What a sweet video...
The video is gorgeous photographic survey capturing the suble moments of affection between couples in love. The cast is comprised of real life couples.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Monday, February 18, 2008
back online
Quite some time has passed since my last post. I am now 6 months removed from my time in Vietnam. Spending time away from some of the daily nonsense has really made me grow up a little bit. It was certainly a trip that made a big impact.
"Don't sweat the small stuff." I can really practice now.
I am now taking a Vietnamese Language course at the very first New York Vietnamese School. I took an assessment test and was put in the Intermediate level. The class is a one year course divided into three semesters. It's been pretty great so far and I now can recite the Vietnamese alphabet. Our midterm is this coming Saturday and I need to go over the lessons we've had over the last few weeks.
"Don't sweat the small stuff." I can really practice now.
I am now taking a Vietnamese Language course at the very first New York Vietnamese School. I took an assessment test and was put in the Intermediate level. The class is a one year course divided into three semesters. It's been pretty great so far and I now can recite the Vietnamese alphabet. Our midterm is this coming Saturday and I need to go over the lessons we've had over the last few weeks.
Saturday, September 22, 2007
New Video
Here's a video I put together of some extra clips I took while in Vietnam.
vietnam 2007 from ngocB on Vimeo.
vietnam 2007 from ngocB on Vimeo.
Saturday, September 1, 2007
coaster fun
One of the fun things we did in Da Lat was ride the dry bobsled down to Datanla Waterfall. It was a 2 person coaster that was manually controlled by us. It was so much fun!
Warning: There are lots of laughing and giggle fits in this video.
Warning: There are lots of laughing and giggle fits in this video.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Monday, August 20, 2007
planes, trains, buses, boats, and motorbikes
We are back in Ho Chi Minh City after tirelessly traveling through Saigon, Vung Tau, Phuoc Tinh, Mui Ne, Da Lat, Nha Trang, and Hoi An. My uncle traveled with us to Vung Tau and Phuoc Tinh and was able to show me the house where I was born and where we lived before we fled for the States. I also got to see the actual boat that took my maternal grandfather out to another boat when they were finally able to flee in 1979. It was a tiny boat that took out a total of 90 people, making 3 trips with 30 people each time. It was really neat being able to see and talk to some of the people still there. They still remember our families.
It's been so much fun and in the last week or so, we have done some sand sliding on the white sand dunes and hiked up a mini Grand Canyon in Mui Ne, parasailed and drank Da Lat red wine from the floating bar in the middle of the sea in Nha Trang, rode motorcycles with our Easy Rider guides through the mountains in Da Lat, tasted snake wine, stood under the Elephant Waterfall, rode a dry bobsled (like a manual roller coaster!) down to Datanla Waterfall (super fun!), rented bicycles and biked 5 miles to Cua Dai Beach in Hoi An. I will write more about each stop when I get the chance, but I will post some pictures from our adventures here from the last week.
White Sand Dunes in Mui Ne
Biking to Cua Dai Beach in Hoi An
It's been so much fun and in the last week or so, we have done some sand sliding on the white sand dunes and hiked up a mini Grand Canyon in Mui Ne, parasailed and drank Da Lat red wine from the floating bar in the middle of the sea in Nha Trang, rode motorcycles with our Easy Rider guides through the mountains in Da Lat, tasted snake wine, stood under the Elephant Waterfall, rode a dry bobsled (like a manual roller coaster!) down to Datanla Waterfall (super fun!), rented bicycles and biked 5 miles to Cua Dai Beach in Hoi An. I will write more about each stop when I get the chance, but I will post some pictures from our adventures here from the last week.
White Sand Dunes in Mui Ne
Biking to Cua Dai Beach in Hoi An
Our hotel doggie watching the sunrise in Mui Ne
Watching the local fishermen at sunrise in Mui Ne
On the Red Canyons overlooking the sea in Mui Ne
On the Yellow Sand Dunes in Mui Ne
Our house in Phuoc Tinh
Glass bottom boat in Nha Trang
Drinking our Da Lat red wine at our floating bar in Nha Trang
Next up, touring the Mekong Delta...
Friday, August 10, 2007
Hue
Aug. 7 - 9
One of the great things about "backpacking" through a country is that you sometimes end up running into the same fellow travelers. I've already run into Sara and Diego, a really nice couple from Barcelona, about 5 times now. We stayed at the same hotel in Hanoi and then kept running into each other on our way to Ha Long Bay and even exchanged kayaks in the bay. I'll probably run into them again at some point along the way, most likely Hoi An. There's also Ivona and Alicja from Poland, where I met on the same Ha Long Bay junk boat. We ended up taking the same 16 hour night train to Hue and then spent the day hanging out and touring the ancient city. We had a great time visiting the Citidel and just walking (and eating) through the city. I don't know if I'll run into them again. They're taking a 2 month trip through SE Asia (jealous!) and it's been great meeting great fellow travelers like them. So I now have friends in Poland when I go there one day.
I gotta say it was as hot as Hades. Hanoi and Hue has been scorching and I am quite dark after only a week and that's without trips to the beach! People keep mistaking me for Thai and Filipino.
