It's not the reason we went, but the weather in Quang Ngai was certainly warmer. With a two week break over Tet we decided to take the opportunity to visit our old colleagues down south; looking forward to a week of warmth - in the weather as well as the reunions. We'd then be back in time to join in the Tet celebrations with friends and neighbours in Tuyen Quang.Locals tell us the first half of winter this year was unusually mild - thus when we first cam...

... and the song got it wrong. The livin' ain't easy! It's the water pressure jumpin' and humidity that's high.The temperature has been in the mid thirties for several weeks now, an earlier, hotter summer than last year. Who needs to go to the sauna? Pottering about the house is just as effective - and free.I can't understand how it can be so humid and so dusty at the same time. Our lane is unsealed so the steady flow of motorbikes and the...

On the 15th day of the fourth lunar month, Quang Ngai celebrates the Buddha's birthday with ceremonies and a parade of floats through the town. For the second year in a row we went with Hai - last year one of Owen's students, this year a graduate, now teaching in a primary school. She took us to enjoy a vegetarian meal then watch the parade from the main square.Floats are contributed by communities all over the Province whose members come into the city fo...

I'm Back!Well, the blog fell into a hole there for a while. No particular reason, I ended up with a few draft entries and just never seemed to get round to finishing them somehow. I almost let it drop but decided in the absence of paper diaries these days, I should carry on just so I had a complete record of our time here. (Perhaps the librarian syndrome again). Beats me how some people manage a blog with daily entries.Vexed Visits.We've been fortunate to...

The storm mentioned last post made a direct hit on Danang. There they suffered many uprooted trees, light structures demolished and roofs damaged. While we were seeing crops and trees damaged from the train heading north, our friends from home were coming south on another train from Hanoi and due to check in to the hotel an hour before us. Unfortunately the major damage was north of Danang, and while we arrived on time we were surprised to arrive at our hotel in ...