Hi John E, you might like to check out this place on Pho Nha Chung street near Hoan kim lake. That street is quite touristy, but still fun, and the restaurant is great. I didn' have any problems with electricity, but then I always carry on…

This is from his account of his visit in 1889, very Kiplinesque. There isn't too much written in English about his visit, I think, and I have never managed to find anything written in Japanese.Mister Oscar Wilde of the Nineteenth Century i…

Nice day today. We wrote a letter to our sponsor child, Laxmi, in Kathmandu.

LUXURY BIRD SCOFF HEIST strikes Irie-Cho! 事件の現場です。Scene of the crime: Alas the culprit got away scot-free. 餌泥棒だ！！なんてこったい！！強盗は跡形もなく消えていた。 Identikit woodblock print of the main suspect follows. こちら指名…

[ ] Thanks to Aaron for bringing the feeder from Virginia, and Chia for bringing the bird-food from California. Our Japanese White Eye friends love the international cuisine.

Beware sensitive zones. And I don't mean Military #9.

I like both these portraits, and didn't know either photographer until I looked at a mail from the National Portrait Gallery, London, this evening. Dame Margot became the chancellor of my alma mater, Durham University, don't you know. But …