On reflection after returning from the latest countryside adventure, I have to rate it another success even though there were a series of set backs. It all started out well with Gordon and Lindy on the back of our trusty steeds stressing under power up the mountain road that took us to Dalat. On the way, Tien and I met up with the 4 riders I arranged for the party that was to join us. Everything was set and I appointed another experienced rider to be the leader for the next two days……. That was mistake one.

I fell behind my appointed leader and quickly became aware that all of my words and pre trip discussions were going to be ignored. The leader I appointed is a very experienced guide and a nice person. He did the best as he knew how but I realized right away that he

was still stuck in the same rut that all the other riders were stuck in and what I had taught was forgotten….. Aaack!! I have appointed him leader and at this point if I override him, it will not look professional. Thankfully the kind and helpful personalities of the riders mad the trip enjoyable to all. It is a bit of a pity that we did not go on some of the roads or stop at some of the places that I have spent so much time searching for…… but lesson learned!! From now on I will not

delegate the leadership role to anybody unless I have 100% confidence that they understand my style of tour. The problem is that the Vietnamese and us from outsideVietnamthink very differently. The Vietnamese riders are great and I respect and appreciate that they were the ones that educated and trained me. There is one thing that has caused my tours to become so popular. Almost all of the riders whether from Dalat, Nha Trang, or Hue, take similar paths and think they know what the foreigner wants. Sorry…… They know what Vietnamese want. We think very differently, For example, after a period of time, a persons rear gets a bit sore and we plan stops for a bit of a walk.

Most Viet riders believe it is about the scenery and drop you in a location where you can see a nice lake, or rice field. Me? I will find a school of children letting out or a busy country market that has seen very few foreigners and leave you to your own. Oh what fun some of the stories are when the passenger catches up to where we are waiting. For me and my team, it is all about the interaction with the people and the joy and novelty we bring into their lives for a brief moment. In turn, their happy cheers and open kindness brightens our day making most of them memorable…… anyway…. I am droning on.

We cruised from Dalat down into the central highlands arriving in Lak Lake. We had called ahead and had a dinner of roast pork and BBQ duck prepared by Hien, a local M’Nông woman. After a good meal where would a person go in a minority village in the highlands of Vietnam? You guessed it…… Karaoke!!! Gordon the Karaoke God and all of us (Leanne, Gordo, Karen, and Mark) belted out tune after tune and fell back to our rooms laughing about the good time. The next day we headed to Buon Ma Thuot and treated the town to another round of Karaoke. In the next morning, we parted ways with Lindy, Gordon, Tien, and I continuing north while the others returned to Nha Trang. I have written before of the journey through Kom Tum and other northern destinations so I will only address what is new……. And new it was!

There are areas in the central highlands where foreigners have not been allowed to go since the French left Vietnam or perhaps even sooner. I have been trying for 2 years to find a rider that would be willing to go with me into some of these areas, but I have always run into a brick wall and a resounding no. They were afraid of the police and local tribal elders. Before we left on this tour, Tien and I had studied travel routes and as usual, many roads were to be off limits, however, thanks to my continual pestering, Tien made a call to his brother who lived in such a zone and was told that the ban had just been lifted and we could pass. Whoo Hoo!! What an opportunity! We started by making our way to a southern part of the original Ho Chi Minh highway that skirted the Cambodian border. We had our nervous moments when we were followed by local police and found it quite different in the reactions of people. Many of them looked in absolute shock as we passed. We did get some waves and smiles but a lot of the reaction was confusion. It is very probable that these people had never seen a foreigner in their lifetime….. What fun. Of course we made stops and befriended people along the way……Once kids realized we were friendly, they also came around and lost their fear. At one point it began to rain and we climbed a mud bank to a small wood house in the middle of this new adventure. We were hiding under the eave when the door opened and we were invited inside. On the shrine where pictures of passed away family should be was a giant Photograph of Ho Chi Minh Along another wall was 8 military and certificates that made very clear what he was…….. but no problem. He fixed us tea and shared his home made rice wine with us….. I was elated… It seems the bitterness is gone. I am so happy that parts of Vietnam are opening up and I truly hope that Lindy and Gordon appreciate and understand what a special event that was for all of us…….. I feel a bit like Christopher Columbus. Of course we battled a number of roads not fit for vehicles and poor Lindy and I even had a spill into red mud, but it was all part of the adventure.

