In the usual course of affairs I wouldn't bother writing about 2 days. Seriously, how much could happen in two days? However, by virtue of being in five countries in said two days (Vietnam, Qatar, Italy, Spain and Portugal), it probably merits a mention, if only to say 4 flights, 3 stops, 3 bags and 'Yay! We're here!' and to mention the weird feeling you get when you're jetlagged and wake up in a dark room only to have literally no idea of where 'here' is. We wa...

We enjoyed our last breakfast buffet in Hoi An - really one of the high points of the whole stay, with the staff determined to look after their longest staying guests (possibly ever, for this team). We had the hotel organise the transfer to the airport and truly, from Hoi An to Da Nang Airport, it's a solid hour during the morning rush hour and it probably felt like longer. It was a long way. It was a change for us to not be leaving at stupid-o'clock and we had ...

It's nice when a plan comes together. We last visited Hoi An in January 2019 - after Ho Chi Minh City and before Hue, Hanoi, Phu Quoc and then on to Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Myanmar, India and Sri Lanka. Suffice it to say it was lucky we enjoyed our restful time in Hoi An in January 2019 - because we didn't stop until the March. As much as we want things to stay the same in this world, we know it's not possible, usual or, sometimes, even desirable. But jeez it's...

Back in the US, back in the US, Back in the USSR... Da'nang me, Da-nang me, oughta take a rope and hang me - higher than the highest tree… (to quote The Beatles and also Robin Williams in 'Goodmorning Vietnam!' - here we are, back in Saigon (which is still used a whole lot more than the well-deserved but loooong Ho Chi Minh City). Saigon? Much easier. Lazy? Not us. Well most people, yes, because it is almost a moral and economic sin here to be energetic. ...

We visited Khao Lak for the first time at Christmas, just a few short years after the Boxing Day Tsunami tragedy. Back then, the wounds to the peoples psyches and to the landscape were still raw - recovering, but raw. We recently (and foolishly) watched the Netflix drama 'The Impossible' about one family's experience of the day and the aftermath. And then we tootled off to Khao Lak to enjoy 16 days on a Luxury Escape deal purchased during Covid (aka The End of...