Missed out... Good to see you blogging again. We missed out on Dalat on our last trip, and it sounds like we really need to make the effort to get there next time.
Thanks for reading Ren and Drew, what a great place it really is to see - I wonder what it would be like in the cold season (not sure exactly when it is in Vietnam) but I really want to get back there as well. Great place to refresh and recharge before finishing Vietnam if your doing the north to south route. Always great to hear from you guys
I love Dalat... and am glad you do too. I went to elementary and middle school there from 1956 to 1964...the beginning of the Vietnam war. The Air Force flew the entire school to Bangkok over Easter weekend of 1965, and then the school moved to Malaysia...presently in Penang. The school is Dalat International School...still kept its name almost 50 years after leaving Vietnam. I returned to Dalat in October/November 1973 as an engineer, and then again in June 2009. All my times there are posted as blogs, if you are interested. I agree the people are wonderful, and so is the climate.
Small world on travelblog.com Wow, that is really an amazing coincidence, as here I am talking about what a great place it would be to live and you actually lived there... I can't wait to see some of the blogs, I especially hope you have some pictures so I can see what it used to look like back then. In fact, that entire story about a whole school being flown by the airforce to Bangkok and then Penang is an incredible story in itself... what an experience, amazing!
Best blog I've read about Hoi An... because you didn't mention the tailors, but the food! I can vouch for your description, including starting with the French bread...the Vietnamese make French bread much better than anything I've eaten in France.
fascinating!!! Hi Dan! I am a high school friend of your mother's. I have traveled around the world extensively but have not made it to Southeast Asia (other than India, Nepal, and Bangladesh)... yet. I found your blog fascinating and insightful. I agree with your opinion on mass tourism but I am not quite as adventurous as you and Tara. It is nice to see you embracing other cultures. Thank you for sharing your experiences and photographs. Be safe and travel far!
Sapa Hey Dan - Your time in Sapa sounds amazing! Jake and I are headed there Saturday morning. Would you recommend going with Lilly? Looking now for a trekking / home stay package...any advice would be great! Thanks :)
Excellent blog This took me right back to Sapa and the Black Hmong villages. I could only stomach one glass of rice wine (that the nana of the house had brewed), so I felt for Tara :)
Rice Wine Well, truth be told I had to grit my teeth through the first three or four as well. I saw something in your Sapa blog that I forgot to mention - the married thing, we always got that same question and same response and we too became married for our time in Sapa, haha
fantastic I have been watching your blog and I AM SO JEALOUS!. Enjoy. We are so busy giving slo tests had to stop teaching content as kids are going to have to be taking tests out of class. Ridiculous. Where are you guys going next?
SLO Tests Hey Rach, it's good to hear from you. I'm so far gone out of the NYS Education loop I don't even know what an SLO test is - unless it is standardized learning something or other. I sent you an email a while back and never heard back from you. Please email me and let me know in more detail what is happening at the school. Great to hear from you
Awesome read Wow, it just brings back good memories as I look through your bog post. Totally had a memorable time when I was in Sapa (twice) years ago. Great photos too! And what a beautiful title
Thank you.. I'm very happy you enjoyed reading my blog, it brings me much joy when people I haven't met before take an interest in reading about my travels... and thank you even more for taking the time to comment. I will have a look and see what you did on your travels in Asia, as we still have 4 months to go and not too many plans yet! Thanks again.
Aw! What a gorgeous photo. I really enjoyed this blog on Sapa...it's a gorgeous part of Vietnam and we would love to go back there. Looking forward to reading more of your blogs :)
Thank you Thank you so much, we sat for about 45 minutes with all these animals here, it was so much fun. If you guys have any suggestions for Vietnam we have only just left Hanoi and are in Ninh Binh now. I will flip back through some of your blogs and see what you enjoyed.
You write to longest sentences I have ever read... but I find it quite poetic and stream of consciousness appropriate for the subject matter. Are you done teaching in Thailand or just taking a trip while school is out?
Finished in Thailand Bob and Linda, thank you for the continued support. My mother also complains to me about the length of the sentences and lack of punctuation and sometimes I look back and think it is a bit ridiculous but I really appreciate the praise. At some point last year I began to get bored with my own writing and just thought I would try something different - simply type the ideas in one long stream with minimal punctuation flow straight from my mind onto the computer and then one quick edit. We are all finished in Thailand - Ao Nang was our final stop and now we are traveling for four months through Georgetown Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia and Myanmar. I hope I can start to keep up with the blogs more now that I have more to write about. Again thank you so much for continuing to take the time to follow my blog!
Thanks Gina Gina, please send me an email and let me know what is going on over on that side of the world. I know there is at least some 'interesting' news there at SVCSD :) and of course I wonder how you are doing also.
Students in Thailand interesting article
I live in Thailand since 7 years and have been teaching at a school.
I can feel the mood of this article and a lot of your opinions.
This Thai students usually have a very balanced behavior and can take pleasure in small things. I really love them.
Unfortunately it is not always understandable what happens with them. What I’m talking about is the way of punishment and how they handle the freedom of expression.
I wish you many wonderful days at the school and especially with your students.
Wonderfully written blog Dan. Maybe expressive writing was more of a forte of yours. Enjoyed this majestic hidden treasure of Thailand. Excluding the snake. Glad there's no picture.
Thank You Thank you Diana, I always have loved to write, but there isn't much of a career in that anymore. If / when you come to visit I know Mae Salong and Chiang Dao would have to be on your to do list.
Thank You Thank you Diana, I always have loved to write, but there isn't much of a career in that anymore. If / when you come to visit I know Mae Salong and Chiang Dao would have to be on your to do list.
I first developed a love for travel writing on this site. Today I am a photographer specializing in portraits and events, as well as selling prints for my travel and fine art work. You can check me out at:
dansimondsphotography.com
IG: @sabaidandee @dansimondsphotography
Much love! -Dan (jaiyen)... full info
RENanDREW
Ren & Andrew
Missed out...
Good to see you blogging again. We missed out on Dalat on our last trip, and it sounds like we really need to make the effort to get there next time.