Now off Topic….. I am off to do a trade show in Thailand soon to promote tourism inVietnam. I have gained weight so I went in to have a custom suit made with material imported from Italy. 1 Jacket, 2 pants, and 2 dress shirts come to a total of 180 dollars….. Hah!! Beat that!

The pictures on this post are from Gordon and Lindy

Recently I was on an inspection tour with my friends at V’Explore travel to evaluate and establish links with tourism professionals in Myanmar with the intent of future cooperation and increased touris as Myanmar opens to the world. I already wrote a piece on the country, but here is a presentation of pictures for you to browse.

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Tic…Tic…Tic… I sometimes wonder what path we will travel next. It was originally our 7 year plan to run a small hotel in an area that offered an alternative to the very touristy areas that most travelers go. Tic…Tic…Tic… After two and a half years of struggle converting a run down “boom boom” house to one of the more popular hotels in Nha Trang, Mai and I are coming to the ends of our endurance. Tic.. Tic.. Tc..

The good:

Our efforts have made this hotel popular and we have been honored by now countless people who have discovered us and chosen us as their preferred accommodation in Nha Trang. We have gone through a growing experience making new friends, learning more than we could have imagined about business, travel, and life inVietnam. Tic…Tic…Tic… The running of the hotel has led my path in different direction and I would not be a Highland Cruiser or a travel advisor otherwise. There is also the pleasure of seeing the ocean and sunny skies out my front door every time I wake. Tic..Tic..Tic.. We are happy to be the employer of people and pay a decent wage to help people out. But perhaps most of all….. We have attracted many foreigners into this “nicer area” (my opinion) of Nha Trang and the local economy has

benefited from it greatly. Perhaps hundreds of thousands of dollars have been spent on gifts, tailoring, food, and other services in the area. Tic..Tic..Tic.. There is also the personal gratification that we were able to do exactly what everybody we talked to said was impossible. Expats and other foreign business owners could not understand the desire for a visitor to be away from the Disneyland like tourist areas and experience “realVietnam”. Boy were they wrong! During months where many hotels remain empty, we still have room lights glowing at night. It does not even matter that profits if any are not large. The satisfaction of our creations success is enough. Tic..Tic..Tic..

The Bad:

There is an alley behind us with signs posted no selling on the streets, however, people will try to make a living any way they can. (I cannot blame them) Every night at 9 pm a small street bar open up in the alley. The drunken patrons would yell and urinate against the back of my building causing customer

complaints. In the very early morning, a small mobile coffee shop opens and the clack of breaking ice and the yelling nature of people with no common sense sometimes causes customer complaints. We have been fighting with these people for years and usually win having them move behind other hotels than ours, but they slowly drift back. The police are reluctant to do anything because like me, they understand that they are only trying to make money to survive. Well!! so are we!! Tic… Tic… Tic.. While I was guiding a motorcycle tour in the Highlands last week, we were raided yet again by the police (we thought we were protected but this is yet a new gang of bothersome pests) that found

nothing wrong with our operation until it was discovered that our landlord neglected to fill out a certain form when we leased the building 3 years ago. After much arguing and bitterness, we are stuck yet again with paying a non deserved fine. Tic..Tic..Tic.. You would think that with the hard push towards increased tourism, the local authorities might ease up a bit on places that attract foreigners to their area…. But no… They are stuck in a backwards thinking world and can never see beyond the moment and what consequences there might be. Mai and I have not had a day together in

a year. One of us must always be present in the hotel and with me conducting tours that leave Mai with the hotel. Even though we love our staff and family that surround us, we cannot leave them to run things for more than a few hours. Tic..Tic..Tic.. The building is in constant need of maintenance and finding even one person that can do a quality job sometimes seems impossible. The landlord in what seems typical Vietnamese style has ignored or broken every lease agreement we had. Tic..Tic..Tic..

