These were some of the best moments we were able to capture while in Vietnam.
Enjoy
May 25th – On my way back to Ho Chi Minh City on the last leg of my journey. While I’m incredibly excited to go back home to my wife I find myself saddened to leave the boys to continue on with their travels. To say that these last two weeks have been an adventure would be the understatement of understatements. It feels like the past 2 weeks have been surreal — kind of like a blur.
May 10 – We started in the north of Vietnam and slowly worked our way south. The differences between Hanoi and Saigon were stark to say the least. You could feel the frenetic energy in Saigon, the restaurants, art galleries, clothing tailors, and the nightlife.
May 16 – Our first day in Saigon was an all day tour starting out with the former South Vietnam presidential palace equipped with the war rooms and command centers in the basement to the residential suites for foreign dignitaries once visited by Richard Nixon.
Our tour guide was a gentleman by the name of Giao Chau from Buffalo Tours who had a strong command of the English language and was able to articulate a lot of the history and culture of Vietnam. Giao made our stay in Saigon very memorable as we felt like we had our own personal valet.
We were fortunate enough to see most of the highlights of the city in our first full day. You couldn’t help but notice the wide tree lined boulevards in and around the town. The center of Saigon kind of had a hint of Paris to it. Get it? Vietnam was once a French colony.
Saigon also had the very hi-end shops, which made Gesy, the Brazilian Princess, feel very much at home. You had shops like Hermes, Ferragamo, Louis Vuitton, and Cartier. (Please ask Gesy for the list of fine shops, she had committed to memory) I’m wondering whether her afternoon shopping spree, or as I would describe it an injection of monetary stimulus into their local economy, will be reflected in next quarter’s Vietnamese retail sales and local GDP figures. It was funny to see that every time she left one of these fine shops Gesy was able to leave members of the staff with a lasting smile. I leave it to Gesy to be a team player and for being a solid supporter of the local economy where ever that might be.
May 17 – we started to make our way to the Mekong River delta about a 3-hour drive away from the city. We were fortunate to have our air-conditioned van equipped with a wifi hotspot, which made the long drive a bit more enjoyable. The scenery was beautiful and I lost count of how many rice paddies we went by.
We arrived at the Mekong River Delta where we boarded our, let’s say, 27-foot very basic floating vessel. I was amazed at the floating villages, open markets, and even local art galleries. One small point their local art galleries are nothing like we are use to in the United States: trust me it adds to the adventure. However, on a small note, I did learn how rice cakes were made.
One of the day’s highlights was when Michael launched his aerial camera drone. The locals were coming out of their floating homes just to see this unidentified object flying through the air — technology like this has never made it to this far corner of the world and my boys were able to create some unforgettable moments for a lot of people that day. The children jumping up and down just waving at the drone not really knowing what it actually was.
We eventually transferred to two smaller boats to take in the jungles of the Mekong. Imagine a shallow undeveloped Venice where there was nothing but lush jungle for as far as the eye could see. After we disembarked from these small vessels we got back into our van where we traveled back to the ‘comforts’ of our Saigon hotel.
We had gone pretty deep into what Vietnam had to offer, but nothing had prepared us for Cambodia. Stay tuned.
Getting caught in everyday life back home can be overwhelming — commuting to a job, paying bills, tending to responsibilities, upholding ‘social status’, dealing with friends… Once in a while we just need a break from it all where we are able to detach and really re-charge the batteries, but in a different sort of way that just another vacation cannot do for you, and that is exactly what my dad came to do.
Here I am half way around the world — traveling around Asia from country to country, visiting more airports than hotels, being lost more often than knowing where I am or how to get back home, all while armed with my backpack and camera. It has been one of the most revitalizing experiences of my life.
I have always traveled, I have been privileged enough to travel often, and I have really gotten this travel bug from my father. He is by far my biggest role model and someone who I aspire to be each and everyday. Well, my father just joined us on our adventure in Vietnam; he packed his bags and traveled half way around the world to join us.
So, without further ado, I wanted to welcome our pinch-hitting blogger, Luis Rangel.
These were some of the best moments we were able to capture while in China.
Enjoy
We did the Great Wall like no one has ever done before — check out the video, and let me know what you think. Onwards and Upwards!
After having come from such an incredible trip throughout Japan, we landed in Seoul wondering if it would even compare. We had an idea of what was in store for us, but thought that Seoul was just going to be another item to scratch off of our bucket list. However, there was one thing that we did differently — we stayed at the W.
Upon our arrival we were escorted into a posh lobby with vibrant colors, beautiful people, funky music, and a great atmosphere. Followed by a week stay that was no less impressive. It seemed that the W staff was always ready to preempt our every request.
The first day of our stay I got to know my W family. I sat down with the resident W Insider, and we planned the majority of our trip in just one sitting. She was a fantastic asset while staying there, and my trip to Seoul would not have been half as enjoyable should it not have been for her. She was able to help me with everything from reservations at restaurants and nightclubs to site-seeing and shopping; she was able to facilitate it all without any hesitation.
Having followed the W Insider’s advice; we were very happy with what we were able to see while in Seoul. We explored through the bazaar-like area of Hongdae, went on a day trip to the DMZ (De-Militarized Zone), enjoyed numerous authentic Korean meals, experienced the lively parties at Woobar as well as other features of the W, and explored the different districts in Seoul to a level that we would not have been able to do on our own. Believe it or not, the recommended restaurants were not only unique culinary experiences, but they were actually economical as well! Not a very typical type of recommendation for a hotel concierge, but one that I appreciated because we were truly able to have some real Korean food.
The motto of the W is ‘Whatever, Whenever’, and we put that to the test one day when my girlfriend asked to plan an impromptu surprise birthday party. I did not think that it was going to be possible on such short notice, however within hours; our friends at the concierge were able to arrange an unforgettable experience for our birthday guest.
I came to Seoul without a single thing planned, and I would do it all over again without the blink of an eye. I can honestly thank the W for my entire trip there.
