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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 [...]
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The Price of Being a Foreigner in Asia
Blog: Ottsworld - 2 July 2009
I was out with a friend today shopping for camera equipment for my upcoming trip to Mongolia. I went to a local little camera ‘stall’ near/in The Tax Department Store (I won’t even get into what a terrible name that is for a store…that could be a whole post on it’s own). I was looking [...]
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Southern Comfort
Blog: round the world - the other way - 1 July 2009
IMG_0131 Originally uploaded by littlesaint_uk As our taxi driver in Hanoi told us, the problem with Vietnam is it is “a very small country, but a very long country”. I was reminded of his words several times as we made our way slowly to Ho Chi Minh City, which was known as Saigon when it was capital [...]
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The Motorbike Diaries - Vol. 13
Blog: Ottsworld - 30 June 2009
The power of the hand… I hopped on my motorbike tonight at 8:30 PM to find out that my headlight no longer worked. It would only work when I throttled the bike up – but after I slowed down, the light went out. This created an interesting strobe effect as I drove. So much for not [...]
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Saigon to Phnom Penh, via the Mekong Delta
Blog: barnz2k : Vegan Nomad - 29 June 2009
My next move was to head to Cambodia, and I thought it would be nice to take in some of the Mekong Delta on the way. It could have been great, buit it turned oout to be one of the worst run tours I have ever been on. Basically, various tour companies had booked people for [...]
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Saigon
Blog: barnz2k : Vegan Nomad - 27 June 2009
Saigon obviously has a huge amount of history behind it, with its role in the war and today being the econimic capital of Vietnam, as Ho Chi Minh City. However unless your a real history or museum buff, and oh please not another temple/church/pagoda/mosque, there isn’t really a lot of to do as a tourist. [...]
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Cu Chi Tunnels, Vietnam
Blog: barnz2k : Vegan Nomad - 27 June 2009
The VC (Viet Cong) used tunnels as an immensely powerful tactic against the Americans in the war. The tunnels were used to hide in, sneak up on the enemy, retreat through, transport food and supplies etc.The network is quite amazing, and often ran very close to American controlled areas. Exits with hidden trap doors were [...]
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The Dunes
Blog: barnz2k : Vegan Nomad - 24 June 2009
Mui Ne is another beach town, (an 11km beach!) but its boring compared to Nha Trang. I only wanted to go for the Sand Dunes! Its a bit of a trek from town, and Ben and Juan (who I also met in Hoi An, and again in Nha Trang) were planning on hiring a bike, [...]
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What’s the story morning glory
Blog: round the world - the other way - 23 June 2009
IMG_0233 Originally uploaded by littlesaint_uk It’s not too hard to find Vietnamese food in London: just walk ten minutes up Kingsland Road from Shoreditch and you’ll find London’s Little Hanoi. But the food I tasted in Vietnam was nothing like the food I’d sampled in London’s Vietnamese restaurants. While I’d always enjoyed the food in Vietnamese restaurants in [...]
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Grey’s Anatomy in Vietnam
Blog: Ottsworld - 23 June 2009
I had been putting it off for as long as I could, but finally after 6 months I had to go visit the hospital. No, I wasn’t in an accident nor was I sick. I was required to have a physical in order to obtain a work permit in Vietnam. This wasn’t like when I [...]
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Pete Moran: Easy Rider
Blog: barnz2k : Vegan Nomad - 23 June 2009
So one of the other popular things to do in Vietnam, is take an Easy Rider Tour. The Easy Riders were originally a small group of guys on old motorbikes such as the Russian Minsk (much like the Russian favourite AK47, it can take a beating and will last the times) who began taking tourists [...]
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Close to Home
Blog: Kiva Stories from the Field - 22 June 2009
Total chaos can be beautiful. Horns honk at me from left to right and the vibrations jump from one ear to the other. A river of motorbikes (xe oms) race past my taxi window. There appears to be no traffic lights, no speed limits and few rules. I stop to listen and start to see [...]
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Da Lat, Day 1
Blog: barnz2k : Vegan Nomad - 22 June 2009
I was looking forward to Dalat for a couple of reasons. 1) is that its 1500m above sea level, meaning lower temps and giving some temporary relief from the intense heat! 2) I was planning to take an Easy rider tour. I ran into Ben and Juan on the bust from Nha Trang, and the bus [...]