I had a motorbike tour (fun & cheap!!) of Hue and got to go up in the mountains and see some beautiful sites. We got to Tu Hieu Pagoda just in time to watch the Buddist monks pray/chant over their afternoon (and only) meal. That was really cool to see. We also visited Thien Anh Catholic Church, which was built underground during the French and American (Vietnam) Wars. They had to build it into the mountain to avoid all the bombing that went on during the wars. That still stands, but they have built another church right above it. I had a personal tour of the grounds from one of the monks and he was really great. He spoke French fluently and very little English.
We also stopped by the Thanh Toan Bridge(Japanese Covered Bridge), which was built in 1776 by a lady of the village who had the good fortune to marry a wealthy Mandarin. Taking pity on her former neighbors, Trân Thị Đạo built the bridge with her own money so they would not have to wade or ferry themselves across the small creek. However, she also wanted a son, and building the bridge was part of her prayers. Another local legend has it that she indeed had a son who fell deathly ill at the age of sixteen. The illness was traced to the ghost of a young girl who had died before she married and had children, and being unfilled, her spirit fell in love with the young boy, inhabited his body and made him ill. To this day, some local people make offerings to the girl at the small shrine in the middle of the bridge. I stopped by a small stand and bought a bottle of water and sat and talked to the owner. She was a sweet lady and kept offering me tea. As I left the little village, she ran after our motorbike and screamed out, "Ngoc Ha, Ngoc Ha, bye bye!!" She had gotten up and left during our conversation and I didn't get to say good-bye to her, so it was nice that I got to wave good-bye before we took off.
One of the interesting restaurants I've eaten at is Lac Thien. It is run by a deaf/mute family and has been in business since the 60's. They were super friendly and the owner is known for his homemade bottle opener comprised of a wooden stick with screws at the end and he pops the glass bottles open by slapping one end of the stick. I had the Hue specialty called Banh Khoai, which is a sort of omelet with shrimp, pork, and bean sprouts. It was pretty good. My favorite dish here in Hue has been Bun Bo Hue. It is a beef vermicelli soup that is utter goodness. I've never had it before and it was yummy in the tummy.
The people here in Hue have been so freaking friendly! There has been so much genuine kindness that just blows me away.
Next up, I fly to Saigon to stay with my mom's uncle...
One of the great things about "backpacking" through a country is that you sometimes end up running into the same fellow travelers. I've already run into Sara and Diego, a really nice couple from Barcelona, about 5 times now. We stayed at the same hotel in Hanoi and then kept running into each other on our way to Ha Long Bay and even exchanged kayaks in the bay. I'll probably run into them again at some point along the way, most likely Hoi An. There's also Ivona and Alicja from Poland, where I met on the same Ha Long Bay junk boat. We ended up taking the same 16 hour night train to Hue and then spent the day hanging out and touring the ancient city. We had a great time visiting the Citidel and just walking (and eating) through the city. I don't know if I'll run into them again. They're taking a 2 month trip through SE Asia (jealous!) and it's been great meeting great fellow travelers like them. So I now have friends in Poland when I go there one day.
I gotta say it was as hot as Hades. Hanoi and Hue has been scorching and I am quite dark after only a week and that's without trips to the beach! People keep mistaking me for Thai and Filipino.
I had a motorbike tour (fun & cheap!!) of Hue and got to go up in the mountains and see some beautiful sites. We got to Tu Hieu Pagoda just in time to watch the Buddist monks pray/chant over their afternoon (and only) meal. That was really cool to see. We also visited Thien Anh Catholic Church, which was built underground during the French and American (Vietnam) Wars. They had to build it into the mountain to avoid all the bombing that went on during the wars. That still stands, but they have built another church right above it. I had a personal tour of the grounds from one of the monks and he was really great. He spoke French fluently and very little English.
We also stopped by the Thanh Toan Bridge(Japanese Covered Bridge), which was built in 1776 by a lady of the village who had the good fortune to marry a wealthy Mandarin. Taking pity on her former neighbors, Trân Thị Đạo built the bridge with her own money so they would not have to wade or ferry themselves across the small creek. However, she also wanted a son, and building the bridge was part of her prayers. Another local legend has it that she indeed had a son who fell deathly ill at the age of sixteen. The illness was traced to the ghost of a young girl who had died before she married and had children, and being unfilled, her spirit fell in love with the young boy, inhabited his body and made him ill. To this day, some local people make offerings to the girl at the small shrine in the middle of the bridge. I stopped by a small stand and bought a bottle of water and sat and talked to the owner. She was a sweet lady and kept offering me tea. As I left the little village, she ran after our motorbike and screamed out, "Ngoc Ha, Ngoc Ha, bye bye!!" She had gotten up and left during our conversation and I didn't get to say good-bye to her, so it was nice that I got to wave good-bye before we took off.
One of the interesting restaurants I've eaten at is Lac Thien. It is run by a deaf/mute family and has been in business since the 60's. They were super friendly and the owner is known for his homemade bottle opener comprised of a wooden stick with screws at the end and he pops the glass bottles open by slapping one end of the stick. I had the Hue specialty called Banh Khoai, which is a sort of omelet with shrimp, pork, and bean sprouts. It was pretty good. My favorite dish here in Hue has been Bun Bo Hue. It is a beef vermicelli soup that is utter goodness. I've never had it before and it was yummy in the tummy.
The people here in Hue have been so freaking friendly! There has been so much genuine kindness that just blows me away.
Next up, I fly to Saigon to stay with my mom's uncle...
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