Melanie Whittaker, Author at On The Road Now

December 5, 2018December 6, 2018

Our Year of Living in Viet Nam

A woman in a traditional conical hat and Western dress sells flowers from her bicycle in Hanoi

A motorcycle-mounted vendor sells tropical fish on the street in Hanoi

DA NANG, VIET NAM – “Banh Bao! Banh Bao!” A pre-recorded shout echoes off the neighboring buildings as the motorcycle food peddler putt-putts down the street. Flames burst from the back of his side-saddle warming oven. On top of the oven is a glass case filled with warm, yummy steamed buns.

For a foreigner from a Western country, seeing open flames from a motorcycle-mounted wood-fired oven… Well, that is just plain crazy!

But it’s just another typical everyday occurrence in this Vietnamese city.

Continue reading “Our Year of Living in Viet Nam”

June 15, 2018July 24, 2018

12 months, 10 countries, 27,000 miles, two happy travelers!

Scenic terraced valley high in the mountainous Sapa District, in northwestern Vietnam.

HANOI, VIETNAM – June 15th marks one year since leaving the farm property we called home for 26 years and setting out to travel the world with all our worldly possessions packed into four suitcases.

Where have we been and what have we done over the last 12 months?
Continue reading “12 months, 10 countries, 27,000 miles, two happy travelers!”

March 7, 2018July 24, 2018

Why we prefer independent travel

We booked a private tour to the Callanish Standing Stones on the Isle of Lewis, Outer Hebrides

HANOI, VIETNAM – John and I “never” travel with a tour, except for those rare occasions when we do…

Tours tend to hustle you along from point A to point B to point C with a limited amount of time at each one. We, however, might want to spend a little more time at point A, don’t really care about point B, and think point C looks like it should take a whole day.
Continue reading “Why we prefer independent travel”

February 24, 2018July 24, 2018

Our traditional Tet lunch experience

An array of traditional Vietnamese food for Lunar New Year (Tet)

HANOI, VIETNAM – As slow travelers, John and I always try to connect with the local culture, so we were thrilled to be invited recently to join a family for their traditional Tet (Lunar New Year) family lunch in a rural village just outside of Hanoi.

We really did not know what to expect, besides lots of food, so we saved the entire day for the experience, and brought a box of chocolates for our host, Khai, the number two son in the family.
Continue reading “Our traditional Tet lunch experience”

January 22, 2018July 24, 2018

A new adventure every day…

Trấn Quốc Pagoda, the oldest Buddhist temple in Hanoi

HANOI, VIETNAM – It’s a new adventure every time we step out of the apartment. Seriously, it really is. Take today for instance. Soon you get to know your neighborhood, the stores, the market and what is around. Hanoi just has soooo much!

Today we stepped out of the apartment at about 1 p.m. – lunch time. There were motorbikes parked everywhere; I mean everywhere. “That’s different,” we thought. Continue reading “A new adventure every day…”