After spending so much time in Saigon I figured it was time to see more of the country before going on my next trip. I’ve been to the Mekong Delta before but there is so much to see, so I made a plan to travel through the Delta by bus, get the ferry to Phu […]
Notes on Ho Chi Minh City – things I love about life in Saigon
I’ve been coming to and from Saigon for over two years now. It has become so familiar to me that I haven’t thought to do a big write up. I did a cost of living summary for my first full month here, and I also maintain a cafe list, so now it’s time to post […]
Ben Thanh Market, Ho Chi Minh City – Vietnam
Saigon is collecting a fair selection of rooftop bars, and one of the best views of the city can be found at OMG, next to the Ben Thanh Market. Get here around 5pm for happy hour and you can watch the skyline light up as the evening approaches. It’s also a good spot to do […]
The changing face of Saigon
[Old and new Saigon: Bitexco Financial Tower and a French colonial-era building.] I’ve been basing myself in Saigon off-and-on for the past two years, and my first visit here was in 2005. In this time I’ve been watching the city transform as it catches up from decades of underinvestment. It’s an interesting time to be […]
Aussie-style cafes in Paris
For a country that has a reputation for its cafes, I was surprised at how average coffee in France was when I first arrived. Sure, the cafes are great for people-watching, with rows of chairs lined up in theatre style so you can watch the world go by. As far as the actual coffee goes […]
A day in Paris is better than no day in Paris
Passing through the grim outer suburbs of Paris on the train from CDG Airport I wondered if I made a mistake coming back for just one day. Was Paris as wonderful as I remembered it to be, or was it a trick of the mind that tends to romanticise places long after you have been? […]
Notes on Montevideo
The second leg of my South American trip was to Montevideo, Uruguay. As part of this trip I was flown as a guest with Air France/KLM to a destination in their South American network. I opted to visit Buenos Aires. Being so close to an international border though I couldn’t resist the temptation to visit […]
Notes on Buenos Aires
I love wandering around big cities, and one city I’ve always wanted to visit for urban exploration was Buenos Aires. I ended up spending 11 days in BA, and I could have easily spent more time given the chance. I can see how many travellers I’ve met have ended up staying for way longer than […]
Notes on Yogyakarta
Yogyakarta in Central Java makes for a handy base to explore the surrounding region. The city is nearby to the world heritage sites of Borobudur and Prambanan, as well as the perpetually-smoking Gunung Merapi volcano. It’s also a great place to just hang out for a few days. There are plenty of interesting sites, and […]
Notes on Taipei
My visit to Taipei was also my first time in Taiwan. Rather than rush around and try and visit the whole island I dedicated two weeks to exploring Taipei and decided to visit the rest of the island another time. Two weeks turned out to be a good amount of time to linger and explore […]
