC Houses, this is the first posting in a series on design touches -- small design items that exhibit the above average design sense of HCMC people. This is a normal small convenience... Read more →

Meeting Virtual Doug and MGB in Hue....

We have been traveling the past week on a business trip to our potential resort construction site in Quy Nhon, a city on the east coast of Viet Nam midway between Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City. We also... Read more →

HCMC House 1....

This is the first in a series of postings showing what I feel are the best of houses in Ho Chi Minh City. These are houses that exhibit great design choices with regard to materials, configuration, and decorative elements. My... Read more →

Street Vendor Food....

All day long, street vendors go by our house on the hem (lane off the main street). They sing out in patterns that one learns quickly so that you can step out of the house when you hear them coming... Read more →