Blog tales from the road

02 May 2013

Saigon photo essay: April 30 2013

This week, 30 April marked the 38th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War in 1975. Back then, thousands of Saigonese and foreigners fled the approaching Communist tanks. These days, a happier evacuation of ...

Tags: Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City, blog, 30 April, Vietnam War, evacuation of Saigon

24 April 2013

Farewell to Dong Khoi St's Mr Thai.

A salute to Dong Khoi Street's wonderful Mr Thai. It seems he's finally taken his long overdue retirement.

15 April 2013

Foreign memorials in Vietnam - who was Roy Thompson?

We take a look at the restrained commemoration of war in Vietnam, the surprising presence of memorials to the country's erstwhile invaders and ask who was Roy Thompson?

Tags: Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City, memorials, Quy Nhon, Roy Thompson, Vietnam War, US Embassy, Saigon, Tet Offensive

04 March 2013

Saigon skyline from the Palace Hotel - 1993 and 2013

2013 marks 20 years since I first moved to Ho Chi Minh City. It's a big personal milestone. I'm an appalling nostalgic at the best of times so this year's likely to be especially bad. ..

Tags: Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City, Palace Hotel, history, skyline, architecture

18 February 2013

Along the Mekong - aboard the Jahan

Mekong River cruising between Vietnam and Cambodia is booming and I recently took the opportunity to revisit the river aboard a colonial style river boat recreation, the Jahan.

Tags: Kompong Chhnang, Heritage Line, Phnom Penh

05 February 2013

A response to Stanford's Joel Brinkley on Vietnam

Joel Brinkley, Pulitzer prize winner and former New York Times correspondent has created a stir with offensive comments about Vietnamese eating habits.

Tags: Joel Brinkley, Stanford, New York Times, food, eating, wildlife,

21 January 2013

Saigon loves a party

Another Christmas and New Year have passed in Saigon. But the decorations haven't been put away just yet.

Tags: Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City, Christmas, Tet, New Year, Ho Chi Minh City

24 September 2012

Apple IOS6 - The traveller's view

The idea of a software upgrade has been forever altered after the release of Apple's iOS6 - especially for travellers. And that's not a good thing.

Tags: Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City, Apple, iOSX6, maps, Google Maps, travel

02 July 2012

Vietnam bans smoking - again

Smoking is to be banned in Vietnam - again, after a new law, the country's second attempt to rein in an impending public health catastrophe, passed in June. It's set to take effect in most ...

Tags: smoking, smoking ban, eating and drinking, bars, restaurants, non-smoking, smoke free list