Humbled and sad yet happy/thankful/blessed to have had this opportunity. And also happy that the kids looked happy as well.

On Saturday, I blew off hip hop to help celebrate Intl Children’s Day with some kids living with HIV. There’s this amazing coffee shop in town SOZO that is also a charity that organizes community volunteering opportunities in elderly homes etc. and this was one of their ongoing programs.

Children are fantastic. I do forget what it’s like to be a little person but I do feel like I definitely have a heart for them. These sweetie pies came to the coffee shop where they played games, squealed with delight, sang songs, and drank cold tea for a couple hours.

THEN we all fall down! Nope, we all went to KFC! Yup that’s in VN but not Burger King or McDonalds. Twas not the tastiest but for the kids, it was an opp to spread some cheer and feel the love. And I felt that love all morning.

One of their peers had just passed away a couple days ago. Another died two weeks ago. Death is immediate and very possible for these children. I don’t really want to believe this but it’s true. So I am sad. But I am also appreciative of the fact that I can spend time with these beautiful children and love them now.

Hip hop snip op….Loving each other is what we are called to do and I am very glad to partake in that task. AMEN

Have a great day lovely ppl

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So previous to 2008, I hadn’t been though I had heard many marvelous things.

Then w/in a span of 5 weeks, I was there 3 times (ok once was for work)! Let’s just say “it’s a good thing!”

To date, let’s just say it’s one of the best vacay spots in VN Just avoid the rainy season which is now til October. Any day any way, the seafood is good

New treats to return for:

–Buddy Ice Cream! From N.Zealand and so delicious!!! I can still taste it!
–Le Deauville, very sweet resto owned by an Olivier rite on the beach! Innovative dishes and great atmosphere
–the monkeys!
–the peace and quiet massive stretches of beach to explore

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Phu Quoc Island

I’ve heard good things bout this place and have a friend who’s been 5+ times. So I vowed that once I moved down south, I’d make the trek. This was facilitated by the fact that my bro was in town and planned a trip there. And so I tagged along.

BEACH BEACH BEACH and beachside resorts

But we also had a day of activity which included motorbiking on red dirt roads (not good for my complexion or cleanliness) and squid fishing on a thunderous evening in downpour.

4 Irish blokes, a pair of VN-CAN siblings, and maybe a 5-fisherman crew with one oceanographer

None of the paying guests caught any squid but luckily these guys had a back-up stock which they used to cook up some yummy porridge/chao/congee and fry some lil squidlings for our eats.

My feet tingle as I write b/c of one pesky mosquito in my room…not happy

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Hello all and esp. to Ms. Dana Landry:)

So out of a fun-filled girls’ weekend in Hoi An came an opportunity to share some of East Meets West Foundation’s work projects with some travelers. Three buffet breakfasts later, a visit to the orphanage was arranged.

Dana’s from Nova Scotia and is in the midst of her grand voyage right now….probably sipping beers at La Louisiane.
Anyway, for me, any visit to the VOH is something new and exciting. I went once as a guest at Christmas Eve and then again for a visit from the California Naval Academy’s students and staff in early June. This time, it was just me and Dana and our lovely guide, Bich and the other friendly staff and of course, the kids. Everything was a highlight but especially their artwork and having lunch together. They have a couple dogs and heart throb posters on their walls, and the entire place is filled with calm and
a sense of tranquility/security that is encouraging. And the kids are so polite and much cleaner than I am today. It was a good visit.

Oooh how could I forget seeing the HP books in VNese…that was cool! And also I learned smthng new bout plants growing in the front yard. In the pic, I’m standing near an orange bush/tree and its leaves are like spicy citrus. The staff, my colleagues by extension, told me that they boil the leaves and pour over girls’ hair to make it smell good and also that they use the long thorns to open up clam shells. I thought that was very cool….so I took some home to try…Hopefully, I’ll have time one of these days and I’ll let you know the results of my experiment.

Please check out the photos cuz they are awwwwwwwwsome!

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Good day folks

As a family obligation, I spent my weekend in Nha Trang. I had to drag my bro down to visit Grams for the first time. So while he stays there and gets acquainted (in Cam Duc Hamlet by the airport actually), I had to scramble back to NT to catch my train back home.

But waiting for the train has never been so fun….I’m working by day poolside with a fast wifi connection and wondering why my regular office couldn’t be so pleasant.

Nha Trang, where my parents grew up, is, well, magical! It’s a hip n happening beach town with fabulous views, pools, beaches, people, seafood, and internet….all in all, definitely worth a stop while you’re in VN. And I am lucky that my parents are from here so I always have reason to come back.

I usually visit Grams then stay in my fave hotel in the city, the Sun Hotel, in the street perpendicular to the Sailing Club, and spend my mornings blowing bubbles in the clear, blue sea with the early rising fishies and my days eating raw oysters and doing facials or going to the mud baths. Night time is for cruising around on a motorbike or walking along the boardwalk….I don’t know why NT has it all, but it does

However, this time, I have to work so I’m online editing reports on compassion homes and water towers and writing speeches and cannot go to all my favourite haunts….I’m waiting for Junella:) But it’s still an amazingly pleasant, if somewhat short, escape.

Coincidently, it’s also the time for Festival Bien 2007 and so that means big outdoor concerts and ppl milling around cheering on Vietnamese celebrities…and they’re big! I only know two VNese singers and I’ve seen them both in Nha Trang, par hasard! Yesterday, I attended the nightly affair on until June 15th or so and My Tam, this young and quite beautiful VNese girl who’s also incredibly famous, from Danang of all places, was the final act. It was cool and the dances and music that I can’t understand were great fun. Wait til I post my photos. And the best part of it all is that I just stumbled across this beach party….I came to visit Grams and ended up seeing a swimsuit fashion show and some big time celebs. And this festival only takes place every 2 years so I AM LUCKY!

The other celeb, Quang Dung, and I first laid eyes on each other in December while I was singing BSB on the lovely beaches to my sisters. Quang Dung is quite good-looking and has a good, solid, soothing voice and well, he was sitting on the beach chairs just about a meter away from me and I didn’t recognize him cuz I only have seen him on CD covers….anyway, I did notice a well-dressed guy kinda staring at me and well, that was him. Can you imagine, a real singer having to listen to my hysterical renditions of BSB….I mean I don’t suck but still, kinda embarrassing. How did I find out he was there, my friend, Mimi, texted me to get my attention….I am truly in love with the BSB and don’t stop singing unless I have to…..at least next time I see QD, he may remember me from the beaches of Nha Trang.

YES I AM BLESSED (as we all are). AND I want to share with you….so come here anytime and I guarantee there’s a VN beach hot and waiting for you

take care

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