Monthly Archives: May 2010

Two weeks into Vietnam we are starting to understand some of the language—just a very little—both written and spoken. While we can distinguish a few words audibly, the written language is somewhat easier—despite its extensive use of diacritical marks as … Continue reading →

First of all, if the winds are really powerful, Vinpearl Land shuts down the cable car and uses its water-based transportation to move people between the mainland and the Island. The Vietnamese operations team and their Russian developers are very … Continue reading →

While we understand relational caution, tact, transcultural manners and politeness, we sometimes take social risks to obtain facts and photos for a story. Behind our most current calculation was our interest in the Cham Towers located near Phan Rang-Tháp Chàm, … Continue reading →

We met a person who works in international trade for the United States government. A few weeks before we left on our trip, this person told us Vietnam is positioning itself to become the next South Korea when it comes … Continue reading →

How do you make a round boat without a keel go straight? While we rode in one, we still have no surety of this, but we have a somewhat believable guess. Vietnamese fishers employ wood coracles—the word originates from wickerwork … Continue reading →

Nha Trang is a seaside resort community east and north of Saigon by 454 kilometers. From 1949 to 1975 it hosted an air force base for the French, Vietnamese and Americans, in that sequence. The US also stationed Navy, Marine … Continue reading →

We visited today the Reunification Palace located in downtown Saigon. From 1966 to 1975 this was the residence of the leaders of the Saigon government. By coincidence today was also the 120th birthday of Ho Chi Minh. Our tour guide … Continue reading →

Okay, it probably looks like we are eating the whole time we are in Vietnam. Not true. However, it’s tempting. Check out the grub.

The Mekong River divides into multiple branches as it enters Vietnam from Cambodia. We visited the most northern branch which flows by the community of My Tho south of Ho Chi Minh City. The vegetation is thick, varied and green … Continue reading →

Tapei, 2,228 flight kilometers north and some east of Ho Chi Minh City, has tens of thousands of two-wheeled, motorized vehicles. While we have yet to discover the statistics, Ho Chi Minh City must have at least double the number … Continue reading →