Especially for my colleagues, I have been working as a local guide since August 2017 with many ups and downs, mentally and emotionally, but I still have my heart in it nonetheless. Here are the six reasons why I love being a tour guide. 1. Talking about my favorite things and getting paid for it […]
Huế Delicacies Made from Food Scraps
The Huế people who underwent many natural disasters as well as wars and even epidemics, learnt how to appreciate mediocre foods, to include different kind of edible wild vegetables into their meals, and to reduce food waste. Some of them even took extra steps when using food scraps to make delicacies which were so mouth-watering […]
Wandering along Hương River in Huế City
Almost everyone in Việt Nam knows that Hương River goes through the heart of Huế but not many of them know that the river also runs between my name — Võ Thị Hương Lan, flowing into my soul and lingering there for good. While swimming in Hương river is like hugging a mother in my […]
“Hands of Huế” Video Series
I started a mini video project called “Hands of Huế” in December 2019. It’s planned to be a series of short footages featuring the hands of Huế people that move my heart with their passion and talent; however, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and some other personal reasons, I am now focusing on the clever hands of my neighbor, Auntie Hương.
If You Haven’t Heard about Dưa & Mắm, You Know Nothing about Vietnamese Food.
Once an American friend teased me that I was too salty, I almost wanted to fire back, “Well, I’m also chua cay (which means “sour and spicy”, or “unpleasant”) because I have been eating too much dưa and mắm since I was a little girl,” but I held it back as I didn’t think he […]
Talking to Sông Hương, the Heart and Soul of Huế
One serene sunny afternoon on Bến Kim Long, I rolled out my blanket and lying down next to Sông Hương, the charming river of Huế City, the water source of its citizens and the second mother of my own. This time I decided to have a real talk with her so I could get to […]
Xương Thọ Lăng: My Sacred Haven in the Old Huế
I saw a quiet lane running by one side of Xương Lăng – Emperor Thiệu Trị’s tomb so many times when I visited this area but I had never thought that I should take that narrow road until curiosity hit me one afternoon. Not just curiosity but also boredom urged me to discover what lied […]
My Diary about Swimming in Hương River
I feel blessed to be able to swim in such a beautiful river like the Hương. Almost every morning, I would arrive at the river bank at around 5 am, admiring the river before swimming across it with Auntie Tuyết. I can’t think of any better way to view the sunrise or sunset than doing […]
From Lan and An 2 with Love
My Year of the Pig (2019) started with a lovely surprise which I received with a mixed feeling of joy and confusion. I have never been a mother but I guess the emotion when I held the Pentax K1000 in my hands isn’t much different from the one when a new mother first welcomes a […]
A Small House in the Spring Garden of Huế
After a whole week of rain day in day out, this morning it stopped pouring. I jumped on my Blue Phoenix bike heading to Xuân Viên Tiểu Cung, the residence of Phạm Hữu Điển, a Minister of Rite under Nguyễn Dynasty. It’s just 5 minute bicycle ride from my home but this was the first […]