flashes of silver and pink

lush

the mighty mekong

From the Tibetan plateau to the South China Sea, the mighty Mekong snakes its way through China, Burma, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. It happens to be the world's 10th largest river— and my goodness...
it is beautiful.

toward the mekong

As I only had four days to myself in Vietnam, and being that the country is over 3,000 kilometres long— oh, and add to the mix my very thin wallet, opportunities to explore were rather limited. I had long held wild fantasies in my mind of the Mekong Delta— lush greens, snaking tributaries, long-legged birds— it seemed like an obvious place to set myself towards, being that it was only a few hours from Saigon. I and S suggested I spend two days and a night in the Delta, and satisfy my wandering urge with some boat tours. A marvellous idea, I thought, so I threw my sketchbook, drawing utensils, toothbrushing supplies and underwear into my pack, hopped on an early morning bus towards the mighty river.

colours of saigon

bến thành market

compassion + contrast

While still in Nha Trang, the planets seemed to align— I found myself sharing a dinner table one night with I and S, who live in Ho Chi Minh City. After some chatting and heaps of laughter, they offered to house me in the city when I came through. I was stunned— who was I, after all? Their kindness and generosity are a reminder that there are open-hearted, thoughtful people in the world. I mention this, because I feel that people can so easily slide into cynicism and suspicion, and while there are plenty of reasons to justify those feelings, we must not forget that the world is full of wonderful, caring people.

I left the quiet, green sea for a mayhem of motorbikes— green hills, for grey asphalt.
Family, for new friends.



Wild birds in the jungle, for hens in flowerpots and scooters...

quiet white

A 79 foot Buddha watches over Nha Trang from atop a hill at the Long Sơn Pagoda, which is dedicated to the monks and nuns who lost their lives protesting the Diem regime. It is a sombre place— the quiet filled me with unease.

earth, and the palest of blues

thank you, the kathmandu post!

My dear friend Pema sent me a scan of my page in the The Kathmandu Post this weekend— and wow, I am speechless. It's so beautiful! Thank you so much, The Kathmandu Post! I am truly honoured.

ladies of the market

nha trang

I just love the blue fishing boats.

the invasion

On my parents' deck at their house this autumn, a plan was concocted between my dad and his friend. Both men would take their families to Vietnam for the holidays, and it would be incredible. When this plan was hatched, I was in disbelief, as my parents often discuss flying to some far-off land as a family for the holidays, and until I found myself riding a bus to the airport, I hadn't actually taken them seriously. Suddenly, there we were: aboard a 12 hour flight to Ho Chi Minh City, my parents and sister at the front of the plane, and me in the back, with a German woman's feet dangerously close to my tray table. My other sister Natasha was flying in from Dubai with her boyfriend to join us in the next few days, and my dad's friend and his family were arriving about the same time we were. In total, we were ten, and it seemed like our loud, jovial group took over the beach, jungle, and restaurant of the resort where we stayed.



It was quite fun!