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Gabriola Pass in six knots without an engine 3 Jul 2013 | 11:40 pm
“You won’t get any thanks for this, you realize?” My brother-in-law John is talking to Mickey, a Gabriola Island buddy with a 35-foot sailboat and the willingness to tow us home. “Not the damsels-in-d...
Ten things I’ll miss about Hanoi 11 Apr 2013 | 06:15 pm
Liz, one of my colleagues at work, asked me last night what I’ll miss about living in Hanoi. It’s the people I’ll miss the most when I leave next month, of course. But I’ve also grown to love, in a … ...
Preparing the Tet trees in Hanoi 7 Feb 2013 | 09:48 am
I live in Au Co, near the orchards and flower market, and the main road right now is a manic mess of motorbikes, flower sellers on bikes, and walking and moving trees. It’s just days before Tet and ev...
No. 132 passes the motorbike test in Hanoi 28 Sep 2012 | 11:04 am
By Alison Bate I’m finally legal, after five months of zoom-zooming around Hanoi. Yesterday, I went to pick up my Vietnamese motorbike license, after a long, tortuous but entertaining ride. Like nearl...
On the Indigo Trail: with the Black H’mong in NW Vietnam 24 Jul 2012 | 04:11 pm
By Alison Bate The Latin name trips off his tongue easily. “Have you seen any strobilanthes cusia – the indigo plant? Or know anyone who makes the indigo dye here,” a boisterous French guy called out ...
Maritime clips 23 Jul 2012 | 12:04 pm
My main website hosted by Dreamhost got hacked recently, so I’ve rebuilt this new site on a different server. Some of my original articles got buried in the transfer, though, and this post simply make...
Friday night in Hanoi 17 Apr 2012 | 11:18 pm
Kids watching the flag-folding ceremony at Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, Hanoi It’s Friday night in Hanoi and the Mausoleum is like a gigantic playground. Barefoot toddlers and pre-schoolers run around in ...
Rowing with his feet and other Vietnam water scenes 24 Mar 2012 | 05:52 pm
Local rowing with his feet in Lan Ha Bay, Vietnam (Pix by Alison Bate, March 2012) Colorful boat in Lan Ha Bay, Vietnam (Pix by Alison Bate, March 2012) Travelling in Lan Ha Bay, near Ha Long Bay, V...
Bitmakaly helps immigrant women 29 Feb 2012 | 08:52 pm
My Sudanese friend Lubna Abdelrahman is a very enterprising lady. In the last 18 months, she has set up an organisation to help immigrant women and their families and is also busy writing articles fo...
The monster of Kitimaat and other tales at Enbridge hearing 23 Jan 2012 | 08:02 am
Eulachon picture courtesy of NOAA Everybody loves a good storyteller and I’m no exception. Last week, I listened to some of the live streaming of the Enbridge hearings from Kitimaat, the First Natio...
