Nothing says FUN FUN FUN more than a lush, beautiful, huge green expanse filled with gorgeous stately trees and fair foods and amusement park rides. One side is food and fair, the other side is a trail that winds around perfectly groomed trails that can be used for walking or bicycling. Everything is picture perfect,... Continue Reading →
(Continued from Thất Sơn Thần Quyền 1: Secret Powerful Vietnamese Martial Art) A WHAT??? A Vietnamese Taoist Martial Art??? You heard me. Thất Sơn Thần Quyền is a form of martial arts that follow the ancient teachings of the deity-based Taoist practices. Remember one of my previous post on the Difference between Taoism and Taoism, where I... Continue Reading →
How It All Began If you have ever watched a Kung Fu movie, you will have seen organized martial arts fighting in the most fundamental and truest style of fighting. The movie may be fiction, but the organized fight scene is a re-enactment of real events that occurred on a regular basis throughout the lands.... Continue Reading →
Taobabe Dictionary A note to my readers: Before I get into the next posting, I need to define a term for you that you may not be familiar with. It will be a quick post (I hope), so hang on for just a few... I'm sure you've noticed by now that I'm not one to... Continue Reading →
(This is the 3rd, in the series of Haunted Trees in Vietnam.) By now, you must think that every old tree I come across, I point to it and say, "That tree is haunted." After all, didn't I say all old trees are haunted in one of my posts? (shrug) My answer to that is,... Continue Reading →
The words Liên Hoa Đăng means the Festival of the Flower Lanterns. Sounds pretty doesn't it? It actually is more than just pretty. It takes your breath away. It normally takes place during the Hungry Ghost Vu Lan season which lasts for about two weeks. It starts on the 15th night of the seventh month... Continue Reading →
"Thần cây đa, ma cây gạo, cú cáo cây đề". Ancient Vietnamese saying: There are gods in the banyan trees, ghosts in the cotton trees, and spirits of owls and foxes in the fig trees. Haunted Trees Sometimes, a tree doesn't just witness huge numbers of death. Oh no. Sometimes, it is USED as part... Continue Reading →
There is an ancient saying in Vietnamese: "Thần cây đa, ma cây gạo, cú cáo cây đề". This is literally translated as: (There are) gods in the banyan trees, ghosts in the cotton trees, (and spirits of) owls and foxes in the fig trees. Obviously, the commonalities within this ancient saying are (1) otherworldly beings,... Continue Reading →
Deep in the tropics of Southeast Asia, there is a colorful, bustling city that hugs the coast of central Vietnam. Its name is Hội An, and it is one of those mystical magical faraway places that you should visit at least once in your life. Hội An's colorful houses and temples and businesses sprawled along... Continue Reading →
On the banks of the Thu Bồn River in Hội An, Vietnam is a hidden gem of a place called Nghê Prana Villa & Spa. I accidentally stumbled across it when I needed to stay a couple of nights during a trip to Bà Nà Hills a few months ago (more on this site in a... Continue Reading →
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