Anyone who’s spent time in northern Vietnam is familiar with thuoc lao–a type of very strong tobacco that is smoked in a bamboo bong. Mr. Pham Van Thong of Thanh Hoa province just built the Golden Gate Bridge of all thuoc lao bongs. With a little more tweaking it could double as a scooter and a harp.

I stumbled upon these wonderful lines by Vietnam’s most revered writer, Nguyen Du (1766–1820):

“Men and fortresses of yesteryear in decay.

Vanity and gossamer all flown away…”

This wonderful plant illustration is from  an 1839 volume titled Flore Forestiere de la Cochinchine, Vol. 2  (Forest Flora of Cochinchine Vol. 2) The species, which looks otherworldly in these illustrations, is called Sterculia coccinea Roxb. It’s amazing to imagine some long-ago French botanist tramping around the jungles of Central Vietnam with his sketchpad.

For years, I’ve been brewing ginger tea in the belief that it’s good for me. A recent article in Tuoi Tre newspaper has me thinking otherwise, as imported Chinese ginger has been found to contain high doses of a toxic pesticide called aldicarb. Extended consumption of this chemical can cause dizziness, blurred vision, nausea and respiratory failure, while only 50 milligrams of aldicarb is enough to kill a person weighing 50kg. While Vietnamese ginger is cheaper, the Chinese ginger is bigger and “looks nicer” – making it popular with Vietnamese consumers. In HCM City alone, up to 250 tons of Chinese ginger are officially brought into the city each month. Much more is smuggled in.

So what should we do? Stop eating ginger altogether, or only buy the small, nasty bits?

This fascinating print depicts French troops arriving in Halong Bay, in northern Vietnam, in 1884. I wonder by whom and for whom it was made.

“Me Hue, Dancing Mistress of Lai Chau” by Jean Despujols

For many years, I’ve been working away on a novel partially set in Vietnam’s Central Highlands during the 1930s. Since this is an era I love to research, I was thrilled to discover the works of French-born artist Jean Despujols, who toured Indochina in the 1930s and emigrated to America in the ’40s. While many of Mr. Despujols’ works portray local women, it’s his landscapes I adore. He did some wonderful images of Angkor Wat. http://americangallery.wordpress.com/2012/01/02/jean-despujols-1886-1965/

We have rented a shack in An Bang Fishing Village, a few kilometers from Hoi An in Central Vietnam. Just an empty field lies between us and the sea. It”s a two-minute walk to this simple Fishermen’s Temple, where fishing folk come to pray for good catches and safe returns. Sadly, the prayers don’t always help and the family next door lost their father and son last year. Their boats are small and their catches smaller still. It’s an idyllic spot to visit, but a hard life.

Rough week? Once in a while, we all deserve a vacation at the Phuc Dat Hotel…