Blogs from Da Nang , South Central Coast, Vietnam, Asia - page 18

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Asia » Vietnam » South Central Coast » Da Nang July 3rd 2008

Day - Not sure Well I skipped a few days of typing in my blog and have lost track of what day and what the date is. The computer says is 9:00pm back home on Wednesday which means its 11:00am Thursday morning here. We went to Hoi An yesterday morning and shopped the local markets. It was crazy busy with people, bikes and scooters. The clothes here are all hand sewn so if you want anything other than a t-shirt or tank top you have to get it made. They can have it done in 12 hours. You pick the outfit from a catalog, pick the fabric and they make it. They are really amazing seamstresses. They also can make you a pair of sandals custom fit. I’m going to check that out when we head ... read more
Sunset in Da Nang
Yukan Sensei
Silk Lanterns

Asia » Vietnam » South Central Coast » Da Nang July 3rd 2008

So we’re up at 5:30am, breakfast at 6:00am and to the bus at 7:00am. More trenches to dig. It seems like it’s cooler today but I’m sure that we are all just becoming more acclimated to the heat and humidity. It got to 105 degrees today with little to no breeze. Where we were digging there are no trees so we try to work in shifts to not kill ourselves. Then the electricity went out and the overhead fans in the school didn’t work for an hour or so. We all couldn’t wait to get back on the bus for the AC. We stopped at the sea and swam for about an hour. Some of the others stayed but Amanda, Jessie and I took a taxi back to the hotel. Ted went back earlier to sleep. ... read more
Amanda Flexing Her Biceps
The Conner Brothers

Asia » Vietnam » South Central Coast » Da Nang July 1st 2008

We got up to head the Cham Ruins. This is where the original Vietnamese once lived. It’s a pretty beautiful place. The bricks are put together without mortar. Thuy says they are still trying to figure how they put the buildings together. Hopefully someday they will protect these ruins with ropes or something. You can walk all over the place and you can see the damage that is doing to these old buildings. We have a Buddist monk, Yukon, with us now. He is a friend of Thuy’s and is from Cambodia. He is here to preside over a wedding. A young couple in our group, Michael (the piano player) and Jerra are having a Vietnamese wedding on Friday. It should be very cool. They are getting fitted this afternoon in traditional clothing and then all ... read more
Part of the Ruins
Pillar in the Ruins
More Ruins

Asia » Vietnam » South Central Coast » Da Nang June 27th 2008

We have been away from home now for six months, we have been on many adventures, had many lazy days and have established a few relationships. While the trip so far has been well worth all of the struggles and challenges we have overcome, some of the biggest lessons we have learned are about the relationships we left behind. Now that our vacation from our vacation return to Canada is imminent, and we often talk of the things we are looking forward to, the true value of our friends and family has been revealed to us. For most at home things have continued on within their normal parameters. There may be times where you think, “This is where Krysta would say something nice,” or, “This is where Smitty would stick his foot in his mouth,” but ... read more
Sweet Ride
At Bach Ma
Sea of People

Asia » Vietnam » South Central Coast » Da Nang June 10th 2008

Day 160: six weeks in Saigon, six weeks backpacking through south Vietnam and almost two and a half months living in Da Nang. No, I don’t think we’re tourists anymore. I pre-empt this entire posting by recognizing that yes, many of the photos here (and in future postings) show us doing tourist-y things, but I offer the following evidence to support my argument: We’re employed -we’re still slugging away as teachers. Planning has decreased and pleasure has increased. Hooray! We’re renting - we now occupy the top floor of a multi-family house in downtown Da Nang. A Vietnamese doctor and his wife live on the main floor, their daughter and her family live on the second floor and we live on the top floor. It’s a great pad, with lots of light and space, some retro ... read more
My Khe
From the peninsula
A busier beach

