Thangblog

SBS PopAsia at K-Pop Music Fest 12 November 2011

2011-11-14T19:35:00.001+11:00

It was amazing to see the thousands of Australians from diverse backgrounds enjoying the SBS PopAsia outside broadcast!

Cane Fields of Ingham, QLD

2011-07-08T21:51:00.002+10:00

We took at week break in far north Queensland doing a road trip from Cairns down to Townsville, including Walter's home town of Ingham.

A favourite scene which stretches pretty much the whole trip is the cane fields.. this one is in the boy's home town of Ingham... stunning!

APG K-Pop Session

2011-06-05T19:04:00.002+10:00

Had the great pleasure of presenting K-pop to the Account Planning Group this week as part of their Ideas Exchange sessions.

Girl's Generation's Mr Taxi was a particular crowd favourite, catchy as hell "mr taxi, taxi... supersonic, hypersonic..."

And the Mblaq song got the gals and some of the guys animated, too!

There was some good trade publicity about the event too, including from Australian Creative:

Thang Ngo said that Korean cars, culture and fashion were already spreading through the world like wildfire.

“K-Pop is at the forefront of Korean culture. As it hits Australia, marketers can be riding this wave,” he said.

Onwards and upwards with k-pop!

Girl's Generation: Mr Taxi

2011-05-12T09:17:00.000+10:00

I'm in K-pop heaven!

The Commitment Project

2011-03-28T19:11:00.000+11:00

Evan Cooper is embarking on a remarkable project... according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics the average length of a marriage is 8.8 years.

The Commitment Project is about equality for all couples regardless of their sexuality. Evan is looking for couples who have been together for 8.8 years or more to be a part of the Project:

"If you are gay, lesbian, queer (or however you wish to identify yourself) in a relationship longer than 8.8 years (which is about 8 years and 10 months) and would like to be involved in this project please send me an email - evan.r.cooper@gmail.com and put "the commitment project" in the subject line" says Evan.

Walter and I are a part of the Commitment Project, the video above features many of the couples involved in this Project.

It's so touching looking at these wonderful people.

Evan's simple question is "should marriage be open to all?".

I think so.

Interfaith Service for Japan Victims

2011-03-27T08:36:00.000+11:00

Last Sunday's Interfaith service was dedicated to the victims of the Japan Disaster. As always, Stephanie Dowrick, interfaith minister created a wonderfully safe and reflective environment.

The service was held at Pitt Street Uniting Church, Sydney.

House for your ancestors, Cabramatta

2011-02-19T21:10:00.000+11:00

Going to my local Asian grocery to buy some incense and stumbled on this 'house' which you buy and burn as an offering to your ancestors.. this way, they get a house in heaven!

Silent Retreat, Wilton

2011-02-13T21:54:00.000+11:00

Spent the weekend at a silent retreat with Walter this weekend - 42 hours without talking. It was chance to stop the mouth and mind from working overtime and take time out to listen and think.

Apparently our mind goes through 30,000 - 50,000 thoughts a day.. many of which are unnecessary and negative.

We ate healthy vegetarian meals, mediated and just took time to listen, to ourselves, nature and others.

I'm now back, transformed, refreshed, clear-headed and ready to accept the challenges ahead, including this one which I received as a blessing on the final day:

...by filling your thoughts with wisdom and your heat with true love, you fill the world with peace.

Thanks to the Brahma Kumaris' Inner Space Centre for Spiritual Learning.

Inner Space Centre for Spiritual Learning
150 Macarthur Drive Wilton
(02) 4630 8124

Jasmine Buddha

2010-11-27T17:37:00.001+11:00

Such a beautiful shot of the Buddha in our back garden surrounded by fragrant jasmine flowers.

Talking with Simon Marnie from ABC Radio 702

2010-11-06T17:22:00.001+11:00

Moon Festival Lanterns at Market City

2010-09-26T15:36:00.002+10:00

Buddhist Nunnery, Cabramatta

2010-09-21T21:55:00.003+10:00

Took these shots at a wonderful local Buddhist temples, including a nunnery.. such wonderful beings...

John St, Cabramatta

2010-09-12T13:52:00.000+10:00

Moon Festival Launch on John Street, Cabramatta today.

Bank's Thai & Thai Condiments

2010-09-11T16:29:00.000+10:00

One of my favourite things is being able to customise my Thai food by adding condiments. This is especially true for pad thai, because you get this tray of picked, soy and dried chillis.

This shot was taken at lunch today at Bank's Thai in Enmore. Click here to read the review!

Cabramatta Confidential

2010-08-28T11:11:00.000+10:00

A group of elderly residents socialising and getting some sun on Cabramatta mall early this morning.

How to eat Pho

2010-08-17T21:48:00.000+10:00

Shot at Saigon Pho, Footscray last weekend.

Sebel Melbourne

2010-08-01T18:06:00.000+10:00

Staying in Melbourne tonight for work. First time at the Sebel in Melbourne. So far so good.

And quite comfortable too..

Hare Krishna - Festival of Chariots, Liverpool

2010-07-17T16:44:00.001+10:00

Some pics from the celebrations today.

Mimi, my naughty dog

2010-07-04T19:57:00.003+10:00

My dog, Mimi, she can 'sit' she can 'down'! What more could you ask for?

