It arrives in Vietnam with a vengeance: the rainy season. There is no rain for months, and then it just starts: daily downpours that relieve you from the heat and make you run for cover. Most people hear the words “Vietnam rainy season” and immediately start looking at other vacation alternatives. But I say embrace […]
One of the most unusual sites I witnessed in my travels was experiencing Christmas in Asia. I had been living in Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam for 3 months when December 25th rolled around. In a country with no real religion, and no westernized consumerism (yet), Vietnam surprised me with their Christmas spirit. Christmas in […]
The most common thing you’ll say as you walk around a Vietnamese market is “What is that?” I lived in Vietnam for a year, and one of my favorite things to do was walk around the markets. It wasn’t until I met local Vietnamese friends who enjoyed taking me to markets, that I could actually […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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. […]
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 […]
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 […]
