It's nine in the evening. Ellen and I are in a hot tub, fourteen floors above sea level on the rooftop deck of the Solstice. Even though there are 2,800 passengers and likely as many crew members aboard the vessel, we're alone. We've been sailing for the past twenty or so hours through the Bermuda Triangle and I get the eerie shiver. Maybe the Triangle has something to do with our solitude. Our hot tub is between a pair of swimming pools. The water in...

 If you're looking to take the ferry to Phu Quoc Island, some 125 kilometres off the south coast of Vietnam look no further. Super Dong is at your service. For rates and scheduling don't google it, though. You'll get a thousand and one websites that have nothing to do with boats. Instead, find someone who can translate Vietnamese and do a proper search at www.superdong.com.vn Long Beach, where most of the gringo action occurs on Phu Quoc, is an unins...

On the way to Phu Quoc Island.

It took us fourteen hours, traveling by train, bus and taxi to get to the heart and soul of the Mekong Delta, Can Tho. We'd just eaten and were walking the river promenade back to our hotel to catch up on some sleep when I heard a pair of hellos coming from behind.I knew it was someone wanting to sell us a boat trip to the floating markets. They're the main attraction in Can Tho, the delta's largest city. As I turned, a smiling man with four or so fro...

We booked a berth on the seven o'clock, night train out of Nha Trang, for Saigon. When we arrived at the station I noticed the words Blue Line, written on the sides of the cars, as though they meant something special. When we climbed aboard, they were. Cleaner bedding; lighting that worked and beautiful fakewood paneling awaited us. There was a television and even a phone, should we need to order a pizza or something.The cabin looked like it would be ours al...