Thien Phuoc Temple, Canley Heights

2010-07-03T13:24:00.005+10:00

We visited Thich Phuoc Sanh today at Thien Phuoc Temple. It was the first time I've been back since retiring from council some two and a half years ago.

This house temple is even now bigger and filled with countless shrines to Buddha, Kwan Yin and more. He told us he was having trouble with the council which makes me so sad that such wonderful establishments are subject to Council harassment.

I promised the Abbot Walter and I will help him in whatever capacity we could. Will make some calls on Monday!

My new DSLR camera: Canon 1000d

2010-06-29T21:28:00.002+10:00

After what seems like an enternity, I finally selected and bought a digital slr. Of course, I've not done a course... so it's all trial and error. These are the first pictures taken from it (admitedly very much touched up with photoshop elements!) And also am using pre-set settings giving depth of field.

Haven't quite learned how to adjust the white balance as yet, but I'm sure it will happen!

Big Wheel, Brisbane

2010-06-24T19:03:00.001+10:00

London has it, Sydney has it... and seems like Brisbane must have it.. what's the big deal with the big wheels???!

Beautiful Sydney

2010-06-12T17:52:00.002+10:00

Last weekend for the first time in ages, it wasn't raining. In fact, it was a brillian sunny, almost cloudless day. Took these pictures at Circular Quay while we were waiting for a ferry to take us to the Biennale exhibitions at Cockatoo Island.

Sydney's just brilliant!

Huyen Quang Buddisht Temple, Bankstown

2010-06-12T17:17:00.001+10:00

Was doing some archiving on my PC and came across this tv news report when Walter and I were fighting a campaign against Bankstown Council to save a local Buddhist Temple in 1999... I was so young!

Best place to work

2010-06-08T21:05:00.000+10:00

Was in Melbourne for work. The SBS Melbourne office is located in Federation Square, how can you do better than that?!

Biennale 2010 at Cockatoo Island

2010-06-08T20:54:00.000+10:00

Some more fantastic art works!

Biennale, Cockatoo Island

2010-06-06T23:21:00.000+10:00

The Biennale art works that was shown at Cockatoo Island was stunning, challenging and exciting this year.

Chitters: A Wheelbarrow for Richard, 156 Paintings, 156 Signs" by Robert MacPherson really did make you think about these simple signs, the suprising 3D effect challenges the way you see them.

Saigon Electric, Stephane Gauger

2010-06-05T09:44:00.000+10:00

From writer-director Stephane Gauger of one of my favourite movies, The Owl and the Sparrow, comes a new movie about hip hop in Vietnam... Saigon Electric.

Trailer above looks fantastic.

Eurovison 2010: Iceland's Hera Bjork - Je Ne Sais Quoi

2010-05-31T22:20:00.000+10:00

This is by far my favourite song of Eurovision 2010 - "Je Ne Sais Quoi" by Iceland's Hera Bjork... and a cute official film clip too..

Eurovision 2010 Flash Dance: Madcon - Glow

2010-05-31T21:57:00.001+10:00

Fantastic surprise flash dance across Europe at the end of this year's Eurovision.

Sri Murugan Hindu Temple, Mays Hill

2010-05-23T11:56:00.005+10:00

Walter and I did our private morning prayers at Sri Murugan temple this morning. It was around 7am and the temple was so peaceful and quiet. The tiles were heated, which was a nice bonus.

They've done a wonderful job with the temple, on the outside with various statues of Hindu deities.

The temple entrance is on parramatta road, but you can see it from the M4 just before you get to Parramatta.

Monks in Cabramatta

2010-05-08T17:36:00.002+10:00

Now I know Cabramatta is home to more Buddhist Temples than any other area in Australia, but seeing monks (and these are Thai I think) on their daily begging round is still traffic stopping, as it was at lunch time today.

Camellias flowering at last

2010-05-02T19:10:00.000+10:00

I can't remember how long we've had this camellia plant for, but must have been at least 3 years... with very little flowers. And when they do flower, they don't last.

You can imagine my surprise when at least a dozen flowers seemed to have cropped up overnight. Such a splendid sight!

Top 10 Free Ways to Increase Your Blog's Traffic, Guaranteed

2010-04-26T11:00:00.008+10:00

When you blog to the www community, it can be soul destroying if you think no one is reading, right?

Here's my Top 10 tips to increase traffic to your blog. Some of these simple and free tips are obvious and some not. But they will all increase the page rank of your blog, attract traffic and visitors, guaranteed:

Obvious...

1/ Tag your content: will help search engines to identify and rank your content. Simple as that. But make sure they are short and concise and words which you would search for when looking for your content.

2/ Backlinks bring traffic: backlinks is when another site links to yours. According to Ehow, when search engines sees these links it raises your blogs rankings.

3/ Blog Directories: Ehow also suggest submitting your blog or website url to online directories to get more backlinks. Search for "blog directories" to get a list, some are paid, but there are still heaps of free ones.

4/ A picture is worth a thousand words: whether food, technology, cars, sports - we're talking about tangible things and experiences and you need pictures to do that. It was Thai/Laos/Khmer new year recently and the highest number of visitors came through to my blog not from yahoo or ordinary google search, but from google image search. And of course, remember to put key words in the names of your pictures rather than the numberic identifiers which most digital camera uses, which is useless for google to crawl.

Grilled Chorizo: The picture says is all...

Not so obvious...

