Don't Eat My Buchela! - Vietnam

4th century hang out: My Son, Vietnam (1 comment)

Sun, 16 Mar 2008 04:21:00 -0700

As far as I understand, My Son (the site, not Buchela:) was established in the 4th century. It was kind of awe inspiring to be at a place that is so old and to know at some point it was the center of the universe... bustling with activity... for the people who lived around it. Parts of the ruins were damaged by US bombs during the Vietnam War. Some of the shells are on display at the site's museum. [More]

Wall Graffiti in Hue, Vietnam (2 comments)

Mon, 03 Mar 2008 05:05:00 -0700

PICTURED: Buchela with the kid of one of the restaurant owners.

We spent our time in Hue, Vietnam in the backpacker part of town. It was pleasant, interesting, and cheap. Nothing captured the backpacker ally like the wall graffiti in the restaurants we frequented. I actually spent time reading them and trying, at the same time, to come to some sort of conclusion about the people who wrote them. [More]

The Three of Us (18 comments)

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 04:59:00 -0700

We don't have a lot of pictures of the three of us. Here are some taken by our friend in Hoi An, Vietnam. Got me to thinking, we should take more family pictures!

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Vaccation Over! (2 comments)

Mon, 11 Feb 2008 03:00:00 -0700

We had a nice time in Vietnam, a country I never dreamed I'd visit. We found the people warm, the history interesting, and the culture quiet fascinating. Buchela had a great time. He was a good little tourist rain or shine. Speaking of rain, the last day of our trip was spent trying to avoid getting wet. Buchela took the opportunity to get very dirty. We also finally worked up the courage to ride scooter taxis. My driver reeked of alcohol but got me safely to my destination. Buchela and his dad rode with another driver without incident. Over the next few days, I will slowly update the blog with more Vietnam stuff while at the same time I will also blog about other daily life stuff. This way, I can re-live my vacation once more since it will probably be a while until the next one with baby coming and all! [More]

Monks in Training in Hue, Vietnam (4 comments)

Mon, 11 Feb 2008 02:46:00 -0700

Vietnam is a largely Buddhist country. Signs of the religion were everywhere. The sight of temples was as common as churches in the US. During our visit to a historical temple in Hue, we were able to also see some boy monks perform their daily rituals. Later, when we visited their dorm we were surprised to find out that what we thought were tables/desks were actually their beds. [More]

Burnt Offerings: Celebration of the Lunar Year (6 comments)

Thu, 07 Feb 2008 07:13:00 -0700

During the Lunar New Year Eve in Hoi An, there were lots of people making fire to send stuff to their ancestors. It was quiet interesting to watch what kind of things people sent. Most sent clothes, both formal and informal and money. Guess in what currency they sent their money? Why? The US Dollar of course. I guess they think since the US dollar is considered the most exchangeable currency around the world, the same must be true in heaven too. In the series of pictures below, a man sends off some clothes including a full suit and money. I am pretty touched that he let me watch and photograph the process. [More]

Yes, Asia Can Sometimes Be Noisy (2 comments)

Thu, 07 Feb 2008 06:59:00 -0700

Happy Lunar Year: On to Hue, Vietnam (1 comment)

Wed, 06 Feb 2008 18:58:00 -0700

The Lunar Year Eve was a noisy alcohol laden fun event much like New Year Eves everywhere else. But it had the added twist of sending offerings to the ancestors and gods. I will upload the pictures when I get a chance. We are moving on from cute and comfortable Hoi An to a much smaller town that has a historical significance. Apparently parts of it were bombed by US troops and are still in ruins. [More]

At the Beach Outside of Hoi An (2 comments)

Wed, 06 Feb 2008 00:00:00 -0700

We met up with some friends in Hoi An and spent a few days together before they decided to move on to another part of the country. Since the weather had warmed up, we decided to have a nice picnic at the beach. And yes, we did get to use some of our beach stuff. [More]

Food ... (1 comment)

Tue, 05 Feb 2008 04:05:00 -0700

... can be a sensual. When prepared fresh, with the healthiest of ingredients, flavorful spices, and herbs, it can be invigorating. Eating can be a blissful experience. Dinning in Hoi An has been amazing.

Laundry Blues (3 comments)

Mon, 04 Feb 2008 19:18:00 -0700

We have been getting dirtier by the day. We pretty much have been forced to wash our clothing in the sink of our hotel room since most of what we brought has been rendered useless. Buchela's shorts are no use since the days have been on the cooler side. He has to wear his long sleeves. My shorts and flowy skirts are out of the question. Hubby's shorts will pretty much have to stay in the suit case. So since the weather has been overcast, what we have washed still hasn't dried. [More]

Hanoi On (7 comments)

Mon, 04 Feb 2008 02:52:00 -0700

When we finally decided to move on from Hanoi, we boarded on an over night train and headed to Danang. I was pretty excited about this mode of travel although I was a bit worried about what a hard sleeper would do to my pregnant back. I was also not sure what kind of sleeper-mates we would get. There were six beds in our little space. The hard beds were hard. By the time morning came, my back was screaming for some padding. Our roomies were chatty in the middle of the night. A few drunken young British boys kept on opening our sleeper door and stumbling into our space through out the night. [More]

Hanoi Impressions in Pictures (5 comments)

Fri, 01 Feb 2008 23:23:00 -0700

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Good Morning Vietnam (3 comments)

Fri, 01 Feb 2008 18:19:00 -0700

Hanoi is colder than we expected but it is also much more interesting than we imagined. Lots of scooters. Lots of people. Hardly any stroller space on sidewalks. When a rooster crowed at dawn this morning, for a fleeting second I thought I was in Ethiopia. When I heard the distant voice of a man yelling over a loud speaker, I was almost sure I was sleeping in my bed at my parent's house. But this is Vietnam. [More]