Antidote to Burnout

Outdoor living....

I know that there are differences in climate areas along the length of Vietnam -- the northern provinces can get colder, especially in the winter months. For most of the year, though, it seems to be quite balmy. And Ho... Read more →

House in Ho Chi Minh City

Although we are out of Vietnam for a month or so, I still have several topics to cover -- this one is about a typical house in Ho Chi Minh City. We stayed at friends of Hien's during our five... Read more →

Crowds....

I grew up in a small town -- Shelby, Montana, population 3,000 souls. I went to college in Bozeman, Montana, population 15,000 people. Montana's population density is among the lowest in the world. I tend to have an aversion to... Read more →

Temporary travel change....

I am now home in San Francisco for one day to do laundry, and early tomorrow morning I head out to meet my father, brother, and sister-in-law in Branson, Missouri for a week. Branson is where many aging country-western stars... Read more →

Then and now....

I will try to end my Vietnam 1972 nostalgia phase with this short series of "then and now" pictures. In downtown Saigon, here was the Grand Hotel in 1972 at the foot of what was then Tu Do Street and... Read more →

Avoiding road rage....

If you are prone to road rage, Vietnam is not the place for you. Given four million motorbikes (not to mention cars, trucks, buses, bicycles, and cyclos) in Ho Chi Minh City alone, the traffic congestion can be very frustrating.... Read more →

More Bia Hoi....

In a 4 October posting, I described the bia hoi (fresh beer) places in Hanoi. Of course bia hoi is available all over in Ho Chi Minh City also. In my earlier posting, I had said that one never sees... Read more →

Relaxing in Nha Trang

We stopped off in Nha Trang between Hoi An and Ho Chi Minh City. I wanted to go there to taste its famous seafood, and Hien remembered Nha Trang as a fine beach vacation location. And both were true. Nha... Read more →

For KMD readers -- Update on Duyen:

Good KMD folks will remember fondly Duyen Tran, the Vietnamese intern we enjoyed working with a couple of summers ago. On her return to Hanoi, she moved to Ho Chi Minh City and is doing well. We enjoyed a wonderful... Read more →

Historical Architecture in Hoi An, Vietnam

End of Japanese Bridge Originally uploaded by layered. The Lonely Planet Guide to Vietnam describes Hoi An, a small town south of Danang, as a living museum. Over 800 structures dating from the first half of the 19th century have... Read more →

Egg and chicken

As I have mentioned in earlier postings, my wife prefers street food in Asia. In this case in Hoi An, she bought an egg which was ripe with a fully formed chick. She ate it through an opening in the... Read more →

Hoi An Xua Restaurant

We are doing a bit of catching up here on last week's activities. (We are currently in Ho Chi Minh City.) In this case, we were in Hoi An, the must-see small town just south of Danang. In my 10... Read more →

If you want to come to Vietnam,,,,

As I have been travelling down Vietnam, I have been thinking about the possible reactions of my friends and family as they come to visit Vietnam. If they have travelled much in South America or other parts of Asia, for... Read more →

Admitting nostalgia....

I have been kidding myself (or lying to myself) that I am not returning to Vietnam out of nostalgia for the good times I had in Vietnam in 1971 and 1972. I have been telling myself that I know Vietnam... Read more →

Lunch at the Fujian Congregation Hall

Through my wife's friendship with a Fujian (ethnic Chinese with ancestors from Fujian province in China) gentleman in Hoi An, we were invited to the Fujian Congregation Hall for lunch. The ethnic Chinese groups in Hoi An have all built... Read more →

Fujian House in Hoi An

My wife Hien was born and raised in Vietnam, but she is ethnic Chinese, and her ancestors came from Fujian province. On two previous trips to Vietnam, she visited Hoi An which is one of the few Chinese communities in... Read more →

Hoi An, Vietnam

I drove through Hoi An four or five times in 1972 on the way to a construction site five kilometers beyond Hoi An on the coastal beach. We had contracted with a Vietnamese contractor to build 100 units of family... Read more →

Torrential Rains in Hue

There were torrential rains in Hue the entire time were there (7 & 8 October) that left the streets around our hotel flooded. Therefore we did no touring there and caught up on sleep. This is unfortunate because Hue is... Read more →

Late Postings....

Please excuse my posting several items after a week of inactivity. Unlike China, internet access is a bit more dicy although available everywhere. The internet cafes are packed by Vietnamese playing computer games every night and connections become too slow.... Read more →

Itinerary Update

After arriving in Hanoi on the afternoon of 30 September, we spent the next day walking about the Old Quarter absorbing the overall impact of the life of the city. On the next day, we rented a motor bike (over... Read more →

_________ happens

It had to happen eventually on this trip -- traveler's diarrhora. It started on the bus trip to Halong Bay, and got going good after boarding the boat for a two-day boat ride, most of which I experienced in my... Read more →

Hanoi impressions....

When I was in Saigon in 1972, I remembered the herds of motor bikes with the tooting of horns and noise. But even this did not prepare me for the Old Quarter of Hanoi. The streets in the Old Quarter... Read more →

Arriving in Hanoi

We arrived in Vietnam on 30 September via train from Nanning, China to the border station at Lang Son, Vietnam. The guidebooks say that the border procedures at land crossings are much more stressful and chaotic than airport intakes, and... Read more →

Beer Aplenty....

The vietnamese seem to have developed (with the help of Austrians) something that the remainder of the world should copy. Nameless microbrewies make kegs of unpasteurized draught beer daily and deliver it all over the country. This beer is used... Read more →

More snacks....

I don't intend for this to become a food blog, but food is such a large part of travel, especially in Asia. Vietnam certainly continues our fascination with food snacks. We are traveling on the "backpacker" economy, which means cheap... Read more →

Lodging standards

In my 21 September posting on staying in a factory town, I stated that we were staying in the homes of local friends of Hien's, or friends of friends. Until now. As we head down into Vietnam, we have run... Read more →