5/ Content is still king: this should be obvious, but seems to be conveniently forgotten. People visit your page for original, useful, consistent and new content. This means you need to write, or at the very least curate the stuff yourself rather than just copy and past content.

It means you'll need to update your content regularly, when was the last time you went back to a site that never changes? Online is about getting it faster, so if you're first with ideas, information and concepts or you can present it in an original and useful way, you'll get traffic.

Many blogs I've read are all over the place, one minute it's about food, next it's about technology, next it's about cars - unless you're Roger Federer no one is going to be interested about your varied personalities - own one field and be an expert in that. If you want several, then have separate blogs, I have thangblog for general ravings, noodlies for food and Destination Saigon for my partner's new book.

6/ Know what's working: using google analytics to find out your blog's popular content, identify popular posts, keywords people search for, images on your site that drives visitors. If this is what your visitors want, give them more!

7/ Faster Pages means higher rank: TechPages says the time it takes to bring up your page will affect how your page is ranked by Google, something which is confirmed by this Google post. Faster pages means higher ranks. Those of us who have lots of pictures like me with my food blog noodlies, need to optimise our photos and videos for the blog.

8/ Concise Post Names: According to Spice Up Your Blog, having short, concise blog entry names helps google and other search engine identify your content better and this link shows you how. The tip here is to put key words in the name of your posts, as well as in your tags and labels.

9/ Comments drives visits: reading and commenting on other blogs especially on high traffic sites will increase the exposure of your blog. Your comments shouldn't be all about your blog - that's just spam, take the time to read their blog entry and make relevant, thoughtful comments, and don't forget to list your online address for people to click-thru to.

10/ Join a community: you're not in competition with other bloggers, you're in the same community. If you're blogging about food, make 'friends' with other food bloggers, communicate and share ideas and promote each other. And it doesn't have to be all online contact, last month, Billy from atablefortwo recently organised drinks (yes physical get together) with other food bloggers in Sydney that attracted over 50 people. And this month, he ran a very successful paid food photography workshop for bloggers that was sold out.

The No 1 Shopping Centre, Cabramatta

2010-04-18T16:30:00.000+10:00

This shopping centre on the corner of Arthur and Hughes street has always been overshadowed by the much larger BKK centre.

However, with the demise of BKK (since the closing of the BKK supermarket) more people are taking notice. The surprising thing is that it's always been busy with local, now it's just more frantic.

Everything you'd need from fresh fruit, vegetables, Asian grocery, food court, popular Yum Cha restaurant, computer, electronics and about four hair dressers how could you go wrong?!

I had pad thai at the No 1 Thai Spicy eatery - how could they resist calling themselves No 1?! It was one of the best I've had in a long time.

BKK Food court

2010-04-11T12:42:00.000+10:00

Frantic with people (as usual). Was lucky to get a spare table!

Sent via BlackBerry® from Telstra

Gorgeous Buddhist Statues

2010-04-10T17:43:00.002+10:00

We took some friends for a Cabra "temple tour" today and I'm struck again at the many gorgeous Buddhist temples and their statues in my local area.

From the Di Lac Buddha above to Kwan Yins below.

Chinese Temple in Bonnyrigg

2010-04-10T11:12:00.002+10:00

Budha shrine

Kwan Yin

2010-04-10T11:10:00.002+10:00

Quan Yin my goddess of protection.

Appartments by the Harbour Bridge

2010-04-10T08:36:00.001+10:00

If you cross the bridge you may have noticed an appartment building in The Rocks that has prime location. It also looks like a bunch of concrete cubes stuck on top of each other.

I've been told it's a Housing Commission block... wouldn't it be wonderful to live the public tennants there!

Temple Offerings

2010-04-05T17:12:00.002+10:00

While at Phap Bao temple today I noticed a collection of odd food offerings outside the ancestor commemoration hall.

There was fruit including a pomelo, but also uncooked rice noodles, as well as ready to eat fried egg noodles, through to desserts of all descriptions.. red beans, banana cakes.

Watt Khemarangsaram Bonnyrigg

2010-04-05T16:35:00.001+10:00

While we were at the Watt Khemarangsaram, Bonnyrigg today, I noticed this note from the Red Cross on their notice board.

From what I can gather, the Red Cross is helping those in Cambodia desperately looking for family members separated through "war and disaster".

This really touched me. In this world of google and the internet, we often think we can find anything. It's easy to forget that horrible feeling when you've been separated with a loved one and have no idea where they are or even if they're dead or alive.

Khmer temple, Bonnyrigg - Watt Khemarangsaram

2010-04-05T12:27:00.002+10:00

Watt Khemarangsaram Gorgeous local Khmer temple, across the road from Bunnings.

Lao Temple Shrine

2010-04-05T11:51:00.002+10:00

The beautiful busy-ness that is typical of Lao temples.

Lao temple Bonnyrigg

2010-04-05T11:46:00.002+10:00

Local Lao temple, scrubbed up for coming Lao new year.

Big festival is next weekend.

Phap Bao Vietnamese Temple

2010-04-05T10:56:00.007+10:00

Phap Bao, one of the first purpose Vietnamese. Temples in Australia. We took someone who was researching the architecture of Buddhist temples to see Phap Bao.

Luckily the Most Venerable Thich Bao Lac (above) was there to give us the history. I took pics of the Most Venerable while he was giving answers and even the camera lense can capture his magnificent aura. I just felt so privileged to be able to capture these candid shots.

