RKS 2024 Film: “New Wave”: Vietnamese Escape Artists Groove to the New Wave

Filmmaker Elizabeth Ai weaves an interesting documentary on California’s Vietnamese New Wave craze and the disaffection of many Vietnamese “refugees” that fled to California after the fall of South Vietnam. Ai prefers to call Vietnamese fleeing the communist regime as “escape artists”. Ai was abandoned by her mother being raised by an aunt and her… Read More RKS 2024 Film: “New Wave”: Vietnamese Escape Artists Groove to the New Wave

14 June 2024 Robert K Stephen (CSW)Leave a comment

RKS 2023 Film: “Children of the Mist”: Weird, Amusing or Just Plain Disgusting

“Children of the Mist” is a documentary exploring the kidnapping of young girls within the Hmong ethnic group in the isolated mountainous regions of northern Vietnam where the mist often drifts in. A component of the Hmong culture is the kidnapping of underage girls for the purposes of marriage as young as thirteen years of… Read More RKS 2023 Film: “Children of the Mist”: Weird, Amusing or Just Plain Disgusting

2 February 2023 Robert K Stephen (CSW)

Ha Long Bay Revisited

(HA LONG BAY, VIETNAM) – Three and a half hours from Hanoi lies Ha Long Bay. It is oft touted as Vietnam’s most spectacular sight. There are some 1,969 limestone islands covered in greenery as they jut out of the Gulf of Tonkin. Now, the problem is that there are 500 or so cruise ships… Read More Ha Long Bay Revisited

18 October 2017 Robert K Stephen (CSW)

Ha Long Bay

(HA LONG BAY, VIETNAM) – If you are heading to Vietnam’s Ha Long Bay you can either go for a day cruise or an over-nighter. If you opt for the over-night trip, I certainly recommend one of the five boats from Indochina Sails. The main dining area and lounge were tastefully appointed with oriental style… Read More Ha Long Bay

2 October 2017 Robert K Stephen (CSW)

Vietnam’s Reunification Palace

(HO CHI MINH CITY, VIETNAM) – Boomers familiar with the Vietnam War will certainly get that down-memory-lane feeling when they visit the Reunification Palace in Ho Chi Minh City, formerly known as Saigon. It was where the South Vietnamese war effort was centred. Ho Chi Minh was the leader of North Vietnam who died in… Read More Vietnam’s Reunification Palace

30 August 2017 Robert K Stephen (CSW)

Is Vietnam For You?

(HO CHI MINH CITY, VIETNAM) – I have a slight problem in that I am not you. And, not knowing your preferences, I can only give you some general advice for visiting Vietnam. Here are ten things to consider. Vietnam is unlike Europe and North America Europe and North America are very orderly and uptight.… Read More Is Vietnam For You?

29 August 2017 Robert K Stephen (CSW)

Laid Back Hanoi

(HANOI, VIETNAM) – I began my Vietnamese journey in Hanoi, and as this was my first trip to Asia I initially thought it was a wild place. Perhaps it was due to nasty jet lag and culture shock. Upon further reflection, and having compared Hanoi with Ho Chi Minh City (the former Saigon), I think… Read More Laid Back Hanoi

28 July 2017 Robert K Stephen (CSW)

Vietnam On The Move

(HO CHI MINH CITY, VIETNAM) – Did the Americans Win the War in Vietnam? After visiting the War Remnants Museum in Ho Chi Minh City I was reminded most unpleasantly of the terrible toll taken on French, American, Korean, Pilipino, Australian, New Zealand, and Vietnamese soldiers and civilians. In a sense, one side was fighting… Read More Vietnam On The Move

25 July 2017 Robert K Stephen (CSW)