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Showing 1-25 of 43 results
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Fruity Vietnam
Blog: Ottsworld - 10 November 2009
I’m a fruit person…I love it, I crave it, I must have it! One great thing about living in the sweltering Vietnam climate is that the fruit is great all year around! I would walk through the markets and my eyes would pop seeing so many different kinds of colorful fruit! Vendors walked the streets [...]
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Top Sites in Vietnam
Blog: Canada's Adventure Couple - 31 October 2009
Vietnam has some amazing sites to see. It is one of our favorite countries that we have ever visited. We spent 30 days in Vietnam and it was barely enough time to see everything that this diverse nation has to offer. From great natural wonders to fantastic shopping, mountain adventures and chilling beach life, Vietnam has something to offer for everyone.
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Photo(s) of the Week - Oct. 29, 2009
Blog: Ottsworld - 29 October 2009
Hire Wires Every person who comes to Vietnam is either mesmerized or scared to death. First they notice the traffic and motorbike culture; appearing as chaos. However the second thing they notice is the mangled electrical wiring above their head; which leads to the question - how do they fix a wiring problem if something goes [...]
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Vietnam Learnings
Blog: Ottsworld - 19 October 2009
I love to reflect upon my time in a place, so it’s fitting that after a year I’ve sat down and actually thought about what I’ve learned about Vietnam, Asia, and myself. I realize that a year in Vietnam has taught me a many valuable lessons; things I will take with me for the rest of [...]
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Coming Full Circle
Blog: Ottsworld - 13 October 2009
I spent the weekend going back to square one; back to where I started my life in Ho Chi Minh City. Let me back up a bit; I’ve been living out in a ‘suburb’ district for the last 6 months. Even though I have to come into the ‘city center’ (District 1) a few days [...]
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Motorbike Diaries - Vol. 17
Blog: Ottsworld - 10 October 2009
Rush Hour Resistance is Futile - Assimilation I’m not sure how it happened, but I’ve become one of them. I wear a jacket (which I’m boiling in), a mask, a poncho, ….I’m a Vietnamese motorbike driver. I’ve become used to being squeezed into small places and driving through them. I can drive really slow and coast while [...]
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Motorbike Diaries - Vol. 16
Blog: Ottsworld - 4 October 2009
You won’t believe your eyes this week! I’ve collected some of my recent motorbike photography that will amaze and baffle you. After living here for a year, I’m still absolutely dumbfounded and tickled by what I see the Vietnamese strap to their motorbikes. The motorbike culture here is the most unique in the world! If [...]
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Saigon City Guide
Blog: Ottsworld - 7 August 2009
Last month I produced a Saigon City guide podcast for one of my favorite travel websites, The Indie Travel Podcast. I love writing, and I wasn’t really sure how I would like researching and doing a podcast, but it proved ot be a lot of fun! So - here’s everything you want to know about [...]
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Cu Chi Tunnels of Vietnam
Blog: Canada's Adventure Couple - 5 August 2009
The Cu Chi Tunnels are a must see destination. During the War it was the major battleground. All of those old war movies that you watched where the US soldier ran after a rebel in the jungle only to have him disappear in plain sight...well a visit to the Cu Chi tunnels explains all that.
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Mui Ne Sunrise Sand Dunes Tour
Blog: Andy's Rotten Ideas - 5 August 2009
The driver of the private jeep pick us up at 4.30am for the half day Mui Ne sunrise sand dunes tour together with another female Taiwanese and a couple from London. The tour normally includes visiting to the smaller red sand dunes, fishing village and red canyon on the Fairy Stream. Our expedition to the white sand dunes took around an hour, hopefully in time for the sunrise.
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Heading to Mui Ne
Blog: Andy's Rotten Ideas - 1 August 2009
I pre-booked the bus ticket to Mui Ne from Sinh Cafe at Pho Duc Chinh office the day before when I was at Ben Thanh Market (5 minutes walk). The bus fare for return ticket for 2 persons is USD21 or 360,000 VND. The bus will depart at 7.30pm; therefore we reached at Sinh Café main office at De Tham Street around 7.15am. Mui Ne Beach is around 220km from HCMC and the bus ride took around 5 miserable hours for such a distance. But I can tell you, the bus driver drove very slowly though the road was free of traffic.
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Vinh Trang Pagoda & Ben Thanh Market
Blog: Andy's Rotten Ideas - 30 July 2009
The moment I’m about to reach the entrance of the Vinh Trang Pagoda, the tall standing white Buddha greeted me with a smile.