On the grounds of Phap Bao temple is probably the healthiest and largest Bodhi tree in Australia. According to the Most Venerable it was a fourth generation from the original Buddha Bodhi tree.

Clouds over Cabra

2010-04-05T10:18:00.002+10:00

Was sunny this morning, but suddenly the clouds have gathered.

New Dr Who Matt Smith

2010-04-04T14:43:00.009+10:00

Dr Who with the new Doctor, Matt Smith premiered last night on the BBC in the UK. The Eleventh Hour, according to the UK's Guardian newspaper, seems to have even won over fans of David Tennant, the previous Dr Who, who many believed was the best ever Doctor. That's how smh.com.au saw it too.

The Sun reported today that the first Matt Smith episode attracted 8m viewers, the same as David Tennant's first ep. The Mirror thought Smith was a convincing Dr Who.

The Telegraph says Smith takes on the role 'perfectly'.

Matt Smith is the 11th Doctor. At just 27, he's also by far the youngest Doctor.

In Australia, The Eleventh Hour premieres on ABC1, Sunday night, 18th April at 7.30pm, barely two weeks after the UK premiere. In a first, fans of Dr Who can watch the episode on the ABC's iView service two days earlier, starting from midnight Friday, 16th April. It will be interesting to see the numbers on iView!

Crazy shopping in Cabramatta

2010-04-03T15:00:00.001+11:00

Yesterday we were checking out the shopping in Marrickville, today I'm looking at the crazy hussle-bussle of Cabramatta.

In particularly the malls which overflow with produce and people. The Viet Hoa mall is my particular favourite. As you can see if colourful, crazy and chaotic.

Fruit and lots of exotic fruit is the first thing that hits you. Lychees, coconuts..

Paw paws or papaya..

Rambutans...

Savoury dishes to take home for lunch or dinner...

And sweets for later.. in a rainbow of colours

And then there's fresh seafood

Or grow your own fruit and plants...

Marrickville

2010-04-02T14:25:00.001+11:00

We used to go grocery shopping and eat literally every week in Marrickville when we lived in the inner city.

Today, on Easter Friday, we happen to be in the area and stopped by for some Pho and to have a peek around the shops.

Everything is pretty much the same.. but of course, now we're in Cabramatta we have better choices... but some of my favourite things were still here...

Rice cooking wine

My fav chili sauce.. that you can find on the table at many Vietnamese restaurants as a condiment...

Pickled prawns (an acquired taste)

Money Cat

2010-03-28T14:20:00.000+11:00

Walter surprised me by leaving money cat in my home office. Many businesses put money cat at the front of their shops to invite business and money in.

This cute money cat is solar powered and I'm convinced it will bring me lots of money soon.

Waiting for Jasmine

2010-03-28T08:19:00.001+11:00

Looking through some of my pics and missing the bright flowers and frangrance of my Jasmine and Gardenia plants... I think they're due October or November.... the smell of spring.

I guess these pics will have to do for now. Hard to imagine the wonderful jasmine fragrance though!

Thang Ngo profile in Epoch Times

2010-03-20T17:09:00.000+11:00

Birds outside my window

2010-02-26T23:48:00.000+11:00

The tree outside my window at home is producing green berries that is attracting heaps of birds. There are five to six birds... they're so beautiful (and white) and so cute.

But they make one hell of a mess on the ground below.

Publish Post

William Yang: My Generation

2010-02-23T23:08:00.002+11:00

Just seen William Yang's latest one man show, My Generation at the Performance Space. He's a photographer who gravitated to Sydney from Queensland and as an artist have been the unofficial and sometimes official photographer for many of Australia's leading artists, including Brett Whiteley, Patrick White, Jenny Kee...

For me it was obvious that Yang was an outsider, that photographers needed to be an outsider to take in the situation and yet an insider to be afforded the access.

He looked like an outsider too in his expensive charcoal suit and red shirt, brown shoes. You can tell they were expensive items, which were made for a caucasian build... not flattering to an ageing old asian man.

He talked too about discovering his asian identity late in life, which world does that outsider/insider belong to?
My favourite pictures were of and elderly couple, Patrick White and his partner, Manoly Lascaris. There was one particular picture of the two old men sitting in their kitchen and facing the camera and you just knew they were lovers and will always be.

I'd like Walter and I to be like that old couple.

THE RIOT AT COMPTON'S CAFETERIA

2010-02-20T22:16:00.000+11:00

Saw this great doco, The Riot at Compton's Cafeteria at the 2010 Sydney Transgender Film Festival. According to them, this was the first time the community fought back against the system... even before Stonewall.

Sydney Traffic

2010-02-14T15:14:00.001+11:00

Took this pic while stuck in traffic last Friday. It was after 6pm and Olympic Drive, Homebush Bay was a carpark.

I wonder how much of my time has been lost in traffic. It's a joke.

Lunar New Year's Eve, Cabramatta

2010-02-14T15:02:00.002+11:00

Walter and I visited Minh Giac, our local temple yesterday to pray for the new year. We drive by all the time but haven't stopped by for a while.

It was obvious that alot of work has gone in to sprucing and decoration. And it worked, the beautiful signs out the front (hand carved by one of the monks we found out later), mai flowers and lanterns outside to show off Kwan Yin; the goddess of compassion, a wonderful display to the fat buddha, the shrine room.

