Asian Adventure: Steamy Saigon

Today we left our hotel early and flew from Hue to Saigon.  The official name of the city is Ho Chi Minh City, the name since unification in 1975, but the airport code is SGN.  We’ve discovered that in the north almost everyone calls it HCM City; the older generation is more apt to call …

Asian Adventure: Hue Sights

Today was very hot and humid and the sun was out–almost for the first time since we arrived in Vietnam!  This morning we boarded one of the smaller colorful dragon boats that ply the Perfume River here in Hue.  It was just us and our guide plus the pilot of the boat and a woman vendor …

Asian Adventure: Road from Hoi An to Hue

Yesterday we traveled by car from Hoi An to Hue via the Marble Mountains and the Cham Museum.  From Hoi An, we drove through Danang and along the coast passing many ocean resorts with new ones under construction.  Tourism is big business for both Danang and Hoi An.  As any of my generation will recall, Danang was …

Asian Adventure: Halong Bay & Hoi An

It has been a busy several days and so I’m just now getting caught up on our recent adventures.  This part of our trip is vacation, that’s if you can call it that when you’re retired!  We left Hanoi for the almost 4 hour trip by car to the marina at Halong Bay where we …