The managing editor of “The Guide”, Mr. Nguyen Tri Man, contacted me recently and asked if some of my stories could be used in upcoming editions of this monthly magazine. It seems that he had surfed to this humble weblog and found my anecdotes worthy of being put into print. “The Guide” is published together […]
In terms of its proximity to the modernity of Saigon’s District 1, District 2 is only a stone’s throw away (or a 60 second ferry ride). But in terms of environmental difference, D2 could well be on a different planet from D1. There are massive redevelopment plans for District 2 so it is important to […]
Yesterday was my birthday and amongst other things I received the traditional birthday cake at work to share with my colleagues, but imagine my surprise to arrive home and find 55 red and pink roses in our living room. Not to mention a hand wrapped gift and home made card and also a birthday cake […]
...which country beat Cambodia 9-1 in the Tiger Cup soccer yesterday. (I wondered why so many of my students were missing from class).
...well at least it is for us. You see we have the most gorgeous housekeeper on earth. Ms Tam is always happy, always smiling and is a joy to have around our house on the three days a week that she comes and picks up after us. Our friends Loic and Mai introduced Ms Tam […]
...due to a sudden spate of comment spam I have had to resort to the tactic of asking people who wish to leave a comment to first register as a member. A pain in the butt I know and I’m sure that many people who wish to comment will not do so because of the […]
For a minute there the account for this site was suspended. Slight stuff up in the billing and payment area, no harm done.
Friday night we attended a dinner for Alumni of Griffith University in Queensland. The dinner was hosted in Nam An 2 restaurant which is one of a chain owned by our friend Ly Trung who completed his Masters degree at Griffith Uni’s Gold Coast campus. Our special guest was the Honourable Tom Burns, a long […]
Thursday night Lisa and I took the Vespa down town and had a meal at the night markets surrounding Ben Thanh market place. We ate prawns in tamarind, beef with ginger and pineapple, deep fried squid with lime, salt and pepper, some boiled rice and a couple of cold Heinekeins to wash it all down. […]
This morning I was woken up to the sounds of violence, the intensity of which has made me feel a mixture of sadness, anger (at the perpetrator), frustration and I have a sick sensation sitting in the pit of my stomach. We have been living in this house now for nearly 11 months and the […]
Recently we visited central Viet Nam and captured far too many images. I’ve divided them into 4 sub albums and several sub-sub-albums. There are many stories to yet be written from this trip, but meanwhile enjoy the images by clicking here to go to the main album or click on the thumbnails to go straight […]
Our friend and colleague Trung invited us to the re-opening of Maxim’s Restaurant (now to be known as Maxim’s Nam An) last night. Maxim’s has been a part of the old Majestic Hotel as a theatre restaurant since 1964, prior to which it was a movie theatre. It was a very popular nightspot for many […]
Last night we travelled along Dien Bien Phu Street at 6.15pm and the traffic could best be described as “wall to wall” cars, trucks, buses, cyclos, bicycles, motorbikes, pedestrians, food stalls on wheels, three wheel sand carriers, traffic police and so on. The traffic was so dense that motorists were making alternate lanes travelling up […]
Today is the day in which Vietnamese honour their teachers, both past and present as it is a day that is annually designated as “Teachers Day” nationwide. Yesterday students at RMIT were busy giving out Teachers Day greetings and gifts that included flowers, perfume and other cosmetics, alcohol and jewellery as most teachers will not […]
Last night we went for a drive through a part of the city that we have been wanting to explore for some time. Ly Chinh Thang Street follows a winding path between Cach Mang Thang Tam and Hai Ba Trung Streets in District 3 and at one point there is a five storey building almost […]
So, the perpetrator of all of those e-mails from Nigeria asking us to take their millions in cash has been given “at least” four years in jail. That sounds good to me, he no doubt deserves it. But wait one! I’ve just finished reading Helen Garner’s book “Joe Cinque’s Consolation” where the girlfiend of Joe […]
We are spending a quiet Sunday at home recovering from two very late nights in a row and just finished watching the movie “Love Actually Is” on DVD. It reminded me very much of how much I miss giving and receiving hugs to and from those I love who are far away.
The thing that we love to do the most while travelling inside Viet Nam is to rent a motorbike and get out of the cities or tourist areas to explore this place for ourselves. Quite often after obtaining the motorbike we will glance at a map, make a decision in which direction we will head […]
