Bougainvillea bursting with magenta blossoms hang over doorways and awnings. Fishermen drift lazily along the river, casting long coils of box nets over the side of their simple wooden boats. Delicious aromas waft out of Pho shops. By 6 a.m. I am walking the streets of Hoi An. In the soft dawn light and misty … Read more

Good morning everyone! First, I want to say a big thank you to everyone who is reading this blog on a daily basis. I know there are many of you because you have left comments or sent me emails. I simply cannot answer them all, but please know that I read them all and am … Read more

This morning I threw back the curtains of my hotel room and was rewarded with a gorgeous view of Nha Trang beach. Nha Trang sits on the coast of Vietnam, located only 450 kilometers north of Saigon but a world away from Saigon in every other respect. It is a small town by Vietnamese standards, … Read more

Buses are a great way to see a country but they’re hard on the posterior. I just arrived in Nha Trang after a 12 hour bus ride. What I’d like to know is, who in God’s name designed the seats in buses (or in airplanes, for that matter)? The headrest of my seat was curved … Read more

Originally I had intended to stay only two days in Saigon, so I crammed a couple of tours into the last couple of days to see everything that was highly recommended by the intrepid travelers on the Thorn Tree Forum at Lonely Planet. But I rather like Ho Chi Minh City, formerly Saigon, and felt … Read more