And to my surprise a zen coffee area, which was all built by the monk, complete with bodhi leave entrance sign. He insisted we go in and view his wonderful creation. Simply wonderful.

Vietnamese Iced Coffee

2010-02-07T21:14:00.000+11:00

♦

Coffee drips into cup... layer of condensed milk... mix it all up and pour over ice... Vietnamese ice coffee, a traditional favourite.

This one was at Phuoc Loc Tho (PLT) restaurant in Canley Heights.

Destination Saigon: Adventures in Vietnam, advance copy

2010-02-02T19:50:00.001+11:00

Too exciting for words, the printed, advance copy of Destination Saigon, by my boy, Walter Mason arrived today.

As you can see Walter is justifiably proud.

Global Giants in Multicultural Marketing

2010-01-18T20:25:00.000+11:00

Exerpt from my SBS blog:

Recently I read in Warc.com about Proctor & Gamble, Wal-Mart, Coca Cola and McDonalds - all looking to multicultural customers to dramatically lift sales in the domestic US market.

Bob McDonald, the chief executive of P&G specifically identified Hispanic and African-American consumers as key targets in 2010 in the US market.

For the Hispanic community, P&G is effectively breaking down the border separating north Mexico and south west USA by offering products that appeal to Hispanic consumers across these areas...read more

Old Spice

2010-01-03T17:28:00.002+11:00

My partner must have gone through a phase of nostalga in the first few days of 2010, because he came back from the shops with some Old Spice. Those of you who are old enough will remember their prolific advertising during the '70s and '80s.

I couldn't find an Australia version of the ad, but here's one from overseas, I'm sure you'll get the idea.

GIFTS FOR THE NEW YEAR

2010-01-03T16:52:00.000+11:00

Having a look at the garden now we're officially in 2010 and am endlessly amazed by the beauty of nature. Sure I water and occassionally fertilise the garden but the reward is just stunning. From the Frangipani flowers which are blooming above (mine always seem to bloom later than others), to the gardenia below and even the new chilli plant! In fact, Walter has used our fresh chilli in his cooking the past couple of days (korean soup and italian pasta)!

It's also remarkable that I've had the stamina and persistence... both the frangipani is over 6 years old and the gardenia at least 2!

Nature's profound beauty, something to cherish in the new year.

Giving thanks for 2009

2009-12-31T19:44:00.001+11:00

With four hours to go until the new year and decade, I've picked these flowers from my garden as offering of thanks to the Universe for the year that's about to end.

What a privilege to play my part in helping to produce such profound beauty as these flowers.

I give thanks for the people, opportunities and protection generously offered to me in 2009.

I eagerly look forward to the new year with joy and excitement.

In 2010, may all beings be happy.

Circular Quay on a nice day

2009-12-30T17:03:00.000+11:00

Sydney is beautiful.

MCA Sydney

2009-12-30T16:33:00.000+11:00

Did another day trip to the city with Walter today and the train sadly was just as attrocious. Circular Quay was just disorganised chaos, with very little sympathy from Cityrail staff.

Did manage to catch an exhibition at the MCA. Enjoyed the Almanac: The Gift of Ann Lewis AO exhibition. A light installation on the foyer promoting the Olafur Eliasson exhibition also took my fancy (though we didn't see it).

Owl and the Sparrow the movie

2009-12-29T17:18:00.003+11:00

Owl and the Sparrow is one of the most touching films I've seen in a while. It doesn't pretend to be profound or grand, but it's pitched just right.

A homeless girl, an air-stewardess, and a zoo keeper, three lonely people in a city of over 8m people. The homeless girl is played brilliantly.

Tender and warm without getting too mushy.

And bonus great shots of modern, busy, bustling Saigon, too.

Highly recommended.

Catching the Train

2009-12-29T17:05:00.000+11:00

I can't remember the last time I caught the train, but somewhat shocked that it costs $7 return from Cabramatta to the City (and that's off peak prices). For the two of us, it would have been just as cheap to drive and park! (so much for the environment).

We went in to see the 80's exhibition at the Powerhouse Museum, which was alot of fun.

The train to the city wasn't air-conditioned and was the 'Ho Chi Minh Trail' going Cabra, via Bankstown and Marrickvillle - someone at Cityrail has been researching... but I digress, it was hot, and long... not at all pleasant. And the view... well I'll let you be the judge of that.

On the way back mercifully we got a direct train that was also air-conditioned, wasn't too bad an experience, if only they were all like that, and tickets were half the price, then the train might be a worthwhile proposition.

Berkelouw Books, Newtown

2009-12-28T14:56:00.002+11:00

Checked out Berkelouw Books in Newtown the latest in the spreading empire. It's off King street which made me certain it won't work.

When we got there, very pleasantly surprised, extremely well converted, lots of gorgeous wood, tin roof, sky light - airy, light and very lovely. Nice comfy coffee shop that serves not bad latte!

Contrary to my negativity, it was busy in both the bookstore and coffee shop.

Walter's doing a book event at Berkelouw when Destination Saigon comes out, but I think we'll still do it in their flag ship store in Paddington.

Stanley St, East Sydney

2009-12-13T22:04:00.000+11:00

Most Sundays we eat at a little place on Stanley Street called Big Boys Thai. The food is good, fast, cheap and cheerful.

