August 4, 2017. Dateline: Saigon. I left my airbnb to walk down to the tourist office at 5:45 AM. I was supposed to be there for 7:30 but I wanted to err on the side of caution given yesterday’s tour debacle. Besides, I wanted to see the Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica of Saigon… and with a […]
Saigon… shit; I’m still only in Saigon… Every time I think I’m gonna wake up back in the jungle. Captain Benjamin L. Willard, Apocalypse Now (1979) It was a long, strange, great tour today. Twelve hours packed full of insights, adventures, and more food than one should consume in any given day. But as I […]
The first time I traveled abroad was… yipe!… more than 20 years ago. At that time I instituted several rules whilst on the road. One rule was about food. The first rule about eating abroad is that no one talks to me about what I’m eating. I’ll eat anything at least once, just don’t tell […]
In the mid-life analysis, I have no one to blame but myself. I’m at fault. I foolishly assumed that by confirming the availability on the website and by paying my money, the tour would actually happen. And barring that, that someone would contact me if there were issues, changes, cancellations. I’ve been standing outside the […]
I can’t say what made me fall in love with Vietnam. That a woman’s voice can drug you? That everything is so intense, the colours, the taste, even the rain? ‘Nothing like the filthy rain in London.’ They say whatever you’re looking for you will find here. They say you come to Vietnam and you […]
Trips and Trepidations – REDACTED If I’m being honest, a lot of what I’ve been writing and posting has all been anxiety fueled smoke and mirror distractions. I’m nervous about my trek to Vietnam. Besides the historical weight of colonialism, communism, war and crimes against humanity on all sides, I’m also just feeling … old? […]
Ugh. I feel terrible. It’s not the fast turnaround from LAX to home to LAX to 36,000 feet. Though to be fair that’s not helping. It’s not the terrible hair day I seem to be perpetually enduring (seriously – what is happening to my hairline? It’s like global warming is melting the ice caps AND […]
It’s happening again. The day started at 0600… what does the “O” stand for? “Oh my god it’s early!” A slow Lyft ride that wound up costing more than I wanted has brought me to LAX. As I wait to board, it seemed appropriate that I watch a movie… that I watch this movie: