December 2011

New Years is upon us again. For Japanese around the world, the Japanese New Year of the Dragon starts tomorrow. Happy 2012 Year of the Dragon to everyone around the…

A couple of things really irritated me this week. It has been awhile since I posted any irritations on my blog. Here are three for you: Irritation #1 Blocked Motorbikes…

This is one of the very few pictures of clouds over Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan gets about 300 plus days of sun each year. Here is a picture of the Karatau Lyceum before a…

This was my first winter in Karatau, Kazakhstan. It was quite cold, we got a lot of snow. Still, it was so beautiful. I miss the Kazakh winters.

This was my Washington, DC, and International Wall. I spent nearly three weeks in Washington, DC, in the summer of 1998 to get my wisdom teeth removed. On the right…

This was my wall dedicated to Seattle and Vancouver, Canada. I also had a picture of San Diego, California, there as well. Not sure why. My students loved this wall. I…

During my second year in the Peace Corps, I decided to put more effort in designing my classroom. Most teachers in Karatau already did this with the help of their…

Found some of my old photos from 2004. I took these two pictures with my very old Samsung phone. This was the extent of Christmas and New Years (2005) in Saigon. A far…

Most people in Vietnam get their news from Tuoi Tre News. This is the home of Tuoi Tre in Saigon. Many people can hold their opinion of the reliability of Tuoi Tre as a…

If you want to know what it looks like in Saigon, Vietnam, from a motorbiker's perspective, here it is.

A site everybody knows in Vietnam, the traffic police are quiet well known. For some, this motorcycle means getting your wallet out in a country where graft is a huge…

I visited Nha Trang in 2011 with my Turkish colleagues and friends. They stayed at this nice resort just outside of Nha Trang. It is quiet, far from the noises of…

Though I have visited Nha Trang twice this year, I still have not taken a swim in the ocean yet. It gives me an excuse to come back again in the future. I should make…

Nothing beats being on a sidewalk with a palm tree in front of you, sandy beach to your left and a nice road to your right. From this photo you can see why Nha Trang…

Early 2011 photos from Nha Trang, Vietnam. It was a pleasant trip with my Turkish friend and colleagues. I took some great shots of the city which I recently found in…

December is always a surprise in Vietnam, a country that is widely known, incorrectly, as being unfriendly to religion. Every Christmas Saigon turns into a tropical Xmas…

Since I get a lot of visitors from Malaysia these days, I decided to post a picture that they may like. Saigon has it's very own Petronas Tower in District 1 on Nguyen…

We all love Coffee Beans here in Saigon. I lost count of where they are now in the city. I always order a really large hot chocolate from Coffee Beans when I visit…

Some friends have asked for it so here is a picture of Kuro, a black kitten my Japanese friend will give to me. He will keep Hoshi company for a couple of months. I have…

Traffic jams are normal occurrences in Saigon, Vietnam, now. I took this picture about one hour ago near the Pham Ngu Lao Backpacker Area in District 1. The intersection…