A few words about @vietnamblogs
Posted: March 25, 2012 Filed under: Blogs and Bloggers, Social Media | Tags: bloggers, blogs social media, vietnam blogs 3 Comments »
On the right hand side of this blog you’ll see my complete English blogs in Vietnam list.
From that I use RSS via Twitterfeed to ensure that, as they are updated, they are tweeted via VietnamBlogs. I’ve also added a Facebook page that should essentially do the same job.
Just a quick word regarding criteria for inclusion. I’ve tried to avoid photo blogs, Tumblrs and the like unless they’re more than just a pic or a link.
I’m also keeping it to Vietnam-based bloggers only. Firstly because that’s the point and secondly for self-preservation. If you’ve an axe to grind with Vietnam then that’s your business. I’m not going to be the one left here to face the music if you over step the mark. Likewise I don’t endorse any blogs or bloggers. Their views are their own.
Finally criteria for inclusion above is neither absolute or exhaustive. In the end it’s my ball and I’ll take it home if I want to. As an example I probably won’t include many commerical blogs but, yes, The Cart’s news blog is there. Because I can. Then again so is the Metropole’s for no other reason than it’s not bad at all. But if you’re not at the party then there’s nothing stopping you from having your own bash. Likewise feel free to leave details of any blog I’ve overlooked below and if they fit then I’ll add them at the next update.
In the end it’s a hub for bloggers. It’s all about shared posts that otherwise might not have had many readers. With the growth of Facebook and Twitter, blogging is less popular than it was so perhaps it needs a little help.
Finally, I’m also more than happy to retweet community causes, job offers, requests for help and anything else I find of interest.
It seems like years since we weren’t mouldy
Posted: March 24, 2012 Filed under: Hanoi, ho tay, nghi tam, tay ho, weather | Tags: damp, Hanoi, mould, nghi tam, weather 2 Comments »
Late last week I was optimistic enough about the weather to look out my thinner blue linen suit. I hadn’t worn it since autumn last year. It was mouldy. A lot of what I own right now is mouldy.
This hasn’t been a winter of layers and hot whiskies, like last year. This has been a year of damp. At worst, water was trickling down the bannister.
Friday it came to a head with a storm with winds that bent the trees and left the roads covered in branches and leaves. Perhaps it was what we needed – since then it’s been fresher. Still cool but not damp cool.
And then we were blessed with a beautiful evening. If the weather is finally changing then we’ll enjoy it while we can. Weather of a different extreme won’t be too far away.
This pic also reminds me that I keep meaning to set up a “As seen from The Cart” Tumblr. This pic, one of many snapped with my phone from my usual seat.
Like this:
So this is Earth Hour? What have you done?
Posted: March 23, 2012 Filed under: environment | Tags: earth hour, earth hour 2012, Hanoi, vietnam 3 Comments »
Earth Hour 2012 in Hanoi is between 8.30pm and 9.30pm on Saturday, March 31st.
If you work in the centre of Hanoi you won’t have been able to miss that fact. What must be hundreds of plastic banners, some spaced just a few feet apart, are everywhere. They include the logos of sponsor EVN (Vietnam Electricity) and “multi sector corporation” Tan A Dai Thanh whereas the logo of global organiser WWF is conspicuous by its absence. Then again WWF might prefer it that way.
Some more background here. It states:
Vietnam saved 400,000 kWh of electricity, equivalent to 500 million VND in the Earth Hour 2011 campaign. This year’s 60-minute performance is expected to save a larger number of kWh of electricity, presenting a year-on-year increase of 20 per cent.
Shame about all that plastic going into landfill though.
Update: Just noticed this Vietnam specific piece in the Earth Hour Criticisms section of Wiki:
On March 29, one day after Earth Hour 2009, Dân Trí daily newspaper published an article about the other side of Earth Hour. It was concerned that many young people chose to drive around the darkened cities for fun, exhausting petroleum instead of electricity and resulting in long-time traffic jams.
It refers to this piece. It’s in Vietnamese but the pics are worth a look too.
Also see the comment below from Tabitha – who has some more information on WWF’s involvement and potential re-use of the plastic banners.
Time for a blog change
Posted: March 18, 2012 Filed under: Blogs and Bloggers | Tags: adverts, blog, Hanoi, money, seo, travel 3 Comments »
I never liked the old blog look so time will tell if I grow to love this new one – one thing’s for sure, it’s a little cleaner. Feedback welcome.
I was lucky enough to last week meet SEO Expert David Carralon who seemed impressed when I told him I came out top (or thereabouts depending which version of Google you use) when you type in “Hanoi blog”. Had I ever thought of accepting advertising? Well no, not seriously. But I might.
I’ve also recently bought the domain ourman (dot) in. Originally the idea was to get all my blogs together in one place. But having been reminded of the Google juice I’d be leaving behind, perhaps I’ll just put all the other blogs there and carry on as I am with this one.
The only thing I’ve ever secretly hoped for, with this blog, was that one day I might be able to persuade an airline to give me tickets to fly to and from the UK a couple of times a year with the missus. In return I could offer them a decent plug and some ever-present on-site branding. No such luck so far. Maybe it’s just wishful thinking.
But having started this blog in 2004 it represents a sizeable time investment. To date it has led to me getting jobs and winning work. Maybe I can make it work for me just a little more.
Pic is of Westlake in less damp, grey and mildewy times.
Like this:
The Cyclo Diaries
Posted: March 17, 2012 Filed under: koto, Movies, Reflections, Stories, transport, travel | Tags: cyclo, extreme charity, Hanoi, ho chi minh city 1 Comment »
Filmed in 2005, this has been a long time coming but it’s a great watch – at an hour in length it’s worth downloading in advance and sitting down in the evening with a glass of something to take it in.
In short it’s the tale of two Australian tour guides who decide to try and ride a cyclo from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City. The two guys in question are Adam and Marty, and they did the trip to raise money for KOTO, where I happened to be working at the time.
At the time the future of KOTO hung in the balance, we desperately needed new premises for the restaurant and there were quite a few times we didn’t think we’d make it. For the cyclo-ing and the financial assistance Adam and Marty were superheroes to the KOTO kids.
For my part I organised the send off. I also kept their trip blog updated from base camp. Then, when they were close to the end I caught up with them in Mui Ne, and dashed ahead of them to Ho Chi Minh City. A reception had been organised at a school and I turned up on their doorstep, with a banner I somehow had managed to get made locally, and we waited for the guys to show up.
A great day. Great film. Great guys. Lovely to finally see it.
