Over those seven visits, I watched as slowly ATMs cropped up. Bicycles were replaced by motorbikes and then motorbikes replaced by cars.

Hanoi went from a quiet, subdued city to a bustling little metropolis packed with art galleries and cafes. And Hoi An went from a blip on the map, without even one tourist hotel, to a must-visit haven for even the most shopping-averse traveler.

In the early days, there were few hotels from which to choose. I remember sleeping on a mat placed on top of elevelated slats, then called a bed. It’s what the locals slept on.

In the south, a Vietnamese person seen speaking with a foreigner would surely be detained, questioned and risked being jailed.

While Vietnam is far from perfect today (I haven’t been able to log on to Facebook, for example), the country is a far cry from the days of having locals beg me to help get them out of the country.

The photos above are typical of both the old and new Vietnam (same same) but changes have happened. While the country is as frenetic as ever, it seems there has been just enough change to make it actually easy for travelers Some of these changes include:

• Easy access to ATMs
• Ability to purchase a local cell phone and make calls within and outside of Vietnam
• Free Wifi everywhere – Vietnam is far more wired that even Seattle with free Wifi
• An increase in cafes and restaurants catering to westerners

I do love seeing the opportunities that the locals now have as these changes have taken hold over the years. And the fact that these things make travel so much easier will certainly increase tourism in the coming years and hopefully help Vietnam continue to evolve in a positive manner.

For now, my group and I are half way through our tour. Next up Saigon and then on to Cambodia!

Travel Well!

Beth

Related links:
Preparing for 5 Weeks of Travel
Creature Comforts
Washing and Drying Travel Options
Otterbox and Vemayca Cosmetic Bag

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I’ve been back in Vietnam for just over a week and my group and I have seen a tremendous amount in that short time. We’ve traveled from Hanoi to Mai Chau (to visit the hilltries) and just arrived in Hue after an overnight train ride.

Here are some of the amazing people we’ve seen along the way.

This young boy from a hilltribe village near Mai Chau is wearing amulets around his neck that are believed to protect him from bad spirits.

This little baby is wrapped in a cloth that is hand made in the village where he’s from. Many of the clothes that the women wear are made from this same pattern.

We took a short boat ride in order to get to an area where we had a beautiful (but hot) walk through some riverside villages.

This gentleman was standing guard at Ho Chi Minh’s home near the Presidental Palace.

See more lovely photos at DeliciousBaby’s Photo Friday!

Travel Well!

Beth

Related links:

Photo of the Day: Aloha Oahu

Photo of the Day: Pushkar Camel Fair

Photo of the Day: Vietnam Temples

When I stopped by their booth at the Outdoor Retailer show, I was given their Acadia daybag to test out. Having it here with me in Vietnam, I’ve found it to be a pretty good every day bag for travel.

The big pluses include: 

• a light-colored interior, making it super easy to see all the contents inside.
• a hidden laptop sleeve between the backpack handles and the main compartment – perfect for my new netbook.
• a small padded pocket that’s accessible from the outside – this is a great place to keep my cell phone and iPod.
• secret interior zipped pocket that easily holds my passport and money.
• interior pockets and pouches that make it easy to organize everything from biz cards to digital camera to snacks.

There are only a couple of things that make this bag slightly less than perfect.

• the zipper to the main compartment gets caught on the interior material. I wouldn’t mention it except that I do have to play around with this each time I close the zippers.
• the side pocket meant for a water bottle is adjustable and has holes in it. It’s very easy for a water bottle to slip through no matter how tight the string is closed.

These are definitely minor issues and over all the bag has held up really well and has been roomy enough to hold everything I need each day.

The Acadia comes in black and dusty blue and retails for about $100. Available on Amazon

Travel Well!

Beth

Related links:
Kindle and Cover
Creature Comforts
Washing and Drying Travel Options
Tom Bihn Gear
Gear from XShot
Otterbox and Vemayca Cosmetic Bag

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I was up early this morning. I mean EARLY. As in I finally fell asleep at around 1:30am and was up shortly after 4. Not to worry. Despite the few hours of sleep, the good thing is that when traveling, these odd hours allow me to see a destination bright and early.

This morning, I was out shortly before 6 and walked straight to Hoan Kiem Lake, where I knew I’d find Hanoians doing their morning exercises. I wasn’t, however,  prepared for the huge number of people, on their own and joining classes. A few things have changed around here (like the fact that Wifi is everywhere!) since I last visited 8 years ago.

This woman was actually part of a larger group of about 50 being instructed to loud thumping music – not unlike the gym I go to – but probably about $39 less a month than I pay!

A corner shop near the lake had these birdcages lined up outside. I’m not sure if these were for pets, eating or to be released (for good luck).

This turtle was on a wall at the temple found at Hoan Kiem Lake. Lucky turtle. Well, when you compare him to what I found moments later…

Poor turtles. I think these little fellas are definitely headed to the soup pot.

See more lovely photos at DeliciousBaby’s Photo Friday!

Travel Well!

Beth

Related links:
Photo of the Day: Aloha Oahu
Photo of the Day: Pushkar Camel Fair
Photo of the Day: Vietnam Temples

I now have the second generation Kindle and will be bringing this with me when I leave today for Asia. I’m actually pretty excited that I’ve been able to cut down on the number of books that I’ll have with me. On a 5-week journey, this can be substantial, ya know? Now I’ve got a couple of books that will definitely keep me entertained in the coming weeks and if, by some miracle, I find enough time to read through them (I won’t), I can always tap into Amazon’s international service, and simply download more.

I’m sure I’ll have additional remarks about the Kindle once I actually have this baby in action, but in the meantime, I’ll tell you what I think are a few of the pluses and minuses on the Kindle.

Available on Amazon for $260

The Good

• Instant accessibility to downloads, without having to connect to a computer
• Thin design, slips right into my daybag and takes up little room
• Ability to log in to my Amazon account through a computer and easily search and order books that get downloaded directly to the Kindle
• The obvious is that I can leave that stack of books at home and just carry this little reader

The Annoying

• Somewhat slow over the Amazon connection when searching around
• The buttons are not quite as intuitive as they could be. I have found myself hitting the “Back” button, thinking I’ll go back to a previous page and it brings me back to a main menu. (There IS a “Previous page” button, by the way.)
• Keypad is awkward to use – buttons have no depth and they are tiny!
• Not enough books are available on the Kindle yet (not Amazon’s fault, but annoying none-the-less)

Over all, I’m thrilled to be bringing the Kindle with me. Especially considering I was able to load it with a couple of free books that I’ve wanted to read for a long time including Autobiography of a Yogi.

If you’re a Kindle owner, you’ve absolutely got to protect it with some sort of cover or holder. I have an M-Edge GO! leather cover. While it’s slightly on the heavy side, I feel like the Kindle is really well protected in this. It’s got hinges that allow the reader to slip right into the spine of the cover as well as two corner elastic straps that keep the Kindle in place should it become dislodged from the hinges.

Another little advantage of having a cover like the M-Edge is that it makes you feel like you’re reading the physical version of the book. This isn’t a big deal to me, but it might be a better experience for some.

Oh, and it comes in PURPLE!

Available on Amazon for $35.

Travel Well!

Beth

Related links:
Creature Comforts
Washing and Drying Travel Options
Tom Bihn Gear
Gear from XShot
Otterbox and Vemayca Cosmetic Bag
Ameribag Carry-all

Join other Wanderlusters and stay updated on travel-related items by subscribing via email or RSS feed.