There is a count down clock and it is ticking. We are tired and have had enough. Mai and

I have plans and our retirement will evolve. The highland tours are successful and Mai has some plans of her own to keep busy. I think the trick is to become totally self sufficient with our future endeavors. Having to rely or be beholding to others invites only grief and weariness. Sadly, it will be a shame to see our hard work and our creations fade away, especially now that it turns a profit…. I guess it does not matter in the end how muchVietnambenefits places such as ours that draws in a lot of tourist money. They really do not care Tic…. Tic…. Tic…………………….

Tien and I arrived to pick up Lindy and Gordon early as we were setting out to Nui Ba Den at Tay Ninh. It is a less visited destination but an interesting one. There is a war history attached to the black widow mountain, but we were there to experience the Templeand to have fun on the wheeled bobsled. We left the Duc Vuong Hotel at 7 am  and headed out. We knew the route that would take us out ofSaigon, past Cu Chi and to our destination but what we did not know is that a single city block was a one way. Tien drove straight into it and lucky for me, I was able to stop and veer into the correct traffic.  Poor Tien had the unfortunate luck of a foul humored cop. The fine was 400000 and after payment, we were again on our way. Lindy and Gordon enjoyed the cable cars upthe mountain but were disappointed (as am I) that the bobsled has been shut down. Oooo what a pity. Travelling down a long track at breakneck speeds was a riot. I imagine someone got hurt and that was enough to close it. Now we needed to make our way to Dong Xoi. This was to be the first test of my 8.9 inch Galaxy tablet and it gps capability ties to the inserted 3g SIM card. I have to tell you that it functioned perfectly and we were led on some pretty rough and damaged roads on a journey that saw us follow a dike that held a man made lake and over a section of road under construction that was so bad, Lindy and Gordon were forced to walk while Tien and I

grit toothed probed to discover a path the motorcycles could travel. Eventually we found our destination and tiredly booked into our hotel. The evening was a free one for all of us. I told them a story of another couple and a night of Karaoke. Lindy and Gordon made sounds about there being no way they would do Karaoke….. my response….. We will see…. Hmmmmm.

The drive to Gia Nghia was one I have never done before and I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised. The landscape was nice and as is usual as you get into the highlands, the people very friendly. It was a nice day of cruising and sometimes picking small roads that most likely have never seen a tourist. Lindy and Gordon carried a pack full of candies and small Koala bears. The kids were ecstatic to receive the treats and we had a great day. I enjoy very much seeing the reaction of visitors toVietnam. Things that amaze and delight them are daily events for me…. It helps to remind me that I am truly

lucky to live and work in such an atmosphere. The only real event of the day was a small red clay road we were traveling on. The road was all holes and the rain was coming down. I have driven such roads many times and am confident in driving them but in this instance, an unsure driver stopped in front of me and I was forced to veer to the edge of a hole. I stopped and slowly my motorcycle slid down until in slow motion, Lindy and I tumbled into the mud. We were up again momentarily and with only bruised ego’s and muddy bottoms and on our way. We skirted the Cambodian border on part of the original

Ho Chi Minh Trail and were forced to seek shelter from an afternoon rain in a small wooden house owned by a man with communist certificates and pictures of Ho on the walls. We were served tea and rice whisky before we continued to Gia Nghia almost as sun set. The third day originally had us heading for Dalat but we found out that the roads had become impassable and therefore we decided to divert to Buon Ma Thuot ( the place I intended to ambush them with Karaoke). The ride was beautiful and we stopped along the way at interesting places. As we neared BMT , I called my friend Thang and there started my devious plan. She was

invited to dinner with us with the intent of helping me convince reluctant Lindy and Gordon to give an evening of Karaoke a try. Well my efforts paid off and Thang was able to place a call and have a Karaoke room opened for us. The night turned into laughter and everybody got into the singing. Gordon especially shined with the effort he put into his songs, his new status as Karaoke god was well earned. Lindy even had some trouble trying to sing her songs because of Gordon glued to the mike.

The next morning we met for a buffet breakfast and laughed about the time had the night prior. We then spent a very enjoyable day descending from the highlands with our fist phase of the trip. Things workers out very well for me as I have another group that want

to tour from Dalat to Nha Trang. Our forced rerouting has us now heading up to Dalat this day where We will meet and there will be 6 of us heading down From Dalat to Ho Lak………So, Owee, Thien, Lindy, Gordon, Chau, Binh, Tam, and Hai are headed to Dalat this morning to pick up Leanne, Karen, Mark and Robbo. We’ll be coming around the mountain when we come.

