Blogs from Vietnam, Asia - page 1357

Hi Everyone!! I am back from Vietnam and en route to Hong Kong! I had a great time in Vietnam. We arrived in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) and I stayed a day there with my friends the first night but then we took a bus to another city called Da Lat. It was a six-hour bus ride, not that bad. The first day in Ho Chi Minh, my friend Annee and I went to the local market and bought tons of fabric to get clothes made at a tailor. The fabric was very cheap and there was so much to choose from. We then walked into a random tailor and were able to get our clothes made. I had previously pulled out a bunch of pictures from magazines of clothes that I wanted to get ... read more

To continue: We walked to the Historical Museum where there were many items of antiquities and recent history of Vietnam. On the way, we saw the opera house and the Hilton hotel, both of which are quite French. The walk was very pleasant as there were so many big trees lining the streets. I wish Bangkok was like that. Close by is the Sofitel Metropole which is very posh. We didn't dare go inside so we sat opposite at Au Lac Cafe eating Croque Monsieur and chicken club sanwich - nice location but the food is not as good as Little Hanoi the Cafe. More walk, and in the end we ended up near the hotel. A shower was in order as it was rather hot. Then we ventured out again, et voila! We saw an ... read more

The past few weeks have been more than a daily art class. Because I believe and agree with Karen’s Lifestart philosophy, I have chosen to be involved as much as possible with as many projects I can learn about or help with. Karen leaves Hoi An this morning and returns to Australia for 5 months so that she can continue to raise funds for the program. If I haven’t mentioned before, this is one of the reasons I have decided to stay in Hoi An, not only to volunteer as an Art teacher (and now English), but to help tie up any loose ends, facilitate any ongoing projects, and take care of Tam. So I have been paying close attention and taking hundreds of notes as we whiz around town on motorbikes helping and meeting with ... read more

As I lay mediatating in Tamil Nadu, I longed for cooler Himalayan climate - a breeze - or even for the electricity to come back on so my ceiling fan would move. It's hard for me to clear my mind here in India - thoughts rudely crowd my meditation. My senses are too open. I remembered my last yoga class. I miss the guidance of a class - someone else's brain doing the work of reminding me what pose is coming my way next. I had a great one in the States before we left which I dragged Rich to, and the other was in Saigon. Apart from that, I've been on my own. I saw a sign in a traveller cafe (Sinh Cafe on De Tham Street) for Saigonyoga.com. I looked it up and headed ... read more

Caught the early flight to Hanoi. Checked into the Camellia 5 Hotel, a real dump. Booked a 2-day Ha Long Bay Tour and walked around the Old Quarter. Crossed the red lacquered Huc Bridge to Den Ngoc Son Temple on Hoan Kiem Lake. Had lunch at Ace Sapa. Walked to Ly Quoc Su Pagoda. Walked around the French Quarter. Stopped at St. Joseph’s Cathedral, a fairly large Catholic cathedral, and quit nice. Toured Hoa Lo Prison, where Sen. John McCain was held as a POW. They even had his flight suit on display. Walked to Chua Quan Su Pagoda where we saw worshippers chanting—never heard anything like it before. Stopped for a drink at Le Club, the courtyard bar of Hanoi’s famous Sofitel hotel. Had some fresh Belgian-style beer at Bia Do (Red Beer) and then ... read more