Hey there Bureau Subscriber/ Follower,
I just wanted to share a quick update on what’s been happening at The Bureau Asia since my last newsletter.
I’m writing this on September 2 which happens to be Vietnam’s Independence Day, so I’d like to wish everyone celebrating the day an enjoyable one.
The long weekend has finally signalled the beginning of the real rainy season. Up until this weekend, we’d hardly had any rain, and as an ex-farm boy, this had been playing on my mind!
Exploring and making videos has consumed most of my time this past month, so I’ve had little time to even think about researching any features, let alone writing any, for my channels.
Having said that, the videos I make often require a lot of research and thought, which isn’t too dissimilar from doing research for a written article. Plus, I like to plan my videos so I have a rough-ish idea of how they may come together during the edit.
Have I ever said I hate video editing?
I’m getting better at it, but I’m a hard learner, meaning I tend to learn the hard way.
My latest video (see below) is a good example of the time it takes me to produce something I think is worthy of publishing online. I think I must’ve walked the route in Chinatown half a dozen times over the past month to prepare for it – tasting food and drinks, chatting to people and poking my head inside and out of buildings for ideas.
I know, hard work, right. But it needs to be done!
Anyway, let me know in the comments what you think of it. Also, let me know if there are any topics you’d like me to explore about Vietnam.
Thank you to my new subscribers and followers. I really appreciate it when I get a notification that someone has subscribed or followed. It tells me that there are others who get a kick out of what I create and would like to see more.
Well, that’s about it. I’ll let you check out the links below in your own time.
As usual, you can contact me in the comments section with a question, comment or tidbit about Vietnam or Southeast Asia that you think I’ll find interesting.
Take care and stay safe until the next one!
Matt
1. READ: Don’t be like them. Tread where other tourists fear to tread!
Five ideas to help make your visit to Ho Chi Minh City as good as it can possibly be, from koi cafes where goldfish swim about you while you sip coffee to eating broken rice and pork chops with kimchi at one of the city’s war-era undercover ‘red addresses’ opposite an old South Korean military barracks.
2. READ: 5 things you thought you’d NEVER do in Ho Chi Minh City
You’ve been doing some research on what to do when you arrive and you’ve found where to get the best bánh mì, the best phở and the best egg coffee. That’s all great, but what else can you do? Well, you’ve come to the right link!
3. WATCH: Breakfast in the World’s Biggest Chinatown
I take you for breakfast to a consistently top notch phở joint, wash it down with an iced coffee and a donut...yes, a donut…in Chinatown! Then I visit a national historic monument (hint hint: Hồ Chí Minh lived here), trundle by lantern and knick knack shops before wrapping things up with a cool drink in a French colonial-era apartment block accessible only via a historic market.
4. WATCH: Saigon’s best bánh mì for your buck!
I’ve never seen this bánh mì joint featured before on YouTube or anywhere else, so you can imagine my delight when I came across this baby recently in District 8. For less than US$2, you get something almost the size of my head!
5. PAID SUBSCRIBERS: Chợ Lớn Self-Guided Morning Walk
This walk is best done early in the morning when temperatures are comfortable for walking and when breakfast stalls are open, hoping to tempt hungry workers with their offerings as they whiz by on their motorbikes in a mad dash to work! As you wander further into the labyrinth of streets and alleyways on this walk, through the wholesale markets dodging and weaving the busy wholesalers packaging up their next deliveries and who still take the time to greet you and ask where you’re from, you’ll come to understand precisely why Saigon’s “Chinatown” is a must-visit.