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Travels in Vietnam

An American journalist in search of Southeast Asia

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Category Archives: Uncategorized

Here Comes the Year of the Cat

Posted byJohn Gottberg AndersonJanuary 18, 2023Posted inUncategorizedLeave a comment on Here Comes the Year of the Cat

93. Year of the Tiger: A Collection

As the lunar calendar turns, I realize that what really matters in my life are the relationships that I create and nurture.

Posted byJohn Gottberg AndersonJanuary 17, 2023January 18, 2023Posted inphotography, UncategorizedTags:Buddhism, Buon Ma Thuot, Hanoi, Ho Chi MInh City, Saigon, travel, Vietnam1 Comment on 93. Year of the Tiger: A Collection

92. Travels with My Best Friend

Two old pals reunite for three weeks exploring some of Vietnam’s urban and rural environments — big city to beaches, highlands and history.

Posted byJohn Gottberg AndersonJanuary 8, 2023Posted infood, history, travel, UncategorizedTags:Bruce Legas, Buon Ma Thuot, Da Nang, food, Ho Chi MInh City, Hoi An, Saigon, travel, UNESCO, Vietnam, Vung Tau, Đanang2 Comments on 92. Travels with My Best Friend

90. Adventures in Phnom Penh

John and Calvin, his buddy from America, take in the sights, sounds, smells and tastes of Cambodia’s colorful capital city.

Posted byJohn Gottberg AndersonNovember 15, 2022Posted inUncategorizedTags:Calvin Mann, Cambodia, Khmer, Killing Fields, National Museum of Cambodia, Norodom, Palace Gate, Phnom Penh, travelLeave a comment on 90. Adventures in Phnom Penh

88. Grist for the Vietnam Newcomer

Assorted advice and observations for first-timers venturing to this Southeast Asian country.

Posted byJohn Gottberg AndersonOctober 13, 2022Posted intravel, UncategorizedTags:first-time visitors, Ho Chi MInh City, traffic, travel, VietnamLeave a comment on 88. Grist for the Vietnam Newcomer

All About the Ao Dai

Sharing a link from the East-West News Service, which has just published my story on the ao dai, iconic fashion of Vietnamese women. (Click on the headline below to retrieve the full story.)

Posted byJohn Gottberg AndersonOctober 5, 2022October 5, 2022Posted inUncategorized1 Comment on All About the Ao Dai

87. Me and Julio Down by the Ball Yard

The author reflects on his lifelong passion for the sport of baseball, largely unknown in Southeast Asia, as his favorite team finally has a winning season.

Posted byJohn Gottberg AndersonOctober 3, 2022October 5, 2022Posted insports, UncategorizedTags:baseball, football, Julio Rodriguez, Seattle Mariners, soccer, sports, Vietnam6 Comments on 87. Me and Julio Down by the Ball Yard

86. On the Street Where I Live

It’s not Mr. Rogers’ neighborhood, but the author reflects on the personality of his home turf in Ho Chi Minh City’s Tan Binh district.

Posted byJohn Gottberg AndersonSeptember 19, 2022Posted inUncategorized2 Comments on 86. On the Street Where I Live

72. Covid Is Not a Walk in Uncle Hô’s Park

“The fog comes on little cat feet,” American poet Carl Sandburg once famously wrote. Covid-19, it seems, has a similar agenda.

Posted byJohn Gottberg AndersonFebruary 19, 2022February 19, 2022Posted inhistory, travel, UncategorizedTags:covid, Covid-19, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh, mausoleum, museum, travel, Vietnam3 Comments on 72. Covid Is Not a Walk in Uncle Hô’s Park

70. Hội An’s Chinese Flair

Colorful assembly halls and communal houses, the legacy of traders of yore, inject an element of exoticism in modern Hội An.

Posted byJohn Gottberg AndersonFebruary 2, 2022Posted inhistory, religion, travel, UncategorizedTags:Ancient Town, architecture, assembly hall, communal house, Hoi An, travel, VietnamLeave a comment on 70. Hội An’s Chinese Flair

66. A Day in the Life: Ho Chi Minh City

A full day on the streets in Saigon doing absolutely nothing, or at least the next best thing: Stop, look and listen.

