The Tawny Frogmouth

We've seen a bird like this (possibly the same one) only one other time while living here in Brisbane. It was perched on a fence post in our backyard late at night, sitting perfectly still and blending in very well with its surroundings. This frogmouth's coat so closely resembles the large tree's bark in our backyard that I almost missed spotting it; at first I thought it was a nest up in the branches.

This was shot a few days after the big storms that took out our power and flooded parts of the city. Truly a rare and beautiful sight.

Christmas in Hanoi video

Can Tho, Mekong Delta

The Can Tho Floating Market starts at dawn and only lasts a couple hours. Most of the food sold goes to restaurants or inland markets. Some goes to the people who live along the river or in house boats.

Melons and child monk at the floating market. 

Most boats were selling fruit and vegetables. This is the only one I saw selling a full cooked meal: barbecued meat and soup. 

 Big boat of pumpkin-like gourds. Most boats tied whatever they were selling to a long pole so that you could see what was available from far away.

 The river at night.

Can Tho's quiet streets at night.

Drive to Mekong Delta

On Saturday we drove with eight other people from Ho Chi Minh City to Can Tho near the southern tip of Vietnam. The drive there took most of the day and went through the rice basket of Vietnam, the Mekong Delta. We stopped at a few places along the way, including a war memorial. 

 Memorial stone for "Ap Bac Victory" (Jan. 2, 1963) amongst the rice fields.

Shot down helicopter with Southern Vietnam's colors. 

The memorial's staff were cleaning it while we were there. 

Traditional Mekong meal. Whole fried chicken (feet and head included), wild river eel and fresh chicken eggs. The eel was good, but I wasn't a fan of eating the chicken with the skin on it.

Puppy cleaning up the bones at the restaurant.

Lotus in pond at rest stop.

School opening in rural Vietnam

The organization I'm interning with, Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation, built a school in rural Thai Nguyen Province with the help of the Boeing company. We went there today for the ribbon cutting ceremony. It took over three hours to get there by car and the last part was weaving through mountains and tiny unpaved roads. 

 A village baby I made friends with at the school opening. 

Note the blonde locks sewn into her bandana.

 Kids at the school.

 The official photo of school staff and VIPs. 

This is only a small percentage of the students at the school.

 The kids wore VVAF hats made for the occasion.

Boeing representative Kevin Heise and VVAF country director Thao Griffiths.

Around Hanoi

Tennis courts across the street from my house in Hanoi. 

People play between 5 am and 11 pm every day. 

 Drawing contest for disabled children at the International Day of 

People With Disabilities Festival in Hanoi.

Mural at Hanoi's Museum of History.

Around Da Nang, central Vietnam

 Dried shrimp at the market

Dried seahorses. 

(To use, soak them in white wine for a month and then discard seahorse. Supposed to be good for male virility.) 

 Wedding photos in hotel pool.

The view from my hotel balcony onto China Beach.