If Hue was a stopover, Hoi An was the place I could have spent a week. I'd heard so many great things from my fellow travelers about the historic town in middle Vietnam, but I still wasn't sure if it would seem too Disney-esque for my liking. But my concerns were unfounded. Hoi An is as iconically … [Read more...] about Lured Into the Charms of Hoi An
Photo Friday: Hue, Vietnam
Where am I? Wandering over the moat and into the city walls of the Imperial Citadel in Hue made me feel like I was walking through turn of the century China, rather than modern day Vietnam. After an overnight train from Hanoi and a day spent recovering from the heat and exhaustion, Sammi … [Read more...] about Photo Friday: Hue, Vietnam
The American War Legacy in Vietnam
War is brutal. That much I knew. But seeing images of the destruction of both Vietnamese and Americans during the war at Saigon's War Remnants Museum, I wanted to know why we went. Was it to support our allies the French in the South? Or to fight the dreaded spread of communism? I didn't live … [Read more...] about The American War Legacy in Vietnam
27 Things to Do Before Turning 27
Today is my 26th birthday, thus ushering me into the age known as "late twenties." My 25th year was one of personal growth and physical fitness. I learned to accept my figure, but despite that lost weight and gained muscle after two a day workouts many days of the week. I ran my first half … [Read more...] about 27 Things to Do Before Turning 27
Traveling During Turmoil
The sound of the mounted police riding past my Charleston house sent shivers down my spine years later, despite the fact that there was nothing afoul with their patrol. It brought me back to the first time I ever saw mounted police, in Paris on New Years Eve 2006. But since my very first trip … [Read more...] about Traveling During Turmoil