Until Vietnam, the town “Trà Vinh” had just been two words that followed “Place of birth” on Hai’s passport. Usually taking care of most of the admin side of our travel, I had written those words on countless immigration cards over the years. Although situated in the popular Mekong Delta area where floating markets are […]
Top #5 Travel Tips for Vietnam
Vietnam had been on our travel wish-list for some time, not only because it was where Hai was born but because almost every traveler we met raved about it, and we can understand why. We spent three weeks traveling from the south to the north. It’s do-able but we’d recommend a month if you have […]
The Month in Photos: July 2013
This month’s “The Month in Photos” is a special black and white photo essay on our time in Sapa with a Black Hmong family. Here you will see a completely different side to Vietnam – a place where two legs or four are the main modes of transportation, where the air is fresh and skies […]
On Being Adopted in Vietnam
Her matching mustard pant and shirt set stood out across the vacant square, her outstretched arms waving and gesturing for us to come over. Having just arrived off the bus from Trà Vinh, we were wandering aimlessly trying to find a place to eat in that awkward time between lunch and dinner when many restaurants […]
The Long-awaited Arrival
After a rather chaotic and elongated visa-on-arrival process at Ho Chi Minh Airport, the queues were short at immigration. All the locals had passed through long ago, and the sea of foreigners making the best of it on the airport floor were being awarded their entry permission like a good Vietnamese coffee – at the […]