Jungle Trekking and Caving
We ended our motorcycle trip through central Vietnam by coming in the ‘back door’ of Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng National Park, our jumping off point for an overnight trek/cave exploration adventure (yes, Mark … Read More
Central Vietnam by Motorbike (Part 2)
Our 2nd night of the motorcycle trip was spent in Huế, a city in central Vietnam that was the seat of Nguyen Dynasty emperors and was the Vietnamese capital from … Read More
Central Vietnam by Motorbike (Part 1)
We flew from Siem Reap, Cambodia into Danang, in central Vietnam, but immediately drove the short distance to Hoi An for our departure on our motorcycle trip, which turned out … Read More
Siem Reap and the Angkor Temples
Siem Reap literally means “Siam Defeated,” Siam being Thailand. These days, however, the closest thing to fighting in this small city of about a 1/2 million is the tuk-tuk drivers angling … Read More
Dark History, Hopeful Future in Cambodia
It’s our first visit to Cambodia, and at first glance, the scars of the infamous (and not so long ago) Khmer Rouge genocide are far from visible. Phnom Penh, the … Read More
Life in the Mekong Delta
Before this trip, the Mekong Delta in Vietnam conjured up images of Navy swift boats and hovercrafts fighting Viet Cong guerrillas. Or maybe scenes from the (fairly bizarre) war movie, … Read More
Good Morning, Vietnam! (cliche but still…)
Xin chào (pronounced s(h)in chow) – hello – from Vietnam. We are so excited to spend the next month in Vietnam and Cambodia, two countries we have never been to … Read More
Hiking the Routeburn Track
Our final few days in New Zealand were spent hiking another of the Great Walks: the Routeburn Track. This was a shorter overall hike than the Milford, but the main … Read More
Hiking the Milford Track
Touted as ‘the finest walk in the world‘ by poet Blanche Baughan in the London Spectator in 1908, the Milford Track is also the most famous of New Zealand’s Great … Read More
Doubtful Sound (actually a fiord)
Doubtful Sound is a very large and naturally imposing fiord (despite its name) in Fiordland National Park, in the far south-west of New Zealand. Though it is 3-1/2 times larger … Read More