Hue was the Imperial capital of Viet Nam for centuries. A succession of ten or so emperors constituted the Nguyen dynasty. The Imperial court had extremely formalized and hierarchical societal roles ~ from high level mandarins to the eunuchs whose…
Travel by motorcycle ~ over the mountainous Hai Van Pass from Hoi An to Hue, Viet Nam
After almost a week back in Hoi An, relaxing at the Sleepy Gecko hostel, we decide on our next move. We are ready to have a new adventure. Our journey will take us in a Northernly direction towards the Imperial…
Hoi An, Viet Nam ~ ceramics, temples and seafood
Though a small town, Hoi An is a treasure trove of surprises at so many levels. Here is a smattering of Hoi An moments… and an inevitable set of culinary vignettes of Vietnamese street food culture. For us, Hoi An has…
Vietnamese Nest ~ first stop Hanoi
Of our four sons, Adam is the first one who makes the move to meet up with us on our Southeast Asia adventure. He is of course primarily motivated by his passion for food and we had talked about a…
Hanoi’s Women Museum ~ a treat! Viet Nam
Women have played an integral part in the evolving narrative of Viet Nam. As a matriarchy, the system is built around the responsibility demonstrated by women not only in raising families, but keeping the household finances together. In the rural…
Life on the other side of the Hanoi river, Viet Nam
With this last minute, surprise exchange, we once again rediscover why we like home exchange – because it takes us to places we wouldn’t otherwise go see and meet people we wouldn’t meet. Witness the bridge we cross to the…
You say potato, I say po-ta-to… We say tuk tuk, they say beca. ~ Yogyakarta, Indonesia
To each city, it’s preferred mode of transportation. In Jogja, it’s the Beca. (Pronounced Betcha) These 3 wheel variants on rickshaws (thus the name TRIshaws), are ubiquitous. And, since as mentioned before, Yogyakarta residents are a creative bunch, it makes…
Yogyakarta a.k.a. Jogja, Indonesia ~ First Impressions
Coming out of idyllic Ubud, we realize that there is going to be quite a shift with our arrival in the Muslim and urban part of Indonesia. Having done, uncharacteristically, precious little research, Peta’s task is to find us places…