Once known as little Italy, Stanley Street seems to have more Japanese restaurants than Italian. Bill and Tonys is still there, but Italian places seem to be in the minority!

Took this photo today, the street does look stunning on a fine day.

Evergreen Taoist Temple, Redfern

2009-12-13T21:31:00.000+11:00

I couldn't believe it, a short stroll from Surry Hills Shopping Village is a deceptively large Taoist centre on Bourke Street, Redfern.

It used to be a police station, but the group bought up part of the block to build their organisation.

Amazing how they were able to make it look like a temple from outside and in - given they had to work with the original structure.

Maggie Hamilton Speaks at New Church Roseville

2009-12-13T21:26:00.000+11:00

Fairies, that's the topic of Maggie Hamilton's new book. She was kind enough to speak to a very engaged audience last Friday.

Maggie was introduced by Ruth Duckworth.

At the conclusion of the talk, Julian Duckworth the minister of New Church, Roseville gave a heartfelt thank you on behalf of the audience.

Le Meridien, Bangkok

2009-12-05T19:50:00.001+11:00

Finally got the chance to post my review of Trip Advisor.

Best hotel I've stayed at, just pipped the Langham Place in Hong Kong!

HEALTHY LUANG PRABANG

2009-11-28T14:16:00.000+11:00

Our five days at Luang Prabang was one of the most relaxing, nourishing and replenishing times I've had recently.

We ate well (alot of fruit, meals using fresh ingredients), swam everyday and did abit of walking.

No wonder I had such a healthy glow.

Marketing Strategy, Marketing Magazine December 2009

2009-11-27T22:04:00.000+11:00

Erawan Shrine, Bangkok

2009-11-25T19:45:00.000+11:00

The Erawan Shrine sits on one of the most expensive retail real estate in Bangkok, outside Gaysorn Plaza and a skip away from mega shopping complexes like Central World, Siam Centre, Siam Paragon.

Rumour has it that when the Gaysorn Plaza was being built, workmen kept on dying, something like 5 had died before they decided to put halt and build a shrine to Erawan. The deaths stopped and now Thais and tourists alike go there to make offerings and pray for just about anything. And if you get your wish granted, you're meant to come back and pay for a traditional dance.

The place was packed!

Central World, Bangkok

2009-11-24T23:30:00.003+11:00

Wat Xieng Thong

2009-11-24T22:14:00.002+11:00

An incredibly beautiful, ancient temple in Luang Prabang, Laos

Temple offering

2009-11-23T22:41:00.000+11:00

For 500 Baht you can go to this temple near our hotel, burn 20 sticks of incense (the air was thick with incense), get your prayers written and get the opportunity to stick them on a box in the back of the temple.

Vietnamese Temple Bangkok

2009-11-23T22:28:00.001+11:00

There are some 6 temples in Bangkok which were founded by Vietnaemse monks going back decades. While many of these no longer have Vietnamese Abbots, they do sponsor Vietnamese monks over to study in Bangkok.

We met one today, at the Vietnamese temple near Chinatown

This temple has had something like 6 Abbots, however the current one is Thai. There are two Vietnamese monks here.

It's a small world, because this Thay is a Buddhist brother of one that has a temple in Cabramatta five minutes walk from our place. He comes from the Central region and knows alot of Walter's monk friends.

Le Meridien Pool

2009-11-23T22:19:00.000+11:00

Sooo nice, we're here literally every afternoon!!!

Walter checking his emails.

Ancestor Temples

2009-11-23T22:11:00.000+11:00

Came across this ancestor temple in Bangkok. It's a Chinese concept to worship ancestors rather than any one god.. so inside there are no statues but areas to burn incense and make offerings to ancestors.

Wat Po and Amulet Market

2009-11-23T20:47:00.000+11:00

Haven't visited Wat Po for ages and forgotten how wonderful it was. We saw the usual sites, like the awesome reclining buddha (which never fails to make me feel calm), had a massage at the temple massage school, which was air-conditioned, a wonderful innovation since we were there last; I was recovering from a sprained ankle and of course the masseur knew it and worked on it for what seemed like hours, it was soooo painful, but it does feel better today.

From there we took a walk to the amulet market and along the way meandered through the street market, which sold everything from knives, dentures, screw drivers watches, amulets, and of course food. There was a cute stand that sold sooo many cute small amulets.

Finally we had to (of course) have a snack. I had the black grass jelly with coarse brown sugar chilled with huge ice cube. Walter had hot, fresh tofu in ginger syrup, there was a tube like addition which I hadn't seen before.

Finally I saw a stand that sold crab cooked in just about everyway

Gone Local Luang Prabang

2009-11-18T21:30:00.001+11:00

Walter laughs at me because I've decided to wear all local clothing. Well actually, the locals don't wear them, they sell them to tourists like me.

As you can see today's combo of fisherman's pants and hill tribe top, with Lao Beer t-shirt underneath is my attempt to support the locals. The gorgeous backdrop is Wat Xieng Thong.

Was tempted to carry a local weave bag and don on a local cotton scarf, but even I think that would be a tad too much!

Wat Xieng Thong, Luang Prabang

2009-11-18T17:18:00.001+11:00

We visited one of the larger temples in the main part of Luang Prabang. I had no expectations because I've grown used to the local relaxed pace. I was unprepared for the ancient magnificence of the Wat. Sure it wasn't as well kept as the Thai Wats, but the history of the place was in your face, raw and intimate.

