For calling or for walking...?

There was no way I could resist buying these pair of flip-flops for my Apple nerd of a husband when I found them at a market in Saigon some weeks ago.... (Please note that the Apple logo is in gold! Fancy, huh?!)

He got them for Christmas and yes - he wears them all the time...

That perfect gift?!

As Christmas is coming up soon, I thought I should provide a good suggestion for what kind of gift to buy for that special someone who has everything already;
How about a "Niske"-bag?! Anyone?! I can pretty much guarantee that the person you have in mind doesn´t have this one already.
Available at the Binh Tay Market in Ho Chi Minh City.

Heading to Ho Chi Minh City

This week, there´s the big, annual Water Festival here in Cambodia. 1-2 million Cambodians are heading to Phnom Penh from all of the countryside provinces to enjoy the boat races on the river, the fireworks and all the other festivities that are going on. It´s a nice party atmosphere, but incredibly crowded. You can´t drive anywhere in the central part of the city or on the river side, most restaurants and shops are closed for the holiday, so unless you are very much into watching boat races and just loves crowds of people, there´s not very much to do but to stay inside and watch dvd for a week. Which I´m not intending to do, so instead I´m taking the opportunity to go to Vietnam for a few days. I´ve never been to Ho Chi Minh City (previosly Saigon) in southern Vietnam before, so that´s where I´m going. On tuesday afternoon I´m catching a bus from Phnom Penh that´s supposed to reach HCMC in five hours, but I guess we´ll have to see about that.... I´ve actually never herd anyone being overly enthusiastic about HCMC so I don´t have very high expectations, but it´ll be interesting to see this commercial hub of Vietnam. And also to compare it to the very different city of Hanoi in the north, as the two cities are supposed to be eachothers´opposites when it comes to character. And of course; a change of environment, some good shopping, Vietnamese coffe, delicious food, art galleries and lazy afternoons at atmospheric cafés reading a good book, will be very nice..!

Cruising....

I´ve now decided to book a tour to Ha Long Bay this coming weekend. Ha Long Bay is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, about 3 hr from Hanoi.

I´m going on an overnight cruise on this boat...
Not too bad, huh?

I´m really excited about this. The only thing is that I suddenly realized that for the very first time in my life, I´ve booked a cruise... And a pretty luxury one as well... or what do you say about this?
I´m afraid that this is a pretty clear sign that I´ve reached the middle-ages... :-/ So pls don´t tell anyone..! *blushing*

Hanoi = love

I love Hanoi! Just so you know... A wonderful, beautiful city with tons of atmosphere. Great food and shopping, amazing arcitechture and art galleries. I love it!!!

Next stop Hanoi...

Tomorrow, I´m leaving for Hanoi where I´m going to take a course in "Project and Programme Management" for two weeks. I´ve planned so I´ll get three weekends in total in Hanoi to get some time to explore the city as well. Ever since I watched the beautiful movie "At the Height of Summer" or "the Vertical Rays of the Sun" as it´s also called sometimes (see the movie clips below), I´ve always wanted to go to Hanoi, so I´m really looking forward to it.

To treat myself,  and to get some well deserved time off from the studies, I might do this as well. What do you think?! :-)