Every person has a different Corona story to tell. I talked to some of them to gain some understanding. To imagine myself in someone else’s shoes. Maybe you’d like to imagine yourself in their shoes too. I’ve asked each person to put a photo to their story. Anything that they feel encapsulates their Corona experience. ‘I want to look good and I want to feel … Continue reading Corona Stories: Karen.
Mui Ne, Vietnam, New Year’s Day 2020. A strange place. At first I almost hated it. Palm trees yes, tropical paradise no. A 15 km strip of ‘resorts’ squeezed between a litter-lined beach and a busy main road, between discarded plastic and horn-tooting ‘open tour’ backpacker buses. Mui Ne is a curious mix of kite-surfers, Russian tourists, and traditional fishing villages. Our first meal was … Continue reading Mui Ne.
Every person has a different Corona story to tell. I talked to some of them to gain some understanding. To imagine myself in someone else’s shoes. Maybe you’d like to imagine yourself in their shoes too. I’ve asked each person to put a photo to their story. Anything that they feel encapsulates their Corona experience. I haven’t washed my hair for a week. What’s the … Continue reading Corona Stories: Margreet.
Christmas Day, Saigon 2019. A motorbike would have been easier. But we’d not yet figured out how to grab a bike for the two of us, so we went by car. To a neighbourhood district north of the city centre. Streets like strips of ribbon, flexing and turning. Bikes beeping behind us. Those that could not wait, over-taking on the inside, as the driver tried … Continue reading Food Stories 2: Eating With A Vietnamese Family.
And I sit. I just sit. For years I’ve been saying I want to ‘do nothing’. For me though, ‘doing nothing’ is never doing nothing. It’s just not going out. I tell myself I’ll ‘have a day off’ which means I’ll be catching up with things; doing something. There is no down time. There is no free time. There is no respite. I don’t write … Continue reading A Journey of a Very Different Kind.
Saigon. December 2019 I didn’t know much about Vietnamese history. But I did know that the Reunification Palace is a bit of a must for history buffs. We’d walked past it a few times. A 1960’s ugly block of a building, which cast a sort of eerie shadow over the city, palm trees and manicured gardens notwithstanding. When we visited I had the approach and … Continue reading From Independence to Reunification – A Palace Full of History.
Saigon, Vietnam, December 2019 Helen arrived first. Hopping off her bike she pulled off a grey sweat top to reveal a silky shimmering deep-sea-blue ao dai. Then she leaned back against her bike and started texting. Lily arrived a few moments later. Same blue tunic. Same black ponytail swinging. Same smiles and laughter. ‘Did you ever go on a motorbike before?’, she asked. We’d already … Continue reading Food Stories 1. Street Food Saigon Style.
Wondering Woman 