Vietnam
Bridge on the lake in the centre of Hanoi 
Hanoi Opera House (built by the French) 
St Joseph’s Cathedral (like a copy of Notre Dame) 
Having a beer while waiting for the train to come 
Views from the bus on the way to Ha Long Bay 
Ha Long Bay 
Ha Long Bay 
My cabin for the night on the cruise 
One of the cruises on Ha Long Bay (a similar boat to mine) 
Kayaking on Ha Long Bay 
Visiting a Pearl Farm in Ha Long Bay 
Ha Long Bay 
Ha Long Bay 
The view from the top deck during the 6am sunrise tai chi session 
Another view from the top deck during the 6am sunrise tai chi session 
A €0.20 beer at one of the bars on the street in Hanoi. Everybody sits on plastic stools 
Chicken Pho (€1.50) in Hanoi 
Train Street in Hanoi (They tidy everything up before the train comes!) 
Train Street in Hanoi 
Water Puppet Show in Hanoi 
Early morning in Hanoi 
On a moped taxi (€1 for 5mins)
Singapore
Raffles Hotel 
Merlion and Marina Bay Sands Hotel 
Chinatown Food Court 
Chinatown Food Court 
World’s cheapest Michelin-Star meal (€1.84 at the original stall, but it was closed for the day so had to go to their new sit-down location that charges a whole €3.29.) It’s soy-glazed chicken with rice. 
Gardens by the Bay 
A “Singapore Sling” at the rooftop bar of the Marina Bay Sands Hotel. The view was amazing, but the drink…not so much. Luckily it was included in the admission to the rooftop bar. 
Inside one of the Gardens by the Bay domes 
The world’s second-largest indoor waterfall. It was recently out-done by a waterfall they built at their airport 
Walking among the SuperTrees at Gardens by the Bay 
Part of the skyline 
Marina Bay Sands Hotel. It’s much bigger than I expected…each leg is like its own skyscraper! 
Gardens by the Bay light show. They light up the SuperTrees to music every night. It’s very futuristic
Introduce Yourself (Example Post)
This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.
You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.
Why do this?
- Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
- Because it will help you focus you own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.
The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.
To help you get started, here are a few questions:
- Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
- What topics do you think you’ll write about?
- Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
- If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?
You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.
Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.
When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.
Conor’s Asia/Australia Trip 