Latest Posts Under: Natural Beauty

Day 12: Happy Vietnam Beach Birthday to Me!

August 28, 2016 / danawanders / 6 Comments

Not much to report on today. I hung out at the beach. I walked around Nha Trang a little and watched the surf roll in on the true Nha Trang Beach, I ate yummy Vietnamese food, and I had a peaceful, relaxing birthday as I had planned. Then I hopped on an overnight train to …

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Day 11: Diep Son Island

August 28, 2016 / danawanders / 8 Comments

I was adopted by two lovely Vietnamese friends and their families today! Turns out, the hotel booked me in a “Vietnamese-only” tour of Diep Son (which I found out near the end of the day when one of my fellow adventurers asked me how I managed to be booked in a Vietnamese-only tour), so it …

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Day 10: Happy as a Pig in Mud

August 26, 2016 / danawanders / 11 Comments

Or a water buffalo in ravine water! 😉 Nha Trang was once known as the Cannes of the Orient, and since I spent part of my birthday in the actual Cannes last year (along with Monaco), I thought it’d be a nice synchronicity to spend it in the Cannes of the Orient this year. More …

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Day 9: China Beach and My New Friend, Mai

August 25, 2016 / danawanders / 9 Comments

The only reason I was in Danang was to spend time on the fabled China Beach, where American GIs landed at the start of their tour and took their R&R. I was on the beach by 7:30 am, and the sun was already pretty intense. I walked down the beach so that I was near …

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Day 8: Disaster Strikes in the Rice Paddy: The Trilogy

August 24, 2016 / danawanders / 6 Comments

Okay, this “disaster” was hilarious! After a delicious French (lemon crepes) and Vietnamese (spring rolls and tropical fruit) breakfast courtesy of my hotel, my latest tour guide, Turtle, showed up to take me on a bicycle ride around the Hoi An area that would focus on traditional Vietnamese life, with visits to farms and a …

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Day 7: Disaster Strikes in the Rice Paddy: The Sequel

August 24, 2016 / danawanders / 10 Comments

Okay, I’m being a little melodramatic, but more on that later. When I went down to breakfast, an older British couple was already there and asked if I’d done the cooking tour yet. I told them that’s what I was doing that morning. Turns out, they were on my tour. Their names are John and …

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Day 6: Of All the Xe Om Drivers in All of Hue…

August 22, 2016 / danawanders / 4 Comments

Yesterday, Bill asked me what I was doing today. I told him going to Hoi An. He asked whether it was via motorbike. I said it was. He said I should cancel and let him take me. I told him I had paid upfront (as I did for about half my tours) and it was …

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Day 5: Hue and Countryside

August 21, 2016 / danawanders / 6 Comments

Broken record time: Another amazing day that I can’t even begin to describe how lucky I am to have experienced. Bill picked me up promptly this morning for a motorbike tour of Hue and the surrounding countryside to include the Thanh Toan Bridge, three tombs of Nguyen Dynasty emperors, and the Imperial City. First off, …

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Day 2: Disaster Strikes in the Rice Paddy!

August 18, 2016 / danawanders / 10 Comments

First off, Mom, I’m not going to call to save some minutes, but I’m safely tucked away in my hotel room for the night. I have a feeling that I’m going to sound like a broken record, but today was another amazing day, even with the rice paddy “disaster,” lol! I’m still bummed about Halong …

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