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Monday, March 05, 2007
Monday, February 05, 2007
Monday, January 08, 2007
Thursday, December 21, 2006
December - workshops, national parks & motorbikes
December has proven to be an extremely busy month in Viet Nam as I am sure it has been for everyone gearing up for the festive season and completing year end deadlines. Here it has been workshop season here which has meant lots of travel to various provinces.
I have traveled to Cat Ba Island Biosphere, Phong Nha Ke Bang World Heritage and down to Cat Tien Biosphere reserve. More photos to be shared soon but I have reverted to the SLR so this now all takes time.
In Cat Ba I will highly recommend the Green Mango Café, the owner cooked a friend Ashley and I dinner and 7 bottles of red wine later things were traveling brilliantly. Rosi from Cat Ba has almost single handedly saved a species of Langur the single minded type of conservationist that is very inspiring to meet.
I have traveled to Cat Ba Island Biosphere, Phong Nha Ke Bang World Heritage and down to Cat Tien Biosphere reserve. More photos to be shared soon but I have reverted to the SLR so this now all takes time.
In Cat Ba I will highly recommend the Green Mango Café, the owner cooked a friend Ashley and I dinner and 7 bottles of red wine later things were traveling brilliantly. Rosi from Cat Ba has almost single handedly saved a species of Langur the single minded type of conservationist that is very inspiring to meet.
Views of Cat Ba Bay
Friendly faces and rural landscapes
Cat Tien is in the South so it was nice and warm which was welcome relief from the chilly northern weather. There is nothing Vietnamese officials love to do more than grab a microphone and make a contribution at a workshop that is slightly not related to what we are discussing, nothing more than knocking back some shots of rice wine. The rice wine flowed each night and lunchtime and me as the stupid westerner started to count how many shots we downed one night, I think I lost count around the twenty mark…...made viewing animals in the park with a spotlight very entertaining.
I have met some amazing/humbling personalities, Professor Ellery from Australia who amongst other things knew Douglas Mawson and had worked with Tim Flannery in PNG and a Vietnamese history professor who had met Ho Chi Minh three times.
More locally I have been getting my thrills getting to and from work as I have joined the throng of motorbike traffic, I am not sure my lungs appreciate all the fumes but seems to be the only real option and it now is something to look forward to. I must note that my boss Edle is particularly brave being the first to travel on a main road as my passenger. I have now even managed to give two people a lift at once and I am starting to feel quite local…and that was after singing the night away Vietnamese Karaoke style to celebrate the engagement of one of my colleagues.
Cat Tien is in the South so it was nice and warm which was welcome relief from the chilly northern weather. There is nothing Vietnamese officials love to do more than grab a microphone and make a contribution at a workshop that is slightly not related to what we are discussing, nothing more than knocking back some shots of rice wine. The rice wine flowed each night and lunchtime and me as the stupid westerner started to count how many shots we downed one night, I think I lost count around the twenty mark…...made viewing animals in the park with a spotlight very entertaining.
I have met some amazing/humbling personalities, Professor Ellery from Australia who amongst other things knew Douglas Mawson and had worked with Tim Flannery in PNG and a Vietnamese history professor who had met Ho Chi Minh three times.
More locally I have been getting my thrills getting to and from work as I have joined the throng of motorbike traffic, I am not sure my lungs appreciate all the fumes but seems to be the only real option and it now is something to look forward to. I must note that my boss Edle is particularly brave being the first to travel on a main road as my passenger. I have now even managed to give two people a lift at once and I am starting to feel quite local…and that was after singing the night away Vietnamese Karaoke style to celebrate the engagement of one of my colleagues.
Hoan Kiem Lake Looking very festive
Thursday, November 30, 2006
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
KOTO Cycle
The KOTO cycle challenge was a great day of cycling, eating, meeting people and discovering some slightly more rural areas of Vietnam.
After a few months of fairly minimal exercise 80km was a very worthy challenge at 8 am on a Saturday morning. Spurred on by some great food and the prospect of breathing some clean country air we departed for Bavi to be greeted by a saturady morning peak hour.
Once we reached edge of Hanoi things definitely looked up as we were able to concentrate on more than where the next motorbike or truck was likely to be attempting an ambush of our position on the raod.
We made our way along dirt roads first through market gardens and then rice fields and smaller villages. We stopped at a pagoda for morning tea and to rest the backside and then continued on to Bavi.
The group was constantly greeted by smiling faces and children shouting 'Hello' with replies from the group of 'Chau ca'c em'
Despite some exhaustion & a sore buts, this was a great time how can you not love being greeted all day by smiles like these :)
Know One Teach One http://www.koto.com.au/
Sunday, November 26, 2006
Hue
Making incense is one of the traditional handicrafts practiced in the regions surrounding Hue. These are dyed bamboo incense sticks drying in the sun.
No drought in Hue, this is a view of the main street on my second day there. My job assess options for flood control and historic waterway conservation......think I will be busy
Textures & colours of the Hue Markets (need some more technology to share the smells)
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