The Price of Being a Foreigner in Asia

July 2, 2009 19 Comments »

I was out with a friend today shopping for camera equipment for my upcoming trip to Mongolia. I went to a local little camera ‘stall’ near/in The Tax Department Store (I won’t even get into what a terrible name that is for a store…that could be a whole post on it’s own). I was looking […]

The Motorbike Diaries – Vol. 13

June 29, 2009 7 Comments »

Start from the Beginning – Motorbike Diaries Vol. 1 The power of the hand… I hopped on my motorbike tonight at 8:30 PM to find out that my headlight no longer worked. It would only work when I throttled the bike up – but after I slowed down, the light went out. This created an interesting […]

Grey’s Anatomy in Vietnam

June 23, 2009 10 Comments »

I had been putting it off for as long as I could, but finally after 6 months I had to go visit the hospital. No, I wasn’t in an accident nor was I sick. I was required to have a physical in order to obtain a work permit in Vietnam. This wasn’t like when I […]

Cyclo Sunday – A Tourist In My Home

June 18, 2009 9 Comments »

I have been asked to produce a Saigon City guide for a travel website. At first this seemed rather simple, I’ve been living here for the past 8 months and have gotten to know the city very well. However, living in a city and visiting a city are very different experiences; I live here now […]

The Motorbike Diaries – Vol. 12

June 11, 2009 10 Comments »

Start from the Beginning – Motorbike Diaries Vol. 1 Mirror Mirror on the motorbike, what is your purpose; are you just there for decoration? Unfortunately after driving a motorbike in HCMC for the last 3 months, I feel as if I’m the only person here who uses my motorbike mirrors for their intended purpose; to see […]

A Little Rant About Traffic

June 3, 2009 6 Comments »

Pecking Order One of the disadvantages of living a solo life is that when you have one of those experiences that you just want to tell someone about – there’s normally no one around to listen. So, instead of bottling it all in, I blog; which makes me feel as if I’m telling someone the […]

Video of the Week – Commuting in Vietnam

May 28, 2009 7 Comments »

You may want to pop a Dramamine before watching this video of my commute to work. I teach at a manufacturing plant outside of HCMC and have to commute an hour each way to get there. Luckily they provide the transportation else I would have been one of those people on the motorbikes that you […]

Alphabet Soup

May 19, 2009 6 Comments »

Life is full of turns, twists, and curves. I recently listened to one of my favorite podcasts, This American Life, they did a show on Plan B. They explored the idea of what we thought we were going to do and what we actually did; plan B, or C, or D. It gave me a […]

The Motorbike Diaries – Vol. 10

May 13, 2009 5 Comments »

Start from the Beginning – Motorbike Diaries Vol. 1 Patience and the Law I drove over to my favorite cheap eats restaurant in the Backpacker Area in District 1, Lam Café on Bui Vien Street. When I say cheap eats…I mean it…I can get lemon grass beef with rice and a mango smoothie for $2 US. […]

The Motorbike Diaries – Vol. 9

May 7, 2009 1 Comment »

Start from the Beginning – Motorbike Diaries Vol. 1 View photography of motorbikes in rainy season! Poncho Fashion Move over Project Runway, Vietnam has Project Poncho!  Ok, I am joking, however it would be a great idea for a show here!  There is one thing that I like about the rainy season , the ponchos. There […]