More pics from Lindy and Gordon

Ha!! What a hoot! I just arrived dusty and dirty from my most recent adventure. A nice couple (Lindy and Gordon) who have decided they want a holiday of a different sort. From what I understand, Lindy was doing some research on Vietnamas a travel destination when she accidently came across this blog. She says that the material on the blog caused her to become interested in travel to Vietnam(I am flattered), but after she read the page “Off the beaten track”, she and her husband decided that kind of tour was for them. Apparently I was already in contact with them on Trip Advisorbut they did not

realize that I was the same person. Then when researching places to stay and looking at a hotel that offered an alternative to the regular tourist fare…. She found me yet again…..  All of it fell together and we started exchanging emails to organize a trip that would be unique and “off the beaten track”, and I meant truly….., not just less touristy places, but to places that perhaps have never seen a foreigner since the French missionaries. I can tell you without a doubt that we have

been to a few places where we may have been the first foreigners ever seen by the locals, and it so far has been a great time….. Here has what happened so far. (we have another 6 day adventure to continue, but we are relaxing our tired rear ends for a couple if days)

Tien ( my preferred partner) and I set off early morning for the hard and dreaded drive to Saigon. I had considered shipping the motorcycle by train, but the process and the size of my bike made it complicated, so drive it was. Driving highway 1 is hell and I tend to travel at higher speeds because as long as you are passing obstacles, nothing can surprise and hurt you from the rear. In an unfair spot similar to any country in the world, the police had a radar check and Tien and I were clocked doing 5 km over the speed limit. Ah…. No problem I thought. I have encountered this situation before and have been able to get out by a number of maneuvers. I was pulled over first and Tien after. The police

had no way to know we were together. The young officer that was issuing the tickets asked if I understood Vietnamese. I responded by saying “I am sorry but I have no idea what you are saying”. At the same time, Tien is telling them that he does not know me. The police tried and tried to communicate with me but I pretended to be the dumb tourist. Even after they saw I had a rare but valid license and legal papers on my bike, still I was not waves away…… Damnit!! I had some young rookie trying to do good by the law. In the end it did not matter what I did….. Tien and I were both given 150000 dong fine on the

spot and were issued receipts for the fine paid. As soon as the fine was finalized with the policeman’s signature, I asked him in Vietnamese why he would issue a ticket for such a small amount over the speed limit. At that point the 3 policeman other than the ticket issuer started almost rolling with laughter….. The young officer did not seem amused but the event was over and when I called out to Tien that this was the expense of doing business… he even looked more pained. We left after a few more laughs with the older but more junior officers and continued along. Driving highway 1 is dangerous at the best of times but when nearing Saigon, it became insane. Tien and I split up as he was going to visit his son and in frustration, I used the car lane to get into Saigonfaster…… Oops… Mistake! Again, a young policeman runs into the street and

motions me to the side of the road with a billy club. Unfortunately, this fellow spoke English and there was no getting away with playing dumb. It cost me another 200000 dong before I was on my way. For the first time, no receipt was issued. Finally I have seen a bit of corruption by the police. Anyway…. After battling traffic, I finally made it to my hotel. I had intended to just relax and do some motorcycle shopping and without thinking of the consequence, I gave my friends Nghia and Hau a call to arrange a meeting for the next day to meet customers (Lindy and Gordon) that were doing a deep Mekong tour with V’Explore Travel, and then continuing with us on the back of motorcycles to Tay Ninh, Dong Xoi, Gia Nghia, Dalat and then to Nha Trang. Of course my friends would have none of that and instead of a relaxing evening, it was off for some excellent

street food and very cold beers. At about 10 pm I was back to the hotel to finally get a little rest when the phone went off….. A customer (Tim from Texas) from my hotel that has become a friend was just around the corner in a girlie bar wanting to meet for drinks. Ok…. But just for one!!

