New Year, new cityFinding myself sentimental on my last day in HoiAn, I'm looking forward to meeting a familiar face of a friend from home. I'm meeting Lisa in Cambodia tomorrow. To catch my plane to Phnom Penh, I really need to get to Siagon today. And it's a total bust. Here I sit in the airport internet. Thank god I bought that business class ticket for $10 extra, so at least now I can take advantage of the VIP lounge with plenty of complimentary i...

New Year's Rockin' EveI'm staying in HoiAn. Been here for 3 days already. I love it here. And decided to stay a bit longer. I had lunch with my local tailor who took me to a real Vietnamese place hidden behind a back alley (as a thank you for all the suits I bought and the friends I referred to her). very sweet lady. She arranged a cooking class for me with a local chef (not a tourist chef, but a real local woman who runs a Vietnamese restarant). I al...

Artist and craftsmenHoiAn has enchanted me. My first day of arriving, I had only 2 goals: visit the tailor and give my body the rest it needs to get over this cold. And I now after 3 days here, I have to admit that HoiAn is the perfect town for a respice. It's a quint little place, who's streets are lined with shops. From tailors to embroidery workshops, to potters, wod carvers, lantern makers, painters, dancers, musicians, this place was a personally cha...

New FriendsLeaving Hanoi, I was beginning to work my way down Vietnam today. I took one last day to tour around the city that had become a familiar home for a while. Elena and I said our goodbyes, both recognizing the stroke of luck that we ran into eachother. Her companionship has grown into a friendship during the past 6 days, as we shared our own perspectives, our stories, our meals, our navigational skills, our bartering skills. She is an strong woman, open a...