Wat Phnom, Cambodia

Bangkok’s Grand Palace

Thailand’s King Bhumibol Adulyadej died in October after seven decades on the throne. The Grand Palace is an amazing site that includes both the Temple of the Emerald Buddha and Wat Pho — but my visit today felt surreal for another reason: the complex continues to be flooded daily with mourners for Thailand’s late king. It’s a difficult time for Thailand, but as a foreigner it’s a fascinating time to be here.

Sandy dunes and white beaches

Bay of Bengal

My first time to see the Bay of Bengal. A beautiful part of this amazing world.

Golden Myanmar

A perfect day, obviously …

Ngwe Saung, Ayeyarwaddy, Myanmar

The human-powered Ferris wheel …

Best wishes on Tasaungdaing for my Buddhist friends in Myanmar. The people here really know how to throw a party. Tonight I took a ride on a human-powered Ferris wheel, plus, I ate street food (read: hepatitis on a stick).

The best part: I’m alive, not even ill (yet), and in truth had an amazing once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Saigon by night

Cu Chi, Vietnam

The Cu Chi tunnels north of Ho Chi Minh are a popular tourist attraction today – but during the Vietnam War they were a link between Saigon and Cambodia that allowed the Viet Cong to covertly move supplies and personnel beneath the dense foliage that made up the battlefields surrounding the Saigon River.

I visited the tunnels this week and it was a pretty surreal experience. I can’t imagine how the American soldiers known as “Tunnel Rats” found the courage to do their jobs.

My father was a soldier in Vietnam, and to see firsthand the jungle and booby traps it held was quite sobering. I don’t mind that this place is a tourist attraction now – but a couple of things really bothered me. The first was the flippancy of other visitors. I saw parents posing their kids beside booby traps and laughing. It made me so angry I had to walk away.

The second was the propaganda by the Vietnamese government. I thought I was prepared for it after previously visiting the Hanoi Hilton and other sites in the North, but the captions on the photos that litter the designated Cu Chi tourist area are intentionally demeaning and provocative, and serve no legitimate purpose.

However, I am grateful for the opportunity to visit Cu Chi and I believe it’s a place that should be visited by Americans – especially if you had a loved one who served in Vietnam.

If you are so inclined, a good history of the Cu Chi tunnels can be read here.

Vĩnh Tràng Pagoda

Vĩnh Tràng is a Buddhist temple in the Mekong Delta village of Mỹ Hóa. In the 1800s, the French coveted Mỹ Hóa because of its strategic location between the Mekong River and Old Saigon — and for that same reason, this beautiful area was the focal point of countless military campaigns during the Vietnam War.