Norm Bour – Travel Younger

Chapter 311: Hanoi First (and Last) Impressions: Embrace the Chaos!

Norm Bour — Thu, 21 May 2026 03:33:08 +0000

05.21.26

The first thing that came to mind as Kathleen and I pulled into Hanoi was, “OMG, this reminds me so much of Ho Chi Minh City/ Saigon.” Busy and crowded and chaotic, and as we sought out our room in the Old Town/ French quarter, we kind of questioned our decision to come here in the first place. Accessing the building was a bit crazy, and thank God for hosts who put pictures in with explanations of exactly where to go because if we had to read it verbally, we would have spent so much more time in frustration… The alley zigged and zagged through different buildings and past open kitchens and bedrooms, with people actually preparing their meals outside IN our alley. Weird. And how they could squeeze THAT MUCH density into such a small space is a miracle. And dangerous.

We got to the room, it was quite small, as we expected, especially the bathroom with, of course, a shower that intrudes upon the toilet (which I hate, but endure), but that is status quo for a lot of smaller places. We checked out some coffee shops for Kat to work, found some good places to eat, and when we got back to our room, we acknowledged that MAYBE Hanoi was not as bad as those first impressions. We learned this lesson many times in the past, but it’s easy to fall back on bad habits.

Our first evening walking around was like bedlam, as is typical for every large Vietnamese town, but in the morning it was much more relaxed. Busy, but not crazy, and not as many shops open as I would have expected, and I have found out for ME, particularly, that once I settle into a neighborhood it becomes like putting on comfortable shoes, and I embrace it.

Since this is our fourth visit to Vietnam and I’ve seen quite a bit of it, there are some things that I don’t appreciate as much as others, and someI do.

Hanoi has lots of “beer craft shops” within any given block, but truly I am not a beer drinker and certainly not a connoisseur. And of course Vietnam overall is well known for their many varieties of coffee, ie, egg, salt, avocado, but the only one I truly, truly love is my coconut coffee, which is a Vietnam staple, and of course my traditional cappuccino.

And take hamburgers, which many places spiff up and create concoctions you can’t even bite into, but as for me, give me a simple Old Burger, pure and unfettered, with ketchup, onion, and relish. Don’t need the mushrooms, nor bacon, but cheese is always appreciated!

The point is you don’t need to embrace EVERY feature that every country offers—but we WILL embrace the massages in Bali!—and you don’t need to visit every attraction within the area. As Travelers and not Tourists, we live a basic, simple, day-to-day life in different locations. But that’s perfectly fine with us.

By the time we left Hanoi after five days we pretty much (?) had a handle on things, but concluded that there may not be enough to entice us back again. Kathleen had a particularly difficult time with the cars, bikes, and merchants crowding the small streets, plus the constant noise, and the dinginess and foul odors of some areas, which was worse than many places we lived.

(Photos courtesy of Kathleen Plumley}

Chapter 310: (Part II) Why does it take a medical emergency to get our attention?

Norm Bour — Sun, 17 May 2026 03:06:34 +0000

05.17.26

The IMPORTANCE of Hydration

First off, THANK YOU all who sent good wishes both through here, my last FB post, or more personally. I was touched by your concern, and since I’m not writing this from the grave, my hard lesson DOES have a positive and happy outcome. Thanks for sticking through this second part, and I have to balance it between being too “dramatic,” since there’s way too much drama online, but also wanted to share how serious this hydration thing really is.

It can truly kill you, or leave you seriously damaged, so take heed.

It’s NOT just about drinking “enough” water, as many people have said.

Had I listened to this warning from my wife I MAY have seen the signs and avoided the whole mess, but we men can be pretty stubborn and think we’re Supermen and invulnerable.

Getting dizzy in the bathroom and passing out the day after a hot, taxing hike was a scary and fragile moment for both of us. I was out of it, but Kathleen, being a former nurse, could tell that I was more than just physically gone; I was mentally gone, too. She ran downstairs to get help, but unfortunately we were on the second floor. Paramedics? Not an option, only cab service to a faraway hospital. I was flat on my back and coming back around and, like most macho males, I said, “no I’m fine,” but honestly I did not know if I was fine at that time or not. We carry a blood pressure cuff with us, but my BP was too low to even get a reading. After a few attempts we did and it was insanely low, and we recognized that I was seriously dehydrated. By this time I was able to track and follow her fingers, answer questions correctly, and feel like myself. Our hosts brought a fresh coconut and orange juice, and Kat and they got me to bed, elevated my feet, and we all just waited.

