Articles with travel

Shopping in Hanoi, Vietnam at Indoor and Night Markets

We are not shoppers when we travel. We do buy souvenirs, but we don’t usually seek them out. However, we like to explore the different types of shopping available in various countries. The markets and stores tell us something about the culture. Hanoi was no exception. After our trip to Halong Bay, it seemed everyone was tired on Friday. It had been a busy week so Friday we didn’t push ourselves to do much. Silvette and I needed to go…

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One day in Vietnam’s Mysterious Appearing Halong Bay

If you have followed my blog, you may remember that my daughter Andrea’s birthday is December 26. It’s not a good day for a birthday. In 2023 we were in Budaphest, Hungary on her birthday and went for an evening dinner cruise on the Danube River to celebrate. This year we went for another boat experience. It was much longer and on a nicer boat. The trip was in Halong Bay, Vietnam. Halong Bay is a few hours east of…

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Ninh Binh, The Old Capital Region of Vietnam

Having spent a few days in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, with its busy and loud traffic, it was time to go a little farther afield into the country. Ninh Binh is an area south of Hanoi which was an early capital city. It is in a rural area which offers some worthwhile and interesting activities. We booked a tour as doing this on our own would have been a bit challenging. Our tour bus picked us up bright and…

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Discovering Life in Hanoi, Vietnam

Our first full day in Hanoi, Vietnam was a Sunday. Our daughter Andrea and her friend Jacob would not arrive until the next day so for this day it was mostly our son Aaron and us as we began to explore the area. There are various districts in Hanoi. Our hotel was on the border of the Old Town and also near the French Quarter. These are the areas we would explore in these early days. Our hotel sits near…

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First Impressions of Hanoi, Vietnam

My daughter-in-Law is Vietnamese. She immigrated to the United States when she was five years old. However, her family has property in South Vietnam so they often return there to visit and check on their property. Even before she married my son, she talked about taking us to visit Vietnam. When the time came to go, we decided that Christmas would be the best time. This was so our daughter could also go with us during her two week Christmas…

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Safari by Jeep, Canoe, and Foot in Botswana, Africa

After our boat safari the previous night, it was easy to get up early the next morning as I was going on my first official land safari. We would be in the safari jeeps that you see if you google “safari”. I bundled up as the morning would be cold, got my binoculars and camera, and headed to the truck. After I got in the truck, I was promptly handed a blanket. This was a necessity as the sun was…

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Sharing a Beach Adventure in Lomé, Togo

As I mentioned in my previous post, I didn’t do much sight seeing in Lomé, Togo as I spent most of my time teaching. However, on the final Saturday I did have an opportunity to go out and see some of the sights. The fun part was that I didn’t go alone. I shared that experience with a high school student from Togo. Many organizations try to help children around the world. One of the ways they do this is…

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Encountering the Indri Lemur in Madagascar’s Rainforest

Our trip through Madagascar continued the next day as we left for Antsirabe. It was another long day on the road. Luckily we stopped in a little town for lunch where we were provided with singing and dancing by the locals. There doesn’t seem to be a lot of opportunities for work outside of Antananarivo, so I assume this was probably considered a good job, especially when they can receive tips from foreigners. After our lunch (I had noodles and…

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Lemurs and other Unique Creatures in Madagascar

Our journey inland began early the next morning. We loaded into our little bus and set out for a long journey. When I say long, it’s not long because of the distance, but because driving in Madagascar is an adventure of its own. The roads are not taken care of, and you spend a lot of the time slowing down to avoid potholes. One can also be stuck in village traffic along the road. For these long drive days (6-10…

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Andrea Begins An Amazing African Adventure in Madagascar

Madagascar wasn’t a place that had been on my bucket list, but I sometimes like to take the country less traveled, less traveled and far. Madagascar is so far away that getting there was an adventure in itself. As you can imagine, there are no direct flights to Madagascar. I first had to fly to Istanbul where I had a 12 hour layover. Then I took a flight to Madagascar via Mauritius. Fortunately I was able to do a free…

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