All Entries in the "Ho Chi Minh City" Category

What to expect in a Vietnamese Restaurant

Going out to eat at a restaurant is easy, right?
…not always.
Often when you find yourself in other countries, even though there’s a waiter, a table, you are putting food in your mouth, and there’s a bill – there are many things that can be vastly different. As I lived in Vietnam there [...]

Fruity Vietnam

I’m a fruit person…I love it, I crave it, I must have it!  One great thing about living in the sweltering Vietnam climate is that the fruit is great all year around!  I would walk through the markets and my eyes would pop seeing so many different kinds of colorful fruit!  Vendors walked the streets [...]

Photo(s) of the Week – Oct. 29, 2009

Hire Wires
Every person who comes to Vietnam is either mesmerized or scared to death.  First they notice the traffic and motorbike culture; appearing as chaos.  However the second thing they notice is the mangled electrical wiring above their head; which leads to the question – how do they fix a wiring problem if something goes [...]

Vietnam Learnings

I love to reflect upon my time in a place, so it’s fitting that after a year I’ve sat down and actually thought about what I’ve learned about Vietnam, Asia, and myself.  I realize that a year in Vietnam has taught me a many valuable lessons; things I will take with me for the rest of [...]

The Plan

I’m on the move again. After one year of staying in one country and one city (yet many different apartments!); I’ve got itchy travel feet again. I’ve packed up my meager possessions in two suitcases, gave back my motorbike key, said my goodbyes, bought a one way ticket, and the wheels left the ground last [...]

Coming Full Circle

I spent the weekend going back to square one; back to where I started my life in Ho Chi Minh City. Let me back up a bit; I’ve been living out in a ‘suburb’ district for the last 6 months. Even though I have to come into the ‘city center’ (District 1) a few days [...]

Motorbike Diaries – Vol. 17

Rush Hour

Start from the Beginning - Motorbike Diaries Vol. 1
Resistance is Futile – Assimilation
I’m not sure how it happened, but I’ve become one of them. I wear a jacket (which I’m boiling in), a mask, a poncho, ….I’m a Vietnamese motorbike driver. I’ve become used to being squeezed into small places and driving through them. I [...]

Motorbike Diaries – Vol. 16

Start from the Beginning - Motorbike Diaries Vol. 1
You won’t believe your eyes this week!  I’ve collected some of my recent motorbike photography that will amaze and baffle you.  After living here for a year, I’m still absolutely dumbfounded and tickled by what I see the Vietnamese strap to their motorbikes.  The motorbike culture here is [...]

The Motorbike Diaries – Vol. 15

Start from the Beginning - Motorbike Diaries Vol. 1
What’s in a Name?
I’m going to state the obvious – I’m a girl. What I mean by that is I can exhibit typical girl traits at times; especially when it comes to my knowledge of cars. As long as I can remember, I’ve never really been interested in [...]

Saigon City Guide

Last month I produced a Saigon City guide podcast for one of my favorite travel websites, The Indie Travel Podcast.  I love writing, and I wasn’t really sure how I would like researching and doing a podcast, but it proved ot be a lot of fun!  So – here’s everything you want to know about [...]

Back in the HCMC

After 17 days in Mongolia (12 of which were spent in the Gobi Desert being nomadic, smelly, hot, parched, and stared at), I’ve arrived back in HCMC.  I can’t say that I’m happy to be back, but that’s how life goes and I had to come back and finish work here before I could totally [...]

The Dust Bowl

I often wonder how many months the pollution and dust in Saigon will take off my life.  For this reason, I can’t imagine living here long term.  Hell, I imagine that living here long term is akin to smoking a pack of cigarettes a day! That may be an exageration, however no one really knows what [...]

Photo of the week – July 20, 2009

I recently made a trip to a local market to purchase and eat durian for the first time.  While I was there, I was able to capture some photos of butchers of the market. 

I love this mixture of personalities, ages, and genders!  They were all working in the same market and all selling meat.  For [...]

Leaving on a Jet Plane…Tonight!

Just a quick update  – I’m on the move once again; I’m taking a vacation….yeah!  Ever since I made the decision a year ago to come back to Asia and live in the area, I knew that one of the things I wanted to accomplish was to round out my Asia travel experience.  There’s one [...]

Adventure Eating

After 8 months here I finally found some Vietnamese friends who have taken me on as their ‘foreign friend project’. Meaning – they are helping me to see and experience the Vietnamese culture from a local perspective. It’s easy to experience the touristy side of Saigon, however I have found it hard to really integrate [...]

The Motorbike Diaries – Vol. 14

Start from the Beginning - Motorbike Diaries Vol. 1
The Great Horn Divide
No matter how hard I try, I just can’t do it. I lose the mental battle every time. I tell myself to be calm, patient, understanding – but then it happens – BEEP, BEEP BEEEEEP, BEEP, BEEP; and after the 3rd time of being serenaded [...]

Renewing a Passport Overseas

I decided to start the process of getting my passport renewed as many countries won’t let you enter if you don’t have more than 6 months left on your passport validity. I certainly didn’t want to be turned away at the border of Mongolia! Plus, I’ve learned that working through the American consulate while you [...]