Who was Ching Shih? Mogu?

Have you ever considered what it would have been like to be a woman in the 1800’s? Especially in a world mostly dominated by men. Life’s primal challenges, food, shelter, etc would have been hard enough without the patriarchal societies most women lived (and often times still live) in. I’d like to think I...

My Trip to Vietnam

I recently spent around 3 weeks in Vietnam. We explored from far north, to down south. It seemed the north was more traditional, the south more touristy and modern. Let’s start where we started, up north, just south of the China border. Bac Son Valley was the way I pictured all of Vietnam. Quaint....

Happy Birthday Charles Dickens!

Feb 7th 1812 is the birthday of one of the greatest writers of all time – Charles Dickens. Dickens is so legendary in fact that many historians credit him with igniting the festive way modern society celebrates Christmas. It’s not difficult to see how. The classic story “A Christmas Carol” is a parable about...