Wow, what a full day! Let's get started. First, a note on the weather. As you have probably gathered, while temperatures have been suffocatingly hot here in southern Vietnam, in terms of precipitation the weather has been good, with only brief spots of rain. Today, however, we awake to angry, overcast skies. Buffet breakfast at the resort and then we are off on the bus to explore Hoi An, considered one of the jewels of Vietnam's cultural heritage. The unique combination of Chinese, Japanese and Vietnamese influences in the old town have earned it a UNESCO heritage site designation. Hoi An's survival was a result of several factors. First, it used to be a major port, but the river gradually silted over and the town literally became a backwater. Second, its proximity to Danang during the ... read more

Breakfast at the hotel and on the bus. We are in Hue, the ancient capital of Vietnam and one of its most important historical areas. The basic look and feel of the city is similar to Saigon, perhaps slightly more dilapidated. I would guess that there are more bicycles, even though they are still outnumbered by motorbikes. One interesting difference is the presence of many older buildings that are still in use, some from the colonial French period, some from the 19th-century Mang dynasty, and some even older. It is fascinating to see a relatively modern construction standing right next to a stone building right out of Indiana Jones. As we leave the city and climb into the surrounding hills, we have a view of the broad Perfume River that flows through Hue to the sea. ... read more

After breakfast, we check out of the hotel. We have repacked so that we can live out of one carry-on for tonight. On the bus and we are off to the Mekong Delta, about 3 hours SE of Saigon. It's a long drive down Highway 1, the main road that stretches the length of Vietnam. We use the opportunity to observe ordinary life in progress as we drive by. There are countless shops and businesses right lining the highway. There's nowhere to park, so clearly the target clientele is motorcyclists. As I've noted before, everyday activities often spill out onto the sidewalk and even the road. It's rare to see someone sitting at a table. More commonly one squats or sits on a low stool. We see people engaged in everything from preparing food to fixing ... read more

Up at 6:30, much refreshed. Breakfast at hotel; very nice mixture of Vietnamese, Chinese and western food. Fresh fruit is fantastic. A.J. and Kien deliver a briefing in the lobby at 8:15 and we are on our way at 8:30 for a full-day tour of Saigon. As the bus struggles through the morning traffic, we get close-up views of the endless flow of motorbikes. A.J. mentions that the country counts some 13 million motorbikes, the most per capita in the world. (Vietnam's total population is 90 million.) The first contrast I notice with China is that most motorcyclists are wearing helmets. Kien tells me that helmets are mandated by law. Weirdly, children are exempt, so we see kids perched on the handbars or the cargo without helmets (shudder). The helmets range from regular motorcycle helmets to ... read more

We are off on a month-long trip to Southeast Asia (Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Thailand) organized by Panda Travel. Our group comprises 16 people, mostly hailing from Ottawa.... read more