This isn't a "white bread goes to Asia and now he thinks he's a world explorer" site. Primarily it's just a site to show my friends, both American and Vietnamese, my pictures each time I come back from a trip to Asia. I've made it public because I figure somebody else might be interested in looking at the pics, although admittedly, there are plenty of "look at my travel pics" sites out there already. I'm not an expert on traveling, nor am I an expert on Southeast Asia, but I've tried to add factual descriptions to pictures of sites or monuments that don't otherwise show me engaged in some activity so the viewer knows what they are looking at. If I can't remember enough details to describe what the picture is about, then I have grabbed some information off the web, changing the wording of course ;-)

Why does an American like me travel to Vietnam every year? I have some Vietnamese friends who invited me to come with them when they returned to visit in 1997. I didn't go that year but when they invited me again in 1998 and I had enough vacation, I went with them. I went partly for the travel and partly because I wanted to see the place that I had watched us fighting in every day on the nightly news for my entire childhood. I've continued to go because I've become attached to my friend's family and because it remains an exciting adventure to travel to somewhere so far away and so different from here. It's definitely a place I would recommend visiting if you can tolerate the heat and humidity. It's very safe, it's free of religious fanaticism (big plus) and it's inexpensive. And probably best of all, the people are friendly and gracious to foreigners; even Americans and yes even in the north - EVEN IN HANOI. If you do go, please be a good representative of your country by being polite, respectful and leaving any attitude at home.

-jah