Tai Sanh

It was great having more time for Hoi An this trip than I did when I first visited back in 2007. Nice also was having a short ride up the coast to my next stop of Da Nang. I saw a lot of Danang back in '07 and might have skipped it entirely this time around, but I wanted to have my motorbike serviced. Da Nang is a major city (Vietnam's fourth-largest), so it would probably have everything necessary to repair the bike if needed. But "Sookie" was in great shape and content to just have an oil change and a few minor adjustments. That left me with nearly a full day and the next morning to enjoy the sun and surf at Da Nang's China Beach (My Khe). The beach and sea are cleaner than ... read more

Just a week into the bike tour, and I've already noticed that a month is barely an adequate amount of time to get a good look at Vietnam. I would have liked to spend another day in Dalat, but instead it was time to head for the central highlands provinces of Dac Lac and Dac Nong. I made a wrong turn leaving Dalat (awfully easy to do here in Vietnam since roads and destinations often aren't clearly marked) and added an hour to my ride to Lac Lake, a ways south of Buon Ma Thuot in Dac Lac. Still I made it to Lac Lake a couple hours before nightfall, and I spent the night right on the lake's shore. The room I stayed in usually goes for $25 a night, but a tour guide in ... read more

After overnighting in Mui Ne, I began Day 2 by viewing Fairy Springs (Suoi Tien), which was just a five-minute walk from my resort. Much of southern Vietnam has very bright red soil, due to high levels of basalt. Fairy Springs is essentially a stream that runs through a radiant, beautifully-sculpted orange-red canyon. I made it there early enough to largely have the place to myself, so it made for a very pleasant morning. Then it was on the bike to head for Phan Rang, further up the coast from Mui Ne. I had to spend some of this day (and Day 3) on Highway 1. This is Vietnam's main thoroughfare, so it can get, well, wild. One sees everything from trucks and garish pink tour busses to oxcarts and schoolkids on this road. Hired drivers ... read more

I've now lived for nearly four years in Vung Tau, Vietnam, a coastal resort city about 40 miles southeast of Ho Chi Minh City. I've supported myself by teaching English. Vung Tau has much to offer, and the English teaching has rewarded both materially and spiritually. Still, about a year ago I decided that my Vietnam experience would be incomplete without living for a time in the north. Also, Hanoi up north has many universities. Back in the States I was a Research Specialist, doing sociological and psychological research with a group having university affiliations. I liked this old job of mine and feel it's unfortunate that I no longer use and develop skills I acquired working 15 years for the research group. Maybe in the capital I can get a job with a university and ... read more