Some call Graffiti vandalism others call it avant-guard or street art. Whatever your personal opinion, it’s hard to deny that this art form can be provocative, entertaining, and beautiful if seen with an open mind.
Tag Archives: Southeast Asia
Sketching George Town
“I sometimes think there is nothing so delightful as drawing.” – Vincent van Gogh
The ability to draw is a powerful gift. It’s a means of communicating, daydreaming, developing and clarifying ideas, inventing, sharpening your observation skills, expressing your creativity, even meditating. Most children love to draw, but as we become adults, many of us find ourselves wondering when and why we quit. Perhaps not surprisingly, our son loves to draw. Also, not surprisingly, we think he’s pretty talented for his age. It’s a goal of ours to help nurture his interest, whenever and wherever possible.
As we travel from place-to-place, we enjoy finding fun art-related activities. In the process of researching our trip to Penang, Malaysia, we discovered that there was an Urban Sketchers Penang group and that they were organizing an event that would take place during our visit. The more that we read about the Sketching George Town II event, the more excited we got. The 3-day event would include workshops, talks, sketchwalks, and social activities. Over 170 avid sketchers from at least 10 countries in the region were registered to take part. This was PERFECT! Continue reading Sketching George Town
George Town Shophouses
George Town is the capital of the island and state of Penang, on the west coast of peninsular Malaysia. One of the most charming features of this UNESCO World Heritage Site is its well-preserved colonial core that boasts many restored shophouses dating from as early as the 19th century.
These lovely, often colorful, old buildings line most streets, creating a wonderful Old World character to the city. You will definitely find a mix of old and new, refurbished and diamonds in the rough. Here are a few of our favorites.
Penang’s Tropical Spice Garden
Our guide stops along the path to pick and crush a leaf. He hands it to us with a friendly challenge, “Can you name it?”. We breathe in the unmistakable sweet-spicy fragrance that we associate with the Thanksgiving desserts of our childhood. “Clove”, we respond confidently. “Very good”, says our guide. He points out the unopened flower buds on the tree and explains that those will become the dried, nail-shaped, spice that we see in the spice aisle at the grocery store.
Getting to Know Malaysia
For millennia, spices were valued as highly as gold and silver — sometimes higher. Their lucrative trade drove world leaders to wage wars, inspired the Age of Exploration, established vast empires, and helped to create an early form of globalization.
With spices so plentiful and easily accessible today, it can be hard to believe how prized and closely controlled they once were. Pepper was (and is) the most popular and sought after spice. It was so highly valued that there was a time when you could pay the rent with it and the Goths listed it amongst their ransom demands when they defeated Rome. Other spices such as cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg were also highly valued. In fact, the Dutch sold Manhattan (New Amsterdam) to the British in return for a tiny, nutmeg-rich island. Continue reading Getting to Know Malaysia
Pool Time in Saigon
When kids (and adults) are hot and tired after a day of sightseeing in Ho Chi Minh City, is it a nice treat to take a cool swim. But what if you don’t have a swimming pool? Well, there are plenty of hotels with pools in town that allow day passes to visitors. We chose the May Hotel because of the location and the reasonable price.
Van Thanh Park
When we were visiting friends in Ho Chi Minh City, we asked them to take us somewhere that our 8-year-old could run around and play outside. We weren’t sure what to expect, but we figured that we’d be happy with any open greenspace that had shade. We were very pleasantly surprised when we arrived at Van Thanh Park. It was huge, with over 13 acres of land and 6 acres of water. It’s a wonderfully green, tranquil, and well-designed space with plenty to keep both kids and adults entertained.
Continue reading Van Thanh Park
Renting in Saigon
When we travel, we stay in vacation rentals whenever possible. It’s just more comfortable, it’s a better deal than a hotel, and it makes you feel like a “temporary local”.
During our recent visit to Ho Chi Minh City, we rented from a great guy named Tram for our 6 night stay. We found the rental on Airbnb (my favorite travel website and tool).
Tram currently offers two apartments, both with great central locations. We prefer walking as our primary mode of transportation and these lodgings are within easy walking distance of Saigon’s most popular attractions and some great restaurants and cafes as well. Continue reading Renting in Saigon
Vietnamese BBQ
Some of our friends in Ho Chi Minh City took us to 5KU Station for Vietnamese BBQ. It’s a popular open-air restaurant filled mostly with locals, but there were a few tourists and expatriates there as well. Our table included all of the above.
The menu included both BBQ and hotpots. It was reasonably priced and varied. Tons of options from safe to adventurous. Diners have the option to cook their own or let the kitchen do it for them. I thought it would be fun to do it ourselves, so we opted to have the small clay pot grill brought to our table. This small table-top grill was filled with very hot coals, the real thing not charcoal, and then topped with a removable metal rack.
Thien Hau Temple in Saigon
When we were visiting Ho Chi Minh City, some of our local friends took us to visit the Thien Hau Pagoda in Chinatown.
Also known as Chua Ba, this beautiful and popular Saigon pagoda was built by the Chinese in the early 19th century and dedicated to Thien Hau, goddess of the sea and protector of sailors. It is believed that Thien Hau can travel over the oceans on a mat and ride the clouds to save people in trouble on the high seas.
Continue reading Thien Hau Temple in Saigon
Meandering Family: Beyond the Nest 