Danang. It is just after 5:30 am as I sit to write this long overdue blog. Sorry to those of you who have written with worries from not having heard from me. I have settled in and become quite lazy. Outside of my lovely big windows, in the suburban Da Nang neighborhood I have been living in for nearly one month, is the daily music and inspirational message for the day, courtesy of the Communist Party of Vietnam. I have come to really enjoy the music – it...

Hue. The girls and I packed up our daypacks and headed out on a little roadtrip. Destination Hue. The imperial city, about 120 kms up the coast from Da Nang – once the capital of the southern kingdom, home to many universities and museums. It is on the Perfume River – a river famous from the Vietnam war, or the American war as it is known in these parts. The Americans dug in on the high banks of the river – built bunkers that still exist to...

The trip to Halong Bay started very early as I got off the night train at 4:30, was dropped off at the travel agency at 5 am, was the only one there in the dark so I kicked the door so the guys who live in it would let me in as it was pouring rain and very very cold - ok, not Calgary cold, but damp, and I am oh so tired cold. I asked the guy if I could have a shower in his little bathroom in the travel agency and he told me it only had cold water so instead I c...

If you are not up to a rant and a long one at that, skip this installment and wait for a happier one. I am sure there will be one soon.Leaving Vietnam. Hit the wall - had enough. Interestingly enough I am writing this on my first plane ride since arriving in Bangkok, what seems so long ago, and I am sitting behind a couple I met in the Departure lounge who have the exact same sentiment. I told them I stayed at least two days too long and they said they stayed...