“Irasshaimaseeee” reverberated in unison from behind the bar, greeting me as I inched my way past clusters of Japanese businessmen to the only available space I could spot. On this particular night, that happened to be at the end of the standing bar, right under the tiny flat screen that displayed […]
The end of the road is in sight. With another 100 under my belt, a mere handful of days are left ahead to tease me. And as I confront them, I find myself with an outlook significantly different from any other I have had during this trip. The last several […]
We had gotten a late start to the day. It was approaching noon, yet the island still seemed to be in a lazy Sunday morning slumber. The rain clouds were emerging from over the mountaintops in the West, just as they had done the day before, teasing us in the […]
As Amir’s Toyota pickup sped away, kicking up a cloud of dust in the late afternoon heat, I watched the sun slowly set over the calm, distant waters of the Malacca Strait. I wasn’t quite sure where on the island I was, or where one should go to find a […]
Throughout Vietnam, daily life revolves around one central, ubiquitous concept – motorbikes. In a country where there seems to be more motorbikes than citizens, these two-wheeled motor vehicles serve virtually every purpose, from commuting families of up to five people, to transporting anything and everything that comes to mind (even […]
Over the past few weeks, I have been amazed at some of the objects that I have seen strapped onto the back of, as well as the sides, front, and bottom of motorbikes in Vietnam. When something needs to be transported, it is either really large, or there are many […]