11 days on the road in Vietnam – From Saigon to Danang to Hanoi to Can Tho and back to Saigon. Four different places, four different climates, four different cuisines, four different architectures.

Danang is always a nice change from the madness of Saigon’s noise and dirt and swarming motorbikes. It has wide streets, reasonable traffic, soft warm breezes off the South China Sea, earthy food I can’t begin to describe, and a mish-mash of architectural styles from Five-Star resorts, to galvanized tin lean-to’s. China Beach is becoming the Vietnamese Riviera as a dozen new mega-resorts open or get set to open in the next couple of years. But Danang, Vietnam’s third largest city, is still wrapped in a pretty plain wrapper. It’s all about business and education – pretty no-nonsense. read more

For the last 40 years I have regarded The International Herald Tribune (IHT)as my paper of choice when traveling. If I could get a hard copy at home in the States I wouldn’t hesitate to subscribe. In 16-18 pages they pack in serious international news, arts, sports, and opinion. The paper has an interesting history but now it is a joint enterprise of the New York Times and the Washington Post, which probably doesn’t endear it to the American right wing although I see people of every stripe reading it in cafe’s around the world. It’s really the only game in town. read more

One way members of the ex-pat community stay in touch with each other and have an opportunity to meet new people is through a series of networking events. Some are privately organized; some are sponsored by the various Chambers of Commerce (AmCham, CanCham, EuroCham, AusCham).

Networking in a foreign country is different than it is in the US. Here, people actually circulate and talk to one another. In the US people tend to stand in small groups and talk to the people they already know. Here, everyone has a story, and it is always interesting to dig for it when you meet someone new. read more

Attitudes among Vietnamese Americans vary radically when it comes to the question of returning to their homeland. Some, like our friend, Tami, think it’s a terrible idea. They hate the government that took away everything and sent them to re-education camps – sometimes for years. They dislike their rapacious relatives who are only interested in what their rich American relatives can bring them when they come. They are still angry and grieving for the lives they lost when they climbed into a boat and set off for an uncertain future. read more

Việt Kiều is the name often given to Vietnamese people living outside Vietnam. Of the roughly 3 million Viet Kieu now spread around the world the majority left Vietnam as refugees in 1975 or the years following the Fall of Saigon and the Communist takeover. This exodus is often referred to as the Vietnamese diaspora. Unlike the Jewish diaspora this was not the result of foreign conquest and expulsion. It was the product and outcome of the bitter division within a country fighting to reclaim it’s own national identity. Vietnam was officially and artificially divided by the Geneva Conference in 1954 following the defeat of the French at Dien Bien Phu. Four years earlier the southern part of the country declared its independence and soon became the Republic of Vietnam. read more