Category Archives: Vietnam

14 days with a purpose: eat great Vietnamese food

Posted on November 15, 2013 by simpletravelourway

TripAdvisor listed 349 restaurants in Hoi An. We calculated we could easily dine at a dozen restaurants over our 14-day stay. Highly rated restaurants made our list and cost would have been a consideration, too, but in Vietnam most prices … Continue reading →

Posted in Around-the World - 2013-14, Vietnam | Tagged 3 Dragons, Ancient Faifo, around the world, Baby Mustard, Bao Han, Enjoy Hoi An, food, Ganesh, Hoi An, Little Menu, Mermaid, Minh Hien Quan Chay, Miss Ly's Cafeteria, Morning Glory, restaurants, Seedlings, Streets, travel, Vietnam | 11 Comments

Old pants in tatters, the search was on

Posted on November 12, 2013 by simpletravelourway

Beth wears her favorite clothing long after most people would have retired the garments. One pair of treasured black silk pants were worn till the hems were frayed and tiny holes appeared near the seams. A seemingly endless search over … Continue reading →

Posted in Around-the World - 2013-14, Vietnam | Tagged around the world, Hoang Kim, Hoi An, Minh Loan, sewing, silk, tailoring, travel, Vietnam | 7 Comments

What we saw walking 137,890 steps

Posted on November 9, 2013 by simpletravelourway

14 days. 137,890 steps walked. 30 miles biked. We strolled down pedestrian shopping streets, tentatively walked down alleys, biked over bridges. We came upon different views of Hoi An, and we often pulled out our cameras to catch a scene … Continue reading →

Posted in Around-the World - 2013-14, Vietnam | Tagged around the world, ferries, Hoi An, Japanese Bridge, lanterns, photography, travel, Vietnam | 2 Comments

Baby Mustard

Posted on November 8, 2013 by simpletravelourway

Ratings don’t usually lie. For ten days, we ate our way through some of the restaurants rated best in Hoi An, and the restaurant rated #3, Baby Mustard, had so far eluded us. The restaurant lay beyond walking distance from … Continue reading →

Posted in Around-the World - 2013-14, Vietnam | Tagged around the world, Baby Mustard, Cao Nhu Nguyet, farming, food, Hoi An, travel, Vietnam | 6 Comments

Basket boats at the beach

Posted on November 7, 2013 by simpletravelourway

What were those little dots bobbing just off the coast in the South China Sea? Vietnamese Basket Boats. When France ruled Vietnam, a tax was levied on boats. Resourceful Vietnamese stopped using boats and switched to large baskets for fishing, … Continue reading →

Posted in Around-the World - 2013-14, Vietnam | Tagged An Bang Beach, around the world, beach, Cua Dai Beach, Hoi An, travel, Vietnamese basket boats | 3 Comments

Get Out and Vote (wherever you are)

Posted on November 2, 2013 by simpletravelourway

We checked off the who-to-contact list to notify we’d be out of the country: bank, credit cards – and WOW! – at the last minute we remembered to contact the voting registrar. Our absentee ballots arrived by email when we … Continue reading →

Posted in Around-the World - 2013-14, Vietnam | Tagged around the world travel, travel, voting | 8 Comments

Floating on the water

Posted on October 31, 2013 by simpletravelourway

We awoke to silence and wondered for a second where we were. Then we remembered. We were on the junk boat, Dragon’s Pearl I. 5:30AM. Time to see sunrise in Ha Long Bay. As we cruised slowly through the waters, … Continue reading →

Posted in Around-the World - 2013-14, Vietnam | Tagged around the world, Dragon’s Pearl I, Ha Long Bay, junk boat, kayak, travel, Vietnam | 4 Comments

We spied trouble ahead and our ship had already left the port

Posted on October 30, 2013 by simpletravelourway

Oh, how we wanted to take a cruise on Ha Long Bay! We studied websites, avidly read recommendations, and considered prices before we dipped into out travel “slush fund” and booked a package deal through Hotel Serene in Hanoi. After … Continue reading →

Posted in Around-the World - 2013-14, Vietnam | Tagged around the world, cruise, Dragon’s Pearl I, Ha Long Bay, Hanoi, Hotel Serene, overnight cruise, travel, Vietnam | 4 Comments

More to be seen

Posted on October 29, 2013 by simpletravelourway

A tourist is not the same as a traveler. We’re travelers, but we see tourists often. We watched swarms of tourists who tumbled out of tour buses at the Temple of Literature in Hanoi. They followed guides who flitted here and … Continue reading →

Posted in Around-the World - 2013-14, Vietnam | Tagged around the world, Confucius, Hanoi, KOTO, photography, Temple of Learning, travel, Vietnam | 1 Comment

Hanoi is full

Posted on October 26, 2013 by simpletravelourway

Hanoi is full and bursting at the seams. Vendors without stores wheeled or carried their full inventories. Motor scooters and a few bikes and cars clogged the streets in (what appeared to western eyes to be) chaotic streams of endless … Continue reading →

Posted in Around-the World - 2013-14, Vietnam | Tagged around the world, Hanoi, travel, Vietnam | 4 Comments