Vietnam is a country that is at turns magical, sobering, puzzling and unnerving. Travel to Vietnam will immerse you in a unique culture and fascinating experience. Of course, we were concerned about the fallout of the Vietnam War. Although it ended nearly 50 years ago, our entire lifetimes, it is still very present in American …
Visit Vietnam: Ha Long Bay takes your breath away
There's a reason virtually every travel brochure for Vietnam has a picture from Ha Long Bay ... it is miles upon miles of breathtaking beauty. If you've decided to travel to Vietnam then make sure you visit this wonderful UNESCO World Heritage site. Halong Bay features thousands of limestone monolithic islands, many with incredible caves. …
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Travel to Cambodia: Stunning temples & ‘extreme foods’
Exiting the plane into Siem Reap, Cambodia, you feel as though you were diverted to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. It looks precisely the same: low, pointed straw roof, no gates, open walled building in the dripping humid heat. But the giant red Buddha head staring down at you once you walk inside makes you realize …
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India Retrospective: Letters home from Bangalore & Delhi
This posting is from our original travel blog about our travel to India, published in 2008, and was mainly a collection of emails to friends and family also published on one of the now defunct personal blog sites. It has been edited for clarity and privacy considerations. February 2008: Welcome to Bangalore! Hi everybody! We …
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We found the Loch Ness Monster … was nowhere to be seen on our trip through Scotland
Does the Loch Ness Monster exist? We have absolutely no idea. Here’s how our little “exploration” went. Traveling with a bunch of good-time friends through Scotland, we made the drive to the lake one cold early morning. We’d been thoroughly enjoying Scottish castles and distilleries, learning about Islay scotch, staying at The Newton, Charlie Chaplin’s …
Yelling at chickens on laid back Ambergris Caye: travel to Belize
The plight of our polluted oceans hits you upside the head on Ambergris Caye, the largest island in Belize. This idyllic little island is mostly traveled by golf cart, which you can rent in many places in the small main town of San Pedro. The water is crystal aquamarine. The fishing is great, and beachside …
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‘Get Closer to the Falls! Get Closer!’
"Get closer to the falls! Get closer to the falls!" was what our guide kept shouting at us while snapping this picture. I'm not sure if it was to get a great pic, or if she just thought we really needed a shower. Iguazu Falls is spectacular, on both the Brazil side and the Argentina …
Visit to North Macedonia: Tracing Mother Teresa’s childhood wanderings through the streets of Skopje
We came to Skopje, the capital of what is now called North Macedonia, in early morning with cold dew drops still dotting all surfaces. This was to be an attempt to see the city as Mother Teresa saw her birthplace. Though of Albanian descent, the woman who would become St. Teresa of Calcutta was born …
Captivated by Croatia: yes, it looks just like ‘Game of Thrones’
Croatia has a stunningly beautiful coastline with cities like Dubrovnik and Split that are well worth a visit. But I’ve got to say, this was a country where the people we encountered were not overly warm – at least they weren’t to us. We kind of pride ourselves in meeting, engaging and befriending locals. It’s …
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Peru Travel: Walking in the footsteps of the Incas at Machu Picchu
You can hike or you can take the bus from nearby Aguas Calientes to see Machu Picchu in the Peruvian Andes. But I’d already been having shortness of breath and nausea in Cusco, which at 11,000 feet above sea level was supposed to help acclimate us for a couple of days before our train to …
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