Apparently I was very entertaining and we had a good time but my memory is pretty fuzzy. Tien was waiting in the lobby when I awoke and we checked him into my room for the night as we would be leaving very early the next day. The day ended with me, Tien, Nghia. Hau, Lindy and Gordon all getting together at a very local restaurant to enjoy the best frog in Saigon…. Unfortunately the boss was not there and the staff just could not get the frog right, but the rest of the food was good. Well…. They were happy with the U Minh Thuong tour in theMekong and hopefully we can carry on the high standard. We are headed on a 4 day tour tomorrow fromSaigon to Nha Trang.

The photos are from Lindy and Gordon

In the early afternoon we checked into the Queen hotel and exhausted, I thought to lay down for a short nap. No sooner did my head hit the pillow, jack hammering started on the floor above us shaking the room with deafening chaos. It figures….. I spoke with reception and it does not surprise me that nobody thought to check to see if the customers were in the adjacent room before causing the noise. So much for a nap. The evening found us wandering around looking for something to do. I am afraid to tell you that there is not much except eat and drink. A good sleep and we are off for Yangon again.

Again we board our aircraft. As before there is absolutely no check for passport or id in

the Mandalay airport. To their credit, we had a cigarette lighter confiscated whereas the Yangon airport and Saigon airport missed them entirely. We arrived around lunch time and after viewing the 200 foot long laying Buddha, we stopped at an amusement park for a cold drink and snack. The water of the park lake had quite a smell from some unknown source so we did not remain long. Out last stop was the famous Shwedagon Pagoda the largest pagoda in Myanmar covered with gold and diamonds. It was an impressive sight but unfortunately for us, we arrived the same time as a cruise ship. The pagoda was just chalk full of seniors enjoying the sights. It made it a bit difficult to get people free photos, or to easily move around, but alas….. I may be one of those seniors soon

The guide and driver dropped us at our hotel for our final evening before returning to Saigon. Since there was an Indian district nearby, we decided to try Indian food for our final meal. We tiredly walked (our tired bare feet)  down the main road looking fore something that looked palatable. Sadly, Indian food was not to be. All of the restaurants we found had something we found not desirable so the only Indian food we ate was a peice fo nhan bread we found at a street vendor. We finally did end up at the very same Chinese BBQ that we had dined at the first night. Now I finish this blog on the flight home to Saigon. Following are my thoughts on Myanmar.

Myanmar is a fast changing country and I expect that tourism will take off rapidly. Since the changes in the past few months, prices have dropped  on consumables making it easier for the locals and tourists alike. I think however, it will be a bit of time before they catch up to other countries in the development of tourism because of the people themselves. Though the seem friendly, they are guarded and sometimes difficult to interact with. We have had taxi drivers simply say no and drive off when we tried to communicate with them. Most walk around with serious expressions and seem to take very little notice of others around them. I am sure that there is very good reason for this probably due to the hardships faced by day to day life in the past.

Another point of interest is the lack of communication devices. Until recently (according to our guide)  it cost as much as 3000 dollars for a SIM card. Wow!  I cannot imagine. Cars are also a very expensive asset which explains the amount of old beat up jalopies that can be seen everywhere.

There is also a contrast between new and old. It seems that the Burmese enjoy new things whilst  living amongst old buildings. It is not uncommon to see a bamboo hut or brick aged structure only to hear modern pop music drifting out of the doorways. The military still had a high presence in Myanmar and one still has to be careful that a soldier is not in any of a persons photos.

Now I am off to Saigon via motorcycle to pick up a couple who want to travel much of Vietnam on the back roads. It will prove to be a good time I think.

We landed in Badan and was first taken to the largest pagoda in the area. To make our way to the attraction, we had to negotiate a corridor of gift shops. Now would be the time to tell you of our biggest complaint. In Myanmar a person is required to remove all footwear including socks not only before entering a temple, but also the temple site itself. Those of us that are used to wearing footwear find it very uncomfortable and at times painfull to walk over pebbles, bricks, and other hazards. Every temple visit ends with extremely dirty wet wipes. The temple was beautiful with all the gold leaf but truthfully, we have seen may pagodas and temples in other countries and were hoping that there would be more……. We were not disappointed! The short drive to Bagan took us to an area just littered with temples, shrines, and pagodas. These were not the gold leafed

sandstone structures we are so familiar with but beautiful places constructed from brick and stone. The buildings and pagodas varied in shape and size and were dated from the 8th century to present. I will let the pictures speak for themselves at noon we began looking for a place to lunch. We wanted to eat like the locals so in a small wood and bamboo establishment on a dusty crossroads we sat. A variety of dishes were brought out and we had a meal with a very distinctive Indian flavor. It was ok but the surprise of the meal was the beer. Myanmar beer…. Especially very cold which we got, has to be one of the best beers we have ever had. All agreed that it was at least as good as beer Lao. I wish we had a similar product in

