Vietnam

Love – The Universal Language – A Story From Vietnam

September 24, 2012

On my last night in Hanoi something wonderful happened. I was couchsurfing with Van, an awesome 24-year-old woman and I got to meet her whole family. We were talking when her grandma walked up the stairs. Though she was a bit winded from walking up the stairs, she seemed in good health and spirits. She [...]

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Hanoi, Vietnam – A Chaotic And Historic Capital

September 20, 2012

Hanoi was a bit underwhelming, to be honest. It’s the capital of Vietnam, its second-biggest city, and it was the last city I’d visit before heading to Laos. As I headed north in Vietnam, the people seemed to get less patient, more frenetic, more confrontational, and less respectful. And being in traffic was just horrible [...]

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The Former Vietnam DMZ – Tunnels, Cemetery, And Military Base/Museum

September 19, 2012

The Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone cut the country in half along the 17th parallel. It was later moved to the Ben Hai River as you can’t see a degree of latitude in real life. Here is a video crossing the river from what used to be North Vietnam into South Vietnam: I visited the Demilitarized Zone [...]

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Knowingly Getting Robbed On A Bus In Vietnam

September 18, 2012

I’m sure I have been cheated out of money dozens of times on my trip. I pay the “foreigner” tax or the “gringo” tax and that’s just how it goes. Sometimes I catch a small smirk as they earn twice as much as they should have from the sale, other times I’d never know. But [...]

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Anh – The Smiling Undercover Superhero Of Da Nang, Vietnam

September 17, 2012

For me, Da Nang, Vietnam conjures up one image – the smiling face of Anh. In Da Nang I arranged to couchsurf with Phuong. But she told me I couldn’t stay in her home, but rather I’d stay with a friend of hers – the founder of an organization called Tam Thien that helps kids with [...]

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Hoi An, Vietnam – Asia’s Ancient Trading Hub

September 15, 2012

Hoi An is one of the stops on the Vietnamese Tourist Trail. It used to dominate trade in Southeast Asia a couple hundred years ago and was a melting pot of trade among Asians, Arabs, and Indians – later Europeans as well. With such a rich history comes a very beautiful town. The streets are [...]

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“Going Rogue” And Renting A Motorbike

September 13, 2012

When I was in Ho Chi Minh City I had the crazy idea of buying a motorbike and exploring Vietnam on my own, going from city to city using my motorbike. Logic won me over in the end. Plus, I read online that if you are involved in an accident and you have no valid [...]

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Dalat, Vietnam – Vietnam’s Honeymoon Capital Up In The Mountains

September 12, 2012

Da Lat is the honeymoon capital of Vietnam and it’s easy to see why. You may think of the perfect honeymoon destination being a warm, sandy beach. But most Vietnamese people already live in a very hot environment and beaches line the coast. Da Lat offers something special for the Vietnamese – chilly weather! It [...]

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So Many Questions And So Much Sadness In Southeast Asia

September 6, 2012

So far my time in Southeast Asia has made me contemplate and look within a lot. It’d be easy to let the sadness of the recent past overwhelm all the awesomeness and smiles currently going on in these countries. But some horrible atrocities have been committed here very much within living memory – namely the [...]

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