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  • A Colorful Hanoi Drive

    April 28, 2012 (Saturday) – One of my striking impressions of Vietnam is how colorful everything is. This is no coincidence, nor is it just a fact about tropical nature. It extends to human artifacts of all kinds. This seems to reflect a deep national and cultural attraction to beauty. There are many other counties where…

  • Vietnam Day Three

    April 28, 2012 (Saturday) – This morning, Zabine had a wonderful and completely unexpected encounter with Rosalie Huibonhua, a Baha’i Continental Counselor. Her areas of responsibility include China, Hong Kong, Vietnam and other Asian countries. She is here, of course, to attend the celebration of the Hanoi Baha’i community’s 20th anniversary. We met her at…

  • Vietnam Tech Notes

    If you contemplate travel to Vietnam, you may want to brush up on how to stay connected with home. It is a lot easier than I expected. You can make free phone calls to home. You can keep your smart-phone, computer, camera, and everything else fully charged. You can plug in. First step, plugging in: Most modern…

  • Second Day Vietnam Photos

    Some representative photos from our second day in Vietnam.

  • Eat, Pray, Love, Shop (Vietnam Style)

    April 27, 2012 (Friday) – Having enjoyed our motorcycle ride, we were set for a busy day. First, we sat in on a committee meeting at the home of a Baha’i friend, met many members of the Baha’i community, along with a visiting Counselor, George Saroya, from Indonesia. Lunch at an outdoor noodle cafe. Delicious…

  • Hanoi From the Handlebars

    April 27, 2012 (Friday) – Our busy day started with an unexpected treat – motorcycle rides for Zabine and me. We knew that Baha’i friends were coming by to pick us up, and I suppose we expected a van or car or something. But the most normal mode of transport in Hanoi seems to be…

  • Hanoi Street Market

  • Vietnam Arrival

    April 25, 2012 (Wednesday) – We are now in Hanoi. Considering my many (mis)adventures with travel, domestic and foreign, the trip here was amazingly smooth and stress-free. Well, as stress-free as 18 or so hours on an airplane can be. We landed in Seoul, Korea (Incheon Airport) right on schedule (okay, a couple of minutes…

  • Vietnam Journey Unfolding

    April 24, 2012 — Zabine and I are in flight –Asiana Airlines– somewhere between Seattle and Seoul. We’ve travewled 1550 of our 5210-mile total;our altitude is 36,000 feet, ground speed 532 miles per hour, and current outside air temperature — a balmy minus-70 degrees F. (Guess if I get too hot, I can always go…

  • Visiting Vietnam

    Good morning, April 22. I can’t believe I’m on my way to Vietnam. The Vietnam trip has been in the works for several months, but I haven’t had the courage — till now — to write about it. Please don’t get me wrong: I’m excited about this trip — upbeat, optimistic, incredibly happy. What I’m…

  • New High-def “Heart to Heart” Website

    Whew! It’s hard to believe it’s been more than a month since I posted my March 8 article on Heart to Heart. Sorry to be quiet for so long, but so much has happened: I’ve ported my new presentation of the Heart to Heart program to its own, standalone web site: Heart to Heart HD. Even…

  • Introducing Heart to Heart HD

    The Astonished Tamale! is pleased to introduce a new service for its readers. We’re calling it Heart to Heart HD. You can test-drive it here. (Or simply click the “Heart to Heart HD” item on the black menu bar above.) A bit of history: Heart to Heart (without the HD) is an omnibus slideshow addressing more than 700…

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