Shot these scenes over the last couple of days. I can’t explain it, but traffic in slow-mo continues to mesmerize me. Even after all these years of visiting Bangkok, I’m still just as fascinated with the staggeringly intense traffic here as I was the very first time I visited Bangkok back in 1988. That was […]
From the other day while still in Da Nang, Vietnam. We’re heading back to My Khe Beach soon where there seems to be no shortage of ridable waves and barely any local rivalry. Photo: Charlotte Raboff
I’ve been practicing Tai Chi in Lumpini for few days now together with the cheerful and competent instrcutor Claire Hu from Thailand. In her previous career, Claire was a Dean at a university here in Bangkok and after deciding to take early retirement, she received her Tai Chi education in Chen village in northern China, […]
We’ve now moved into a two-bedroom apartment with a decent view in the Sathorn district of Bangkok. So for just shy of a month, we’ll have our base camp in one of the city’s many, many unnamed neighborhoods where you’ll find just about everything needed for day-to-day existence within reasonable walking distance – including a […]
Shot this view of “My Khe Beach” late last night from the rooftop pool of Haian Hotel, just a few floors above our corner room in Da Nang. I think corner hotel rooms are preferable for the obvious reason that they offer a less claustrophobic room experience. As we book most of our hotel nights […]
Here’s the short film from our visit with Sue, Cat, Marie, Julian, Nori, Lola, India and the rest of the gang at the NGO Vietnam Pets and Vets outside of Hoi An, here in Central Vietnam. Publishing this video today coincides perfectly with our daughter Elle’s 19th birthday. After all, it’s thanks to her genuine […]
This is by far Hoi An’s best taco joint. We became frequent guests there after falling in love with their fish tacos, which taste superbly, possibly thanks to all the ingredients being homemade from scratch. We’ve been eating a ton of Vietnamese food here. But truth be told, as Pescatarians, it ain’t been as exciting […]
This is Julian, one of two pigs we met the other day at an energetically operated combo rescue and shelter organization called Vietnam Animal, Aid and Rescue This is Julian, one of two friendly pigs Charlotte and I met the other day at Vietnam Animal, Aid and Rescue which is housed in a tiny village […]
After a couple of days with an intense downpour, the sun is again shining. The rice paddies are soaked and brimming with fresh rainwater and as the level has risen so much, the landscape surrounding the flooded fields is now beautifully reflected in the drenched paddies. We took a long walk last night after dinner. […]
Like most red-blooded Americans that haven’t been completely brainwashed from having Fox News or CNN as their only source of information, I’m skeptical about every word a politician exudes. You have to be. It’s not so much about distrust as it is understanding the nature of the game. Politics, at least in a functioning democracy, […]
Last night we were at The Hub, a co-working place just down the road from our home in An My Village. Three local Hoi An entrepreneurs, two Vietnamese and one Brittish woman presented themselves and shared their business experiences with about 25 (mostly) expats. The first one up was Emma, who together with her Vietnamese […]
The strangest part of adjusting to slow life here in rural Vietnam, especially when coming from a country like Sweden – where new stuff is readily and rapidly adopted – is paying with paper money again. Not only do I barely recognize any of the Swedish bills or coins currently in circulation, the vast majority […]
When in Rome…I make Vietnamese drip coffee here in Hoi An at a couple of times a day. I find it an excellent way to lure my inner Zen into daily routines while we’re living here. Where back in Swedenland my caffeine fix was often blasphemously met with bleak instant coffee, here, it takes a […]
From yesterday’s assignment for Charlotte’s popular Swedish hotel web site hotelladdict.se While probably not the most eco-friendly adventure I’ve been on, oh boy, was it fun driving and riding the M72 (Dnepr/Ural) – a vehicle with a long-ass production life, from the original BMW R71 (1938) to current day Chinese (PRC) version: Chang Jiang CJ750. […]
Earliter today, Charlotte noticed a memory in one of her social channel news feeds. It was from way back in 2011 when we were still producing travel guides for Swedish daily newspapers like Aftonbladet and Allt om Resor. We created and delivered a ton of them over the course of about a decade. Up until […]
I was close to being run over last night on my way to dinner. No, I wasn’t drunk, high on shrooms or wearing clogs. I was simply walking along the sidewalk towards Bamboo, our favorite eatery here in Hoi An. Had my focus just slipped a little, or, if I’d misstepped ever-so slightly… BOOM!…I would of […]
The pictoresque Tam Quan Chua Ba Mu Chinese Temple with its reflecting pond in the ancient city of Hoi An, Vietnam. Shot yesterday evening with the Fuji XT3 and Fujinon XF 16mm F1.4 prime lens. The temple reminded me of visits to Phnom Phenh and Siem Reap in Cambodia.
