One of the most fascinating places to experience the holiday season is Southeast Asia. Why would anyone celebrate a traditional Christian holiday in a Buddhist country like Thailand or Vietnam? Because there’s something entirely unique, transformative and memorable about experiencing one of your most nostalgic traditions in a foreign environment. If you’ve ever found the [...]
Archive for August, 2011
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Nuad Paan Boran: Traditional Thai Massage
August 22nd, 2011 
Daniel Fraser You are led up a dark concrete staircase by a woman who is to be your practitioner. But instead of a private, Western-style massage room, you find yourself in a large room with ten mats spread along the floor occupied by people dressed in pajamas being pressed, bent, and squeezed by barefoot massage therapists. Though [...]
48 HOURS IN HANOI, VIETNAM
August 16th, 2011 Daniel Fraser Have only 2 days to see Vietnam’s capital? Skip the war-era prisons and somber monuments and step into avant garde dining, chic shopping, eye-popping visuals and some of the world’s best street food! Hanoi, the once sleepy capital of Vietnam, has transformed itself into a dynamic, modern city. Infused with historic charm and character, and [...]
Planet Asia Podcast: Bobby Chinn Discusses Vietnamese Cuisine
August 8th, 2011 Daniel Fraser This is a partial transcript of an interview with Bobby Chinn, adapted from the Planet Asia Podcast. Listen to the full interview. Bobby Chinn is the owner of Restaurant Bobby Chinn in Hanoi, Vietnam. Bobby, a native of San Francisco, California, kindled his passion for Vietnamese cooking 15 years ago, eventually settling in Hanoi. He’s [...]