Fortunately, the story continues on a happier note than it began, but after digging into AI and doing some research, we discovered that because of the hike the day before and because I had already been dehydrated for several days, my body was deficient in potassium and magnesium and possibly sodium. Sodium (salt) is easy to find, it’s everywhere, but since I have had high blood pressure I try to avoid it, and rarely put salt on anything. Eventually we were able to go downstairs for breakfast, had some nourishing pho chicken soup, and over the next several hours I recovered while we monitored my blood pressure the entire day. We got electrolytes and magnesium supplements, and I spent the next few hours lying down with my feet up. And over the next few days life more or less returned to normal.

Or did it?

Kathleen says that I was gone, which of course I denied at the time, and has said that I was different since this episode; I agree. My speech was slurred, I was non-responsive and lost body function, and there was a possibility of a seizure. For me, inside my head, I realized my potential mortality, not sure exactly what happened, but some way, somehow, I did come out of it different. And a week later I still am..

I check my BP several times a day, religiously eat a Vietnamese banana every morning, which is healthier than a typical Columbian banana, and higher in potassium, and take a magnesium pill every night. I’ve been to the gym, started slowly to feel things out, but this event truly did open my eyes. When we’re young we feel we’re invincible; invulnerable, and nothing can stop us. Until we get a serious injury, or sickness, or have some type of event that causes us to reflect on our humanness. Living as we do on the road we are blessed to find good to excellent medical facilities at the places we want to stay the longest. That gives us some peace of mind, so along with healthy eating, being present and mindful of our surroundings, and living in Gratitude, I’m not sure what else we can do.

Chapter 309: (Part I) Why does it take a medical emergency to get our attention?

Norm Bour — Fri, 15 May 2026 02:54:51 +0000

05.15.26

The Hidden Danger of Hydration

It isn’t just about watching your A, B, and C’s; sometimes, it’s about your sodium, magnesium, and potassium. Even at 72, after seven years of full-time travel, I am still learning—often the hard way.

In warm regions like Southeast Asia, we all know the importance of staying hydrated. However, I recently rediscovered a dangerous truth: you can drink water the wrong way and it is entirely possible to flush out the very minerals that keep you safe.

While staying in Tam Coc/ Ninh Binh, Vietnam, we visited Mua Cave, which features a grueling 500-step climb to a “dragon statue” at the summit. We previewed videos of the narrow, unroped peak and felt concerned—not so much about the exertion, but because my balance isn’t what it used to be. I later recognized that for several days I was already depleted and after spending three hours on a sampan boat earlier that day, and being exposed to the elements, I was at risk. Without prepping or hydrating I started my climb. Kathleen wisely chose to stay below.

At the first landing where the path split a fellow hiker suggested the “Pagoda” peak was the easier route, though still strenuous due to the uneven steps. Fifteen minutes later, I reached that summit and enjoyed a spectacular view of the lotus fields below, and across the chasm I saw the surprisingly accessible dragon statue, so decided to do that, too. After returning back to the landing, I bought a water which was sorely needed, and began the second climb toward the Dragon. Two-thirds of the way up, I took a pause to survey my condition and what lay before me, and ego be damned, I decided to turn back. Not because I was winded, but more due to worry about my legs. For several days, I’d been experiencing night cramps along with a few bouts of lightheadedness—telltale signs of potassium deficiency.

Note to self: Cramps and dizziness are your body’s early warning system.

Back at the bottom I drank some coconut juice and felt fine, and since it was an overcast day, I really didn’t think I had perspired much. That was lesson number two: Clouds do not prevent overheating or fluid loss.

That night was restless and I woke frequently, my legs cramping a few times. When I got up and stood before the toilet along comes vertigo and dizziness and down I went. I was “gone,” and it scared Kathleen (and me) to death. Was it a heart attack? A TIA mini-stroke? Or something much more than that?

To be continued

Chapter 308: Ninh Binh was Such an Unexpected Pleasure!