The glass mosaics adorning the exterior of some of the buildings we're stunning, depicting human forms or my favourite the stylised bodhi tree. These themes can be found on the woven material which are sold all around town and in the night markets.

Everyone kept a very respectful atmostphere except two loud giggling Thai girls and a small group of Viet tourists that got in everyone's way trying to take holiday snaps.

Infected by Luang Prabang

2009-11-17T19:53:00.002+11:00

We knew it was a small town, we knew there wasn't that much to do, we knew the population was around 40,000 for Laos' second largest city, but we were determined to do everything there was to do... that is until we got infected by the Luang Prabang bug.

On the first night we noticed everyone, including the hordes of backpackers were taking things at a leisurely pace, even the tourists were relatively quiet, the main street, which turns into an incredible night woven crafts market was busy, but quiet. There's even an unofficial 11.30pm curfew.

But gradually we're finding ourselves alsos settling into the idealic (idle) Luang Prabang pace. Morning consists of breakfast on our verandah, then Walter checks emails, while I read Huo's A Thousand Wings. We may potter around dour glorious Mekong Estate Villa a little and then head for lunch. For the past couple of days, it's been the delectible L'Elephant in the main part of town, the grilled buffalo is our favourite at the moment, but their chicken larb is not bad, either.

Then we take a stroll around town, have coffee and return back to the Mekong Estate for a swim and afternoon nap.

We'll then go back to town for dinner, check out the night markets, have a late night snack and head off home.

We really did have plans to be more adventurous, check out the caves, temples, fly to Vientiane, float down the river in Van Vieng, but alas, we've caught the Luang Prabang bug... and we're staying here, a few times, I've even said we'll sell up and move here forever. Today, there was a brief shower, which made the place even more perfect.

Sadly, already, it's almost time to go, in two days time we head back to the chaos that is Bangkok for six days before we head back to the rat race in Sydney. At least we're at the gorgeous Le Meridien Bangkok, don't know much about it except it's new and it's highly rated by tripadvisor.

Cocktails before dinner

2009-11-16T13:41:00.001+11:00

Our hosts at the Mekong Estate kindly hosted cocktail drinks to welcome us. Took this pic before everything was set up, the backdrop was just to die for. The owners knew I was from Vietnam and layed on a fried spring rolls, fresh rolls and a gorgeous vegetarian wrap.

We were sorry we had to go, but dinner calls at a local restaurant. Walter had read about some local Luang Prabang specialties including:

River weed in sauce made from dried buffalo skin, the river weed looks I guess like sea weed!

And watercress salad.

We also ordered something random from the menu which turned out to be a soup with a strong flavoured herb, tasted very local!

MEKONG ESTATE, BREAKFAST

2009-11-16T13:15:00.000+11:00

I've already raved about the Mekong Estate, which overlooks the Mekong River. Breakfast was aslo splendid, was a three course affair, fruit platter, choice of fried eggs and selection of breads and croissant.

Served against the glorious backdrop of the Mekong River.

MEKONG ESTATE, LUANG PRABANG

2009-11-14T19:34:00.000+11:00

Due to lack of time, neither of us planned this holiday, we decided to just get to Bangkok, book the first couple of nights of accommodation and book the remaining hotel, airfare as the spirit moved us. Which led me to describe this holidays to friends as 'backpacking'.

Having noticed our convoy of luggage, alas, I think backpacking wouldn't be the appropriate description.

But here we are at gorgeous Luang Prabang and the last minute accommodation, the Mekong Estate. The owner has a fascinating story. He left Laos prior to 1975 and lived and worked in France for 20 years, he has excellent English and he says even better French.

When he returned to his home town, Luang Prabang, he bought and renovated a place by the Mekong river. So many people approached him to rent out his place that eventually the idea came to develop it into villas to rent out. He has something like 3 in the same row, which has rooms upstairs and downstairs.

Mr Khamphanh is the sweetest, most sincere gentlemen and he's assembled a group of people around him who are equally warm and lovely. He's renovated the villas himself, even built all the wood furniture, set up the free guest Wifi.

He even picks you up from the airport and takes you back, which is fantastic for first time visitors like us.

Our room (I think all rooms) have views of the Mekong river, through french doors. The pool is immediately outside our Villa. Air conditioning is new, but the place is surprisingly cool without it. The place does not accept reservations from families which children or large groups, which suits us fine.

Breakfast comes each morning on your verandah or anywhere you choose on the property.

LUANG PRABANG, LAOS

2009-11-14T19:10:00.001+11:00

Laos Airline was a delight, at first I was a little scared because it was a propeller plane and a little dated. But actually both the landing and take off were extremely smooth. About 20 of us, mainly foreigners weren't convinced upon boarding.

The interior design was, shall we say, a little on the theme park side of interior decoration. And having to walk across the tarmac to board also didn't help.

What probably troubled me most was the check-in signage at Bangkok Airport which was very matter of fact about firearms: Passengers who would like to load firearms into the aircraft, please contact airline staffs at check-in counter.

Anyways, it was more than a pleasant flight, if a little slow... what do you expect from propellers?! The flight took almost 2 hours with lunch being the highlight, tiny pork salad rolls, a slice of chocolate sponge cake, two slices of apple, all individually wrapped in cardboard squares and clear glad wrap. They came in a cute card board box.

