Antidote to Burnout

Honeybees in Vietnam

I now have two bee honeycombs outside my office window here in the Tân Bình district of Ho Chi Minh City. The upper comb has been there for over a year. A couple of weeks ago, some bees split off... Read more →

Middle Class Standard-of-living in Vietnam

Steve Jackson recently posted a well-discussed (read the comments) essay on his blog Our Man in Hanoi wondering about the excesses of wealthy expats and Vietnamese in Vietnam, and where this wealth comes from. As he said, "I can understand... Read more →

Why I live in Vietnam

Following is an article I wrote in 2009 for the Vietnamnet Bridge English online news website explaining "My Vietnam" -- why I live in Vietnam. Young people are the driving energy of Vietnam, a country that is blessed with an... Read more →

More healthy food?

I do not intend this blog to become a food blog, but good eating is such an important benefit of living in Vietnam. So I occasionally post on a current food subject. In my posting on 9 August 2009 regarding... Read more →

An RV in Vietnam

I saw an RV (recreation vehicle) for the first time in Vietnam today. More changes are coming to Vietnam. I saw it on the street as I was walking home from work, but I couldn't get my iPhone out fast... Read more →

The second most beautiful coffee house in Vietnam

A month ago I identified the LaDo Café way out in the Tân Phú District of HCMC as the most beautiful café in Vietnam, and I still stick by that opinion. However, my co-workers recently introduced me to the original... Read more →

A Beautiful Insect

While out at the café this morning socializing with co-workers, Phuong Oanh noticed a beautiful insect on the tree behind Tra Giang. I handed my cell phone to Tra Giang and she caught these photos of the bug. Six legs,... Read more →

Love hotels in Vietnam

My neighborhood, like most neighborhoods in Ho Chi Minh City, is not a central business district, but does have many small business offices along the street frontages, and several eight-story office buildings have been recently constructed or are currently under... Read more →

Good writing about learning Vietnamese

My favorite blogs are by good writers. I look for and accumulate on my RSS reader blogs by people who are thoughtful and write very well. The same applies to op-ed columnists, and I read quite a few every day.... Read more →

University Village coffee houses or cafés

University towns usually have an interesting mix of academic facilities and services supporting student life that provide an energy not common to most areas of cities or towns. The neighborhoods around the University of Wisconsin in Madison and the University... Read more →

Looking for international healthcare in Saigon

The building below is around the corner from our house in the Phú Nhuận District of HCMC, on Phan Dăng Lưu Street. We have now lived in this neighborhood for 3.5 years. Early on, I noticed the building and decided... Read more →

Dancing in the Park in Ho Chi Minh City

In most places around the world, governments close city parks when the sun sets. In Gia Định Park in the Phú Nhuận District of HCMC, the park is lit up at night and many citizens crowd the park to relax... Read more →

The most beautiful café or coffeehouse in Vietnam

My obsession with large cafés in HCMC continues -- I have now found the MOST beautiful cafe in Ho Chi Minh City, the LaDo Café. The location, however, is as far out of the inner city as it can get... Read more →

Café Society in Vietnam -- Large Coffeehouses

I know I am enamored with the design of the large coffeehouses in HCMC, and I love the cà phê. But I am especially interested in the social usage of the large coffeehouses by Vietnamese. Any morning or evening will... Read more →

Used car from California in Vietnam?

Walking by a car dealer on Nguyen Thi Minh Khai street the other day, I was struck by a California license plate on one of the cars. I know they sell imported used cars in Vietnam, but such a new... Read more →

The frisky Vietnamese press

Anyone who thinks the Vietnamese press is suppressed might think otherwise after reading the article at this link: http://www.thanhniennews.com/healthy/?catid=8&newsid=48173 WARNING: This is not XXX material, but it is definitely adult in nature. Read more →

Building Construction 1

Construction is starting on the large lot behind my house. Since I have a ringside seat for all the action, I will post progress on the site weekly. This week, construction equipment and materials dribbled in slowly each night. Since... Read more →

More beautiful cafés (coffee houses) in HCMC

My colleague, KTS Trà Giang introduced me to two beautiful cafés in Ho Chi Minh City this weekend. Architects in Vietnam are addressed as "KTS", an abbreciation for Kiến Trúc Sư, the Vietnamese words for architect. Cafés in Việt Nam... Read more →

Camping on the construction site

In my last posting photographs, you may have noticed a tent camp in the middle of the site under demotion behind my house in HCMC. It is typical in Viet Nam for some of the construction laborers to live temporarily... Read more →

Changes in my backyard

I have been busy working with a real estate development company this past year (not my own -- that didn't work out), so I got off the blog track for awhile. But I am back in Saigon after a long... Read more →

Sorry....false alarm

Every time I think about writing about the weather, I tell myself this is a topic I know not much about, and should stay away from posting opinions. But I can't resist posting about the change of seasons. This year,... Read more →

Change of seasons in HCMC

The winds shifted two days ago to now be out of the southwest, the direction of the annual monsoon winds. For the past six months, the winds have been from the east. The shift this year is occurring 21 days... Read more →

Music vendors in the lanes

Many vendors come through the hẻm (lane) everyday shouting out what they have to sell. This brush vendor is typical. Recently, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of music CD vendors. They come through with a loudspeaker... Read more →

Increasing retail sophistication in HCMC

Over the past two years in Ho Chi Minh City, I have noticed an increasing sophistication in the presentation of new retail concepts. Most of this increase seems to be centered on new services to the growing numbers of middle-class... Read more →

My colossal miscall...

Back on 12 October 2007, I said the rainy season was over since the monsoon wind had changed direction for the first time in five months, which brings the end of the rainy season. Since then, we have had torrential... Read more →

New sewer line outside our front door...

