The art of silk embroidery in all its glory in Nha Trang

As we traveled throughout Vietnam, we didn't miss the stunning work resulting from hand sewn embroidery done mostly by young women of Vietnam. The art is ancient and probably was acquired from the Chinese who refer to it as Suzhou or "Su" embroidery. This technique dates back 2,000 years (yes as in two thousand). The...

French Cathedral still stands at hilltop in Nha Trang

The Nha Trang Cathedral was built by the French in 1928 and sports a grand clock on its face together with three giant bells (built by the famed Bourdon Carillons Company). To provide a hilltop setting, the top of a mountain was blown off with no less than 500 mines; it was built with steel reinforced concrete with cemented walls. If...

The absolute wonders of Cham Culture

This was an unexpected surprise, as we were looking for things to do in Nha Trang, aside from the beach since we had the entire day unplanned. In the picture to the left, worshipers are getting ready to enter one of the temples, with their offerings for the Gods. Before entering, there is a receptacle which holds burning...

Let's break for the beach for a change of pace...

It's amazing that there are still people in the United States that believe Vietnam is a vast swampland, and that its inhabitants are waiting around the corners for Americans so they can shoot them. How do I know this? As the U.S. agent for Aurora Travel, I have had the pleasure to speak to countless numbers of people traveling to Vietnam...

The War Remnants Museum in HCMC

A mural of a dove welcomes the visitor to the War Remnants Museum The Vietnamese don't dwell on the American War nor do they hold any grudges as one might expect after all the suffering and years of bombardment, and the fact that today, one can still see on the streets of Saigon war veterans that are maimed, or the lucky who can wear...

Venice in Saigon....really!

A couple of days following the food poisoning episode, which you will learn about later, I felt well enough to go exploring again. I was annoyed that two entire days of my vacation had been ruined by having to rest in bed and drink salty water. But, here was a new day, and a chance to get to know Saigon. So, with my trusted yellow cap...