Norm Bour — Tue, 12 May 2026 02:47:09 +0000

05.12.26

The small sampan rides here in town didn’t wow us very much when we got here, since we thought they just went around a very small lake. That lake, the focal point of Tam coc (near Ninh binh), is not that big, and people and buses and cars keep going back and forth all around it. We noticed the boats taking people all over the lake and thought, “that doesn’t look very exciting…” But we were missing the boat…so to speak. They were being rowed by drivers (mostly women) pulling the paddles with their feet. Yes, their feet! They were able to hold the oars on the pushing and pulling ends and made it look effortless!

But that was just the first surprise.

The other half was learning that the ride took 90 minutes went through rice fields and lotus paddies and also included three more caves. OK, we’re in! And what a pleasant surprise. Our ride started about 4:00 pm, just before dusk, when the heat of the day was behind us, and we were able to enjoy the scenery under misty, beautiful shrouds of fog, with the sun peeking through; it was heavenly. It was so calm and serene you couldn’t help but appreciate the natural splendor in this country.

Our driver spoke little English, but I used Translate to ask her how often she rowed, since doing it just ONCE seemed challenging, and she said they have 1400 boats and they row every four days. Wow, on both of those, and I have no idea where they store that many boats!

Just the day before we had toured Trang An, a UNESCO World Heritage site, and that is one of the strong draws for people who visit here. If they miss the Tam Coc Bich Dong, the official name of the ride, they might be missing a great time, too.

(photos all courtesy of Kathleen Plumley

Chapter 307: Is it REALLY all about the Journey?

Norm Bour — Mon, 04 May 2026 04:43:31 +0000

05.04.26

They say we should “enjoy the journey” and not focus on the destination, but after spending 17 hours on a Vietnam train, our focus really WAS the destination, and it was worth focusing on. Ninh Binh has captured our hearts after barely a day, and instead of staying here for 4 days then moving on to Hanoi, we tacked on another week and shortened our Hanoi trip. But first, the train.

I used to love train travel, and in Europe, especially on relatively short journeys, they are still awesome. Anything over 8 hours gets tedious on any train, and even though Vietnam trains are not the worst, they have room for improvement. They do run reasonably on time and generally offer several different options on how you ride: cheap seats in a crowded car, premium seats with a bit more room and wider aisles, and sleeper cars. Of those three I highly recommend the sleeper car, and if you CAN, get a car for two—if you are traveling with a partner—rather than a 4 or 6 bunk. It’s a bit pricier, but worth it in my view. I had the upper bunk on a 4-bed cabin last month (for 10 hours), and it wasn’t horrible, but I’d bet a SIX bed model would be quite uncomfortable. Kat and I reserved a private car, and it made a tough situation much easier since we had no bunkmates and lots of room. There were nice murals on the walls, and you could stretch out however you wish. Even so, it made about a dozen stops, some of them for 20 minutes or more, and made for a very long day. AI quoted 12 hours for the ride, but I think that would be best case, and few stops. Our train was called the Reunification Express (ironic name!), which IS slower than the overnight trains, and we left at 0906 on Friday and arrived at 0204 Saturday morning, so got to see the amazing scenery a night train would not offer. Another note about Vietnamese trains: their restaurant car is a joke, with minimal offerings, and seemed to be more of a hangout for the crew. But throughout the day porters came through offering a host of eating and drinking options, so as long as you’re open to vendor food, you won’t starve.

Ninh Binh, and neighboring Tam Coc (where we are staying), is known as Halong Bay on Land since it has similar limestone mountains, called karsts, like Halong Bay, all around. They are amazing to see; primitive, ancient, full of mysteries, and Vietnam has several regions of them. The first time we came to Vietnam, in early 2020, we stayed in Halong Bay, so had a great introduction to karsts. There are several lakes and rivers in the area which we plan to tour with a guide, and they take us through tunnels beneath the rocks, as well as miles of beautiful scenery. That’s tomorrow

Chapter 306: The Many Faces of Hoi An

Norm Bour — Fri, 24 Apr 2026 07:07:22 +0000

04.24.26

Old Town: We’ve been in Hoi An proper about 5 weeks, and we’re now at our second location for this portion of our stay. The first four weeks were spent on the small island of An Hoi, which is just across the bridge from Hoi An Old Town, which is where 90% of the action is. Now we’re 15 minutes away at the beach, An Bang, and find it totally different, so I thought I’d offer an overview of the many different places/ faces of Hoi An.