Posted byJohn Gottberg AndersonJanuary 4, 2022Posted intravel, UncategorizedTags:Antique Street, Bui Vien, Cu Chi, Fine Arts Museum, Ho Chi MInh City, Landmark 81, Saigon, travel, Vietnam2 Comments on 66. A Day in the Life: Ho Chi Minh City

50. The Waiting to Be Vaccinated Blues

COVID-19 vaccinations haven’t yet arrived in the Central Highlands in any significant quantity. The author is more than ready.

Posted byJohn Gottberg AndersonSeptember 8, 2021September 15, 2021Posted inUncategorizedTags:Buon Ma Thuot, corona virus covid-19, covid, Ho Chi MInh City, VietnamLeave a comment on 50. The Waiting to Be Vaccinated Blues

49. Ten Things You Didn’t Know About Vietnam

There are contradictions galore in contemporary Vietnamese culture. “You can’t kiss in the street, but you can piss in the street,” one longtime resident noted.

Posted byJohn Gottberg AndersonSeptember 1, 2021Posted insociology, travel, UncategorizedTags:age, ears, eyebrows, garbage, Ho Chi MInh City, language, parks, PDAs, psychology, sex, travel, Vietnam3 Comments on 49. Ten Things You Didn’t Know About Vietnam

45. Dear Vietnam: 10 Things I Love About You

Count on your fingers or toes. Here are two handfuls of reasons why Vietnam is a great country to be living in.

Posted byJohn Gottberg AndersonAugust 6, 2021August 8, 2021Posted infood, sociology, travel, UncategorizedTags:beer, coffee, food, motorbikes, teaching, travel, Vietnam2 Comments on 45. Dear Vietnam: 10 Things I Love About You

38. On Speaking Vietnamese

Learning to speak Vietnamese may be harder than it first appears, no thanks to 11 vowels, six tonal diacriticals and a handful of regional dialects.

Posted byJohn Gottberg AndersonJuly 1, 2021July 2, 2021Posted inUncategorizedTags:Buon Ma Thuot, Ho Chi MInh City, language, learning to speak, Saigon, travel, Vietnam, Vietnamese1 Comment on 38. On Speaking Vietnamese

36. A Father’s Day Tribute

Memories of a son who was born in Singapore, raised in Seattle, and who would have been at home anywhere. The melody lingers on.

Posted byJohn Gottberg AndersonJune 20, 2021June 20, 2021Posted inUncategorizedTags:Beefer, Erik Anderson, Father's Day3 Comments on 36. A Father’s Day Tribute

34. Sometimes It Rains

     “Sometimes you win. Sometimes you lose. Sometimes it rains.” — Tim Robbins as Ebby Calvin “Nuke” Laloosh in Bull Durham (1988)

Posted byJohn Gottberg AndersonJune 7, 2021Posted inUncategorizedTags:Buon Ma Thuot, climate, Ho Chi MInh City, motorbikes, rainfall, Saigon, travel, Vietnam, weather4 Comments on 34. Sometimes It Rains

33. On Dating (Chapter One)

Dating in a new culture is like finding one’s self as a Stranger in a Strange Land. As any local might tell you, it’s “same same … but different!”

Posted byJohn Gottberg AndersonJune 1, 2021June 1, 2021Posted intravel, UncategorizedTags:age, dating, family, Ho Chi MInh City, Saigon, sex, social, travel, Vietnam, women3 Comments on 33. On Dating (Chapter One)

Book Review: Angkor in Modern Cambodia

My review of John Burgess’ new book, Angkor’s Temple in the Modern Era, has been published by the East-West News Service. Angkor Wat: Cambodia’s 9th century temple complex fights to preserve its past | East-West News Service

Posted byJohn Gottberg AndersonApril 19, 2021April 19, 2021Posted inUncategorizedLeave a comment on Book Review: Angkor in Modern Cambodia

25. Tay Ninh and the Cao Dai Religion

The Cao Dai faith is an otherworldly blend of Asian, European and mystical beliefs. Its mother temple is a mere 80 kilometers from Ho Chi Minh City.

Posted byJohn Gottberg AndersonMarch 20, 2021March 20, 2021Posted inUncategorizedTags:Ba Den Mountain, Cao Dai, Caodaism, Eye of Providence, Nguyen Binh Khiem, religion, Sun Yat-sen, Sunworld, Tay Ninh, travel, Victor Hugo, Vietnam1 Comment on 25. Tay Ninh and the Cao Dai Religion

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