Welcome! Marjorie & I have visited 48 states, 9 Canadian provinces, 26 European countries, plus Vietnam, Brazil, Argentina, Costa Rica, Bermuda, the Bahamas, Australia, New Zealand, and Tahiti. And our own Northeast offers many options for day trips and B-and-Bs. I've shared trip journals with a loyal (or long-suffering) readership of family and friends. After retiring I started this blog hoping others will find my accounts and photos interesting, and maybe find useful travel tips.
Vietnam? Really? That’s a common
response to our trip. What led us to travel to Vietnam? The Socialist Republic
of Vietnam has a complicated history for Americans, considering the war and
anti-war protests during our own youth. During my 1st year of
graduate school at Wisconsin, in the midst of anti-war protests (I remember the
National Guard marching down Johnson St. in Madison lobbing tear gas!), I was
fortunate to get a high “score” on the draft lottery. So I didn’t personally face
the difficult decisions and experiences of many of my peers. Many years
later, images of Vietnam are much different. And it offers a beautiful & exotic
opportunity to visit a very different culture. We’ve been to Asia
geographically, 2 trips to Turkey crossed the Bosporus into “Asia Minor,” but
that didn’t seem a truly Asian experience. Travel to China raises concerns both
political and environmental. So we were attracted by a “12 Day Classic
Vietnam” tour offered by Gate1, a company with which we’ve had excellent travel
experiences both independent & escorted (5 previous Gate1 for me, 4 for
Marjorie). The itinerary looked excellent, though some of the history noted
above was reflected in a cautionary note that some might be uncomfortable doing
an optional tour thru a tunnel network built by the Viet Cong; we skipped it. Vietnam
seems a popular and welcoming destination: friends Don & Lyla recently
returned w/ some tips on sights, shopping, and restaurants; my student I-Hsin
has also traveled in the area; and we’ve heard good things from others. Son Matt
gave us Traveler & Fodor’s books for help w/ planning.