It is the only OFFICIAL Ancient Town rated by UNESCO, but there are several other “old towns” in the country that have a similar nickname. It was the hub of trading and shipping from the 15th century, and many of those old buildings still stand. It truly is a beautiful little town, with hundreds of restaurants and coffee shops that you could not cover if you stayed for a year! It is also well known for tailoring, and you can get suits, dresses, and shirts made from custom fabric of your choice.

It is also very crowded.

Like, crazy crowded, especially crossing the walking bridge which connected our island paradise to the city itself. Walking along the Thu Bon River is a treat and every evening lanterns are placed in the water as prayer offerings and scores of people jump into sampans for a short ride up and down the river. The bottom line: Old Town is busy, busy, so if you like the hustle & bustle and want close access to coffee or food, then it’s worth considering.

Meanwhile, the two very proximate islands, An Hoi, where we were , and Cam Nan, are a bit more peaceful and away from the chaos. Our little sanctuary was very nice, and we could get almost everywhere we wanted to go in about 15 minutes. Neighboring Cam Nan is not so developed and even more quiet. We didn’t stay there, but we almost did. When we were looking to book a room in Hoi An we could not remember the name of the island where we wanted to stay, so mistakenly booked on Cam Nan. Since we weren’t familiar with it and there did not seem to be as much there, we cancelled and rebooked for An Hoi.

Conclusion: either of these two islands may offer you the best of both worlds: proximity to the action, but the ability to retreat.

A bit outside of town is a small area near the beach called Cam Thanh, which is where we stayed for a month in 2024. It was about 15 minutes from town on a very quiet road, and unfortunately not close to anything. We had a scooter which made it more practical, and the prices are probably the cheapest in the area. My thoughts: if you want quiet and peace and don’t mind being further out, then Cam Thanh is a consideration.

Last is An Bang beach, which is where we are now, and I think, it’s the best of all. It is on the water, much smaller than any “town,” in the area, and has plenty of homestays and eateries for anyone’s’ tastes. If you want to go INTO Old Town it’s a 15-minute Grab ride, costing about $3. It’s kind of a small enclave of expats and locals but also has lots of tourists. It is also a bit closer to Da Nang city itself, so if you have a need to go there, you can avoid some of the Hoi An traffic. If you are a beach bum or bunny and want access to the water, this is the only option of all of these.

Those are my thoughts and my thoughts alone in case yours may differ.

Chapter 305: Welcome to An bang

Norm Bour — Sat, 18 Apr 2026 07:00:34 +0000

04.18.26

After 4.5 weeks on the small island of An hoi, across the walking bridge from Old Town Hoi an, we finally left today to go to the beach, a little enclave called An bang. The last several times we’ve been in the area we came through here, had dinner at a few spots, but never really checked it out or even considered it as a place to hang for possibly a long time. BTW, my main photo is a combination street art and gym!!

But after being here for only a few hours I have totally changed my mind, and I think this could be The Sweet Spot that we’ve been looking for in the area.

It’s only a 20-minute ride to the actual city of Da nang, we are literally steps to the sand, which is quite beautiful, and after walking around the town for the last few hours, I pretty much found every type of restaurant that I could hope for, which is always a big Plus. And the prices are well within line. We were pleasantly surprised at our room, which was larger than we thought it would be, has a nice balcony, and all the modern amenities. We are here for the next two weeks, then take the train up to Hanoi area, where we will spend another 2 weeks, then on to a brand new horizon: Japan, the Land of the Rising Sun.

But when that journey is done, about June 1st, we are back in in Da nang for several months. As always, I look at all these locations with a “check the box” type of mindset, to find the one that gives us the most bang for the buck. Vietnam has been at or near the top of our list for quite some time, and I don’t see that changing. But it’s a close race with Bali…

Chapter 304: The Challenge of Just “Being” (from my newsletter)

Norm Bour — Sun, 05 Apr 2026 07:30:04 +0000

04.05.26

Relaxing can take a lot of effort, which is ironic in itself, but sometimes you just need to be somewhere else. A change of scenery can do wonders…

I think I’ve always been a restless guy. Easily bored. And though the term ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) was not used in my early years, I was definitely that. In second grade I recall my teacher writing on my report card, “can be distracting and not focused.” That sounds pretty much like the definition of ADD! A few years later, early in my seventh-grade social studies class, I remember the teacher saying to me, “can’t you just focus on this one thing?” and the answer appeared to be a “no,” and this was just a simple project of creating multi-level views of a map of Europe with overlays on top.

