In the canyons of contemporary office buildings, sleek malls, high-end boutiques, and elegant restaurants, the vibrant streets of Saigon bustle with a contrasting way of life. The rapidly growing city offers a lovely blend of traditional and contemporary living; someone working on the top floor of a skyscraper is just …
Living in Vietnam for over a year, I’ve learned that when I hear drums beating and cymbals clang-clang-clanging, there’s a Lion Dance nearby. Lion dances originated in China but are now prevalent throughout SE Asia. The performance is part dance, part theatrics, and part acrobatics. The “lion” is inspired by …
When we decided to extend our stay in Saigon from one year to 18 months, I was excited that we’d be here for another Tet season. This year (2025) Tet is on January 29. The date is based on a lunar/solar calendar that calculates the orbit of the earth around the …
While spending a few days exploring the central Vietnamese coast city of Da Nang, we booked a daytrip to the Imperial City of Hue (pronounced like a breathy “whey” as in “curds and whey”.) Hue was the capital of Vietnam during the Nguyen Dynasty (1802 – 1945.) The journey to Hue …
When we were getting ready to move to Saigon, I told Mark we would likely need to invest in e-readers. We love to read and I wasn’t sure that we’d be able to find many English-language books. Once again, I’m happy to say that Saigon surprised me. There are many …
After reading about elaborate fireworks that happen in late summer all around Japan, we planned a trip to the country to coincide with three of them: One in Tokyo, one in Chiba, and one near Mt. Fuji. When we read that each of the shows launch up to 20,000 shells, …
When I was preparing to move from Minnesota to Vietnam, my dermatologist reminded me that I was going to be in a place with year-round hot, sunny weather. She was worried that I would be exposed to much more sun in, what she thought was going to be, a culture …
We love this city that we’ve called home since October 2023. It was officially named Saigon in the early 18th century and changed to Ho Chi Minh City in 1976. So, which is the correct way to refer to it – Saigon or Ho Chi Minh City? As it turns …
Hi to all my followers. I’m sure you’ve noticed that I haven’t written much in the last few weeks. A trip and fall at our swimming pool in mid-April left me with a broken wrist. Luckily it was my left wrist (I’m right-handed) but it still made typing a bit …
One of the things that I love about Saigon is that fashion seems to be governed by the individual. No perceptible rules. In any given group of people I see everything from shorts with T-shirts and spiked heels, to skirts, business suits, or frilly dresses with flip flops or gym …
