Blogs from Dong Ha, Quang Tri, North Central Coast, Vietnam, Asia

Heute mach ich mich auf nach Dong Ha, wo ich idealerweise am Abend ankomme. Morgens finde ich heraus, dass die Information, die ich im Hotel bekommen habe, nicht komplett akkurat ist. Um neun kommt ein Bus, der nach Thanh Hoa fährt, ich kann das Motorrad mitnehmen. Ein Mann steigt auf das Dach des Busses und wirft ein Seil hinunter, das zwei Helfer unten am Vorderrad der Motorrads festbinden. Dann zieht er am Seil das Vorderrad hoch, die beiden helfer steigen ein Stückchen auf die Leiter und halten das Motorrad links und rechts, ich halte es hinten. So heben wir es zu viert auf das Dach des Busses, wo der Mann es gegen irgendwelche Kisten, die dort schon festgemacht sind, anlehnt, und es festbindet. Damit ist es wohl Transportfertig. Ich zahle 600.000 Dong für den Transport von ... read more

Molding the Minds of Tomorrow - Take 2 Now, thus far our story of Dong Ha includes many restaurants and many Huda beers. Those experiences certainly demonstrate how much fun can be had in Dong Ha City, but we were in the city in the first place for a very important reason - to volunteer. Dong Ha is a city within Quang Tri Province, just south of the former DMZ. It was one of the hardest hit provinces during the war, finding itself at a crossroads of anger and arms. The area is still suffering the effects of the war, from problems with unexploded ordinance to birth defects from Agent Orange and other chemicals used in the area. In a country with so many wonderful tourist destinations, Quang Tri is struggling to catch up, to ... read more

Tam’s Café During our first trip to Dong Ha we were invited to English Club. English Club was a pretty informal meeting of people who want to practice their English. It was usually held at a café, and earlier this year, they rotated which café it would be at. There were not many members of English Club, but it highlighted the focus people in Dong Ha have on learning and practicing English. A lot can change in less than 5 months. Mr. Tam, from Global Community Service Foundation (“GCSF”), the organization that arranged our volunteer experience, opened a new café on one of the back roads in Dong Ha. Tam’s Café is staffed by young people who are deaf or deaf and mute. A portion of the proceeds from the café go to benefit the ... read more

I stopped in Dong Ha to access the DMZ. The main "attractions" would be the old Khe Sanh base and the Vinh Moc tunnels. I'd heard about the DMZ Cafe arranging good tours to these places so I was on a lookout for them. When I got off the train I got the usual touts harassing me. I shook'em off and headed into town on foot. I guy with a motorbike stopped and claimed he was from the DMZ Cafe and could take me to a good guesthouse. Sure... I still let him pick me up and we went to the guesthouse. Unfortunately I was overcome by the usual lazieness, not wanting to haul my baggage around anymore, and accepted the room and the tours that were obviously not the DMZ Cafe. As usual the sights ... read more

Dear Patrons, Welcome to our news letter. The Staff at Different Perspectives try to bring a clearer picture of current events effecting China and Asia. Although we believe the international media driven primarily by the western world's interests is bringing the public events as they happen we at Different Perspectives are independent and non biased without an agenda for prestige or monetary profit. We simply feel the western world may be somewhat isolated from news that is local to our office here in Beijing, China. We hope you enjoy the news from a different perspective. Wednesday August 27, 2008 Quang Nhai, Vietnam I got going early enough to have coffee at the local shop and pack before making my way by way of moto-taxi to the bus station. Today I would embark on a journey north ... read more