http://whyaretheresomanylongs.com why are there so many longs? because this is Vietnam. Sun, 30 May 2010 12:04:27 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en I was getting cocky on my bicycle, hopping kerbs, gesturing at car drivers whilst happily breaking road rules, trying to feel all Melbourne biker like when i noticed a loud hissing coming from my bike. I stopped to find a little prickly thing sticking into my front tyre and stupdily ... http://whyaretheresomanylongs.com/?p=52 Prior to leaving Vietnam i wanted to deliver my motorbike to my uncle down in Saigon. I had talked about an epic north to south road trip, but i decided to take my dad's advice that it was too dangerous, especially alone. So instead, i decided to take a train ... http://whyaretheresomanylongs.com/?p=51 I got in to work this morning, for the last day of my penultimate week working for my organisation, only to find that my desk and surrounding area had been overtaken by oranges, not even orange oranges, but yellow skinned oranges, must be because we're in Asia, ha. This is ... http://whyaretheresomanylongs.com/?p=50 I've crossed this bridge just about everyday for the last 6 months, which in some tiny way has led to its rather dilapidated condition, that and the fact that it is over 100 years old, has been bombed over the course of several wars, doubles as a market place, wedding ... http://whyaretheresomanylongs.com/?p=47 So I’ve had by far my biggest holiday adventure in Vietnam so far over Tết (Vietnamese Lunar New Year) where we get a week off work. The only problem is the whole city shuts down as everyone goes back to their quê (home town). If I was a good Vietnamese ... http://whyaretheresomanylongs.com/?p=45 So i was chatting with a work colleague today when i started to notice a rather putrid smell exuding from his general vicinity. We're at the point now where i can be fairly direct and insulting towards him, he's kind of like my understudy, so i mentioned that he was ... http://whyaretheresomanylongs.com/?p=44 Nothing says happy new new year more than a watermelon on your balcony with a "happy new year" sticker on it. http://whyaretheresomanylongs.com/?p=43 It finally happened. A plastic stool succumbed under the weight of my weightiness. Luckily I had prepared for this moment, with a nightly routine of squats, pulling chairs away from myself, graceful backward rolls, observing others in similar incidents, and practising my “a chair didn’t just break from under me, ... http://whyaretheresomanylongs.com/?p=42 With two days of continual downpour at a rapid rate, the streets of hanoi were swimmable, parts of the city were under various levels of flooding. This left movement by motorbike or car almost impossible with scenes of people pushing their vehicles along and major queues at motor ... http://whyaretheresomanylongs.com/?p=41 On another sojourn down to Ninh Binh for a countryside wedding, involving characters from a previous adventure, I came across a book. “The Mystery of Chimney Rock”, number 5 of the “Choose Your Own Adventure” series, a mere 121 pages and yet 36 different endings, truly amazing. It brought me ... http://whyaretheresomanylongs.com/?p=40