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After high school graduation I knew college was not my thing, especially since I had no focus or field of study. That didn’t stop a lot of kids from going to college, and “Liberal Arts,” was the collective bucket they slid into. And college was cheap in 1972; less than $3,000 for a state school in Pennsylvania, which was still affordable back then, based on cost of living. My mother, born in Hungary, for years offered and begged for me to go to Hungary with her to visit. See Budapest, visit her hometown of Miskolc. I never did, wasn’t that interested, and was too arrogant to “travel with Mom,” who was overbearing in my youth since I was an only child.

Sorry, Mom…

To this day one of my life’s Biggest Regrets.

Even though college didn’t call me, I tried Junior College for a semester, was bored to death, didn’t stay, so entered the workforce in the car industry, which is where I stayed until August of 1975, when I was 21 years old. My restlessness was hitting its peak, so when my cousin Michael, same age as me, invited me to visit him in California; I said yes.

The plan was to drive 3000 miles cross country by myself, and fortunately I had a nice newer car, and felt that it would be a safe trip. And fun. I was pretty sheltered until then, so driving WEST of Pennsylvania for the first time opened up new horizons. I had never camped, never set up a tent, cooked on a portable stove, or any of those fun things that many kids do with their parents. This was all new to me—and I loved it. As an only child I had no problem being alone for days on end, and I had all those hours each day in my car, all that time, so what else was there to do, but think.

Yellowstone. Cold. Pristine, Beautiful. 1975

And that was one of the first times I had serious conversations with me about what I wanted to do with my life.

I loved California and ended up staying for a year, worked in a ski town, then drove cross country again, to Florida, where I stayed for two years, then moved to Canada for the summer with my (then) Canadian love. In 1977 I drove back again to California via the TransCanada Highway, and lived there for forty years.

Fast forward fifty years, uh, that’s half a century! and here we are. Today. Wherever that is at any given time, but currently, for me, here in Southeast Asia.

As a retired guy, I theoretically have “all the time in the world,” but sometimes it’s hard to fill that space, and I find that sometimes it’s hard just BEING. Not doing, not planning; just doing. Nothing.

The idea for this stream of consciousness came about a few weeks ago while Kat and I were in Sanur, Bali. Like I’m wont to do, I decided to scout out some other places to visit or live aside from Sanur, and took a few days to visit the much smaller towns of Sidemen and Candidasa.

Sidemen was a small village, in the hills, and heard it represented the way Bali used to be, since it had few tourist attractions aside from rice fields, some waterfalls, and places to hike. The 90-minute ride was surprisingly pleasant, and as I approached my homestay (hotel) down this gravel driveway, I recognized that I was in a much less civilized and commercialized part of the island. I dropped off my bags and went off to explore the town. And I found no “town” to speak off. There was a main road, another road that intersected it, and that was “downtown.” That’s it. No McDonalds, no restaurants to speak of, not much of anything to interest me. I Googled restaurant selections and found a great one on the edge of a rice field and had a delicious dinner for just a few bucks. I had a tentative list of “things to do,” and that would require a scooter since nothing was close, so planned that for the following day.

The next morning I enjoyed a breakfast on my patio, and since it was overcast with a chance of rain, I thought it wise to postpone the scooter since I don’t enjoy getting caught in the rain.

How could you NOT stop, and just…be?

I started my walk with no specific destination and sauntered down the street. I found this beautiful bridge with a river just as pretty, quite pristine, and just enjoyed that for a few minutes. I continued on and found a really cute little hotel on that river, so wandered into the back yard where there was a deck overlooking the water. A few feet away was another view area, covered from the sun, and there was not a soul there, so I stopped, grabbed a comfy chair, and just sat watching the water. And I sat there for almost an hour, mesmerized, hypnotized, and reflecting on HOW I got there, at that time and space. And I had an abundance of Gratitude, to be able to DO those things I never even dreamed of in my youth. Living in Bali?? NOT on MY radar!!

