“Floating Junk” Ha Long Bay, Gulf of Tonkin, Viet Nam

On April 11, 2016October 3, 2019 By Author Edmond GagnonIn TravelLeave a comment

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This story was taken from Ed’s book, “A Casual Traveler“

Hanoi, Viet Nam was not kind to me during my stay, but it served me well as a base while I visited other places in the area that I wanted to see. I was told there are 50 million scooters in the country of Viet Nam and 6 million people in Hanoi. I believe the majority of the scooters were in Hanoi.

Considering the crowds and vehicular noise, I decided to get out of town. There are always plenty of options when you travel on your own with no set agenda. I decided on a no brainer mini-trip, where I set my own itinerary. I booked a four day tour that combined two days on a boat in Ha Long Bay with two days of trekking in the mountains near Sa Pa, near the Chinese border.

After booking the trip and wasting the day wandering around Hanoi, I chose to have dinner at a restaurant right across the street from my hotel. Nothing else had caught my eye. A place full of locals is usually the sign of a good restaurant. Continue reading ““Floating Junk” Ha Long Bay, Gulf of Tonkin, Viet Nam” →

A Royal Tour-Sen Monorom, Cambodia

On April 2, 2016October 3, 2019 By Author Edmond GagnonIn TravelLeave a comment

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This story is an excerpt from Ed’s book, “A Casual Traveler“

Our bus adventures took us from Phnom Penh to Kratie and then to ,Sen Monorom in the untamed northeast section of Cambodia. The second half of the trip to Sen Monorom was spent in a beat up bus, on a dirt road, for over four hours. If there was ever a trip to the boonies, this was it.

My travel companion, Michael, is a seasoned traveler and he promised me a no frills adventure off the beaten path. We booked our bus in advance, but once in Sen Monorom we had to hike up the main road to town in search of lodgings. It was a mystery to me why the bus station was not actually in town.Our bus adventures took us from Phnom Penh to Kratie and then to Sen Monorom, in the untamed northeast section of Cambodia. The second half of the trip to Sen Monorom was spent in a beat up bus, on a dirt road, for over four hours. If there was ever a trip to the boonies, this was it.

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Charleston, South Carolina

On March 29, 2016May 14, 2016 By Author Edmond GagnonIn TravelLeave a comment

Leaving Myrtle Beach and arriving in Charleston, was like graduating to college directly from grade school. Even though the city wasn’t on the way home, we just had to make the detour and experience this gem of the south. Luckily, the city managed to remain mostly unscathed during the U.S. civil war. The architectural beauty of the 18th and 19th century buildings will punch any history buff right in the solar plexus.

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Myrtle Beach

On March 28, 2016May 14, 2016 By Author Edmond GagnonIn TravelLeave a comment

We weren’t planning a winter getaway this year, mostly for financial reasons – one being that we’ll be doing a three to four week bike trip to the west coast this summer, but I saw a post on Facebook about Myrtle Beach accepting Canadian money at par for food and lodging.

The next thing I knew we had five nights booked at the Admiral Motor Inn, in downtown Myrtle Beach for the March Break. They offered a thirty percent discount through Hotels.com that almost evened out the exchange rate. We scored an ocean front, ocean view efficiency room for sixty-two bucks a night (Canadian).

I hadn’t been to Myrtle Beach in over thirty years, but was impressed to see that they built a beautiful oceanfront boardwalk that runs almost a mile and a half. For folks like us who want to park the car and walk most places, it was perfect. It was ideal for strolling or getting to and from about two dozen bars, restaurants, arcades, beachwear shops and more.

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