Concurrent with the extended rainy season we seem to be experiencing, workers came to tear up our hẻm (lane) and replace the storm sewer line. The existing line was not large enough to accommodate the torrential rains, resulting in minor... Read more →

Constant construction in the hẻms of HCMC

Kevin over at SaigonNezumi.com often posts about the constant construction around his house in a hẻm (lane) on the other side of the Phu Nhuan District from where I live. He is usually concerned about the dust, mud, and noise... Read more →

Telecommunications infrastructure in HCMC

Back on 10 Ocotober, we complained about the slow internet bandwidth here in Ho Chi Minh City. At that time, many of us bloggers commiserated with each other about the slowing to a crawl evident at that time. Immediately thereafter,... Read more →

Neighborhoood new houses...

There is construction work going on everywhere in all of the neighborhoods of Ho Chi Minh City. While there are a fair number of high-rise buildings, bridges, highways, and housing subdivisions under construction, the bulk of work being done here... Read more →

Street Vendor of snacks...

A moving display of color and texture -- snack food: Read more →

Ugly Ugly Dog...

This has to be the ugliest dog I have ever seen: The dog hadn't been in a recent fight -- that is just the way it looked. This must be a cross-breed between a dog and pig, if that is... Read more →

No need to rent a van...

Most goods get carted around the city on motorbikes or bicyles, as shown in this past posting. But a refrigerator on a bicycle is pushing the limits, it seems to me. Read more →

More on jungle cafés...

Last year about this time, I expressed my frustration about the constant rains characteristic of the final month or so of the rainy season in Ho Chi Minh City. This year we just accepted it like most Vietnamese and didn't... Read more →

Retail stores come and go...

You may recognize where my banner photo above comes from -- the photo of this restaurant building off Phan Xích Long Street in the Phú Nhuận District of Hồ Chí Minh City was taken a year ago when the building... Read more →

The end of the rainy season is here

Last 5 May, I called the beginning of the rainy season here in southern Vietnam because the winds had shifted from the east to come out of the west, the monsoon winds that bring the rain for 6 months. On... Read more →

Celebration of the utilities...

An altar to the electrical grid, found on Nguyễn Văn Trỗi Street in the Phú Nhuận District, where the street has been newly widened. On the other side of the street, the telecommunication cables are still hanging below head height. Read more →

More on slow internet connections in Vietnam

Here is a link to an article on Vietnam.net Bridge about the pervasive internet bandwidth lack in Vietnam: http://english.vietnamnet.vn/tech/2007/07/718231/ We all seem to have the same problem -- here is a quotation from the article: "Most internet subscribers are very... Read more →

FPT's bandwidth limitations in Vietnam

Vietnam's economic growth is clearly outpacing its ability to get supporting infrastructure in place. The increasing traffic jams are evidence of the lack of highways and the need for mass transit alternatives. New housing developments and industrial parks are located... Read more →

Cars on the narrow lanes of HCMC

Everyday many more cars are registered in Ho Chi Minh City, and the results are experienced daily in increased frequency of traffic jams. Seeing cars on the mid-block lanes is still disconcerting since these lanes were never envisioned to accommodate... Read more →

Impressive large themed cafés

In my posting about American coffeehouses a month ago, I mentioned that the stores are much smaller than Vietnamese cafés. The design of these stores are almost always retail in nature and rarely explore themes or provide environments more comfortable... Read more →

We are back "home" in Ho Chi Minh City after our month in the USA. We went there for the wedding of our older daughter. I have been putting off posting anything about this wonderful event, while running through a... Read more →

Cars in Phnom Penh

Jon at The final Word...in Saigon posted awhile back on "Cars, Cars, Cars. And Cars", lamenting the traffic and hazardous smog created by the growing number of cars in Ho Chi Minh City. Visiting Phnom Penh in Cambodia recently, I... Read more →

Overloaded motorbike

Most everything in Viet Nam is shipped by motorbike across Ho Chi Minh City. Motorbikes get around town much faster than trucks or cars. This motorbike looks top-heavy with its load, but although it is bulky, it's toilet paper and... Read more →

Voting Day today in Việt Nam

Today, Sunday, is Voting Day for the delegates to the 12th National Assembly in Việt Nam. The flags are out on everyone's house in the hẻm (lane) since this is a government holiday (even if it is Sunday). According the... Read more →

Cà phê at cafés in HCMC

Jon over at the blog The final Word...in Saigon posted the other day about places to "chill out" in Ho Chi Minh City, meaning cafés, otherwise known as coffeehouses in the western world. Jon subtitled his posting "Part I", indicating... Read more →

The rainy season has arrived

Back on 25 March, Chris at the blog Charvey in Vietnam announced that the rainy season in southern Viet Nam had arrived. I knew this was premature because the winds hadn't changed yet. The winds all through the dry season... Read more →

The Urban Fabric of HCMC

This article is the second in a series on urban planning of Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC). The first article presented my image of the existing city. The colonial French laid out the old city of Saigon, beyond the grid... Read more →

My Image of Ho Chi Mnh City

In order to prepare one's personal vision for the urban design and development of a city, one must have a good sense of what his/her city currently is. The description of one's personal image of his/her city is important as... Read more →

Vietnamese journalism

In the comments to the preceding post, Jon asks where in HCMC the sinking bridge is located. I should have been more careful to provide background for the story and the pictures. But note that the Thanh Nien News article... Read more →

More tilting houses

Article from Thanh Nien News 23 March 2007 Deteriorating HCMC bridge poses threat to houses A recently built overpass in Ho Chi Minh City, which has been in the news for corrupt contractors and poor quality, is continuing to sink... Read more →