Qui Nhon Sadly I didn't venture out much in this city because I was sick from seafood poisoning (it got worse). Luckily my room (at Ngoc Quy - a wonderful guesthouse) had a smart TV so I got into Netflix and watched Ken Burns' Vietnam pretty much nonstop for 2 days. When I did leave the hotel for food and walks on the beach, I got stares and hellos on every block. There are hardly any Westerners or tourists. I've never seen so many coffee shops, and they all seem to do well. Good coffee is easy to find anywhere in Vietnam. The beach is vast and usually empty. During low tide, it's absolutely ideal for soccer matches (see photos). There were even some organized games going on. The water is a bit murky and people ... read more

If you travel for unique experiences, skip Hoi An. I've heard it was an extraordinary place just a few years ago, but the hordes have moved in. Unlike Sa Pa, there were no mountains to slow its development, so it's already become what the towns around Sa Pa will become in 10 years. Sophisticated video ads for tailors pop up on Facebook. It costs $6 just to cross an ordinary walking bridge in the old town. Safari-style Jeeps clog the streets. Evenings in the old town are eclipsed by thousands and thousands of Korean tourists taking selfies. I actually had a pretty fun time riding a bicycle through all of this. I was still feeling pretty sick, so I didn't take any tours into the Marble Mountains, which also might have been good. If you're somehow ... read more

I did the Halong Bay tour from the port in Haiphong, so it made sense to check out Haiphong, being the third-largest city in Vietnam, before flying from there to Danang. But the port is enormous and a taxi from there to the city wasn't cheap ($12). There isn't much here to attract tourists, but the city is clean, well organized, and middle class, and therefore perfect to just stroll around and watch. English is pretty hard to come by here. But people were happy to find someone who could at least say mango, or fish, or airport. Everyone I talked to was kind and helpful. The markets have a fair amount of seafood and there are several Japanese / sushi restaurants. The city center has a long a narrow park that goes on for several ... read more

The New Highway The sleeper bus departed Hanoi at 7AM. I was inch or two too tall for the beds but it was still better than a regular bus. Tourists once preferred the overnight train, but the new highway to Sa Pa has changed things. Out the window were endless plains of rice fields, many punctuated with roadside tombstones and shrines. We arrived a little after noon. A dozen or so guides - all women - waited outside the bus. When I got off, they asked if I had a guide. I earnestly said yes, so they let me be. H'Mong Guide I'd arranged with my homestay to meet my guide at the town church. Mae introduced herself as I towered over her. The first question she asked is how old I am. I refused to ... read more

Kuala Lumpur unabashedly embraces generic capitalism, and its pride seamlessly connects the sprawling network of shopping malls with clean, air-conditioned, covered walkways, well-planned parks, and excellent public transport. You can find every brand name store imaginable. Some seem to only be there as an advertisement, like the Salomon store that had maybe 20 items and no running shoes. Being a child of the 80s, there was something oddly reassuring about walking through a busy indoor mall. Peggy and I stayed at an Airbnb at Fraser Place, one of countless residential skyscrapers where one must factor in time waiting for the elevator to go to one of 25 characterless floors. I'm sure there are still plenty of alleyways left where you can experience the traditional culture, but it's possible to visit the city center and believe it ... read more