The year was 1999. I was foot-loose and fancy free, traipsing about in northern Vietnam with nothing but my passport and a backpack filled with a few items of clothing and my Canon DSLR. This was back in the days when I shunned luxurious modes of transportation, wanting instead, to travel with the least amount … Continue reading Nàng Thơm Chợ Đào (The Virgin Thơm of the Red Market)
Tag: Vietnam
Con Nhà Nho Giáo – Children of the Grapes
Con Nhà Nho Giáo Everybody has heard this saying and everyone thinks it means a person who is from a well-educated family. That is true, to a certain extent, but it does not describe the statement fully. In the old days (oh some thousands of years in the past, all the way up to about … Continue reading Con Nhà Nho Giáo – Children of the Grapes
Ancient ties between Taiwanese and Vietnamese
I always knew my family's spoken language was slightly different than what was spoken on the streets. There were many terminology which didn't fit in with the Việt vocabulary that I learned in school and on the playground. For example, my father called his mother, my paternal grandmother, by the word Bu (母) pronounced as in the … Continue reading Ancient ties between Taiwanese and Vietnamese
Sunken Paradise
Much of the ancient world inherited by our ancestors now lies under water after melting ice caps flooded vast areas at the end of the last Ice Age. New advances in geology and marine technology mean that the great archaeological finds of this coming century will more than likely be found under the oceans. It … Continue reading Sunken Paradise
Black Teeth Beauty
I just got braces put on my teeth a few weeks ago to correct a bite problem. I'm going to be stuck with them for about 24 months. Already, it is starting to bug the crap out of me. It's no fun at all, especially since I am a full-grown adult and not a teenager … Continue reading Black Teeth Beauty
The Trauma of Being Different
(...continued from Damn Stubborn Water Buffalo) This is my firm conviction. We Vietnamese should not claim folks as our people if they refuse the claim, meaning if they insist that they are not Vietnamese, we should not place that honorific on them...even if it's true. I remember when I was younger, much younger, I dyed … Continue reading The Trauma of Being Different
Ancient Việt: Cradle of Asian Civilization
I was born in Vietnam. As I am writing these words, I reflect upon what that actually means in the truest and deepest sense of the word. Out of the shadowy recesses of my native land's past, swirling with mist and cannon smoke, I can barely see the outlines of those who came before me; … Continue reading Ancient Việt: Cradle of Asian Civilization
The Trưng Sisters (Part 3)
(...continued fromThe Trưng Sisters Part 2) And so it was, hidden in the mists of the jungles, within the dark dank caves of the mountainous region of Mê Linh that Trưng Trắc and her sister, Trưng Nhị, along with an entire regiment of rebels began their year-long preparation to go up against General Tô Định. To understand the scope of … Continue reading The Trưng Sisters (Part 3)
Nôm Na Là Cha Mách Qué
Hey you! Nôm na là cha mách qué! Say what??? Whatever dude. Your Momma too. Dumb ass. I would have this attitude because this sooo sounds like such an insult. This sentence cannot be said without it sounding like an insult. Nobody knows why. At least, nobody in the modern world knows why. Well, … Continue reading Nôm Na Là Cha Mách Qué
The Trưng Sisters (Part 2)
(...continued from Part 1) His name was Dương Thi. He was barely 20 years old when he married the headstrong, talented, intelligent, and beautiful Trưng Trắc, princess of the Mê Linh region, a province north of present-day Hà Nội. His father, Dương Thái Bình, who was the king's physician and also part of the royal family, ascended to the throne after … Continue reading The Trưng Sisters (Part 2)
