Tourists at Home

Living in Los Angeles is pretty great, and every neighborhood has a lot to offer.  We love living in Mar Vista, and we explore our 10 blocks all of the time, but this is a big city with lots to see.  Plenty of new things are always popping up all over this major metropolis, and with traffic being so difficult

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Vietnam – Day 15 – Halong Bay to Hanoi

There's something pretty wonderful about waking up on a boat in the middle of the ocean.  The smell of the water, the feel of the salt in the air, and the cool breeze all blend together to make resting so much nicer than on land. Normally I get seasick, so resting on water is the last thing I look forward

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Vietnam – Day 14 – Hanoi to Halong Bay

It's a good thing we ran out and got dinner last night when we got off of the plane, because today begins with an 8am pickup at our hotel.  We're heading out for an overnight cruise in Halong Bay.  Made up of around 2,000 small limestone mountains, Halong Bay has a long history in the Vietnamese culture.  There is evidence

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Vietnam – Day 11 – Hoi An – Cooking Class and Sunset

Ok.  It's decided.  We love Hoi An.  The night time is beautiful; fairytale beautiful.  We agree that it reminds us of Venice, Italy, but in an Asian, Miyazaki kind of way.  Everything is close enough to walk, there's plenty of shopping and eats, and it might smell better than anywhere we've been so far, which is saying a lot since

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Vietnam – Day 10 – Da Nang to Hoi An

We said farewell to the motorbike (at Rich's dismay) this morning and headed back to the hotel to pack.  Because we allocated more time in Saigon, we will be rushing through Vietnam's other cities and that includes Da Nang.  We drove over the Dragon Bridge one last time and headed south to the ancient city of Hoi An.  We hired

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Vietnam – Day 8 – Saigon to Da Nang – Airports & Hotels

First order of business today is exchanging some more cash before we head up north.  We've been told they do not accept cards at most places in the north, and now that we've found a great exchange place I figured I would just get money now in preparation.  If you need to exchange money in Saigon, go to Koicha.  Their

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