Yesterday, Google released a detailed blog post discussing the decision to review its policy towards China after they uncovered cyber attacks on their corporate infrastructure. The attacks, Google say, were aimed at accessing the accounts of Chinese human rights activists. Google said, “These attacks and the surveillance they have uncovered—combined with the attempts over the […]

This forkless bicycle was a graduation project from 28 year old Finnish designer Olli Erkkila. It looks a bit odd but the video footage on the article page shows that it rides like a normal cycle. Way cool, but could you dink someone on the handlebars I wonder! View article here | Visit Erkkila’s site

This video footage was taken just after Viet Nam defeated Singapore 4-1 in the semi final of the SEA Games football competition. Thousands of people take to the streets whenever Viet Nam wins a football match to celebrate in a flag waving, noisy frenzy. It’s fun to watch but hell if you have to drive […]

Tonight Viet Nam defeated Singapore 4-1 in the semi-final of the SEA Games. Anytime VN win is a great excuse for blowing off some steam and celebrating en-mass. After the game we walked down to the roundabout where Dien Bien Phu meets up with Ly Thai To and Le Hong Phong to watch some of […]

I’ve just posted the third and final lot of images from our recent “Bring Out Your Grandmothers” motorbike tour. Clicking on the image below will bring up the slideshow in my gallery. Please enjoy.  

Ok ok, I know, I know. “Bring Out Your Grandmothers Tour”. What the?? Well, we were discussing a name for the trip. Then recalled the Rolling Stones “Lock Up Your Daughters” tour. So, it kinda fits huh??

I decided to take these short videos of this valley because it was impossible to take a still image that would convey the massive nature of this system.

I’ve just posted the second lot of images from our recent “Bring Out Your Grandmothers” motorbike tour. This Google map shows Ha Giang town (A) bottom left with Pho Bang and Dong Van at the centre top, northernmost Viet Nam. View Larger Map Clicking on the image below will bring up the slideshow in my […]

This entry was written early one morning in the hotel at Bao Lac. I’ve transcribed it from my notebook pretty much verbatim, sans spelling errors. “Friday Nov 11 2009, 6am Hotel balcony at Bao Lac overlooking the river. A heavy mist has set in overnight and I can’t make out the tops of the cliffs […]

I’ve just arrived back in Ha Noi after 2 weeks on the road visiting Ha Giang and Cao Bang provinces in the far north of Viet Nam close with the Chinese border. I have much to write about the trip and many images to process and post to royby.com. But all in good time. This […]

I feel like writing, which is an odd feeling because for the longest time even contemplation of sitting before this keyboard brought on feelings of nausea. Perhaps it is the hint of autumn in the Ha Noi air that has invigorated my senses dulled too long by the torpid humidity of a Sai Gon wet […]

Yesterday I caught a #703 public bus from Ben Thanh which carried me along route 22 to the small village of Moc Bai on the border with Cambodia (see Google map below). I had some paperwork to attend to that could not be taken care of in the city and so this day trip became […]

On a recent weekend in Vung Tau I rented this motorbike that had a rather strange choice of brand name, the definition of which I’ve placed below. Could it be indicative of the culture currently sweeping this country? av⋅a⋅rice  [av-er-is]  noun insatiable greed for riches; inordinate, miserly desire to gain and hoard wealth.  

This wordle is created from an essay I wrote about Foucault’s notion that modern society “put into operation an entire machinery for producing true discourses concerning sex”.  

I just created this wordle using the royby.com RSS feed. Wordle generates word clouds giving greatest prominence to words most frequently used in the text. I’m happy to discover that “desire” is my most commonly used word, but I’m bemused to find that I have used “man” just as frequently. Is this some strange latent […]

This is a great idea. I wish I’d thought of it. Come to think of it I wish I’d done the trip! The Longest Way 1.0 - one year walk/beard grow time lapse from Christoph Rehage on Vimeo.

Although the approaches to both sides of the bridge are yet to be completed it is now open to motorbike and car traffic, but closed to trucks and buses etc., which will be the main type of transport to use it once it is fully operational. This bridge will be an integral part of the […]

The perfume from these Lillies in my room is almost overpowering. When you look at them, Lillies are quite horny flowers!!