In The Red

The colour red being the theme of this post, I was initially going to take some snaps of my red shoes and red bag, but was really stuck when it came to telling any remotely interesting stories about either. So instead, I flicked through some snaps that were taken on my two last sojourns overseas that happen to have some mildly quirky yarns associated with them instead.

Vietnam, December 2003-January 2004
If you ever find yourself anywhere in the countryside of this beautiful place, you don’t have to look particularly hard before you come across many of these pro-government-propaganda billboards. I saw heaps of these during the odd month I was there, but unfortunately this is the only one I managed to snap from our moving tour bus. I hope that out there somewhere someone collates these images into a book or something. Whilst the message that communism is good is a bit lost on me, I really grew to love these colourful billboards.


I quickly lost count of how many pagodas (temples) we visited while in Vietnam – all opulent and well-maintained, some being pretty secluded. The one that the sign below refers to, would probably have slipped from memory, if not for the broken English suggesting the dress code for all pagoda visitors. It's a little hard to make out because of the red background, but it reads: Suggest All The People No Wear The Short To The Pagoda.


USA, April 2005
My trip to the U.S. was my first trip overseas on my own, and one of the best experiences I’ve ever had. I managed to take in several very diverse cities, but the pics below were all taken in San Diego, about 45 minutes out of Los Angeles by (dodgy light) plane. I was there for a conference, and stupidly allowed myself only one full day of sight-seeing. The weather’s great and so are the people, especially Stan, the gorgeous older gent who manned the reception at my hotel.

This pic was taken right outside the conference centre. The red “trolley” – which is kind of like a train running through the city, a bit like Melbourne’s trams – can take you to areas a bit further out like Old Town (where I hear the margheritas are fantastic, right, Serenity?), and perhaps more importantly, over the Mexican border to the wilds of Tijuana. Next time ….


Another thing about the States is the abundance of American flags everywhere, just in case you ever happen to forget where you are. I stumbled across this one while walking back to my hotel one afternoon. If you look at the far right of the wall, you’ll notice the 24 Hour Bail Bonds advertisement. Apparently, this kind of place is open for people who need a quick source of cash to bail their buddies out of the slammer. I guess if all Yanks are willing to do that for their mates, then that's a good reason to be proud?!


This last pic is of the deceptively named Gaslamp Strip Club, located in the historic Gaslamp Quarter of San Diego. This main street is full of a myriad of different buildings and businesses, ranging from the beautiful old picture theatre, a very cool costume shop, the aromatic Ghirardelli’s chocolatier and ice-creamery (the ice-creams alone constitute a meal), and several very hip clothing stores. The Strip Club itself, is an eatery specialising in steaks, served up as “strips”, hence the name. Somehow I don’t think the misleading name of the business has done them any harm.


For more red-themed tales, check out the blogs of Cassiopeia Gegenbaueren III, jfox and Serenity Now.