Admire the ease you've had escaping writer's block!
Regarding the hard part, have you ever tried Scrivener? Wouldn't be surprised if you have, in which case I'd love to hear how helpful it is (or isn't) for you! I've never had the chance to try it but have heard people rave about it.
I actually found the clothes thing to be true of Thailand too. Except the quality is better in Thailand I think (they're Silk masters after all). However, I'd say quality custom clothing (tailored clothes) is easier to find in Vietnam. I do wonder if the fit thing is on purpose. Since Vietnam used to be (and still is in lots of parts) a poor country and surrounded by poor countries. I wonder if it's so they can buy less clothes and buy them less often. Buying clothes big and versatile so kids can grow into them, and they can save on buying expensive heavy jackets in the winter. Also, Asians like the kids with shirts down past their knees look too, they just tuck when necessary. That might play a role in the weird sizing also. It could also be that they export a lot to cold weather countries with larger kids (e.g. Eastern Europe). I didn't notice the issue in HCMC/Saigon, so maybe that's a better place to shop since there are a lot of foreigners visiting and living there.
Maybe try the custom/tailored clothes route instead? The cost of the tailoring in Vietnam and Thailand is actually pretty inexpensive.
That's a great point about the burning. I didn't really notice it like you did. Like it was definitely happening, but I think because I was in Jakarta Indonesia first, where it's sooooooooo much worse, I didn't really notice how often it occurred in Thailand, Vietnam and India. I do think that will go away a lot though over time. As I was talking with millennial and Gen Z locals in Saigon, they don't want to farm like previous generations. They want to make craft breweries, coffee roasters, art, work for factories/industry, or ideally work at the Tech companies. And they're more educated and aware of how bad it is.
How have you liked the coffee by the way? A local guide told me that Vietnam was one of the top coffee and beer consumers of the world (If I'm remembering correctly, they also roast and export a lot of coffee too).
ooo these are such good points, I really appreciate your comments!! This is what I love about travel...venturing my best guess at why something is different than I expected, and still being totally wrong haha!
It's interesting re air quality because I do think a lot of people compare it to *worse* places (like to Chiang Mai in burning season, or HCMC and Hanoi). I think it was worse leading up to the lunar new year/Tet. I also think I'm that much more sensitive to it because I feel responsible for my baby's lungs 😩 My partner, for what it's worth, is just like "meh, he's going to breathe dirty air the rest of his life" 🥴
The coffee culture is 💯💯!! I wish I realized sooner that the robusta beans typically produced here have double the caffeine of arabica beans! I'm more of a light roast fan, so that's a little harder to come by, but still have MANY great options. It was enough to convince us to stay a few more months!
I totally get where your partner is coming from because that's how my Mom's family was with air quality. But I actually think it's good you're more sensitive to it. I used to work at an air quality company and we would trade info back and forth with Aclima. The data they kept giving us on people who consistently are exposed to bad air quality (e.g. live next to high traffic freeways or factories), especially young kids and people over 55, the conditions they developed were at a much higher rate and more severe. So it's definitely not something to mess around with. Best to limit outside exposure in burning season and then use a HEPA air purifier year-round indoors.
I loved the coffee culture there too! I did not know that about the robusta beans having twice the amount of caffeine. Maybe that explains why I never felt tired even though it was like 90+ degrees with 80% humidity lol. I'm team light roast too. And the big coffee chains there were way better than Starbucks.
Looking forward to hearing the next update about how your extended stay goes.
I love the hard / easy / unexpected format! And super neat hearing about your experiences writing a book (it seems really hard) and traveling Vietnam (I just spent a week in da Nang!).
Easy: the food is sooo good and everywhere. Unlimited options of delicious, cheap, fresh, and quickly prepared food.
Hard: the websites for airlines suck here. Don’t think they’ve been updated since 1997.
Unexpected: The people here are amazing. For a country that was in a brutal war just 50 years ago, it’s amazing how well the country appears to be doing (from my uneducated experience in the country) and how kind the people are.
Yes! Agree with all of this!! Very curious to se e how it is here over Tet now, every day the decorations and karaoke in the streets is taken up a notch 🤪
...super cool to hear that your rabbit holes are producing such fun/interesting connections...i've had similar wins in the past few months just exploring an idea or a history, a moment or thought, only to have the entire exercise happily produce some other amazing something...sometimes the ball just needs to get rolling for the magic to happen...
I heard there's some research about how the more you pay attention, the more synchronicity you see...which I guess is kind of obvious, but it's still fun to experience nevertheless! Next up: bees!!
Putting my vote in for a part 2! :)
Admire the ease you've had escaping writer's block!
Regarding the hard part, have you ever tried Scrivener? Wouldn't be surprised if you have, in which case I'd love to hear how helpful it is (or isn't) for you! I've never had the chance to try it but have heard people rave about it.
