Author Archives: admin

Vinglish

Posted on January 29, 2012 by admin

Time for more signs! Although Vietnamese uses a Roman script, their attitude to the letters is rather different from ours.  Handwritten letters are sometimes unusually sized, or levitate above their expected positions, while printed letters are often squashed together so … Continue reading →

Posted in Vietnam | 1 Comment

Gutenberging

Posted on November 22, 2011 by admin

As an Aberdonian who likes his culture, Project Gutenberg for me is pretty close to heaven.  And since I’ve been kindled up, the old problem of reading books on the computer screen has fallen away.   It’s far from perfect, however: … Continue reading →

Posted in Computers | Comments Off on Gutenberging

Old and New

Posted on November 18, 2011 by admin

The very name of the town tells you that Binh Duong New City is a rather forward-looking place.  The roads are North Korean style boulevards which may still be fun to cycle along for several months: And the lake beside … Continue reading →

Posted in Nature, Society, Vietnam | Comments Off on Old and New

Vegetarian Vietnam

Posted on October 22, 2011 by admin

Vietnam, like Thailand, has an odd attitude* to vegetarian food.  To the extent that people are religious, they’re mostly Buddhist (or around here also followers of Cao Dai, which seems even more pro-veggie).   In our little town, there are three … Continue reading →

Posted in Food, Vietnam | Comments Off on Vegetarian Vietnam

Entomological Institute

Posted on October 20, 2011 by admin

One advantage of the open design of the university’s buildings is that refreshing breezes pass easily through; another is that assorted insects can easily fly in (with all the glass, it’s slightly more difficult for them to get out). One … Continue reading →

Posted in Nature, Vietnam | 1 Comment

Home again!

Posted on October 16, 2011 by admin

Hopefully we’ll be in this one longer than the last one.  It’s less spartan than Oman-home, which makes for more comfort and less extravagant shopping; on the other hand, not all the design choices are quite what we would have … Continue reading →

Posted in Home, Vietnam | 1 Comment

Mostly harmless

Posted on October 12, 2011 by admin

Seen from Thailand, Vietnam was always a little scary.  It was a little further than the immediately neighbouring countries, had a more or less unrelated language (with shotgun accents), and had an alarming effect on people.  Travellers would drift into … Continue reading →

Posted in Society, Vietnam | 2 Comments

American Killer Hero

Posted on September 18, 2011 by admin

For our first excursion in our new country, we decided to get the most obvious out of the way.  Vietnam? War! Vietnam War? Tiny people in black pajamas in tunnels!  And the most popular place to see tiny people in … Continue reading →

Posted in Kitsch, Vietnam, War | Comments Off on American Killer Hero

The Doors

Posted on July 2, 2011 by admin

One appealing speciality of Omani architecture is the fondness for elaborately carved wooden doors.  This one from Jaalan Al Hamada has an incongruously modern motif: What happened at eight minutes past eleven?  Answers on a postcard… Al Munisifeh, the old … Continue reading →

Posted in Ibra | Comments Off on The Doors

The Omani Woman

Posted on July 1, 2011 by admin

Living in an Islamic society, the Omani woman is in an interesting position.  Some things are clearly not ideal: gender equality in the home has a long way to go here, though there are plenty of women in management positions … Continue reading →

Posted in Society | Comments Off on The Omani Woman