Last student presentation of the semester finished and indeed my final class over and done with, I walk down the tree lined driveway at 21 Pham Ngoc Thach. Some students invite me over to their table under the enormous mango tree where they share their feast of pineapple and rose apple (mung) dipped in salty […]

For the second day in a row there have been storm clouds building and the sound of thunder in the sky. It rained yesterday, not enough to wash away the accumulated layers of dust that have built up on every surface during the dry, but at least it did rain. It could rain any minute […]

Our alleyway became plastered with posters last Wednesday night. Each poster has photos and details of candidates for both the Ward and District positions on the People’s Council and one of our regular drivers from this alley is running for the communal level elections. The Viet Nam News reports that… HA NOI ? The country […]

Driving in this city is a totally different experience to that of driving in Australian cities. At first, the traffic seems to be utterly chaotic with people going in all directions. Cars, trucks and buses travel alongside thousands of motorbikes, bicycles, cyclos, push-pull vehicles for disabled persons and a strange eclectic mix of other assorted […]

Mimi turned up at our front door the other day with these monster king prawns that her father had just barbequed and a bottle of Dalat red wine. Are we being spoilt or what!!

We were very fortunate to be invited to spend the weekend at Binh Chau Spa Resort with a group of people from HCMC. The group consisted of Vietnamese nationals who have completed their degrees in Australia along with people from Nutrifort, a health and fitness monitoring company, others from RMIT as well as partners and […]

Well, we just spent the weekend in Bangkok, I had my camera with me and I couldn’t find anything that I wanted to photograph apart from the weekend markets. However, I neglected to take my camera with me there so, who would want to see images of traffic clogged roads and run-down unattractive apartment buildings. […]

Sunday morning, we are both at work upstairs in our office and take time out to brew a Vietnamese coffee. Strong, rich, aromatic, black and sweet. I sit watching out into our alleyway through the large glass front door with the sound of an Enya DVD playing. I contemplate life and wonder just how many […]

Most mornings, my ride to work on the back of a Honda takes me through a small market street that connects Nguyen Dinh Chieu and Dien Bien Phu Streets. This morning while we were wending our way through the conglomeration of stall holders, shoppers, dogs, walkers and people traveling every which way, I noticed an […]

or…a much needed weekend break at the resort town of Vung Tau. We didn’t realise how much we needed a break from the constant pace and noise of HCMC until we had actually arrived at Vung Tau and listened to the quiet. The freedom to drive a motorbike where we wanted to go, stop where […]

There has been a death three houses down from ours and tonight our alleyway is full of motorbikes that belong to friends and relatives who have come to pay their respects. The gates and doors to the house have been thrown open and the coffin is on display surrounded by burning incense and other decoration. […]

Quite a great deal of attention was given to International Women’s Day here in Vietnam. The city decorated the Opera House with 30,000 Roses and Jasmines which looked a treat. Seminars and discussion groups were held for single women as well as for couples to discuss women’s role in society and other issues. Chocolate manufacturers […]

The government has officially lifted its ban on the sale of chicken and eggs, however I think that I will avoid eating it for a while after seeing eggs and chickens in market places at least 5 days before the ban was lifted and after reading this article. We are eating so much interesting food […]

...you’d think it was the fourth of July. For those of you old enough to remember that old Chicago song, a stroll in the park may be high on your list of energetic activities these days. We took time out of our busy schedule to walk to one of HCMC’s great parks. This one is […]

Well, I took along my camera for this Ides of March feast and you can find the images by clicking on the thumbnail above.

?but no cats in the yard, in fact no yard at all! I have already posted images of our house at 337 Nguyen Dinh Chieu St in HCMC and it should be obvious that the zoning of this area is zero allotment. In fact, most houses in HCMC are built directly abutting their neighbours and […]

Well, we have manged to survive our first two weeks of teaching and our first month living in Vietnam. Things are starting to fall into some sort of routine as we discover where we can buy the things that we need for everyday life and so on. We don’t have to work on Saturdays, so […]

I have posted some new images of our house and surrounding neighbourhood. 337/14 Nguyen Dinh Chieu St You can access them by clicking on the thumbnail image or clicking here