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The Amazing Adventures of Action Kim SouthEast Asia: Four Months, Limitless Possibilities |
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* The Only Thing We Have To Fear . . .
* Blog Revealed * Missing You * Did I Mention? * Shopper's Delight * catch up * Books * One's Nature * Loneliness Prevention Plan * No Photos Please * Sales Technique * Expression * Attire * North, South * Expect the Unexpected * Yumminess * Your Assignment * Observations * Half Way! * Around Town
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March 30, 2005The Only Thing We Have To Fear . . .My visit to the town of Dalat in the Central Highlands of Vietnam finally gave me an opportunity for a little outdoor adventure. Here, and it seems everywhere else in the world, they call it abseiling. Americans call it rappeling....Read this update Blog RevealedI briefly met some people in the beach town in Nha Trang (where I hit the bottle two nights in a row- it's a record!) and then ran into them again in Dalat. We bonded over our abseiling experience and...Read this update Missing YouO Avacado so creamy and rich You make my mouth sing You bring me such bliss O how I miss you each day and each night what I would do for just one bite...Read this update Did I Mention?I know I told you about whitening cream and how important it is to stay pale here. Did I mention that the women not only where hats but also faces masks and usually long sleeves and often gloves to avoid...Read this update March 25, 2005Shopper's DelightThe city of Hoi An in Vietnam has over 200 tailors ready to make custom clothing- from suits and cocktail dresses to cotton skirts and zip off pants. This makes it a somewhat dangerous place to be stuck for 8...Read this update March 24, 2005catch upI have a few more entries to write to catch up, but now I have to go get ready for dinner. I ran into a guy who I met a good 3 or 4 weeks ago and I am meeting...Read this update BooksI should really be reading books about the history of where I am but I am not. Part of that is because I just don't feel like it and part of it is because they are all photo copies. My...Read this update One's NatureI often wonder what kind of a person I would've been if I had been born in a different time. I was always a very obedient kid, if I had been a non-Jewish German in the 1930's would I have...Read this update Loneliness Prevention PlanBefore coming to SE Asia, I devised a Lonliness Prevention Plan based on my past experiences. It has been working very well. Here are the rules: 1. Go where the people you like are. People enhance an experience. 2. Stay...Read this update No Photos PleaseI find that I rarely carry my camera. SE Asia is more a place to experience a way of life then to caputre beautiful things on film. I know that people take pictures of daily life all of the time,...Read this update Sales TechniqueBefore I came to Vietnam, I had heard that the people were not that nice- always trying to swindle you and very pushy. I don't find that to be true at all. It is true that people are constantly asking...Read this update ExpressionThree or four people imitated my voice to me when I was in Hoi An. They weren't imitating the quality of my voice- more just the rhythm and melody. They said they liked it, but when they imitated me, I...Read this update AttireI had forgotten to mention in my observations entry that I noticed a lot of Vietnamese people walk around in PJs all day. I noticed in Laos that people wore PJs at the start and end of business which I...Read this update North, SouthAs soon as I arrived in Hoi An I noticed that there was a sign for a bus to Saigon. Hmm. Since Saigon was renamed Ho Chi Minh city after the war, I thought that was interesting. In the North...Read this update March 18, 2005Expect the UnexpectedToday I visited a Vietnamese hospital. It looked just like a hospital depicted in a circa 1940's movie- only a bit dingier. The floor was a white and blue square checker pattern and the walls were painted blue on bottom...Read this update YumminessI haven't enjoyed the food in Vietnam as much as I had anticipated. I've eaten at both tourist restaurants and local joints and the food just isn't as flavorful as I expected. The meat is also not the best quality,...Read this update Your AssignmentGo rent the movie Indochine. It is a French movie (yes, subtitles) with the always wonderful Catherine Deneuve (sp?). It is also the reason I am in SEA. Seriously, the cinematography is spectacular. I saw that movie and thought, "I...Read this update ObservationsMOTORBIKES Back to pigs on bikes- I saw two pigs on a motorbike without the metal cage thing. Just tied and hung by their legs. I also saw one laying on the seat. I've often seen people transporting sheets of...Read this update March 16, 2005Half Way!I've been traveling for two months which marks the half way point of my trip! I feel good and am going strong even though I celebrated the milestone with