Vietnam, but i still can put up with Saigon Special i suppose . For the meal we had, the cost was a bit unreasonable. It was a tourist trap I am afraid. In the afternoon we explored a small village that was among the most primitive I have seen anywhere. Unlike other Asian countries, the Burmese people seem guarded and cautious when it comes to strangers. Perhaps it is because of the political climate or some other circumstance. A big smile will get you a few returned, but it can just as easy get a turning away reaction……. Hmmmmm…. Interesting that. Over all they are very friendly when interacting with them.  This whole area specializes in lacquer ware and wanting to bus some as a souvenir, we stopped at a gift shop to make a few purchases. Oh dear!!!, the prices were absolutely outrageous. I have no idea if anybody actually buys their goods as

a trinket bracelet sold 3 for a dollar were being sold for 2 dollars each. I now regret not buying from one of the kids that offer souvenirs around the temples. Hopefully when I go back to Yangon I can find some. After an afternoon of sight seeing we had the driver drop us in the new town (looked old to me) and we set about trying to find a good restaurant for dinner. We did find a place by the riv but again it was overpriced and the food only mediocre. I guess Bagan is not going to get known for fine dining. Again tomorrow we are off on an early flight to Mandalay. New day, new adventure.

This Samsung tablet I purchased has to be the handiest thing I have ever owned. Even typing on the flat screen is much easier than I had imagined……. Anyway….. With stickers slapped to our chests, we were scrutinized by security and our names and nationality checked off of a envelope sized piece of paper when we boarded our aircraft.

Bagan seems to be very cautious of those entering and leaving whereas Mandalay is the exact opposite. On arrival nobody checked our passports or anything else. As we approached the only official we could see, we were just waved through. Ok….. That was easy. A guide and driver were waiting and thenV’Explore team headed over a new but abit rough road to Mandalay. I have never been to India, but I think this city would be very much like it. The population is made up of half of Chinese descent. This is a busy, noisy and smoke choked place. There seems to be an issue with reliable power and there are large deisel generators on the sidewalks in front of many businesses. This location is not known for its pagodas but for some historic sights such as an old wooden bridge and the former kings palace/fort. I think we are in agreement that this city even though there is some historical interest, is not one of the better places to go. We had difficulty finding a restaurant that appealed to us but in the end it worked out ok.

The newest adventure in my exiting retirement began today. I flew to Saigon on a morning flight and spent a couple of days shopping for things that are hard to find. I am fortunate to be part of a team on an exploratory trip to Myanmar with the intent on establishing ties between tourism companies and help create a solid working relationship with a quality Burmese company. I guess now I could say that my close relationship with my personal friends has evolved into a working relationship with V’Explore travel in a public relation, tour design, and marketing capacity. Nghia (Owner of V’Explore Travel), his beautiful wife Linh, Hau (General Manager) and I headed to the airport to catch our flight. I had never been on an Air Asia flight before and I have to say that I was delightfully surprised. The aircraft are newer A320 Airbuses and the seats were of comfortable leather and the staff friendly. (a far cry from my experience back in Canada) A one and a half hour flight had us in Bangkok. With 4 hours to kill, we decided to take the train to downtown and see what we could find for lunch. It was confusing at the train platform and instead of finding a nice restaurant, we ended up eating some street food next to the railroad tracks. This was my first taste of local fare and I have to say…. I like it! Most of the dishes

