Around Town in Hồ Chí Minh City We stayed in the Backpacker District of Hồ Chí Minh City, formerly known as Saigon. The city has a lot of traffic, but the flow seemed to be more organized than in Hà…
Hội An
Arriving in Hội An Hội An was one of our favorite places in Vietnam. It’s a small town of about 120,000 people and the whole area is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Throughout history, Hội An has been…
Huế
The Train to Huế We took the SE2 express train from Đà Nẵng to Huế, capital city of the Vietnamese Nguyễn Dynasty from 1802 to 1945. Our seat was in the more expensive soft seat section of the train but…
Đà Nẵng
Đà Nẵng, Street Food, and Orange Hotel Our plan was to take the sleeper train from Hà Nội to Đà Nẵng, but the train was booked — we flew instead. Linley had a very sleepy Vietnamese neighbor on the plane…
Hạ Long Bay
The Road to Hạ Long Bay & Our Boat, Paloma Hạ Long Bay is only about 90 miles away from Hà Nội, but it still is a 4-hour drive. We met some good friends while crammed into a mini-bus. After…
Hà Nội
Hoàn Kiếm District (Old Quarter) Our hotels in Hà Nội were located in the Hoàn Kiếm district (a.k.a. the Old Quarter). The streets are small, the sidewalks covered in motorbike parking or nonexistent, and the health code not enforced (if…
Seoul
We Arrive in Seoul & Mago Guest House The KTX train got us from Gyeongju to Seoul quickly and comfortably. When we got to the Seoul train station, the food court was a welcome sight. We then took the Metro…
Watch an American Boy Band Performing in Fukuoka, Japan
We forgot to post this video at the time, but we saw this American boy band performing in a shopping mall in Fukuoka, Japan. Maybe they haven’t quite hit it big back home (in Orange County, CA?) yet.
Gyeongju
Arriving in Gyeongju & Nahbi Guest House Our travel day to Gyeongju was first a 1-hour flight from Jeju Island to Busan, then a 1-hour bus ride from Busan to Gyeongju. Out the window of the plane, we got a…
Jeju Island, Part 2
Hallim Park Hallim Park has a little bit of everything Jeju. The park was established as a tropical garden in 1971 and has grown since to include stone and bonsai gardens, lotus gardens, flower gardens, two lava tube caves, and…