This post is part of a series called Vietnam 2013 Sitting in Hoi An, having flown from Hanoi to Danang earlier to today, I’m feeling reflective on my first week in Vietnam. At this point in the trip, I have nothing but superlatives for this country. Hanoi is a seething cauldron in the best possible…
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This post is part of a series called Vietnam 2013 Last day in Hanoi – a bit sad really. I’ll write up my thoughts on the city, and week on in Vietnam, tomorrow. For now, let me just say that Hanoi has quickly propelled itself near the top of my list of favorite cities in…
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This post is part of a series called Vietnam 2013 Today, I got on a boat full of interesting people for adventure. A good start to a day! I did a split kayak/climbing day with Asia Outdoors on Cat Ba. Somewhere around 18 of us got on a boat and headed out into the bay…
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This post is part of a series called Vietnam 2013 Cat Ba Island, and, I’m lead to believe, all of Ha Long Bay, is in the category of “places which cannot possibly be real but apparently are.” It’s too perfectly picturesque, like it’s been staged for a film. It’s lush and dramatic and unlike anywhere…
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This post is part of a series called Vietnam 2013 Today was more or less devoted to a trek to the Perfume Pagoda. The “Perfume Pagoda” itself is actually a cave, at the top of a mountain, with a Buddhist temple inside, and it’s part of a large complex with many pagodas. This was one…
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This post is part of a series called Vietnam 2013 (“that’s hot.” Hey, is she still alive?) There is a point at which it can be too warm to enjoy yourself. Or at least, there is for me. Parts of today reached that point – temperatures were again over 100, with humidity in the high…
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This post is part of a series called Vietnam 2013 Let’s talk briefly about The War. As a bleeding-heart left-wing America-apologist, I can’t help but experience Hanoi with a tinge of guilt. I know that that’s reductionist and inarticulate – and hey, at least we’re not the French – but it’s the truth. I obviously…
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This post is part of a series called Vietnam 2013 The Shanghai airport may have lots of redeeming values. I cannot say I experienced them. In many ways, it reminds me of all of the things I dislike about CDG, minus the angry French. Landing in Shanghai, I simply needed to transfer to an outbound…
View MoreThis post is part of a series called Vietnam 2013 I had no reason to think that Tokyo would be anything other than amazing, and yet I left the states feeling a bit silly about the decision to add a layover there. Was it really worth the cost? The hassle? Turns out, the answer is…
View MoreThis post is part of a series called Vietnam 2013 Short Answer: because Mike and Rebecca already when to Thailand. Since I live vicariously through my friends, I figured I’d pick somewhere new. Long Answer: Because Top Gear rode from the south to the north on scooters. Because Bourdain speaks of it with such passion….
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This post is part of a series called Charleston 2013 A day of substantial rain. Surprising how poorly the city seems to deal with rain, given that they get, you know, actual hurricanes from time to time. This wasn’t a torrential event, yet many streets still managed to have a few inches of standing water….
View MoreThis post is part of a series called Charleston 2013 I’m a bit of a contradiction when it comes to pedestrian issues. I’m an avid walker, and hardly drive on a routine basis. I’ve been involved in pedestrian safety issues at a neighborhood and city levels, and consider myself pretty well versed in the research….
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This post is part of a series called Charleston 2013 Today was a “walk and gorge” sort of day. The basic plan was a walk to Sullivan’s Island via the brunch at Gullah Cuisine, then back. When all was said and done, it ended up being about 27 miles – not a bad day’s work….
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This post is part of a series called Charleston 2013 As a child, I was fortunate enough to get to experience a fair amount of travel. On occasion, this included travel to parts of the country or nearby islands with distinctive accents. On these trips, my father had (and I suspect, still has) the habit…
View MoreThis post is part of a series called Charleston 2013 Let’s not beat around the bush. I’m an left-coast-wannabee pretentious liberal yuppie snob, deeply entrenched in hipster foodie asshole culture. A pro-gays, anti-gun eurocentric peacenik. I do not have a high opinion of the south. But I’ve never really been there either. Time to change…
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This post is part of a series called Italy 2012 I’ll save fabricated emotional rambling for my 8 hour layover in schiphol tomorrow. Today was another day without a plan. I hit the central market one last time, to get a few more gifts, plus fruit and supplies for one more sandwich. It was really toasty…
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This post is part of a series called Italy 2012 Haven’t posted as much from Florence, as I’m not doing as much – I’m just taking a few days to chill out, sit around, people watch. Saturday, I checked out the Sant’Ambrogio market. It’s an indoor/outdoor market, with lots more produce than the Mercato Centrale,…
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This post is part of a series called Italy 2012 The trek from Madonna di Campiglio to Florence went smoothly – drive to Milan MXP, subway to Garibaldi, fancy new Italo train to Firenze. I’ve got to say – being in Madonna di Campiglio in the off season was kind of interesting. I don’t normally…
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