On December 3rd we loaded up our rental car in Philadelphia and headed to JFK to start our big adventure. 59 days later and having experienced amazing sights and food and spent time with old friends and having made new friends were sitting at the Hong Kong airport waiting for our flight to LA. While we still have 5 days in LA I feel like our journey is almost over and we will be easing into our comfort zone. When I was young I’d breeze through these places thinking I can always come back..but now I wonder if this will be the last time I gaze out at Victoria Harbor or walk the Peak in HK? Will I get to gaze at Angkor Wat again or cycle through a small Vietnamese village. Will I sit in a cafe in Vienna savoring a chocolate and torte or walk alone through numerous towns and just absorb it all. These experiences seem just a bit more precious these days and the people I share them with even more important

Someone asked me what I will remember most about the trip .. that’s easy

The amazing people old and new we shared the journey with and the fantastic food which not only was delicious but gave us a bit of a tiny insight into different cultures and lives. We all know that food is culture and certainly we learned that along the way

Yes I’ll remember Angkor Wat and Ha Long Bay . The incredible infinity pool in Singapore and the soulless ness of Dubai I’ll think of the beauty of Budapest and the lovely Passau and the frenetic energy of Bangkok but mostly I’ll remember the amazing people we met or traveled with and the amazing food we shared. I hope you enjoyed the blog. Thanks for sticking with it. I decided the last entry for now will be photos of those amazing people and some of those amazing meals. Happy trails

I tried to pull a summary of highlights from the people and experiences but it was just too many pics so I did two parts. Now I’m done. Thanks for sticking with it 😇

I first came here back in the early 90sIt was still controlled by the British and I flew in to the infamous Kai Tak airport before they decided having an airport downtown wasn’t such a good idea. It was a then a strange mix of exotic Asia and colonial Britain. There is an escalator that takes people home every night Today the colonial feel is gone except in the historic architecture , the Star Ferry but it’s still an amazing city full of unexpected sites and textures. And the food..don’t get me started!!

I’ve probably been to HK a dozen times over the past 30 years and every time I go there is one thing I experience..hazy cloudy skies

You can imagine my surprise yesterday when I got out of bed to sunshine and crystal blue skies. I immediately jumped out of bed and headed up the tram to take in the views. Just like the city itself spectacular!!

For over 150 years the Victoria Peak team has been taking people up and down the mountain. I thought you might enjoy the ride …literally

This has always been a real bucket list item. Ive seem the place in a zillion movies and photos and was really blown away. As is often the case seeing something with your own eyes is so much better than the images. Ha Long means descending dragon so named for the 1000s small limestone islands that look like Dragon fins. We rented a boat. I thought it would be a small boat but it was actually quite large and not only did we cruise through the islands the crew prepared an onboard feast that I can honestly say was one of the best meals I’ve had on this trip. Everything was so fresh and so amazing. Again the day just made me want to come back ..so much to see and do

You know I love my markets. Today visited the market at Ha Long. It’s the day before new year so the place was crowded with last minute shoppers getting everything ready for the huge family feast. Talk about fresh .. you pick the chicken and they kill it and pluck right there. Want a pig heart ? No problem there’s the whole pig splayed open take whatever you need. Personally I like my sea food do fresh it’s still alive and don’t forget the squid cakes made right on site and I can tell you they are delicious, everything I see makes me want to come back here. I thought this morning

Nha Trang

I woke up early this morning and looked out the balcony window and was immediately struck by the beautiful mountains and coast line. Small tenders were plying crystal clear waters and the mountains looked green and lush.

We spent the morning on a 10 mile bike ride through small villages and rice paddies. We went with one of the people who live in the village which meant as we checked out the rice mill or the house where they were making hand made rice paper we were meeting our guides neighbors not just anonymous folks. Everywhere we rode people shouted out Hellos and greeted our guide warmly ..no surprise there after all his family has lived in the village for more than 7 generations.

After the ride and a fantastic lunch we headed back into Nha Trang I

Live from

Reporting from Vietnam. This is the 5 pm news. As a child and teen i remember vividly the images coming from the war and specifically from the Presidential Palace. Images of Kissinger sitting on those upholstered chairs In conversation with SV officials and of course the iconic photo of a NV tank crashing the gate and the last helicopter taking off and leaving thousands behind. Today it’s a perfectly restored museum and looks like it did in 1975

rise

I loved Saigon. I loved the broad streets and the beautiful parks and the faded French architecture. I loved the food and the bustle of the traffic and the scooters. I loved the people. I only had a day here but it was enough to know I needed to come back. I’d been to Hanoi but to be honest Hanoi is nothing like Saigon or Ho Chi Minh City. The locals use both names interchangeably. It was a great entry into Vietnam a place that I am totally falling in love with. I’ll be back. I included a picture of the Rex hotel where 5 pm briefings for the press were held during the war everyday and the press core called them the 5 o’clock follies. Enough said