Living in Saigon isn’t all flowers and fuzzy bunnies. Sometimes there are annoyances as well. Overall though, there is no violence and it is very peaceful here. But I’d like to list some of the things that can be annoying. 1. Police raids on bars – Sometimes the police will enter a bar and all…… Continue reading Saigon Stories – Annoyances living in Saigon
Saigon Stories – Thoughts on Poverty
For most of my life I had defined poverty as having little monetary means. I would look at how the “poor” lived in the ghettos and slums and the violence that raged there. However, speaking with a good Vietnamese friend yesterday at an extremely modest, (those in the west would say poor) beer hoi I…… Continue reading Saigon Stories – Thoughts on Poverty
Saigon Stories – Viet Kieu
Most recently there have been so many Viet Kieu or “Overseas Vietnamese” coming back to Vietnam. For the Tet holiday I think was the biggest single time of returning Vietnamese coming to visit their birthplace. I met so many of them going out and seeing people I know with Vietnamese I had never seen before…… Continue reading Saigon Stories – Viet Kieu
Intelligent Design
Intelligent Design. There has never been a conscious being that thought the gods did not look like him. Why would a conscious being consciously place himself in an inferior position? Religion must fill a void, the void is the questions of where are we, why are we here, and a few dominant ones must prevail…… Continue reading Intelligent Design
Saigon Stories – Ah Vietnam
The President of Vietnam recently made the first visit to the United States since the end of the war. It was really big news here among the business community and we all hoped that the trip would spark a more definite answer about when Vietnam would join the WTO. It seems the trip went very…… Continue reading Saigon Stories – Ah Vietnam
Saigon Stories – Saigon Fashion
Every morning I ride my motorbike to work and it never ceases to be an adventure. Here in Saigon most inhabitants use a motorbike to get around which creates a lot of pollution. After 8 months of breathing in burning fossil fuels I finally decided to go with a mask no matter how ridiculous I…… Continue reading Saigon Stories – Saigon Fashion
The Apprentice
Here in Saigon, when I have absolutely nothing else to do, I may wander into the T.V. room and let myself vegetate for a while. In Vietnam, the main source of Television entertainment comes from HBO, BBC, NHK, and for regular sitcoms, Star TV. Star buys most the the shows that do not do too…… Continue reading The Apprentice
Star Wars
I just saw the new Star Wars move “Revenge of the Sith” last night. As it plays in the theaters in the USA it’s already out on DVD in Vietnam. The movie was excellent and some of the lines really stuck in my mind. It appears George Lucas is paralleling the political environment of our…… Continue reading Star Wars