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Mekong Delta Boat Trip
Blog: Andy's Rotten Ideas - 29 July 2009
The tour bus left at 7.30am for a 3 hours ride to My Tho town in Tien Giang Province for Mekong Delta boat trip for a close up view of local life. Tien Giang Province is the closest Mekong Delta province to Saigon and is a very popular destination for organised tours out of Saigon. Most tours throughout Tien Giang Province run in boats that seat 20-plus people and while such numbers bring costs down to a more reasonable level. During the journey, we could see many street vendors selling bread loaf on the dusty road side.
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Malaysia, Cambodia, Vietnam…
Blog: Rice and Rock Concerts - 28 July 2009
Those three countries sounds pretty whirlwind given that it’s only a touch over a fortnight ago when I was still in China. The truth though is that my time in South East Asia has been pretty quiet with a lot of lazing around. Shannon made it to Phnom Penh after a bit of trouble with Vietnam [...]
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Central Post Office, Notre Dame Cathedral, Saigon River Cruise
Blog: Andy's Rotten Ideas - 26 July 2009
Once the tour bus reached HCMC, I dropped at the 100++ years old Central Post Office located in the heart of the city. It was constructed between 1886 and 1891, designed by Gustave Eiffel who also designed the Eiffel Tower in Paris. The architectural design of this Central Post Office represents the French colonial style and it’s the biggest post office in Vietnam.
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Cao Dai Holy See Temple
Blog: Andy's Rotten Ideas - 26 July 2009
Cao Dai Holy See temple is located in Tay Ninh, southern Vietnam, around 30 minutes bus ride from Cu Chi tunnel. Cao Dai means ‘high place’ where it the highest place where God reigns. The full name of Dai Dao Tam Ky Pho Do shown at the entrance means Great Religion of the Third Period of Revelation and Salvation.
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Cu Chi Tunnel
Blog: Andy's Rotten Ideas - 26 July 2009
July may not a good season to travel to Ho Chi Minh due to the raining season, but my wife and I have already engaged the guided tour together with my parent. My parent arrived first by MAS airline while my wife and I were on Airasia airline. The flight has been delayed for another 1 hour++ due to some technical issue, as usual for low cost budget airline. My wife and I arrived at Tan Son Nhat airport around 9pm and been transferred to Kimdo Royal Hotel at the downtown (Nguyen Hue Street, District 1) by our local tour guide.
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The Dust Bowl
Blog: Ottsworld - 23 July 2009
I often wonder how many months the pollution and dust in Saigon will take off my life. For this reason, I can’t imagine living here long term. Hell, I imagine that living here long term is akin to smoking a pack of cigarettes a day! That may be an exageration, however no one really knows what [...]
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Photo of the week - July 20, 2009
Blog: Ottsworld - 20 July 2009
I recently made a trip to a local market to purchase and eat durian for the first time. While I was there, I was able to capture some photos of butchers of the market. I love this mixture of personalities, ages, and genders! They were all working in the same market and all selling meat. For [...]
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Adventure Eating
Blog: Ottsworld - 15 July 2009
After 8 months here I finally found some Vietnamese friends who have taken me on as their ‘foreign friend project’. Meaning – they are helping me to see and experience the Vietnamese culture from a local perspective. It’s easy to experience the touristy side of Saigon, however I have found it hard to really integrate [...]
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The Motorbike Diaries - Vol. 14
Blog: Ottsworld - 14 July 2009
The Great Horn Divide No matter how hard I try, I just can’t do it. I lose the mental battle every time. I tell myself to be calm, patient, understanding – but then it happens – BEEP, BEEP BEEEEEP, BEEP, BEEP; and after the 3rd time of being serenaded by this noise I just can’t be [...]
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Renewing a Passport Overseas
Blog: Ottsworld - 8 July 2009
I decided to start the process of getting my passport renewed as many countries won’t let you enter if you don’t have more than 6 months left on your passport validity. I certainly didn’t want to be turned away at the border of Mongolia! Plus, I’ve learned that working through the American consulate while you [...]
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Hué to Ho Chi Minh City
Blog: Kieron Clark - 7 July 2009
In Hoi An we ate ‘white roses’ – tiny shrimp fried in thin rice paper parcels. In Saigon we had spring rolls, greasy and spicy and still-hot from the pan. In Hué a speciality was bahn xio – shrimp, beansprouts and shredded pork wrapped in a crispy, crèpe-like pancake, while in Hanoi, we ate pho [...]
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Durian - The King of Fruits
Blog: Ottsworld - 5 July 2009
There are many hard things about living by yourself overseas…I may write a book about it someday if I can ever force myself to slow down long enough. However, this July 4th weekend highlights one of those many challenges; missing family. It’s my mother’s birthday, and my parent’s pending 50th Wedding anniversary, and my family [...]
