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

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!

green water, grey sky

my new friend

the sound of the sea

After rescuing my bag from a near solo-trip to Finland, I came home to Istanbul this frigid morning to discover my apartment had transformed itself into an icebox. No electricity, no heat, no hot water. I decided to visit my mum— she's got coffee and a hot shower, which I so desperately need. Having travelled for thirteen or fourteen hours, and after fiercely negotiating with an apathetic man muttering into a walkie-talkie, to please just have one more look for my missing bag, I am ready to crawl into a bed. My body is sore and my mind is dull, but I have these lovely pictures to remind me of pretty days in the warmth, when the sound of the sea washed away worry, and the act of getting from Ho Chi Minh City to Istanbul was a very distant thought.



I'll write more when I locate my brain, which I suspect is somewhere over Pakistan.

greetings from the south china sea

Have a Harika New Year, my friends!
See you in 2012

xin chao!

Xin Chao from Vietnam! I'm wrapped tightly in my blue scarf, hiding from the fierce winds tearing at the trees in Nha Trang. I wish you all a very happy holiday and hope you are enjoying time with your loved ones. If I can manage to upload photos from my sister's iPad, I may be able to post some pictures at some point during the trip, but we'll see. Happy Holidays!