Take a Virtual Vacation: Vietnam

In which Laura, who grew up during the Vietnam War, goes to Southeast Asia and finds out what Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia are really like today.

Vietnam: Deep Observation

Today, in our first writing class of the day, I talked about the Buddhist concept of “bare attention.” Bare attention means deeply looking into something — just really seeing it deeply. Stopping to really see, to really perceive with our senses. Taking the time to slow down and see. Just noticing what is. It is […]

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Vietnam: Breakfast is Included

This is the breakfast buffet. More eye candy. Hmmm…I wonder what I should have for breakfast? Eliza said, “I haven’t tasted goat cheese like this since I was in France.” She was practically drooling with pleasure. Eli said: “What time does this breakfast bar close? I think this is a two or three breakfast morning.”

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Vietnam: Yoga On The Go

One of the most important things helping people stay grounded and in their bodies, coping with jet lag and different foods, new means of transportation and new beds every few nights is Yoga on the Go. When my partner Karyn said she wanted to come to Vietnam with me, we integrated yoga into our daily

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Vietnam: Spa Heaven

When we arrived at the Avani resort, there was a green parallelogram-shaped packet in our rooms that held a number of cards (also parallelogram-shaped) describing the various kinds of spa treatments we could receive. There were massages, facials, body scrubs and baths in three categories: Purify, Balance and Boost, ranging in length from 30 to

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Vietnam: The Best Made Plans

The first day of our writing class on this trip, I stressed two attitudes essential to traveling: courage (as in consciously choosing to take a risk every day) and flexibility. Travel is unpredictable, plans change, and you have to roll with those changes. Well, today was the day. We left the Avani resort, headed for

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Vietnam: Writing On The Go

Most of our group opted to take taxis into Hanoi for shopping and lunch, but some of the diehards stayed at the airport. And for the half-dozen who wanted to write, I made up these writing-on-the-go-at-the-airport prompts: Go out on your own (you will get much better results doing these activities alone) and: 1. Go

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Vietnam: Finally . . . Laos!

We finally arrived at our hotel in Laos, the Apsara, at 9:30 last night. Judy had us pre-order our dinner so food and beds were waiting for us after the long day of travel. It is a charming lovely hotel. We love our room and dinner was perfect. This town is famous for its food

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