Sixtysomething-year-old newlyweds travelling the world together – Adventure Awaits!
The Mekong Delta cruise is something that we might not have considered for our itinerary, at least partly due to uneasiness about exposing ourselves to mosquito-borne illness - this is always a concern in Southeast Asia. But it was part of the tour we had arranged and, after doing a little research, John gave it … Continue reading Cruising the Mekong Delta
Before going to Saigon, we had heard some pretty mixed things about it. A couple we had met down the road in Hue had been there for several days and hadn’t liked it at all. So, we were pleasantly surprised to find that it reminded us of Hanoi, which we enjoyed a lot. We had … Continue reading Freewheeling Saigon
While in Hoi An, John and I discovered Grasshopper Tours, a highly-rated bicycle touring company. One of their offerings is a ride to the villages in the Vietnamese countryside. We both signed up but, unfortunately, on the morning we were to go, which was our last day in Hoi An, John wasn’t feeling up to … Continue reading A bike ride through the Vietnam countryside
John and I decided a while back to schedule a tour for our time in Vietnam. We normally just plan our travel on our own, not wanting someone else to determine our schedule for us. The reason we opted for a tour in Vietnam is that we had read that Vietnam can be hard to … Continue reading A day in Hue, then on to Hoi An
Halong Bay is the most popular tourist activity in Vietnam. Most people, even if they’ve never heard of Halong Bay, have seen the pictures of it, with its towering islands covered with jungle vegetation rising up from the bay. These are karst towers, meaning that they are made from soft rock, limestone in this case, … Continue reading Cruising Halong Bay
Women in Hanoi It was surprising, and cool, to see that there is a museum in Hanoi devoted to the women of the country. I went to see it. The first floor was devoted to marriage, family, and women’s roles in fishing and farming. There are a number of tribes in Vietnam in the hills … Continue reading More on Hanoi: Women, the Hanoi Hilton, and the meal that brought Barack Obama and Anthony Bourdain together
On our first morning in Hanoi, walking out of our hotel, the Hilton Garden Inn (that’s right: we are staying at the Hanoi Hilton), we couldn’t help but be charmed by the street scenes. Hundreds of scooters crowd the streets, and at busy intersections they move in an effortless chaos that resembles choreography, all to … Continue reading First impressions of Hanoi
Although I’ve never really associated Hong Kong with great hiking, it turns out that there are some very fine trails on these islands. John and I chose the Dragon’s Back hike, which is often on must-do lists of activities in Hong Kong. To get to the trailhead, we took two trains and a bus, a … Continue reading Hiking the Dragon’s Back
We made plans to visit Hong Kong in the early spring, before protests and demonstrations in the city had become a weekend fixture. As we drew closer to our late October dates for our time in the city, we had many discussions over whether we should visit. Would we be safe? Would we be able … Continue reading Hong Kong in a time of unrest
When we were in Kuala Lumpur, locals asked us where we were going next in our travels. We replied that our next stop was Penang and they said, “Oh, you’re going to food heaven.” In Penang, it was the same: everyone refers to the place as food heaven. Penang comes by its food culture honestly. … Continue reading Penang, Malaysia: Five days in Food Heaven
You and Me, Odyssey 