Great hotel and travel tips for SE Asia

In the comments posted at the bottom of this New York Times advice column:
Q&A: Southeast Asia Budget
Travelers have listed budget hotels and guest houses in Laos, Thailand, Vietnam and other great places.

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Captivated by today’s Vietnam

Ellen Creager, a travel writer at the Detroit Free Press newspaper, has written an evocative piece about travel in Vietnam, with anecdotal glimpses into Hoi An, Duong Lam, Cu Da, Cu Chi, Saigon, and Hanoi. The story online also includes some fantastic photos (26 here and 18 here).
Makes me want to go back right now!

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Book review: The Gods Drink Whiskey

The Gods Drink Whiskey: Stumbling Toward Enlightenment in the Land of the Tattered Buddha, by Stephen T. Asma (2005). See it at Amazon.com.
Before I left the U.S. to go traveling in Cambodia this summer, I searched and asked around for recommendations for non-history books, not travel guidebooks, about Cambodia. A lot of titles came [...]

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Air travel in and to Vietnam

If only I had found out about Jetstar before I went to Vietnam!
Flights on the national carrier, Vietnam Airlines, are nice enough, but booking is a giant pain in the neck — because you must pay cash. Yes, the national airline does not accept credit cards! Even inside the country, when I booked a flight [...]

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Back in the U.S.A.

The strangest thing about traveling is that as soon as you’re home, it seems as if you’ve never left. Of course, there’s a lot to process, to digest — much will be integrated into my world view over time. But day-to-day life can return almost immediately to normal routines.
I was in the Saigon airport at [...]

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Another departure, with regret

Sitting in the business-class lounge in the Hanoi airport, using free wi-fi and drinking a can of passionfruit juice imported from Malaysia (huh?!), waiting for the second leg of the seemingly endless journey from east to west (although my route is eastbound, from Seoul to Atlanta). I’m sorry to be leaving Vietnam — would have [...]

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Ha Long Bay, Hue, and Hoi An

Since we left Hanoi, we have been seeing some of the most famous tourist attractions of Vietnam. All three of these locations are UNESCO World Heritage sites, meaning they are “considered to be of outstanding value to humanity.” (Photos to come later.)
Right now I’m in an Internet cafe in Hoi An, at 10:45 a.m. local [...]

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Ready to hit the road, in Vietnam

My best friend and her family arrived on Sunday, after a bad flight delay from Delta. The customer service from Delta has got to be the worst in the world. Their airport staff are rude and unsympathetic. I have experienced it myself — many times, in many different airports. The story of Delta making a [...]

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At liberty in Hanoi

Friday was my last day teaching the Hanoi journalists. They organized a farewell lunch, and the U.S. embassy invited Larry Berman, author of the nonfiction book Perfect Spy. The embassy provided copies of the Vietnamese translation for all the journalists, and Larry signed copies (view slideshow).

Today my best friend and her family are due to [...]

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The looong flight (postponed)

There’s been a bit of a delay in my departure time, but all is well. People often ask how long the flight will take. Honestly, I don’t want to know. Because of the many changing time zones, I would need to count it up — and I would rather not!
The first time I flew to [...]

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