Highway to Cambodia

There are not many organized roads around HCMC, but the road up to Cambodia is one of them. Separate lanes for cars and motorbikes generally allows traffic to flow. Visitors to Vietnam will be amazed at the lack of traffic in this picture, something which I cannot explain.

Sunset on the Saigon river

Billboards and rice paddies

The drive out to the Hanoi airport is long and tiresome, but there is a lot of advertising along the way to keep you entertained. Most of the billboards rise out of the rice paddies, like these just near the airport entrance

Men should hold onto dongs

A classic article from Thanh Nien news - using some word play about the economic crisis and the name of the Vietnamese currency against the recent spate of penis dismemberment. I love the highlighted box on the right which gives a step by step guide to preserving a severed body part, especially the need for 0.9% saline solution. There are also some hilarious quotes in the article. One worth highlighting is from a doctor who undertakes the reattachment surgery - “Now that we’re experienced, the operation takes about two and a half hours. It used to take up to four hours.” Sounds like he is doing them everyday! Plus of course he adds that it is impossible to make the penis longer during the reattachment surgery.

The other doozy is when the jilted slasher does a better job of destroying the penis: "Other cases turn out poorly for the man as the wife continues to vent her anger by throwing out the severed member for some dog to eat, or putting it in boiling water to cook for a while.

Classically painful

Airport overpass

Anticipation

Lotus pond

Phoenix tea cup

Rain outside the Sofitel Metropole Hà Nội

One of the most beautiful hotels in Vietnam, the Sofitel Metropole is worth checking out, even if you cannot afford the extensive room rates

Misty road

Punky Brewster lives

Follow on from yesterday

Another shot of the mystery ponds stretching out into the bay

Fish ponds or salt ponds or something else?

I took this while descending into Nha Trang. I am not sure exactly what is going on in these ponds, although I am sure they are filled with salt water. Any ideas?

Roadside kite sale

I really like the popularity of kites here, especially as they are usually bright fluorescent in colour. My favourite has to be the weird semi-naked batman, wearing nothing but a mask, cape and undies - plus the obligatory blue boots

River boats

Mountains and clouds

HCMC and Hà Nội are based around two great river deltas, the Red and Mekong rivers. The landscape is incredibly flat, so much so that the majority of "hills" usually consist of the on-ramps to bridges. People like myself who spend most of their time in and around the deltas forget the Vietnam has some incredible mountain ranges. This photo is of a range between Đà Lạt and Nha Trang

Can you guess what type of coffee was ordered?

There is a strange need in some cafes in Vietnam to present coffee in something other than the classical style. This one had the flashy cup, a nice biscuit and brown sugar stuck to a cinnamon stick, however that still does not improve upon the fact the barista had no idea how to make a decent coffee.

Standard roundabout chaos

Xích lô pub crawl

When undertaking a pub crawl by cyclo, it is imperative you take your own esky. You never know how thirsty you will get between stops

Progressive sunset at Ninh Van Bay #3

Progressive sunset at Ninh Van Bay #2

Progressive sunset at Ninh Van Bay #1

Ninh Van Bay

If you have the means I definitely would recommend a trip to Ninh Van Bay. Prices have plummeted since the economic crisis so it is now actually affordable. Easily the best beach in Vietnam

Naked flame

Phú Mỹ bridge

The Phú Mỹ bridge is well on the way to easing HCMC's terrible traffic congestion. The bridge is part of a new ring road that will offer an alternative for traffic from the north of HCMC to bypass the city when heading south toward the Mekong delta, and of course traffic traveling in the other direction. Construction is ahead of schedule and the road should be open toward the end of this year

Big Day Out with Jimmy Barnes

The Vietnam version of the Australian Big Day Out was held on Saturday, with none other than iconic Aussie rocker Jimmy Barnes headlining the show. Born in Scotland, raised in Adelaide and later on bourbon, Jimmy has the distinction of having the highest number of hit albums of any Australian artist, while also claiming fame as the godfather to a generation or two of bogans. Surprisingly, the night was fantastic

Steamroller

Well, not technically a steamroller, I suppose they are road rollers now, but I like the colloquial saying better

Vintage bike

Rockpool reflections

Downtown Sài Gòn - 6:00 am

I do you enjoy

On a recent Jetstar domestic flight the food we bought came with a business card for B4 Bread Corner. Now you would think that the people over at Jetstar have actually eaten some of the food on their airplanes and realised that it is a major risk to hand out business cards with poor grammar and no punctuation, especially when it looks like B4 Bread Corner is offering sexual services, albeit with food stuffs. Whatever takes your fancy

April Theme Day - Yellow

Many public buildings throughout Việt Nam are painted in various shades of yellow. These three being clockwise from top left: Institute Pasteur HCMC, Peoples Committee HCMC, rural school in the Mekong delta

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