So as I mentioned, I was out for a few days, spending time in beautiful (and damn cold, IMHO) San Francisco. I also
managed to get myself down to Ventura and spent one very fine weekend paddling the sea caves of the Channel Islands. Oh
man, oh man, was it great. A detailed account will be forthcoming along with photos, but right now, I have to step back
a few days and catch up on some missed stories in the New
York Times and other papers, since the Sunday travel sections are always filled with goodies.
To wit:
here is a story that should not be missed from the Sunday Times about Vietnam. Now, I confess I’ve never been to
Vietnam. I consider it a “must see” destination and am more or less just waiting for the right opportunity. But stories
like this whet my interest and make me wonder if the time should be sooner rather than later.
The writer visits Hue and several places in center of the country, along the dividing line of North and South Vietnam,
where some of the Vietnam War’s fiercest battles were fought. Here she takes an old wooden motor boat down the Huong
Giang, or “Perfume River” and later wanders some of the local ancient tombs and temples. Then it is on to Da Nang and
Hoi An, where memories of the war are still very much alive. Vietnam’s main cities are changing so rapidly due to
globalization and tourism, that the mind swirls when imagining what they will look like a decade from now, but as the
article suggests, in some places the past remains very much alive.