were spicy and very flavorful and the accompaniment of roaring trains with ear shattering whistles made it a unique experience. Back at the airport we made our way to the connecting flight to Myanmar. I am on that flight now and the landing announcement has been called…… I continue later. It is 6 am and we have just taken off for Bagan on a turbo prop aircraft. Last night was a hoot. We arrived at our hotel in Yangon at 7:30pm and were off in search of dinner by 7:45. Nghia hailed a taxi outside and for a negotiated price of 2000 we were off to Chinatown. The taxi was of some manufacture I did not recognize. It was missing a dashboard and reminded me of the stereotyped Mexican vehicles in the movies. We chugged up to street 19 that was lined by BBQ restaurants bursting with a variety of foods. For dinner we feasted on large shrimp, pork ribs, an excellent grilled Talapia, and a variety of

other skewered meats. The food was excellent. The cost worked out to about 8 dollars a person, but with the quantity of food and the expensive beers made it a good value. Hau was in his usual good form after downing a little local alcohol, a local street performer handed him a guitar and a round of Vietnamese folk songs was started. To our delight, there was another table of Vietnamese sea men that joined in and the Burmese got to enjoy a little entertainment. By the time we were finished dinner, it was almost 11pm and a 4:00 wake up call was going to be a rude awakening. We returned to the East hotel via a taxi that had us laughing the whole way

back. We had thought the first one old and rickety, but this one……….. Wow!! Besides a gutted interior and old creaky seats with springs poking a person in the rear end, the sagging rusted doors had to be tied closed with a bit of twine. I should note that two things struck me. One was that they did not drive by horn like in Vietnam….. What a relief that was. I also noted it a bit odd that everybody drove on the left hand side of the road like in north America, however, the vehicles were right side drive. As suspected, our wake up call came much too quickly and we groggily made our way to the lobby for the ride to the airport. The domestic terminal was very primitive by modern standards and we were directed to our flight via a color sticker that was slapped onto our chest. I had a bit of a chuckle when as attendant balked when Linh stood there waiting for the young man to slap the sticker on her chest. For the Vietnamese, this kind of physical contact would be normal, but to this young Burmese man……….. Well… He almost looked like he was in pain as he applied the sticker. I would have offered, but……. I was very surprised when going through security, our bags were scanned but we were allowed to walk through security without them checking the large Styrofoam boxes that are used for restaurant take away. I would have had no problem smuggling in anything I wanted. A bus hauled all passengers to the aircraft and up up and away.

It is about time for another blog that is a bit more personal for friends and family that are wondering what is going on in my life these days.

I have noticed a lot of interesting changes in the past year and it looks like there are big things happening in Nha Trang and the rest ofVietnam. About 6 months or more ago, Nha Trang was listed in one of the top 10 places in the world to retire by Yahoo. Since then I have heard the same from other sources. This might explain why I have encountered many people currently living inThailandand other areas showing up at my door with questions regarding relocating toVietnam. These enquires started probably more than a year ago, but I really did not take notice until now. Nowadays I am being regularly visited by people from all over with questions. At the same time, I am witnessing large luxury housing developments, condo complexes, and resorts under construction. Wow!! This place is hopping. I have one of my houses up for sale but I am

seriously considering not selling and holding on to it for another year or two. The Vietnamese newspapers have talked about property in Nha Trang and area increasing as much as 600 %. That is hard for me to believe, but if that is the case….. I am happy I purchased property when I did. For now, I will probably still sell if I get my price but if the announced marina project is started in July like announced, everything will skyrocket…. Hmmmmm.

My highland and country tours have become more successful than I could have imagined. There is a large hunger out there of people who want to experienceVietnamaway from all the other tourists and away from the much traveled path and they seem to see me as a person they want to organize and host for them. I am flattered and count myself very lucky that I can share my experience and enjoyment of

this country and people with others. If I had any idea that I could have done this for a living, I would have come here a long time ago. Another twist of fate has me working to design new and interesting tours with my friends at V’Explore. As I blogged earlier, I was part of a team touring the Mekong to assess the viability of offering an exit and enterMekongboat trip. It looks like it will be a sought after tour from the reading I have done on the internet. In the interest of designing more exotic and adventurous tours, I have the pleasure to be traveling toBurmain the next two weeks and then toThailand  to hopefully help establish relationships and help sell tourism inVietnam….. Huh……. Who knew? Who knows what tomorrow will bring.

