3 May 2011 Halong Bay Tour – Day 4 Cat Ba Island to Hanoi I am starting to feel a mild sense of panic rising. I usually don’t feel this way on boats but then I’m not typically on boats that are continuing to take on passengers even though there are obviously no seats left. …
2 May 2011 Halong Bay Tour – Day 3 Cat Ba Island Learning the art of doing nothing. A full day on our own and instead of figuring out the logistics of how to get to the National Park on Cat Ba Island and how to hike in the National Park on Cat Ba Island …
1 May 2011 Halong Bay Tour – Day 2 Kayaking Halong Bay His paddle is upside down and he’s telling two of the lovely Brits on our trip to not worry about getting their rudder down. For a kayaking guide he sure doesn’t seem to know much about kayaking. Good thing this is not an …
30 April 2011 Halong Bay Tour – Day 1 Hanoi to Halong Bay Sometimes not getting what you were originally sold works out for the best, even in Vietnam. That luxurious junk boat we’re being ferried over to here on Halong Bay looks like it’s going to count as one of those Sometimes. We’d signed …
29 April 2011 SpiceRoads Cycling Tour – Day 12 Transfer from Danang to Hanoi I can’t remember the last time I saw a flight attendant jump seat in the overwing exit row, but there it is, directly across from me, fixed and rigid and not at all comforting. How old is this plane? Better not …
28 April 2011 SpiceRoads Cycling Tour – Day 11 Around Hoi An (30 Km) Ride from the outskirts of Hoi An to My Son for more temples or go shopping in Hoi An for the day for some inexpensive tailored clothing? The choice seems obvious and yet we feel as though we made the wrong …
27 April 2011 SpiceRoads Cycling Tour – Day 10 Hue to Hoi An (80 Km) Mr. Hau is on the prowl for a fifth wife. Preferably tall, blonde, and American. I think he’s eyed himself a potential candidate in a certain someone we all know and love. But first he’ll need to keep himself out …
26 April 2011 SpiceRoads Cycling Tour – Day 9 Hue (20 Km) I think our tour guide must be kidding as he’s pointing for us to make a left hand turn across a 12 lane intersection that is clogged with hordes of motor scooters and cars and trucks and other bicycles. That or he’s a …
25 April 2011 SpiceRoads Cycling Tour – Day 8 A Luoi to Hue (70 Km) Hills. We like to descend them but we like even more going up them and passing people. People that have been pedaling ahead of us, more often than not waaay ahead of us, for the past seven days of this …
24 April 2011 SpiceRoads Cycling Tour – Day 7 Khe Sanh to A Luoi (70 Km) Yesterday in my cycling despair I asked for a right hand turn. Today, I got what I asked for. After a 14 kilometer descent down a windy, scenic and slightly congested highway, we turned right. Right across a bridge, …