From yesterday’s visit to our local Cam An Beach which is considered one of the best in Vietnam. Being in the ocean and letting wave after wave wash over me has been something I’ve loved doing ever since I was a kid. They aren’t big enough for surfing, at least not right now. But in […]
For the past two weeks, I’ve been eating a large, ripe avocado and a big carrot for lunch. That’s it. This “diet”, in combination with getting at least 5 km of walking or biking exercise a day, is helping me slowly burn off the flab around my waist. It also feels excellent to not eat […]
Be it S’pore, Delhi or Bangkok, whenever and wherever I visit Asia, it’s usually bustling and busy. Well, maybe not so much Singapore. But definitely Bangkok and Delhi. Here in the wild, wild east where water buffalo graze freely on monsoon drenched rice paddies and locals in pointy hats smile at you when you pass […]
No torrential rain today, mostly blue skies and beautiful cloud formations.Living right on the edge of Hoi An town has its perks. It’s quiet most of the time, especially at night. We only hear toads (or frogs) and crickets and the occasional dog bark. I don’t know if I’ve lived this rural since spending time […]
Met this gentle, soft spoken lady during the monthly full moon lantern festival here in Hoi An a couple of nights ago. She looked anciently tired and disappointed that all I wanted to do was take her picture and not buy one of the lanterns she was carrying on a tray. Now and then the […]
I think a lot about food. I always have. I guess you could even say I’m obsessed. And not just because I love to cook, either. Of all the kinds of food I’m obssessed with, avocados are definitely top tier. Not only do I love the shapes they come in, the earthy hues of green, […]
The combination of comfortable humidity (80%), balmy temperature (29C/84F) during an hour of intense Qigong + Yoga (YoQi) was a great way to start this Monday. After practicing Yoga and Qigong for a couple of years now, I’ve come to see how the two complement each other wonderfully. These two ancient practices have so much […]
We moved into our new place today at An My Village, just outside of central Hoi An in Vietnam. It’s a brand new, light blue, three story house, adorned with beautiful tile designs and tasteful decorations, good quality furniture and what is arguably the most important fitting of them all, a really comfortable king size […]
As we are intending to remain here for a spell, it’s unavoidably going to take some time for us to scour our way through the thicket of tourist trappings of Hoi An. We have no qualms about contributing to the local tourist economy, especially since most stuff typically cost less here than in Thailand and […]
Our view standing on one of the city’s beautiful bridges last night, overlooking the Thu Bon River, which gently flows between the islands that make up Hoi An. The scene reminded of Venice, Italy, sans the lifejackets.
As a pescatarian, I’m not exactly certain if it would be okay or not to munch on the above grilled frogs (toads?) I saw in passing at a market here in Hoi An this afternoon. Perhaps it would even be within reason to stuff our bellies with turtle or tortoise meat, just as long as […]
From earlier today during a short break at a café located on a corner of what must be the old town’s busiest intersection. As insipid as the lady that served me was, she nonetheless managed to serve me a heavenly brew of Vietnamese coffee. So there I sat, watching, sipping and relaxing as hundreds of honking […]
Today, after watching a whopping two million Dong slowly slide out from the innards of an ATM somewhere here in Hoi An, I realized that I’ve probably not been a millionaire since Italy switched from Lire to Euro back in January of 1999. With 100.000 Vietnamese Dong being equal to approximately $4 or SEK40, roughly […]
From “golden hour” in the old town of Hoi An during yesterday’s gorgeous sunset. Aside from a couple of pre-monsoon thunderstorms in Bangkok, the weather has been very pleasant here in South East Asia. Not nearly as hot as when I was here in August. Getting mixed meteorological prognosis about what, at a bare minimum, […]
We’ve now arrived in Hoi An, Vietnam. We flew in from Bangkok to the coastal city of Da Nang, where, incidentally, the very first American combat troops landed almost 55 years ago – at the onset of the American War, as the Vietnamese call the conflict. We had arranged to be picked up at the […]
Put together this from snippets shot during Sunday’s visit to what can only be characterized as a dog zoo called “Corgi in the Garden”. After paying a USD$10 entrance fee, you get to spend an hour socializing with Blossom, Buttercup, Baby Corn and 10 other Corgis and 30 Instagram addicted tweens in a café. Never […]
Tonight, Charlotte and I enjoyed dinner at a small Japanese place on Thong Lor run by an elderly man from Japan. We got there fairly early, just in time for happy oyster hour. We ordered 5 oysters, three fresh and two grilled with all the required condiments. While I’ve appreciated the taste, texture and smell […]
According to Wikipedia, this little creature is a Daphnis nerii, the oleander hawk-moth or army green moth of the family Sphingidae. It was described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae. Almost stepped onto the little guy while walking down a sidewalk last night here in Bangkok. Up close it looked […]