I heard about it but now I’m so deep in google docs, I’m afraid to switch over, though I probably should!
I love this format!
I'm going to have to borrow it.
I actually found the clothes thing to be true of Thailand too. Except the quality is better in Thailand I think (they're Silk masters after all). However, I'd say quality custom clothing (tailored clothes) is easier to find in Vietnam. I do wonder if the fit thing is on purpose. Since Vietnam used to be (and still is in lots of parts) a poor country and surrounded by poor countries. I wonder if it's so they can buy less clothes and buy them less often. Buying clothes big and versatile so kids can grow into them, and they can save on buying expensive heavy jackets in the winter. Also, Asians like the kids with shirts down past their knees look too, they just tuck when necessary. That might play a role in the weird sizing also. It could also be that they export a lot to cold weather countries with larger kids (e.g. Eastern Europe). I didn't notice the issue in HCMC/Saigon, so maybe that's a better place to shop since there are a lot of foreigners visiting and living there.
Maybe try the custom/tailored clothes route instead? The cost of the tailoring in Vietnam and Thailand is actually pretty inexpensive.
That's a great point about the burning. I didn't really notice it like you did. Like it was definitely happening, but I think because I was in Jakarta Indonesia first, where it's sooooooooo much worse, I didn't really notice how often it occurred in Thailand, Vietnam and India. I do think that will go away a lot though over time. As I was talking with millennial and Gen Z locals in Saigon, they don't want to farm like previous generations. They want to make craft breweries, coffee roasters, art, work for factories/industry, or ideally work at the Tech companies. And they're more educated and aware of how bad it is.
How have you liked the coffee by the way? A local guide told me that Vietnam was one of the top coffee and beer consumers of the world (If I'm remembering correctly, they also roast and export a lot of coffee too).
ooo these are such good points, I really appreciate your comments!! This is what I love about travel...venturing my best guess at why something is different than I expected, and still being totally wrong haha!
It's interesting re air quality because I do think a lot of people compare it to *worse* places (like to Chiang Mai in burning season, or HCMC and Hanoi). I think it was worse leading up to the lunar new year/Tet. I also think I'm that much more sensitive to it because I feel responsible for my baby's lungs 😩 My partner, for what it's worth, is just like "meh, he's going to breathe dirty air the rest of his life" 🥴
The coffee culture is 💯💯!! I wish I realized sooner that the robusta beans typically produced here have double the caffeine of arabica beans! I'm more of a light roast fan, so that's a little harder to come by, but still have MANY great options. It was enough to convince us to stay a few more months!
I totally get where your partner is coming from because that's how my Mom's family was with air quality. But I actually think it's good you're more sensitive to it. I used to work at an air quality company and we would trade info back and forth with Aclima. The data they kept giving us on people who consistently are exposed to bad air quality (e.g. live next to high traffic freeways or factories), especially young kids and people over 55, the conditions they developed were at a much higher rate and more severe. So it's definitely not something to mess around with. Best to limit outside exposure in burning season and then use a HEPA air purifier year-round indoors.
I loved the coffee culture there too! I did not know that about the robusta beans having twice the amount of caffeine. Maybe that explains why I never felt tired even though it was like 90+ degrees with 80% humidity lol. I'm team light roast too. And the big coffee chains there were way better than Starbucks.
Looking forward to hearing the next update about how your extended stay goes.
So funny people are just burning stuff all over the place. Love the photos!
I love the hard / easy / unexpected format! And super neat hearing about your experiences writing a book (it seems really hard) and traveling Vietnam (I just spent a week in da Nang!).
I'd love to hear your easy/hard/unexpected from vietnam (and writing!)
I’d have to think about it! But off the top...
Easy: the food is sooo good and everywhere. Unlimited options of delicious, cheap, fresh, and quickly prepared food.
Hard: the websites for airlines suck here. Don’t think they’ve been updated since 1997.
Unexpected: The people here are amazing. For a country that was in a brutal war just 50 years ago, it’s amazing how well the country appears to be doing (from my uneducated experience in the country) and how kind the people are.
Yes! Agree with all of this!! Very curious to se e how it is here over Tet now, every day the decorations and karaoke in the streets is taken up a notch 🤪
Saigon is nuts! I wish I was staying for the celebration. Decorations everywhere. Looks like it’s going to be a great party!
...super cool to hear that your rabbit holes are producing such fun/interesting connections...i've had similar wins in the past few months just exploring an idea or a history, a moment or thought, only to have the entire exercise happily produce some other amazing something...sometimes the ball just needs to get rolling for the magic to happen...
I heard there's some research about how the more you pay attention, the more synchronicity you see...which I guess is kind of obvious, but it's still fun to experience nevertheless! Next up: bees!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVCrmXW6-Pk
Lol