Antidote to Burnout

Rural Vietnamese farmhouses

Since we visited over 20 families around the Tết (Lunar New Year) season in Đẳk Lẳk, I had an opportunity to see over 20 farm and village houses in this rural province. The home of my friend's family was very... Read more →

Visiting a Vietnamese family for Tet

The Tết Nguyên Đán season (Tết) in Vietnam welcomes the lunar new year (similar to Chinese New Year), but most importantly, celebrates the family and its ancestors. Vietnamese, including those from overseas, take this time out to return to the... Read more →

Architecture over-the-top in Tay Ninh

Probably the most influential book in my life has been The Quiet American (1955) by Graham Greene. Greene's evocative depiction of Vietnam brought me to ask for U.S. Navy construction posting for a year in Saigon in 1971-1972. One of... 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 →

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 →

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 →

New restaurant concept....

I suppose somebody can tell me that they have seen this kind of restaurant elsewhere in the world, but it is the first time I have seen an all-hammock restaurant. This restaurant is located south of the Royal Palace complex... 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 incessant rain is getting to me....

The rainy season in TP. Hồ Chí Minh runs generally six months from May to November. The other half of the year is generally hot and dry, although humid. I have enjoyed the changing patterns of this season over this... Read more →

An outing with a large Vietnamese family....

It is a real treat to be invited to attend a large Vietnamese family function. In this case, we also were able to experience a pure Vietnamese resort, which is quite a bit different from the resorts westerners expect. I... Read more →

They still build wood boats in Viet Nam

Quy Nhơn is a natural harbor and beach along the south-central coast of Việt Nam in Bình Định Province. It is home to many fishing boats. In addition to harvesting shellfish, these boats catch fish common in the Vietnamese diet,... Read more →

Out in the HCMC Countryside Part 2

Heading north out of Thành Phố Hồ Chí Minh (TPHCM) east of Tân Sơn Nhất Airport, you travel on urban streets of Quận (District) Gò Vấp that take you to the west once you clear the airport grounds. Moving out... Read more →

Out in the HCMC Countryside Part 1

Thành Phố (City) Hồ Chí Minh (TPHCM) is as large in area as some provinces in Việt Nam, and includes a large amount of countryside. As we have posted earlier, TPHCM is a very densely-populated urban city. While averaging 10,405... Read more →

Water Buses in Bangkok

I know that there is a ferry from Saigon (Hồ Chí Minh City District 1 downtown) to Thủ Thiêm across the Sông Sài Gòn (Saigon River), but I don't believe there is a water bus or taxi system to take... Read more →

It must be a big issue...

I am not aware of a similar government building in Washington, D.C. or any other world capital, but the Thai government has a 20-story building devoted to money laundering in Bangkok. Read more →

Bangkok as a planning model for HCMC

My posting on 21 March 2006 wondered about the tremendous growth in population of Ho Chi Minh City over the next four years. The debate among HCMC planners for planning models seems to be between high-rise housing in the inner... Read more →

Design in Thailand

Design in Thailand is usually based on very decorative historical models. When reviewing the wares in the gold shops and stores, I marveled at the intricacy of the designs, but wondered why there was very little diversity in design, and... Read more →

Shopping Bangkok...

Shopping is the soul of Bangkok, and definitely not just for farang (westerners). In addition to traditional markets, modern shopping centers and supermarkets exist all over the neighborhoods of the city of Bangkok. And they are filled with both Thais... Read more →

No news from Bangkok...

When I am "back home" in Vietnam, I have new ideas every day for blog postings, and I take a lot of photos each day to back up these ideas. So here I am in Bangkok, supposedly much more cosmopolitan... Read more →

A Project Giving Back to the Community

The Baiyoke Building is the tallest in Bangkok at a little over 300 meters and 85 stories (info from skyscaperpage.com). It is unusual that it has painted several upper floors as a community service billboard. I assume the Thai lettering... Read more →

Riding buses in HCMC...

In a comment to my 24 April posting on the cash economy of Viet Nam, hikaru stated he needed more cash when in Sài Gòn to pay for taxis and entertainment. While taking taxis in HCMC is much cheaper than... Read more →

When you fly into the HCMC airport...

Be sure to dress very well and be prepared to act like a celebrity when you arrive at the Tân Sơn Nhất international airport (SGN) in Sài Gòn. In the picture below, you see the crowd that greets you after... Read more →

Hiking in Guilin, China

Guilin, China, is well known for its natural environment of limestone "karsts" or pillars of mountain within and around the city. Here is an example of a karst in the midst of the city: This environment creates many opportunities for... Read more →

Hà Nội impressions....

Recently, the Vietnamese God posted several wonderful architectural photographs from Hà Nội that inspired me to finally sort out my own photos from Hà Nội. This posting catches up with our stay in Hà Nội in early October with a... Read more →

Crowds....

I grew up in a small town -- Shelby, Montana, population 3,000 souls. I went to college in Bozeman, Montana, population 15,000 people. Montana's population density is among the lowest in the world. I tend to have an aversion to... Read more →

Temporary travel change....