I can tell I'm gonna like Luang Prabang!

Gardenia flowers

2009-11-08T21:29:00.000+11:00

We started a fragrant garden 3 years ago, which includes, various types of jasmine, frangipani and gardenias. While we've lost a few plants on the way, I'm glad to say there's been many successes.

The potted jasmine plant and the jasmine vines you've seen. Well here's the pic of the gardenia near our back door that is starting to bloom.

Clothes from Hare Krishnas

2009-11-07T17:28:00.001+11:00

For Dewali we went to the Hare Krishnas in North Sydney. We were hoping to get dinner as well, but couldn't wait that long.

I did pop into their shop and bought lots of gorgeous things including incense and incense holder and this top which I wore today when we went to a Laura Riddell's art exhibition in Dural.

Why did the chicken cross the road?

2009-11-07T17:23:00.000+11:00

Walter and I went up to Hornsby Heights to visit dear friends, Lynne and Mike. They live in a wonderful house originally built by them over 30 years ago which still overlooks the bush.

Majority of material and furniture was wood and alot of windows and open space makes the place look so homely and well, just perfect.

The neighbours keep chickens which roam the street. Just gorgeous!

Jasmine pride

2009-11-01T07:39:00.000+11:00

We have the star jasmine in a pot at the front of the house, and we're reminded that it's there when we come home or come out the front by the intense perfume at the moment; end of October and early November are peak blooming time it.

The bursting white flower, intense fragance is just divine.

Jasmine Season: one year on

2009-10-29T20:55:00.000+11:00

Last year our Jasmine plants were a joy to behold. It was the first time I got to enjoy the fragrance and incredible burst of flowers. The pic below is of the same jasmine pot plant, exactly a year later!

And in the backyard, the jamine vines are going well too!

Fabulous Verushka

2009-10-22T20:18:00.002+11:00

My earlier post was about Verushka Darling coming out to Cabramatta to buy material for her Hong Kong show - a fundraiser in support of breast cancer research.

Well the shopping was the before, raw shot, there is a couple of examples of over-the-top simply fabulous after - the first one was the cover of the Sydney Star Observer for Shop Yourself Stupid, and the other one, below!

AdNews 9 October 2009: Unlocking Ethnic Markets

2009-10-22T20:11:00.001+11:00

Jasmine flowering

2009-10-17T09:35:00.000+11:00

My potted star jasmine is starting to flower this year. It looked fantastic last October last year.

Already I can see the fragrant and visual potential. Last year Walter wasn't home to see it, but this year we'll both be able to experience it together.

Google Wave

2009-10-14T21:49:00.001+11:00

Thanks to a work colleague I'm also now a google wave tester. I know about all they hype around google wave and the exclusive invites only status etc.

What I've found is in order to collaborate your contacts need to also be on google wave. So not much good if you're on it alone, and I reckon the more contacts on google wave the better.

Since I don't have any contacts except the mate that extended the invitation to me, I'm sending out a hello to the www to see if anyone wants to include me in their contact network so we can all test google wave - email my google wave account.

Frankfurt Book Fair 2009 - Destination Saigon

2009-10-10T10:18:00.004+11:00

It's so exciting to see my partner's book being included in his publisher's catalogue for the Frankfurt Book Fair this year. It was all a rush to make sure it gets included into Allen & Unwin's catalogue for the Fair. Walter's is only one of nine non-fiction books they're taking to Frankfurt. It's so amazing to see him included in the same catalogue as Christos Tsiolkas, Clive Hamilton, Stephanie Dowrick, Armando Percuoco and David Dale.

A&U hold the worldwide rights to Destination Saigon: Adventures in Vietnam, by Walter Mason which will be published in Australia in March 2010. They've been incredibly supportive of Walter and amazingly great at promoting his book

I think everyone has great hopes for it.

Walter is in the other room making the final, final corrections to the manuscript even as we speak.

Here's the excerpt about Destination Saigon from A&U's 2009 Frankfurt Book Fair catalogue:

DESTINATION SAIGON
Adventures in Vietnam
Walter Mason

A personal insight into one of the world’s most popular travel destinations.

This funny, fascinating travelogue is the perfect book for travellers wanting to know more about the people and places they’re about to visit. With Walter’s distinctive voice, knowledge and wicked sense of humour, the sacred and profane meet in a riotous celebration of a remarkable and resilient nation which has become a great tourist destination.

Walter Mason has spent the last fifteen years madly in love with Vietnam. In that time he has made numerous trips to the country, and he has seen the country undergo huge changes. In Destination Saigon, he shares many of the bewildering, frequently funny cultural complexities that face any visitor to Vietnam, and at the same time provides a rare insight into Vietnam’s rich culture.

Travelling to the little-known south-western provinces where the last vestiges of Khmer life is to be found; to far-flung villages where he is imprisoned, and caught up in local wedding celebrations; to experience the Cao Dai religion, made famous in Graham Greene’s The Quiet American, where Charlie Chaplin and Victor Hugo are worshipped as saints; to forbidden fortune tellers and the Ien Dong ceremony where ghosts and celebrities are channelled; these are just some of the adventures Walter will share.

Walter Mason has several blogs, gives regular talks and has a strong feel for popular taste in travel writing.

Category: Travel writing March 2010 paperback