The Last of Saigon

So. After the cyclo ride, the two Australian girls and I went to Highlands Coffee next to our hotel to take a rest. I have discovered that Vietnamese coffee is amazingly good. They put sweetened condensed milk in a cup, and then place a small brewing device over the cup and let the coffee drip [...]

Read Full Post »

Day 2 – Saigon

So. The day after I arrived by plane, I spent the whole day exploring Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City.) It turns out that most people who live here still call it Saigon, even though the official name is HCMC. Some people (like my Viet American friends) say it’s because Saigon fought for the south, and [...]

Read Full Post »

Good Morning, Vietnam

It is 7 AM on Monday morning here in Vietnam, and I just woke up.  I got about 7 hours of sleep last night, which is pretty good because I thought I might wake up at 3 or 4 AM due to jet lag. Considering that I barely slept for the 48 hours before bed [...]

Read Full Post »

Why are some people’s childhoods so exciting?

Yesterday, while chatting with Eg (real name Andrew) and his mom:
(His mom was telling me about all the places they travelled when her kids were young.)
Mom: …and when Andrew was just a baby, we took him to Turkey.
Andrew: I remember Turkey.  My parents threw me away in Turkey.
Mom: NO!! That was Pakistan.

Read Full Post »

Things I Dislike: Hummers, Crocs.

(www.graphjam.com)

(foreveramber.typepad.com)
 
I’m too tired to write a post about actual events, but expect pictures to come soon!

Read Full Post »

Excitement and Fear (Mostly Fear)

Last fall I was going through my Word documents when I found something that looked like part journal entry part life commentary.  It was about when I first arrived in Beijing last summer. 
It began: “When I first arrived in Beijing I felt this sense of dread driving down the freeway to Beijing University’s campus. As [...]

Read Full Post »