I am now home in San Francisco for one day to do laundry, and early tomorrow morning I head out to meet my father, brother, and sister-in-law in Branson, Missouri for a week. Branson is where many aging country-western stars... Read more →

Avoiding road rage....

If you are prone to road rage, Vietnam is not the place for you. Given four million motorbikes (not to mention cars, trucks, buses, bicycles, and cyclos) in Ho Chi Minh City alone, the traffic congestion can be very frustrating.... Read more →

Relaxing in Nha Trang

We stopped off in Nha Trang between Hoi An and Ho Chi Minh City. I wanted to go there to taste its famous seafood, and Hien remembered Nha Trang as a fine beach vacation location. And both were true. Nha... Read more →

Hoi An Xua Restaurant

We are doing a bit of catching up here on last week's activities. (We are currently in Ho Chi Minh City.) In this case, we were in Hoi An, the must-see small town just south of Danang. In my 10... Read more →

If you want to come to Vietnam,,,,

As I have been travelling down Vietnam, I have been thinking about the possible reactions of my friends and family as they come to visit Vietnam. If they have travelled much in South America or other parts of Asia, for... Read more →

Hoi An, Vietnam

I drove through Hoi An four or five times in 1972 on the way to a construction site five kilometers beyond Hoi An on the coastal beach. We had contracted with a Vietnamese contractor to build 100 units of family... Read more →

Torrential Rains in Hue

There were torrential rains in Hue the entire time were there (7 & 8 October) that left the streets around our hotel flooded. Therefore we did no touring there and caught up on sleep. This is unfortunate because Hue is... Read more →

Late Postings....

Please excuse my posting several items after a week of inactivity. Unlike China, internet access is a bit more dicy although available everywhere. The internet cafes are packed by Vietnamese playing computer games every night and connections become too slow.... Read more →

Itinerary Update

After arriving in Hanoi on the afternoon of 30 September, we spent the next day walking about the Old Quarter absorbing the overall impact of the life of the city. On the next day, we rented a motor bike (over... Read more →

_________ happens

It had to happen eventually on this trip -- traveler's diarrhora. It started on the bus trip to Halong Bay, and got going good after boarding the boat for a two-day boat ride, most of which I experienced in my... Read more →

Hanoi impressions....

When I was in Saigon in 1972, I remembered the herds of motor bikes with the tooting of horns and noise. But even this did not prepare me for the Old Quarter of Hanoi. The streets in the Old Quarter... Read more →

Arriving in Hanoi

We arrived in Vietnam on 30 September via train from Nanning, China to the border station at Lang Son, Vietnam. The guidebooks say that the border procedures at land crossings are much more stressful and chaotic than airport intakes, and... Read more →

Beer Aplenty....

The vietnamese seem to have developed (with the help of Austrians) something that the remainder of the world should copy. Nameless microbrewies make kegs of unpasteurized draught beer daily and deliver it all over the country. This beer is used... Read more →

More snacks....

I don't intend for this to become a food blog, but food is such a large part of travel, especially in Asia. Vietnam certainly continues our fascination with food snacks. We are traveling on the "backpacker" economy, which means cheap... Read more →

Lodging standards

In my 21 September posting on staying in a factory town, I stated that we were staying in the homes of local friends of Hien's, or friends of friends. Until now. As we head down into Vietnam, we have run... Read more →

Itinerary update.....

We are having too much fun in one of the most beautiful parts of the world -- Guilin and Yangshuo China. This area is nestled among the limestone "karsts" or upright mountains that line the Li River valley. The scenes... Read more →

Local snacks....

The location of the photos in this posting don't line up correctly with the text and I couldn't figure out how to adjust it while in the internet cafe with limited time, so this will be a test of your... Read more →

I love Hong Kong and Kowloon

Entry to condo in HK Originally uploaded by layered. Our first stop on the way to Vietnam for this trip was Hong Kong, where I had never been before. Click on the photo to see several photos in this set... Read more →

A nation of eaters....

I may be prone to some over-generalizations sometimes, so please bear with me. For example, in my visits to Japan, I am convinced that they are a nation of drinkers (and I fit right in). The Chinese, on the other... Read more →

Catching up to Chinese technology

Every computer I have seen in China, whether in an internet cafe or in the homes of my hosts, has been on a fast broad-band connection and has had a web-camera for use in video chatting. Everyone here video chats... Read more →

In a Chinese factory town

We will head for Guilin on Saturday evening. In the meantime, we are in a factory town north of Shenzhen -- somewhere in the Donguan region -- a town called Tangxian, I believe. My wife is famous among her friends... Read more →

Chinese song plagiarism

At breakfast this morning in a little noodle shop at a factory town north of Shenzhen, the background music included a Chinese tune sung to a jazzed up melody of "God Bless Ye Merry Gentlemen". Strange at this time of... Read more →

Enduring the heat....

Most of my friends thought I would have trouble tolerating the heat and humidity in Asia given my old age and conditioning in San Francisco. It was dang cold (55F) in San Francisco the day we left. After three months... Read more →