Can Tho, Vietnam (click on image above for photo gallery)
The one country in South East Asia many people I know who traveled there and loved it is Vietnam. The name written in English is usually ‘Vietnam’-one word. Actually there are two words to the name. ‘Viet’ probably connotes the indigenous people who walked this land half a million years ago. ‘Nam’ means the ‘south’. So the authentic version should be ‘Viet Nam’. Although I prefer the original spelling, I’m going to use the one-word version on this posting for search engine indexing purpose.
For about two thousand years, Vietnam was occupied by many foreign nations of different sizes near and far. What makes it so tempting for other powers to grab this little country for so long? Tiny it may be, Vietnam has roughly a couple thousand miles of coast line, flat land crisscrossed by the Mekong Delta rivers in the south, and high mountains and deep forest in the interiors, making this tiny country one of most productive lands on Earth.
Now an independent country while still under the Communist regime, Vietnam is fast becoming one of Asia’s ‘mini dragons’ as it moves into industrialization phase beside having been largely an agriculture land. Just 15 years ago, the streets of Saigon were filled with bicyclers, which are now all replaced by scooters. An interesting excerpt from the Lonely Planet travel book: “If Vietnam has a soundtrack, it’s the buzz of a million motorbikes, the cries of street hawkers plying their wares and the tinkle of pagodas drawing the faithful of a prayer.”
Having been away from this country for many years and although my root traces back to the big China, Vietnam is my mother land. The sights, sounds, smells, people, food, way of living, and belief always bring me back to many of my childhood stories and deep emotions growing up there. The photo gallery, for now, is comprised of mostly shots of my family albeit I hope this would give you some idea about the country. I’ll be posting more images from future trips.
Taipei, a very densely populated city, is the capital of Taiwan. It’s one of the major metropolitan gems (beside Tokyo, Seoul, and Singapore) of the Far East. Taipei is home to one of the tallest skyscrapers in the World-Taipei 101, which is located in the financial district of the city.
Click above image to VIEW PHOTO GALLERY
Taipei is a bustling city with people on the move. Scooters everywhere zipping by at break neck speed, the smoke of heavy trucks and cars traffic, the colorful and crowded store signs, the smell of fermented fried bean curd and other snack food along street sides, and squeezing oneself through the tight alleys of night markets are some of the memorable things for me while trekking through the city.
Few people here speak English, and they don’t have too because Chinese language rules in Eastern Asia! So when looking for direction, it’s best to pop a few Chinese words, or have them written down on paper. You can try talk to the locals in English-just never how much of it they understand. And if they got the wrong idea of what you are trying to say, there’s a good chance you’ll be given the wrong information. Nonetheless, you’ll get by and figure things out one way or the other-that’s the fun.
I must say night markets are my favorite things to check out in Taipei. There are a night markets big and small you can find all over the city. The biggest and oldest is Shilin Night Market, and the most exciting and crowded is Raohe Street Market. These markets are packed with all kinds of finger food, snacks, noodle soup, and hot pots, all cooked and displayed on the spot. You just want to dive in and try it out.
There are reliable buses and the Metro system to get around the city. I was with a family of 4, and the most cost effective and flexible transportation for such a group is to take the cab.
Raohe Night Market in Taipei
