Itinerary:

March 17 (Saturday morning): Leave Honolulu for Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam

March 19: Arrive in Ho Chi Minh City in the morning (spend a night in Taipei, Taiwan)

March 19:
*Morning: Take a short excursion to visit The Unification Hall (Old Presidential Palace), The War Museum. And Notre Dame Cathedral built in the French occupation.

*Afternoon: Mai Lien Orphanage, the orphanage founded by Catholic nuns and later visit Thien Hau Pagoda dates 19th century and is believe to be one of the oldest pagodas in Viet Nam.

March 20:
*Morning: Visit Ben Tre on the Mekong Delta, in the South. This island is not only amazingly beautiful but it is also the rice basket of the country with its rich agricultural soil. The area is peppered with paddies and orchards with all kinds of fruits. Visit markets, rice corn and coconut candy factories, and have some horse-drawn carriage rides.


March 21
*Morning: Visit Vuon Xoai (Mango Garden) – ride ostrich and visit crocodile farm.

*Afternoon: Phuoc Thien Orphanage in Binh Thuan Province, the orphanage founded by Buddhist nuns.

*Late afternoon: Arrive at a resort in Mui Ne, a small fishing village in the district of Phan Thiet (about 180 km north-east of Ho Chi Minh City). We will spend 2 nights at the resort.

March 22: Visit the Sand Dunes in Mui Ne

March 23: Back in Ho Chi Minh city, visit Ben Thanh market (the biggest market in Viet Nam), the Art Museum, and do some shopping.

March 24: Leave for Honolulu via Taiwan very late in the afternoon of March 24 and arrive in Taipei in the evening (spend a night in Taipei)

March 25: (Sunday morning): Arrive in Honolulu in the morning.




Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Molly


As we visit each location, memories rush my head from my first trip to Vietnam four years ago. The smell of pho awakens a hunger in me as we pass the multiple street vendors to arrive at the biggest night market of Vietnam. The rules and regulations of bargaining flow back into me as I pick up a pair of fake Chloé sunglasses; always start with half off the original price! After meeting a couple of persistent vendors, we walked back to the hotel and decorated our nails with the new colors we acquired. After a few hours of sleeping and a delicious breakfast at the hotel, we set off to the amusement farm where we engaged in a paint-ball battle and rode ostriches. Despite our battle wounds, we all had an amazing and entertaining time. And now as I write to you from the back of our tour bus as we head to the second orphanage and then finally to the resort to relax for two days.

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