Asia » Vietnam » South Central Coast » Da Nang June 8th 2008

By now I have arrived in Luang Prabang, Laos, after what can I call a bumpy ride through the sky, but more about that later on. Let me go back in time a little to the beach in Danang, Vietnam. And what a beautiful beach it is. I managed to take my motorbike out on a few occasions but did spend most of my time on the beach. The first day I headed towards the headland at the northern end of China beach; Monkey Island. A beautiful brandnew coastal road follows the side of the hill, with stunning views over Danang and China beach. The next day, after a massive and gorgeous English breakfast I headed to the south end of town, to the so-called marble mountains. Spend some time there climbing over hills and checking ... read more
Hoi an street
Pagoda at the Marble mountains
View over the 'marble town' from Tho Son

Asia » Vietnam » South Central Coast » Da Nang June 6th 2008

Finally, a well deserved 17-day vacation. On the 1st of June, after finishing work at 17:00, I flew to Beijing where I stayed for a day. My god it's big..... On the 3rd I flew Shenzhen airlines to Nanning, in the far south of China, just accross the border with Vietnam. And that was also my destination. Nanning was nice enough and the room at the hotel for 90 Yuan was a bargain. The next morning at 08:00 I took the local train to Pinxiang which took only 3 1/2 hours. The border formalities went fairly quickly (I picked up my Vietnam visa at the embassy in Nanning) and walked through the massive arch that marked the border. On the other side a taxi took us to the town of Lang Son where a bus was ... read more
friendly owner of beachside seafood restaurant
Fresh gamba's and saigon beer....
The border between China and Vietnam

Asia » Vietnam » South Central Coast » Da Nang April 13th 2008

Amidst the headache-inducing intoxication of techno music and karaoke, Marc and I still managed to enjoy a recent overnight trip to Ba Na. We took the trip as part of a free staff and teacher outing offered by the school. Built in 1919, Ba Na Hill Station was a lookout point for the French during their occupation of Vietnam. After the Vietnamese defeated the French to reclaim their (brief) independence in 1945, the site was abandoned for more than 40 years. Now, the Vietnamese government is rebuilding the area, which includes once grand hotels and French villas deteriorated by time and the effects of American bombing, in hopes of drawing domestic and foreign tourists to this beautiful mountain vista above the clouds. At an elevation of 1,485 m, the mountain (and all other so-called mountains we’ve ... read more
Omnipotence
Head and shoulders
Old Villa

Asia » Vietnam » South Central Coast » Da Nang April 10th 2008

We apologise for the long delay between postings, but any earlier news from us would have been a less than favourable recap. We’ve been in Danang for three weeks now, but we are far from settled into our new jobs and our new place of residence. And while we admit that there was some talk of pulling the chutes, things are starting to improve. As you all can imagine, moving to a new city and starting a new job is a stressful experience. Combine that with a seemingly backwards culture and a foreign language and suddenly renting a house, finding good restaurants to eat at, seeking affordable, reliable transportation and setting up bank accounts, etc. becomes a major, time-consuming headache. Most of all, we’ve discovered that teaching is a challenging, humbling and sometimes just plain embarrassing ... read more
Town square
Look up in the sky
Smokin

Asia » Vietnam » South Central Coast » Da Nang April 4th 2008

Churches of Danang Part II The Missionary Success of Gordon and Laura Smith Vietnam is known for naming streets and sculpting statues of its heroes. Only two foreigners have been awarded that distinction. They are Louis Jean Pasteur and Dr. Alexandre Yersin who worked under Pasteur in Paris. I don’t think Pasteur ever made it to Vietnam but Yersin worked here most of his adult life. He founded the Pasteur Institute in Vietnam and introduced rubber and quinine-producing trees to Vietnam. In 1894 while in Hong Kong he discovered the rat-borne microbe that causes bubonic plague. Of course no one ask me but I could nominate two or more foreigners to be honored, Since this is my blog, here are my picks: Father Alexandre de Rhodes, the Jesuit Priest who is credited for developing Quoc Ngu, ... read more
Stanley and Ginny Smith
Gordon and Laura
Gordon and Laura




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