one of the worst travel days I've ever had. Happily I...Read this update March 10, 2005Around TownThe other day near Sapa, I saw a motorbike with thing like a wire pannier over the back holding a live pig on each side. In Mai Chau, I saw the pigs tied to by their legs and just hung...Read this update Avian Bird FluMy friend Robin wanted to make sure I knew about recent outbreaks of avian bird flu in Vietnam. Thanks Robin. I am aware and I am doing my best to stay away from poultry. On the subject of poultry, I've...Read this update Exciting DiscoveryI finally figured out how to turn off the alarm on my watch. In doing so, I also discovered that the light changes colors from red to yellow to green to orange to blue. If I hold the light button...Read this update PropagandaWhile in Hanoi, I have visited the mausoleum of Ho Chi Minh, the Army Museum, The Fine Arts Museum, The Temple of Literature and the Hoa Lo Prison a.k.a The Hanoi Hilton....Read this update Off the Beaten PathI know I said that going off of the beaten path general isn't worth it and that the path is beaten for a reason. I should ammend this and say that if you speak the language it is worth it...Read this update Work MotivatorThe other night one of the guys who owns the hostel was wearing a suit because he was going to a wedding. It was very weird to see a guy in a suit in a hostel full of people who...Read this update Order of EntriesFrom "$9 Well Spent" to "Not So Common Sense" are meant to be read from top to bottom....Read this update $9 Well SpentI recently returned from a trip to Sapa which is a very small town near the Chinese border in the mountainous Northwest region of the country. It is pretty well touristed but still manages to have an outpost feeling to...Read this update Relationship BuildingI arrived in Sapa with two girls I met in the hostel- 19 year old Laurel from Canada and 2 year old Marva from Israel. We were a funny trio. Laurel is on e of the most laid back mellow...Read this update Back in Two and TwoDating was on eof the topics we discussed with the H'mong girls. Every Saturday night people from all of the H'mong villages (they are the largest ethnic minority in Vietnam) meet at the church (yes, the church) for The Love...Read this update Is Poor a Western Concept?In addition to the scenery, Sapa is known for trekking to see the villages of the many ethnic minorities in the area. Marva was recovering from a back injury and could not walk much and the weather was bad, so...Read this update Talent ShowAt the H'mong girls' suggestions, we went to a free performance of traditional H'mong dance and music. The performance took place in a stone walled basement bar complete with disco bar. The juxtoposition of the of the disco ball bar...Read this update Safety FirstBefore we booked out jeep tour, we had consdiered doing the tour by motorbike. Marva and Laurel were both jazzed about the idea. I pointed out that it would be very cold and we didn't know the conditions of the...Read this update Not So Common SenseI thought you would be amused to know that I road my bike into a tree when I was on Don Det in Laos. I was fully aware of what I was doing when I did it. The branchese over...Read this update March 02, 2005TimeSo my watch officially does not tell time. I bought a new one. It tells time and has an alarm. Unfortunately, it beeps on the hour. It also took me about an hour to figure out how to turn the...Read this update Pity the UnmarriedThis is straight out of the guide book . . . "Telling the Vietnamese that youa re single or divored and enjoy a life without children may disturb them greatly. Not having a family is regarded as bad luck and...Read this update CommunismVietnam has opened its markets quite a bit in the past 10 years or so. There is a lot of entrepreneurialism around and people seem to be dressed nicely. According to the Lonely Planet though, poverty is rampant but I...Read this update HanoiWhen I first arrived in Hanoi, I decided that it was the first non-western place I had ever been where I really thought I could live. It has a great energy and currently the climate is reminiscent of San Francisco....Read this update Mapping My CourseFor those of you mapping my course (all 2 of you), here it is from start to present day with place names spelled correctly, although there are different spellings so don't be thrown off if your map is different as...Read this update Vietnam-I Went Here, I Did ThisSun, Feb 27- Arrive in Hanoi. Walk around getting oriented. Go to bookstore with Tim. Go to bar with Johnny and play darts with Liam. First motorbike ride- great fun. Mon, Feb 28- Walk around looking for warm clothing; Meet...Read this update I Went Here, I Did This LaosFri, Feb 4- Slow Boat; Long day. Met Jessica and Jaime and Rick. Night in retchid Pakbang. Drug offers and Liverpool Matt gets his jacket extorted. Sat, Feb 5- another day on the slow boat. lot's of Yatzee. Arrive in...Read this update |
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