aka Saigon Saigon is a city I always wanted to see. During the Vietnam War, I used to imagine journalists holed up in hotel rooms, busy typing or telexing their foreign correspondent reports back to the West. My father was…
Hoi An Hoi An translates as “peaceful meeting place”. And indeed, the city’s serenity was captivating as soon as we disembarked from our 45-minute taxi ride from Danang. History – A UNESCO World Heritage site, the small ancient city of…
Da Nang As we trained into Da Nang, one of the most eye-catching sights from my window seat was the view of “Lady Buddha Da Nang.” She is huge. At 67 metres high, she is the tallest Buddha statue in…
Hanoi – Da Nang. On the night train Recently selected by Lonely Planet as the leading journey among eight of the world’s great train journeys, The Reunification Express departs twice daily from Hanoi and travels the coastline down to Ho Chi Minh City over…
Halong Bay Yes, it’s a tourist cliche, and yes, it is relatively expensive. However, visiting Halong Bay is a must, if only to witness its overwhelming beauty and historical interest. We broke our stay in Hanoi – opting to take…
In 2015, we visited NYC. One of the enduring curiosities I had of “The Big Apple” was a nostalgic longing to visit Coney Island. Settled by the Dutch in 1624, Coney Island opened its first hotel in post-Civil War times.…
This past winter I was flying solo for 6 weeks. My partner had realised his dream and was on his trip of a lifetime playing golf in Ireland and Scotland with a couple of buddies. I have always wanted…
It was a life dream. I blame the movies and the soundtracks of my childhood and young adulthood. New York City was always going to be a place I had to see. I needed to be in the city that…
I know – it’s a cliché, right? But let’s be honest; Italy must just about take the cake (ha ha) for gourmet food. It’s not just the flavours, the ingredients, the passion that goes into the cooking, or the visual…
