I never in my life dreamed that I would be here or even seek to be here, but here we are . . . in Hanoi, NORTH VIET NAM, that vile, mysterious city we all we heard about and feared on a daily basis in the late 1960's. I get chills thinking this city was the headquarters of Ho Chi Minh who directed the horrible war that we called the Viet Nam war; what they call the Viet Nam Civil war; and what others here we have just learned call the American War. I don't ...

Our guide, Tuyen, picked us up at the airport and delivered us to our hotel, the Silk Path Hotel. He and Khai, our driver, will be our best friends for the next five days as we explore the city and then later move on to Halong, 3.5 hours away. It was evening. Tuyen said that weekends here are times for big celebrations. Streets are closed off. People are out until late and music and entertainment is available on the streets. The most popular area is the str...

Today is travel day. Our flight is late this afternoon around 4 pm. We arrive in Hanoi about 5 pm but the flight is two hours long. As I calculate it, once we arrive in Viet Nam, we will then be exactly 12 hours ahead of the time in Atlanta. So far, this has been a mixed journey. Time on the 12-day cruise was leisurely but Internet was sparse for posting blog updates. Our time in Hong Kong has been busy . . . very busy to say the least and ironically, WIFI ...

Tai O, Hong Kong - January 19, 2018 Last full day in Hong Kong! So sad! Up until now we have been immersed in city-life; we yearned to see country side. Clever as we are (joke!), we managed to determine how to get to Tai O, an ancient fishing village (now tourist depot) via MTR and bus thus avoiding high-prices and canned speeches on a tour bus. Lord, we make ourselves proud!!! I wrote this morning and went to the gym. While I was gone, Stan took ...

Kow Loon, Hong Kong - January 18, 2018 Oh boy, we slept late! We simply do not know in which time zone we might be in. It is now 9 pm in Hong Kong but I think the time in Atlanta is 8 am. Surely one can see how we become discombobulated!!! We did not set an alarm. After so many years of waking to them, I avoid them at all times unless absolutely necessary. That's just one of the lovely bright sides of becoming older and being retired. Never dreame...