It’s here, the end of our Vietnam adventure; and an adventure it’s been. I’d say that, next to India, this has been the most challenging location. Sure, the language barrier was a big part of it. While the younger generation of Vietnamese learns English in school, they have little opportunity to use it as it […]
After returning to Hanoi from my overnight in Halong Bay, I grab my suitcase and move to the Tu Linh Legend Hotel, which was recommended to me by a couple I met on the airport shuttle in Hoi An. I’ve found the personal recommendations much more reliable than the reviews on the various travel sites, […]
Today I fly from Da Nang to Hanoi. It’s about the same distance as the train I took from Saigon to Da Nang and, although the sleeping accommodations on the train weren’t bad, I just can’t look another Vietnamese train restroom in the eye. And while the train allowed me to see some of the […]
Today I’m taking my life into my hands and renting a motorbike. It’s easy to do through my home stay as Blue Clouds rents them for $5.00 per day and there’s no muss or fuss. In fact, it’s not until half-way through the day that I realize I haven’t even brought my international driver’s permit […]
When I arrived in Hoi An, I thought I might take a tour or two to see the surrounding area but, after yesterday’s wandering, I’m charmed by this ancient town and really don’t want to stray very far. It reminds my much of those historic German towns of Rostock and Lübeck in which I was […]
Today I leave Da Nang and, while I’ve enjoyed it more than Saigon, the challenges with dishonesty remain stumbling-blocks in the way of me actually liking Vietnam. What helps are my young friend Yen and her family. (I met them yesterday. Read about it in Disappointments and Amusements.) They also leave Da Nang today to […]
I’m up early the next morning as I have an 8:00 meeting with Viet, the Founder and Director of Volunteer Vietnam. When you decided to drop me here, I typed the search terms volunteer Vietnam in Facebook and found just a couple of organizations; he was the first to answer. (The other was an environmental […]
The train arrives at the Da Nang train station at 1:00, only thirty minutes late. While waiting to step off, I look into the public sink-room next to the train attendants room and notice a glass filled with liquid which could be apple juice but is most likely something else. I step off the train […]
Today’s the day I leave Saigon. I’d like to say this makes me sad but, it’s time. Saigon is a city of ten million and, with that many people, it’s not as if I’ll be missed. While it might be right for some, the traffic, the noise, the amount of very persistent people trying to […]
After finishing today’s tour of the Me Kong Delta, I check into the Hau Giang 2 Hotel, in Cân Tho, and head up to my room. I’ve been told by Sam, the guide who took me ton my hotel, to meet in the lobby at 7:30am tomorrow for the tour. When I enter my room […]
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