Middle East and SE Asia - 2024

Saigon is big, busy, loud, stiflingly hot, and absolutely over-run by scooters, but still worth a visit... but 3 days was plenty! We learned a lot about the craziness of the 20th century here (and our uncomfortable role in it), layered on top of what we'd already seen in Hanoi and Hue.  I'm still amazed at how open and friendly everyone here is, but I suppose the obvious growing prosperity here has bred a very forward looking optimism.  Architecturally, Saigon is a blend of modern, French colonial, and a bit of traditional Vietnamese, with a strong NYC like feel to the central city.  There were several good museums, a really nice botanical garden, some great downtown avenues, and even more great food, at crazy cheap prices.  So no complaints, other than the heat.  95-100F at high humidity just isn't much fun for wandering around ba city on foot!   so... Tomorrow we are ...

We've spent the past two days about 3 hours drive south of Hue in the small city of Hoi An, another UNESCO world heritage site.  Hoi An ws major trading center in the region up until the late 18th century when the river upon which it is located silted up too much for larger ships to continue use it as a port.  It subsequently fell into a long economic decline, and was largely forgotten and bypassed by the turmoils of the 20th century which brought destruction to many more important places in Vietnam. By the time Vietnam began to pursue tourism development in the early 1990's, 200 years of salutary neglect made Hoi An a perfect example of 17th century Vietnamese architecture and town planning, an a prime candidate for UNESCO recognition. While the core of the old trading settlement is almost wholey intact, it's still a bit overun by tourist centered business, particularly on the weekends, when most visitors appear to be other Vietnamese.  Still, behind all the restaurants,...