The final day broke over Vietnam. On a creaking, wooden ship in a secluded cove of the South China Sea, the old crow and I greeted the morning sun. It’s all a blur—how we got here, to the...
The night train rumbled into Hanoi just before dawn. It had taken all night to rattle 500km north from Dong Hoi to the nation’s capital, and in that time we’d suffered (1) shattered kneecap, (1) night of vomiting...
“Now, no bombs here.” We would soon discover that wasn’t true. The road to Khe Sahn cut a misty path through the mountains that divide Central Vietnam from Laos. 200km away from our bus, a six month battle...
The van sputtered to a halt near the edge of the DMZ. That’s where we lost Ronnie. We sat on plastic chairs by the side of the road, our bodies wedged between a muddy railroad track and a...
A grey dawn broke the darkness of Hoi An. As the streetlights gently flickered, I found myself alone by the walls of the ancient city, with centuries of travelers beside me.
“Australians are you?” “Americans.” “Wow. What in the devil are you doing here?” — Hoi An Hotelier
The man greeted me eagerly just outside the cathedral, his tiny hands barely reaching past the short sleeves of his shirt. A wide, tan grin smiled almost longer than his misshapen torso. “Hello,” he said. “Welcome.”
“Ever seen the green flash, Mr. Gibbs? They say it signals a soul coming back to this world from the dead.” “I reckon I seen my share.” SIBERIA — Somewhere off the coast, I watched a green ribbon dance over...
“Why would you go there?” “I’d rather go anywhere else on Earth than there.” “It was nice knowing you.” Those are the kind of reactions you get when you mention Vietnam. The word—the place—is cast in a haunting...
