House of Nem
Blustery Evening
It’s a blustery evening in Hanoi. I’m sitting in a cafe near the cathedral drinking tea and watching the world go by. I’m much looser, less brittle, than on my last trip, who knows why? But I’m definitely living in calmer psychic weather, even as the leathery leaves of the trees along the street whip around and [...]
Hue Spring Rolls & Lotus Tea
More Signs of Fall
The Canada Geese are making a hell of a noise down on the river, getting ready to form up and head south. At the local farm stand there are no more summer squash, but the selection of winter squash is generous. Days are warm, but nights are cold enough to fire up the woodstove. I’m [...]
Reading The Idiot in Hanoi (I)
Note: I began this post almost a month ago, thinking to post a multi-part essay over the course of my few weeks in Vietnam, but I never got beyond what’s here. I still intend to finish the essay, but thought I’d go ahead and post this opening bit to give myself some motivation. I find [...]
Rest Day (VN Diary No. 32)
After going out this morning to cash some travelers’ checks, I’m spending most of the day in my hotel room. I spent the last couple of days in Hue walking around in the heat and yesterday (wearing a t-shirt) I got a bit of sunburn on my neck. Nothing serious, but all the sun and [...]
HCMC (VN Diary No. 26)
I’m in HCMC now and the place is frankly overwhelming. I was here ten years ago and it didn’t seem quite such a daunting place. But my friend Lan is a good guide and she took me out for noodles last night, which were superb. I’ve just walked around my neighborhood in Cholon a couple [...]
Chicken Soup and Tourist Art (VN Diary No. 11)
As I mentioned, Hanoi does not get up very early, the shops just beginning to open around eight o’clock. By then of course I’m in desperate need of coffe. The places that open earliest are just north of Hoan Kiem Lake, so I headed over there this morning to get some cafe nau (brown coffee), [...]
Cold Drinks (VN Diary No. 9)
It stands to reason that hot weather cultures would be good at making refreshing cold drinks, but the Vietnamese are real artists. Before my lunch today, I had an iced coffee — a double shot of espresso, which is served in a tall glass of ice with sugar syrup in a little pitcher on the [...]
Sabbatical: Day 1
I guess I could have begun counting from the final day of classes last semester, but today is the first day I would have gone into the classroom had I been teaching, so this feels like the first official day of my sabbatical. Have I said that I am wildly grateful for such a luxury? [...]
keep looking »