(This is the 3rd, in the series of Haunted Trees in Vietnam.) By now, you must think that every old tree I come across, I point to it and say, "That tree is haunted." After all, didn't I say all old trees are haunted in one of my posts? (shrug) My answer to that is,... Continue Reading →
(Continued from Taoist Shrine in Ancient Hội An) The first time I visited this temple in Hội An, I had no idea it was one that venerated a Taoist god. You must forgive me. All temples look the same from the outside. The architecture might have been one type of construction but then, over the years,... Continue Reading →
There is an ancient saying in Vietnamese: "Thần cây đa, ma cây gạo, cú cáo cây đề". This is literally translated as: (There are) gods in the banyan trees, ghosts in the cotton trees, (and spirits of) owls and foxes in the fig trees. Obviously, the commonalities within this ancient saying are (1) otherworldly beings,... Continue Reading →
Deep in the tropics of Southeast Asia, there is a colorful, bustling city that hugs the coast of central Vietnam. Its name is Hội An, and it is one of those mystical magical faraway places that you should visit at least once in your life. Hội An's colorful houses and temples and businesses sprawled along... Continue Reading →
On the banks of the Thu Bồn River in Hội An, Vietnam is a hidden gem of a place called Nghê Prana Villa & Spa. I accidentally stumbled across it when I needed to stay a couple of nights during a trip to Bà Nà Hills a few months ago (more on this site in a... Continue Reading →
Me at the Windsor Plaza Hotel in District 5, Saigon. On my last trip to Vietnam, I noticed something that I had actually never taken into consideration before. It wasn't because I had never seen it. It was because I'd seen it so often that it never registered in my mind how incongruous it was... Continue Reading →
I am writing this post on the plane, only hours after my departure from an area of the US known as Silicon Valley. Normally, it is within the zone that is considered Mediterranean and therefore quite mild; however, it's still smack dab in the middle of winter and still fairly cold. A heavy hailstorm hit... Continue Reading →
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