I inquired about the rooms and took a peek, and they were only about $20 night, so saved it in my Maps, and made a point to return sometime in the future. I walked on and came to one of the few attractions IN Sidemen; their famous rice terrace. For $1.50 admission I decided to go in, and I just followed the path as it skirted the perimeter of the fields. I’ve been through rice fields before, like them, and this was especially beautiful. Between the overcast skies that let out a few little droplets, and warm sun, the wind never stopped blowing and I walked for an hour. And it was heavenly. Imagine my surprise when I came upon a little waterfall flowing into the irrigation canal, so stopped for that picture worthy moment, and then around the next corner was a little stand, run by a solitary woman selling coconuts. Coconuts are incredibly healthy, especially when you’re dehydrated, so how could I not support this local woman? Once again I had to stop and just be. Sitting in the middle of a rice plantation in Bali, once again I drifted off into Lala land. Here I was in Bali for the third time in two years. How many people can say that??

The path continued, a few raindrops fell off and on, but nothing to make this saunter through my life troublesome. Finally I came to the end and found a little warung, which is Indonesian for “café,” a place to grab some food or a drink. It started to drizzle more heavily so I grabbed a stool and just sat, mesmerized by the rain droplets falling onto the rice field paddies. Three times over a few hours I had reflected upon my life and how I got there. So, is that doing “nothing?” or is this something we don’t do often enough?

This little side trip taught me a pretty valuable lesson, a simple as it was. So much of our lives– so much of my life—has been spent going and doing, and sometimes we forget to just stop all that bullshit and just be. So this day which had no specific plan or agenda, ended up being a magical one.

No matter where you are in life–physically, spiritually, mentally, or emotionally– I think it’s healthy to occasionally just stop and do nothing. Reflect on WHERE you are, what you’re doing, and ask yourself, “Is this what I want from life?” Some of us have less time left on our clocks that others, but maybe my experience will give you pause and allow you to just—

Be.

If only for a minute.

Chapter 303: Road Trip part III: Nha Trang

Norm Bour — Thu, 02 Apr 2026 06:58:21 +0000

04.02.26

I offered a brief preview on my last post, but here’s where the rubber meets the road…

As I mentioned…I guess the one word I use to describe Nha Trang, Vietnam, is: Interesting. And that one word can have so many connotations, some good, some not so good, but overall I enjoyed Nha Trang, but it did not displace Da Nang as being the Top Dog of places to stay/ visit in the country for us. First, the train ride.

The 4.5-hour train ride from Quy Nhon was quite pleasant, and the “soft seat” I had was adequate for that length trip. Nice views from both sides, and the train station in Nha Trang is just a few blocks from the beach, so if you landed there from the train without a plan, you could just walk down to the beach and start hunting for rooms. I actually booked a hostel before I got there, and for $7.00 night in a 4-room dorm, it was perfect for what I wanted.

One of my biggest issues of Quy Nhon was the limited selection of “western food” options, but in Nha Trang, that was NOT a problem! Every ethnicity was there, from Italian to burgers; from Armenian to Greek, and I was shocked at something I was not prepared for. There is a HUGE, and I mean huge, disproportion of Russians in the city. I felt like I made a wrong turn and ended up in Moscow, and the majority of the signage was in Russian along with Vietnamese, and English was third on the list. When I did hear English spoken on the street, most of it was the Queen’s English, and there were far more Brits and Aussies than Americans. Most of them were under 30, or even mid-twenties, and it seems that THIS is the party spot for the young Brits. Historical note: The Russians used to have a military base there during the cold war, and many Russians stayed after that ended. So their history goes back a long way, and from Russia they offer almost a dozen direct flights into Nha Trang.

I was also shocked at how many businesses did NOT accept credit cards, and it seems to be a very “cash only” city, surprising with a town of half a million people (10th largest in the country). In Bali they took credit cards almost everywhere, but charged a 3% premium: in Vietnam they’re going 5%. Ouch! But the town itself was quite lovely, pretty clean, with a gorgeous—and very long—beach, with nice sand. There were at least two malls, another surprise, even movie theaters, a rarity so far. Those were the goods, but there was some not so good, too.