This has been an interesting year. I have had repeat customers ( that have become

friends), and friends…. already so, return toVietnam…. Heck… Some of them even want to relocate here. That is good news for me aw it seems the only thing I miss about home is my family.

This brings me to my family and friends back inCanada. I do think about them and miss them. My sister and nephew will be visiting in 2 months and I look forward to taking them on one of the incredible adventures that is now my day to day life. OK…. That is enough for now about me….. next post will be more hopefully helpful travel information.

This post contains photos taken with my cell phone on recent tours.

Since relocating toVietnam, I have been dealing in currencies that I am unfamiliar with. At first I was a bit confused thinking that the US dollar was king, but after time, I have come to realize inVietnam, there is very little difference in what currency you wish to carry. Of course,UScurrency is recognized almost everywhere in the world and countries such asCambodiaaccept USD as a normal, tradable currency.

InVietnam, the legal currency is the “Dong”. The smallest is a 200 dong coin that is virtually worthless at .009 cents and the largest (that I know of) is the 500000 dong note at about 24 dollars. In between is 500, 1000, 2000, 5000, 10000, 20000, 50000, 100000, and 200000. For convenience sake and easier understanding, prices are often quoted in US dollars, but please be aware……. It is against the law to deal in any other currency except the Dong. If you are paying in US dollars, the payee is probably making a little extra in the exchange to Dong.

Cash, credit cards, traveler’s checks, or ATM cards?

Of course the term Cash is king will always be true but some people feel very uncomfortable carrying large sums of cash on a holiday to a foreign country where anything can happen. I do not blame you.

Credit cards are still not generally accepted unless in large stores or high end hotels. Most smaller shops do not have the capability to take your card and those that do have to go through a complicated process and photocopy both sides of your card with your code and signature…… for me, no thanks!! Use your card to book flights and online services, but forget about using it in the streets.

Traveler’s checks are almost useless. A person has to go through a very inconvenient process at a bank in order to cash them.

ATM machines are everywhere As long as you notify your bank where you will be vacationing, you should have no problem drawing out money as you need it The only snag is because of the currency having so many zeros, machines can run out of cash quickly so a 2 – 3 million limit is put on most machines. That makes it difficult if you want to make a large purchase. I guess a combination of cash and an ATM card is probably the best balance.

How much cash should I bring?

Vietnamis not an expensive country to travel. I would suggest pre-paying your flights, tours, and accommodation via normal means and only carrying enough cash you think needed for daily expenses. A budget of 50 dollars a day per person is quite realistic. If you run short of funds, use your ATM card or get a cash advance on your credit card at a bank and go online to pay off the load immediately to negate the high interest.

What currency should I bring?

Some of the more common currencies I have seen traded easily inVietnamare

Australian, American, Hong   Kong,Singapore, and Canadian Dollar

Euro, British Pound, Japanese Yen, Swiss Franc, and Thai Baht.

Be sure the notes are in large denominations ( i.e. 100 dollars or 50 Euro notes)and free of tears and writing lest they be refused.

Any of these and probably more can be exchanged on the ground inVietnam. There is no need to convert your currency into USD before travelling. (save yourself the exchange)

Where do I exchange my money?

Before there were banks inVietnam, most transactions were done in gold. Gold shops are everywhere still to this day and have been exchanging foreign money for Vietnamese dong at rates higher than the banks. It has been a very handy industry as it allows hotels, local shops, tour companies and such offer you exchange rates the same as a bank. It is convenient to you as you get the going exchange without being inconvenienced by finding a bank to convert funds, and the proprietors can make a slight profit by doing the leg work and exchanging at the gold shops. In the past year, the Government has been trying to put a stop to the gold shops undercutting the banks and have shut some of the shops practices down. I see however, that many of them run business as normal. Nowadays, it seems the rates at the gold shops are not much different from the banks, so perhaps their efforts are paying off.

Understanding the Dong

Trying to wrap you head around all those zeros can be confusing. For Cad Us and Aus dollar we can drop 2 zeros and divide by 2 making a 100000 note 5.00. Other currencies are not so easy. Here is a link to a page where you can print a wallet sized cheat sheet to help in your day to day purchases. http://www.oanda.com/currency/travel-exchange-rates