ROT: The Official Blog

I'll be updating the second -- and biggest -- portion of my free online guide to Vietnam in June and July. Last October and November I biked and boated around the Mekong and Saigon, and the website is now up at www.reidontravel.com.

I'll be re-telling my adventures here. The full guide -- to Hanoi, Sapa, Halong Bay, Hue, Hoi An, Nha Trang and Dalat -- will be finished by late September.

My first adventure is getting the Vietnam visa. Naturally I forgot to even apply for one until last Friday, when it dawned on me in the shower. I called the NY consulate who told me to come by and they'd 'try' to help. Mr Lac, originally from Hanoi, tried to rush me a three-month visa, but it didn't work out. Now he promises me not to worry, and that he'll 'eat his hand' if I don't get a landing visa -- emailed from Hanoi -- in time for me for the Thursday morning flight. We'll see.

More to come as it comes...

Robert Reid
Brooklyn, NY