New clothes are a feature of the giving at Tet, and this is clearly evidenced in the stunning array of gear that the children are decked out in over this period. In the main square outside the people’s committee hall, a constant stream of family laden scooters arrives in order that they might have thier […]
I’m sorry that the entries to this journal have not been as regular as I would have liked but we do not have our own computers as yet and Internet access has been very flukey at the cafe in the hotel, not to mention expensive. There are many adventures that I want to relate, but […]
Yesterday we walked to the gates of RMIT University, just to make sure that we knew how to get there. Upon reflection it is an easy walk as Pham Ngoc Thach St is just an extension of Dong Khoi St where the Hotel Continental is located. RMIT is about 8 or 9 blocks away from […]
The Frangipani trees in the courtyard of the Hotel Continental have signs on them saying that they were planted in 1880. I will take some shots of them and post them to my image gallery just as soon as I have access to some image editing software.
Well, we are finally back in HCMC and what an extraordinary time to be here. Last night the celebrations for Tet were in full flight, but we were far too exhausted to contemplate staying up late to enjoy them. We did go up onto the third floor balcony of the Hotel Continental to watch and […]
Finally we are finished packing and out of the house. What a total nightmare. However, it is done and we have begun our gypsy like existence, living out of suitcases. the flight to Vietnam can’t come quickly enough and yet there are so many things still left to do and so many people left to […]
My Philosophy Professor likened our shifting to Vietnam as an Odyssey. I do like the comparison, but I figure that Odysseus never had to pack up all of his possessions, find a home for his cats, decide what to sell, what to keep and what to give away. I’ll bet that Odysseus didn’t have to […]
Here we are, still packing. Henry just took a load of bits and pieces back to his new acreage property at Hervey Bay and will be back on Wednesday for the rest of our lounge suite and the large pot plants. Brendan has borrowed some of my power tools and my fishing gear, until I […]
Yesterday, Lisa and I spent a very dusty day cleaning out the shed of our stuff, some of which had not been touched for about 8 years. Ultimately, most of these treasured possessions went to the dump via the back of a mate’s Ute. The burning question is, “Why the hell do we keep all […]
Today we must buy our tickets for our flight to Vietnam, mainly because Amber is leaving work today and she will need to process the whole thing. I sent the visa applications off to the Vietnam embassy at the start of the week, along with our passports and copies of our contracts with RMIT Vietnam. […]
Because we are moving to Vietnam next month, and because I hope to keep a comprehensive account of our lives there, I have inserted a new category called, strangely enough, “Vietnam”.