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Nha Trang
Blog: barnz2k : Vegan Nomad - 20 June 2009
Nha Trang is basically a Beach Party town, with not much else! I got the second sleeper bus with Dave and Scott from the UK who I met in Hoi An. Dave has got another foot on me, so he was struggling even more to fit in the sleeper, it was however slightly better than [...]
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Cyclo Sunday - A Tourist In My Home
Blog: Ottsworld - 18 June 2009
View photos from Cholon Cyclo Tour I have been asked to produce a Saigon City guide for a travel website. At first this seemed rather simple, I’ve been living here for the past 8 months and have gotten to know the city very well. However, living in a city and visiting a city are very different [...]
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Hanoi
Blog: Kieron Clark - 18 June 2009
Over the last three weeks, Rosie and I have spent a lot of time in Vietnamese places beginning with the letter ‘h’: Halong Bay, Hué, Hoi An, Ho Chi Minh City. But for us, Vietnam began with The Big H – the capital city Hanoi, where we landed on 28th May. The first thing we [...]
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Van’s Tailors
Blog: barnz2k : Vegan Nomad - 18 June 2009
So back to the main event of Hoi An, Tailoring! If you couldn’t tell, I’m not exactly a fashionista, and my entire wardrobe backpack worth of clothes cost less than some guys spend on one shirt. I also have no space in my pack, so why am I even considering buying clothes here?? Well, you [...]
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My Son (Vietnam)
Blog: barnz2k : Vegan Nomad - 17 June 2009
No, I haven’t discovered I have an illegitimate child somewhere around the world, My Son is actually a group of Hindu Temples built by the kings of Champa around 4th-14th Century AD. There are numerous trips leaving from Hoi An as its only an hour or so away, I went with English lads Scot and Dave [...]
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Photo of the Week - June 16, 2009
Blog: Ottsworld - 16 June 2009
Snapped this near Cholon Market . The kid was getting ready to strap this to his motorbike and transport it. Let’s hope he doesn’t falter as that is a lot of bad luck! View my complete Vietnam Photography Related Posts Photo of the week - July 20, 2009 Photo(s) of the Week - Oct. 29, 2009 Motorbike Diaries - Vol. [...]
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Hoi An
Blog: barnz2k : Vegan Nomad - 14 June 2009
Hoi An is unlike the rest of North Vietnam, and like many, we found ourselves staying here longer than planned! While custom tailored clothing is the main draw card here, its so much more relaxed and friendly than anywhere I’ve been so far in Vietnam. There are no real “sights” as such, but it’s very [...]
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Hue Day 2: Perfume River
Blog: barnz2k : Vegan Nomad - 12 June 2009
There are a number of Tombs and temples along the Perfume River, and plenty of tour companies trying to get your business. They all more or less do the same thing, but some better than others. We opted for one of the $5 trips that included lunch and the boat… we should have gone for [...]
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The Motorbike Diaries - Vol. 12
Blog: Ottsworld - 11 June 2009
Mirror Mirror on the motorbike, what is your purpose; are you just there for decoration? Unfortunately after driving a motorbike in HCMC for the last 3 months, I feel as if I’m the only person here who uses my motorbike mirrors for their intended purpose; to see things behind you and in your blind spot. [...]
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Hanoi Rocks
Blog: round the world - the other way - 11 June 2009
IMG_0032 Originally uploaded by littlesaint_uk After nine months traveling around English speaking (apart from a brief Quebecquois interlude) countries, we were long overdue some culture shock. We reckoned Vietnam would provide this, and it did to some extent. We’d been warned about how crazy the roads were, and yes, everyone seems to have a scooter and drives it [...]
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Hue Citadel & Imperial City
Blog: barnz2k : Vegan Nomad - 11 June 2009
Hanoi Backpackers were about to open up a new branch in Hue, so we went by to check if it was ready yet as the opening was mere days away. Unfortunately it still looked like a construction site but we were invited back for beers that night, and stayed at DMZ up the road instead, [...]
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Vietnam by Bus
Blog: barnz2k : Vegan Nomad - 10 June 2009
The best way to see Vietnam (OK maybe 2nd best after getting a motor bike ala Top Gear) is by Bus. Various places sell hop-on-hop-off bus tickets, topping out at around $45. The most popular route is to start in Hanoi and head South to, Hue, Hoi An, Mui Ne, Nha Trang, Dalat and end [...]
