Melanie gets ready to hit the highway in a vintage motorcycle sidecar
PHONG NHA, VIETNAM – One of my all-time favorite movie chase scenes comes from “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.”
Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) and his father (played by Sean Connery) have just escaped from their Nazi captors.
Indie steals a motorcycle, and with his “very proper” British father seated in the attached sidecar they race away along rugged dirt roads with a gang of motorcycle-mounted German soldiers in hot pursuit.
Black peppercorns ready for harvest in Phong Nha, VietnamBanana bunch ripening on the tree
PHONG NHA, VIETNAM – During our recent visit to Phong Nha, we enjoyed an informative morning walk around the rural Farmstay Village.
As we walked, Phong Nha Farmstay co-owner Ben Mitchell shared some of the history of the village, the development of the various Farmstay enterprises over the last nine years and his vision for the future of the community-based businesses.
Inside Paradise Cave at Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park, Vietnam
PHONG NHA, VIETNAM – We just spent several days at the Phong Nha Farmstay near the town of Phong Nha, Quang Binh Province, Vietnam.
The main attraction at Phong Nha is its location near some of the most spectacular caves in the world. It’s the leaping off point for treks into Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park (including Hang Son Doong, the world’s largest cave) and a haven for backpackers.
Happy readers get together at a recent meeting of the Da Nang Book Club (photo: Da Nang Book Club/Meetup)
DA NANG, VIETNAM – This week Melanie and I attended a meeting of our local book club, where we discussed the works of Haruki Murakami, a Japanese author who has penned several novels and collections of short stories. His works have been translated into 50 languages and have sold millions of copies around the world.
The book group gets together about once a month to discuss a specific title, author, writing genre or topic. Past reading themes have included science fiction and fantasy, short stories by Vietnamese authors, spiritual books, great writers in 1920s Paris, humor and more.
Fellow readers bring a wide range of experience
Attendance varies from one meeting to the next, but there are always people from a variety of backgrounds and experience… young people teaching English and other subjects at local private schools, expats working remotely as they wander the world, retirees like Melanie and myself, and local Vietnamese citizens looking to expand their horizons beyond the borders of their homeland.
This past week’s group included expats from Australia and America, as well as a handful of Vietnamese from around the country, and ranged in age from early 20s to nearly 70 years old.
As always, the monthly book, author or genre is the starting point for our discussions, which can often be quite lively as everyone weighs in with their opinions.
It’s OK if you haven’t read the current book
Reading the current selection is not necessarily a requirement for attendance at the gatherings. In fact, it’s often the case that as many as half (or more) of the attendees have not read the book being discussed.
All that’s really required is a willingness to connect with other people and express honest opinions about whatever the discussion brings.
Our conversations always range far and wide from the initial beginning, veering off into personal experience, expat life, cultural differences and more.
Among the most valuable takeaways from our meetings are the recommendations from attendees of other books and topics to check out.
Coming as we do from such diverse backgrounds, it’s literally like tapping into a vast window on the world of literature.
Join us at the next meeting for lively conversation
Learn about the next Danang Book Club meeting on Facebook or on Meetup.
