The hose of all holies

Amy Morison

NOTICE: DO NOT READ THIS IF YOU ARE A) CURRENTLY CONSUMING FOOD B) CANNOT REFER TO YOUR ‘DOWN THERE’ PARTS BY THEIR RIGHTFUL NAMES C) ARE GENERALLY CONSERVATIVE ABOUT ‘TOILET HUMOUR’.

A long time ago in a far away land, where people eat raw fish, produce Hello Kitty and utter the words “ah-so so so” when in intelligible agreement, a young foreigner experienced an epiphany. She was on the toilet at the time. The most remarkable toilet you could ever imagine.

Northern Portraits by Etienne Bossot

Etienne has been living in Hoi An for 6 years and runs the Hoi An photo tour and Workshop. These photos were taken in Ha Giang, during a photo tour led by Etienne. For more details on his photo tours please go to: www.picsofasia.com

Funny side up: Cross cultural faux pas 

Caroline Mills

Integrating into to a new culture with an unfathomable language generally calls for at least a few misunderstandings, frustrations and more often than not a bloody good laugh along the way.

The best examples of cultural and language foibles and misquips are often encountered when interacting with vina-bilinguists, AKA those individuals who are native Vietnamese speakers, besmirched with a smattering of random English.

Fortunately for us foreigners the vast majority of Vietnamese have an excellent sense of humour, and differences or mispronounced words are almost always forgiven. Below, however, are some cringe worthy but true examples of cultural and language misinterpretations.

Get a route: DIY Bikin’ in Hoi An 

Joanne Stewart

The best way to see Hoi An is undoubtedly by bike. Head off into the countryside, meet the locals and have an adventure. I have provided four different routes for you to consider … however it’s definitely not necessary to follow them.  I would recommend taking some random turns and getting lost good and proper. As this is where you will find the “real” Hoi An. 

As long as you can say “Hoi An” with a suitably bewildered expression, you are fully equipped to find your way home. So grab some sunscreen, your camera, the free Live Hoi An map (you can also use this article with the map as a guide – we have marked our suggested routes for your easy understanding) and go explore. 

Community-based tourism: An Ethnic Minority Experience with the Catu

Amy Morison

We sat mesmerized as a group of young adults danced before us – a menagerie of people dressed in brightly woven dresses and beaded headwear – all in sync to the two-toned melody of traditional flutes. 

We were witnessing a tung tung ya ya show; a traditional Catu performance, usually reserved for special occasions such as harvest time or the annual village buffalo festival.

On this particular day however – we, a select group foreigners invited to the community for the day – were the special occasion and it was both a privilege and honour to see this unique performance up close.  

Danang: The City of Bridges

Chi Mai

The sky gleams with its last sunrays, ready to recede into darkness. But without delay hundreds of electric bulbs light up one bridge after another on the great Han River of Danang. If you look from one of the mountaintops surrounding this city, it is quite a scene. With nearly ten bridges along its passage, some of which are merely within a kilometer from the next, the river is aglow. 

At twilight hours like this, the riverside sidewalks of Bach Dang Street are densely peppered with people, old and young, in pairs, groups or alone. Actually the riverfront street is generally vibrant around the clock. 

Hoi An Unplugged - by Phong Siddhartha

To see more of Phong's photos please click Read More....

The Golden Turtle Swim Club

The Golden Turtle Swim Club immediate focus was to introduce water safety & survival skills to young children who are at the most risk in and around Hoi an & providing the local Vietnamese women with the skills and confidence to teach these small children. They conducted swimming session in Red Bridge, Hoi an pacific Resort swimming pools & a private pool in Danang

For more info on The Golden Turtle Swim Club and founders Kerre and Peter click Read More.

IT’S A SIGN (YOU’RE IN VIETNAM)

Amy Morison

It’s hardly uncommon to come across a t-shirt or a sign in this part of the world that communicates something far from whatever the wearer, or proprietor, has intended in English. I had a housekeeper in Thailand who once came to my apartment in a shirt that read ‘I have a right to masturbate’ in bold letters on the front. I thought of explaining in Thai what this phrase meant, but the entailing loss of face might have caused her to resign. Besides, I quietly thought to myself, ‘Sister should wear a shirt like that with pride’, and grinned benignly as she applied herself to the week’s washing.