Vietnam – Travels With Tricia

Around the World in 18 Barbers’ Chairs

A man cuts a customer's hair at a barber shop in Split Croatia

From Bulgaria to Vietnam, Shawn visits barber shops around the world.

A Vietnamese New Year’s Reminiscence

When I unpacked the paper ox ornament last week, it reminded me why I love travel: serendipitous happenings, cultural immersion, and the opportunity to mingle with “citizen diplomats.” With today being the Lunar New Year (called Tết in Vietnamese), it seems fitting to reminisce on a special memory that I made while visiting Hanoi, Vietnam back in 2009.

Light Wisdom Inspired by a Sea of Vietnamese Lanterns

Colorful beaded lanterns hang outside a lantern shop in Hoi An, Vietnam.

By night, the Vietnamese city of Hoi An is transformed into a dazzling paradise with brilliant silk lanterns, paper luminaries, and warm candlelight. With the sky cloaked in darkness, we strolled by the Thu Bon River and watched as the colorful luminaries danced on the water. Vendors of all ages sold them along the water’s edge toContinue reading “Light Wisdom Inspired by a Sea of Vietnamese Lanterns”

Scenes from Hoi An, Vietnam

A Vietnamese woman, wearing a traditional hat, carries baskets of recyclables in Hoi An, Vietnam.

Even on the most overcast of days, Hoi An’s streets are replete with color. Salespeople stand before crumbling, mustard-colored buildings, enticing the young — and the young at heart — with bunches of fluorescent balloons. Nearby, market stalls overflow with vibrant-colored produce. There are miniature bananas, silk scarves of every hue, and blue-and-white dishes withContinue reading “Scenes from Hoi An, Vietnam”

At the Thu Bon River’s Edge – Hoi An, Vietnam

We spent several relaxing hours walking and dining along Hoi An’s riverside. At midday, some locals made meals on weathered, wooden boats.

Photo du Jour: Nap Time in Saigon

Despite the sound of thousands of whizzing motorbikes, a man in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam managed to catch some zzzzs in an ergonomically challenging position. When I snapped this shot, a diner looking out from the neighboring restaurant window flashed me a wide grin. He signaled his approval of this captured moment with aContinue reading “Photo du Jour: Nap Time in Saigon”

Photo du Jour: East Meets West – Mekong Delta, Vietnam

A woman wearing a traditional Vietnamese non la hat, stands next to a man in a cowboy hat.

On a Mekong Delta boat, a woman sporting a traditional Asian nón lá hat, converses with her cowboy hat-clad colleague.

Scenes from Vietnam’s Markets

At the outdoor market in Hoi An, Vietnam, baskets of fresh fruit (limes), vegetables (turnips), flowers, and live ducks sit on the pavement.

The stalls and baskets of Vietnam’s traditional markets overflow with a colorful spectrum of tempting produce: spiky green durian fruit, porcupine-like pink rambutans, chubby carrots, and spring-green onions that could inflict tickling torture. Ladies clad in nón lá hats share the new day’s gossip while selling mountains of rice paper, slabs of tofu, live chickens, flowers and herbs.