Category Travel
Mekong River Delta – The yin and the yang
Today was an exercise in appreciating the principle that there must be opposition in all things. And by “appreciating”, I mean “feeling really annoyed by” (for the most part, anyway; by the end of the day things sort of balanced out). Having seen the major sights in Saigon yesterday, we set aside today for a […]
Saigon – City highlights by motorbike
As in every other city we’ve visited in Vietnam, Saigon’s streets are teeming with thousands of motorbikes zooming in what seems like (and often is) every direction. This morning, we joined the throngs for a “city highlights” tour by motorbike. We booked through XO Tours, and so this morning we were met at the hotel by […]
Hue to Danang to Saigon
Today was one of those transitional days where the bulk of the time is spent in transit from one stage of the trip to the next. In this case, we went from Hue (technically part of North Vietnam, though only just barely) back to Danang (on the other side of the North/South line, and the […]
JJDSFT Challenge #3: Curious Uncle Ho Goes to Hue
Peggy’s Challenge: Purchase the most RIDICULOUS stuffed animal you can find and carry it with you all day (so you’ll fit in with the locals). Your new friend should be present in all pictures you take for the day. JJD’s Response: First of all, I want to point out that the photo that inspired this challenge was […]
Hoi An – Full Moon Festival
On the fourteenth day of each lunar month the town of Hoi An celebrates the full moon by closing off the old city to cars, lighting the streets only with colored lanterns, and floating candles down the river. The vibe is festive and the crowds are heavy in places; tourists and locals jostle for space to […]
Hoi An – Taste of Hoi An Food Tour
The alarm went off at 6:30am this morning; by 7:15am we were sitting in the lobby of our hotel waiting for Neville Dean to show up. He’s a garrulous Australian entrepreneur who “retired” to Hoi An a few years ago with his “long-suffering wife Colleen” (that’s how he always refers to her) to live out the rest of […]
JJDSFT Challenge #2: Moustaches and/or the (possibly) future Miss Vietnam
Challenge: Fashion 2 homemade moustaches out of any kind of paper and find a native who will wear one, you wear one and them take a picture. Go. Response: Okay, so we didn’t follow all the instructions exactly as written. These are finger moustaches and not paper moustaches (unless fingers fall within the definition of “any kind […]
Hoi An – Woah, this is Vietnam?
Last night we flew from Hanoi to Danang, and then drove from Danang to Hoi An, which is about half an hour away by car. We got in late at night, so we didn’t see anything on the way in — all we did was grab something to eat and go to bed. This morning we woke […]
Hoi An – Relaxing on the beach? Check.
I don’t really do “sit on the beach and relax” vacations. To date my maximum has been about four days, after which I went crazy and had to run up a mountain. You know, to accomplish something. So it’s kind of perfect that I’m traveling with Vanessa, who has an equally low tolerance for so-called “relaxation” (and […]
Bai Tu Long Bay – Vung Vieng floating fishing village
As Vietnam modernizes as a state, one of the challenges it faces is tracking down all the people who live in these myriad islands and providing various public services to them (little things, such as education and health care…). As long as they lived hidden away in caves, that was virtually impossible to do. So […]
A More Gentlemanlike Manner 