I’ve been through the theft part twice while travelling. I had cash stolen out of my bag in China — they sliced it open while it was by my feet on a bus — and a camera and iPod stolen from my baggage on a flight (yes, I know I shouldn’t have packed valuables in … read the full post

Lately I’ve been talking about a few of the more popular pagodas in Saigon. All of these temples are revered places of worship where people actively go to pray and ask for guidance. Each one has had something unique: turtles, incense, or being the oldest temple in town. One thing that they all have in … read the full post

Nalini Sadai started work for Britain’s Foreign Commonwealth Office (FCO) 10 years ago. She started off in London and then, in 2007, moved to Jamaica as Vice-Consul. She’s now the Consular Regional Operations Manager for Vietnam and Burma. I met with her to discuss her consular work and to find out what advice and help … read the full post

It’s usually pretty warm in Saigon — even the early mornings of December and January rarely dip below 20 degrees Celsius — but the last couple of weeks here have been hot! We’re only in March; things are going to get even hotter over the next month. If you’re walking around the city when it’s … read the full post

Saigon offers plenty of great reasons to visit: every corner you turn on the street can lead you to great food, there are some cool pagodas and theme parks, and it’s a great spot to start a new adventure into other parts of the country. Decent shopping can also be done in my city — … read the full post

Efficiency of check-in at Hanoi’s Noi Bai airport is hit and miss, and this can lead to frustration, so there’s a certain advantage to checking-in before you arrive. Jetstar doesn’t offer a web check-in but does have a check-in desk at its office at 206 Tran Quang Khai, on the main road just north of … read the full post

I’ve recently covered a few of Saigon’s many pagodas — here and here — and you may have noticed a common theme emerging: they are small and are being chocked out by surrounding buildings. But there is a pagoda that staked its claim early enough, and far enough out of downtown, that it has still … read the full post

Apologies. It’s taken me longer to write part two of this blog than it usually takes a couple in Hanoi to get engaged. So let me get straight into it and recount my Hanoian wedding experience. First I should say that the wedding I went to was in the suburbs and was what I believe … read the full post

In Saigon there is no shortage of places to get a drink; pubs, rooftop bars, taverns, and places on the street with plastic stools all serve a variety of drinks, from locally made 3,000 VND a glass beer to fancy martinis. After I wrote a post about a big cheeseburger recently, which with a bigger … read the full post

As I have mentioned before, Saigon has no shortage of places to worship. There are churches, pagodas and mosques sprinkled throughout the city. While most are of the newer variety, there are some pagodas that have stood the test of time for hundreds of years. Although older pagodas are spread throughout the city, a high … read the full post