The last time I flew across the Atlantic, my Detroit flight was delayed enough that I missed the once-a-day flight from Amsterdam to Istanbul and, therefore, the first day of my guided tour. So to keep Murphy from rearing his ugly head, I added a “nothing” day to make up for potentially missing my once-a-day […]...

And the dream to visit Nairobi that I’ve had since I was 9 has come true! Everything left on time, everything was smooth, my second flight even landed 50 minutes early, and passport control was unusually empty, so it only took about 15 minutes. My driver was waiting for me, and I had a lovely […]...

I had planned on keeping up with this blog when I got home. Not only was I surprised and touched by how many people seemed to really like reading about my adventures, but Bonnie inspired me to want to blog about the stories that I either didn’t have time for or was too tired to […]...

Another place I’ve been super curious about since I read about it when I was 16 is Cu Chi and its famous tunnel system built by the Viet Cong. Imagine living underground in a tiny space for 20 years! Mind boggling. I paid extra for a boat tour instead of a bus tour, and it […]...

So, why do I love Saigon? Mostly, I love that Saigon has managed to integrate a Western cosmopolitan atmosphere while making it its own and still staying charmingly Vietnamese. The combination speaks to me somehow on a visceral level. Nothing specific happened, I didn’t see anything specifically to make me fall in love; it was […]...