Where Globe-Trotting meets Beach-Combing
Driving through the Red River Delta en route to Ha Long Bay from Hanoi was fascinating and terrifying. Fascinating: we passed a motorbike carrying about 100 live chickens in baskets, then another with ducks, and finally one carrying five small pigs in a basket across the back wheel! Terrifying: we drove most of the way…
“Hanoi felt like a cross between Beijing and Moscow. It’s cool, clean, chic and open. From the moment we landed in the airport it was clear that Ha Noi is far more fashionable than its southern sisters” (Stripes Kanto, “Land of Ascending Dragon Lures with Beauty, More” by Mari Krueger, February 2011). “Who says the…
What follows is a short and probably biased history of Cambodia. The Khmer Empire began around 800 when Khmer King Jayavarman II declared independence from Java, marrying well and raising enough military support to form Kambujadesa. He drew new boundaries: China to the north, Champa (Central Vietnam) to the east, the Gulf of Thailand to…
I like how Japan celebrates the new year’s firsts: first sunrise, first temple visit, first time you write your name, first calligraphy or tea ceremony of the year. In that vein, I made note of our firsts for 2011 on New Year’s Day: first taxi ride, first conical hat sighting, first flight, first passport stamp,…
Night fell over Saigon as we walked through streets lined with stalls popping up for the night market. The city center buzzed with motorbikes and traffic jams. We dodged them on sidewalks and at intersections. A crisp blue banner announced, “Welcome the first international tourists to Ho Chi Minh City in 2011” over a crowded…
“Is Ho Chi Minh City still called ‘Saigon’?” I ask. Tring smiled hesitantly. “People here—we like to hear it,” she said. “On forms we have to write Ho Chi Minh City, but everyone says Saigon.” “Saigon is colorful and crowded and loud. People are everywhere—on plastic stools and chairs sipping Vietnam’s excellent coffee, squatting by…
We’d hoped to go to the beach; again, it was raining. Then our incomprehensible tour guide called to haggle over our final afternoon’s itinerary. All in all, it was shaping up to be a crappy last day of vacation. I felt resigned as our car arrived. We proceeded to Da Nang’s China Beach as planned….