The Friendliness—or Lack of—Factor. The merchants were noticeably unfriendly in my brief three days there, which was disappointing considering it is such a tourism heavy town. We definitely got spoiled in Bali, and that paradise may be pulling us back harder than we expected. I also ran into some issues renting a scooter, and two shops were VERY particular about what is known as the “International Driving Permit” (IDP). I’ll not dive in the particulars, but the IDP is issued from the country where your driver’s license originates and verifies its validity. But there are TWO types, each ratified in different years, The US IDP is NOT, I repeat, NOT recognized in Vietnam, and without it you (theoretically) cannot rent anything larger than 150 cc. BOO. One of the vendors said that the fine to the rider who gets caught is steep, but the fine to THEM is even worse, about $350 USD, so they don’t want to risk it.

I also learned a valuable lesson about carrying my passport when I go on these side trips, since I usually DO NOT. My hostel wanted to see a copy of my entry visa AND the passport page that was stamped, which I did not have. In over eight years of travel, we have not had that issue, but we have noticed that Vietnam DOES have a militant, rules heavy side. I ended up doing a video call with Kat who shared it with the front desk and got me in.

Those are all mechanics and I hope might offer some insight, along with this; my 10-hour train ride back to Da Nang on the Sleeper train. I was not able to book a lower bunk, but I was OK with being on top. I’m not the agile monkey I once was, but I highly recommend the Vietnam train over the buses. Get the lower bunk, and there are several online sites you can do that with

Chapter 302: Road trip #2: Nha Trang, Vietnam, But first, there’s my first train ride in Vietnam…

Norm Bour — Sun, 29 Mar 2026 03:16:47 +0000

03.29.26

So what happened after Quy Nhon, Norm?

Well, funny you should ask, and to kind of wrap up my review of that town, as I said, for US it’s not quite “ready for prime time” yet, but it has a lot of potential. So I figured since I’m this close to the city of Nha Trang, another city on the “check it out” list, that’s where I went. And since the six-hour bus ride down TO Quy Nhon was fresh in my mind, I didn’t want to do that again, at least right now, so opted for the train. And I have to say, having ACCESS to a train as an option IS a nice treat.

The price of the 4–5-hour train ride was all of about $14, and as I scouted around for a room in Nha Trang, I came across the FUSE hostel, which I was familiar with it since we had one in Hoi An, and it looked like a pretty cool place to stay. I usually get private rooms to myself, but since I could get a bed in a four-bed dorm, I figured I could handle that for a few nights. At least we had our own bath, which is convenient, and it was just a 10-minute walk to the beach. Oh, and the price was $7 a night.

I booked the train ticket, got to the station, which was MUCH nicer than I expected, and looked new. I admit, I was a bit confused trying to read a Vietnamese train schedule, which was more of a learning experience and a confirmation that I WAS at the right station. I actually did a one-minute video that might be helpful if you plan to use a Vietnamese train. There are several different options for seating:

> Hard seat

> Soft seat

> Sleeper beds for 4

> And sleeper beds for 6

For a four-hour ride I didn’t see the need for a sleeper bed, so opted for the soft seat, which was actually pretty nice. The seat was comfy, it reclined, and the most important thing missing from the BUS was plentiful: bathrooms. There were several there, most were full baths, but one had only a squatty toilet, which is doable in an emergency. The ride was comfortable, nice views along the way, and they offered different refreshments on the train. I passed on that since I had a decent meal beforehand and looked forward to having a more conventional meal when I got to my room. No question, this train couldn’t compare to a European one in Italy, Spain, or most of Europe, but knowing that you can cover almost 1100 miles from Hanoi to Ho Chih Minh city is a HUGE benefit in Vietnam. By the way, if you did that ENTIRE ride, it would take 31-35 hours, so keep that in mind if you consider such a thing. Kat and I have talked about training from Da Nang to Hanoi, which is just under 500 miles, and takes 15-17 hours. Definitely a sleeper car!!

My time in Nha Trang will be a whole new post since there’s a lot to share, but I can say that SO FAR, of all the places we’ve checked out as far as settling down spots in Vietnam, Da Nang is still Numero uno. Finding that elusive Goldilock’s Zone—and I know most of you know what I’m talking about—is really hard and time consuming. Where is not too hot? Too cold? Too big, or small; too this or that? Goldilocks had to muddle through only three beds to find the one that was “just right,” but finding a place to LIVE is much more difficult. We went through the same process in the Balkans, and concluded that Albania, specifically Tirana, is OUR sweet spot. At least in the non-winter months. The low winter temps were the deal killers for us. But ASIA has many more options to choose from—even just in Vietnam—but half the fun is the searching!