Vietnam’s Future Photo Series

Posted Saturday, July 14th, 2007 · Permalink · 6 Responses...

I’m finally done with my first job here in Vietnam. I was surprisingly busy. Didn’t think it would really take so much of my time! But alas, it did, and this blog did suffer as a result. In any case, today has been my first day off. I’m free till saturday, but I hope to do better next time around.

One thing that baffles me every time are the children here in Vietnam. They’re fantastic little critters. They’re full of cheer and very smart. And easy to photograph. Easy because they like it and they’re hella photogenic. And they are everywhere. More than 50% of Vietnam’s population is under 25.

So this is ideal for an easy welcome-back series. Here you are. Eight of my favorite children photos of the last month here in this beautiful country. Let me know what you think. And thanks for sticking around.

Little Vietnamese Girl with Bottle, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Children Swimming, Mekong Delta, My Tho, Vietnam Click here to keep reading…

Now Playing: A Story of Healing

Posted Saturday, April 21st, 2007 · Permalink · 1 Response...

I have a ton of blogs in my feed reader (around 110), so only a third are actually travel related. One such unrelated blog is the famous Boing Boing. A few days ago they reported that the academy award-winning documentary A Story of Healing has been released under a creative commons license. I had never heard of it before then. If the story hadn’t featured a woman in a non quai thao (traditional hat), I would have probably skipped it.

In 1997, a Dewey-Obenchain film crew accompanied an Interplast volunteer surgical team to An Giang province in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta. The filmmakers donated their services to document the team’s experiences and produce “A Story of Healing,” which earned the 1997 Academy Award for best documentary, short subject. The 28-minute film is followed by a short epilogue (after the credits) which follows-up on two patients 16 months after their surgeries.

And with that I bring you A Story of Healing.


Don’t be Fooled in Sapa: It’s Fake!

Posted Sunday, April 8th, 2007 · Permalink · 4 Responses...

I recently started reading Christopher Skinner’s travel updates on his travel weblog. His most recent entry talks about his experience is Sapa and more specifically details a point that I have given a lot of thought after my visit there almost a year ago: the minorities selling their wares to tourists.

Minority Tribe Selling to Tourists, Sapa, Vietnam

The above picture displays this activity. The minority villagers make their way to Sapa with blankets and other such crafts and approach tourists with efforts to sell the items. This activity is not unique to Sapa or Vietnam. Such activities are as old as tourism itself and happen all over the world. But there is a very dishonest truth to these particular wares that most tourists are unaware of. Click here to keep reading…

My First Book: “A First Experience” Free Download

Posted Thursday, March 15th, 2007 · Permalink · 19 Responses...

A First Experience Cover

Two months ago I started work on a book that would hopefully show in images some of the different experiences I had when traveling through Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand in the summer of 2006. A few days ago my order arrived and it looks great! I never had such positive feedback before. Click here to keep reading…