Latest posts

  • Year of the Snake Tet Traffic Jam

    Normally the Tet holiday means the streets of Saigon are deserted. Not anymore, capitalism has made Tet another Western commercialized holiday with heavy holiday…

  • Santa Cafe in Pham Ngu Lao - Saigon

    A very famous restaurant in Saigon with some of the best foods for backpackers. Santa Cafe is always packed most of the night with some of the best banana shakes I ever…

  • A relaxing coffee shop in the Ben Thanh District

    I forgot the name of this coffee shop but it is located in the Ben Thanh District. It is one of the most relaxing coffee shops I have recently found with a friend…

  • Tet Holiday lights in Saigon

    Saigon is a beautiful city during Tet. Light decorations like those below line most of the streets in District 1. Tet lights in Saigon

  • Great Greasy Hamburgers at Ha Lan

    My friend, Lee, introduced me to a great restaurant with some awesome greasy burgers. It is run by Vietnamese who lived in Europe and learned how to make "real"…

  • Saigon from District 4

    Remnants of old Saigon still exists in District 4. Too bad this will soon disappear too. old Saigon - District 4

  • Tet Party

    It is normal for students to throw a Tet party for their teachers. It is a good way to get close together with your students. This in turn encourages students to…

  • Vietnamese Fruit and Sting

    A small Tet party with my Vietnamese English students. They brought some delicious and tasty Vietnamese fruits served with Sting. Cham chams are in the bag to the right…

  • Updates from ironDevilDog - Weightlifting Blog

    I post two interesting articles from my ironDevilDog.com weightlifting blog that readers here may be interested in. Most of you may know that I decided to return to…

  • Legalization of US Documents Got Easier

    I remember the headache I went through, with many others, back in 2009-2010 when I had to get my university diploma authenticated for the work permit. Back in mid-2010…

  • Ali Baba Restaurant Grand Opening - Doner Kebabs in Saigon

    A new halal restaurant, Ali Baba Restaurant, is opening up near the Tan Son Nhat Airport offering halal doner kebabs. It will open tomorrow, February 22nd. Opening deals…

  • After Tet Saigon getting back to normal - My Update

    Life in Saigon is getting back to normal. This is one of the best Tets I ever experienced in Saigon which is amazing since I never actually left the city. I got about 9…

  • Relative Humidity Quite Low in Saigon

    The relative humidity is quite low in Saigon the last couple days. This is something I am just not used to. I never remember it being this low. Accuweather says the…

  • Tet Traffic in Saigon

    A surprise for me this Tet holiday was the amount of traffic during Tet. This is normally a time for light traffic throughout Saigon for most of Tet. Amazing how times…

  • How the traffic police got my 600,000 VND

    Well, it is the Year of the Snake now. Today is Day 4 of the Tet New Year here in Vietnam. I rode my motorbike to Bien Hoa outside of Saigon to see a friend. I rode him…

  • Year of the Snake Approaching (2013)

    As the Year of the Dragon ends shortly, the Year of the Little Dragon (Snake) is approaching. It is now Tet Eve in Saigon. This will be my 9th Tet here in Vietnam. I…

  • New PetroLimex Gas Station in Saigon

    Finally this PetroLimex seems nearly completed. Sometimes it is the easiest location for me to fill up my motorbike. It is right next to the New World Hotel. PetroLimex…

  • Catholic Church in Saigon

    One of my favorite Catholic churches in Saigon. This photo is cross-posted from my blog at: http://127.0.0.1:8091/2013/01/18/the-prettiest-catholic-church-in-saigon/…

  • My Second Kazakh Host Family - Orazimbetovs

    This is my second Peace Corps Host Family, the Orazibetovs. They had their hands full dealing with me since I am, umm, a big trouble maker common for young Americans…

  • My First Kazakh Host Family - Peace Corps Kazakhstan

    This was my first Kazakh host family during my Peace Corps training in Kapchagai, Kazakhstan. Unfortunately I only spent a couple months with them so I forgot who they…