Re-Visiting Vietnam: Phú Quốc & Hội An

The Grateful Globetrotters were pleased to make a return visit to Vietnam, a country we first traveled through in 1998. It had been 20 years since our last explorations and this time around we decided to focus on just two locales, rather than journey throughout the entire region as we'd done on our initial visit.

Phú Quốc is a Vietnamese island off the coast of Cambodia in the Gulf of Thailand. It's known for white-sand beaches and resorts, most of which are along the palm-lined southwest coast. We really enjoyed the seaside local of our resort. Beach explorations supplemented with intermittent lounging, and some snorkeling sprinkled in, as well as delicious Vietnamese foods were the highlights of our stay.

From the island, we made our way to Hội An, a city on Vietnam’s central coast known for its well-preserved "Ancient Town" and waterway canals. The city’s melting-pot history is reflected in its architecture, a mix of eras and styles. There are also nearby beaches that are easy to get to, which of course we explored. And, we found an interesting ancient ruin that's just a short bus ride from town.

The photographs below speak volumes

More pix from Hội An and nearby area:

The town

 

The beach

The ruins

 

A few more pix from the island of Phú Quốc

 

Some snorkeling 

beautiful island sunset

~ some tasty cuisine to top it all off ~

What a great trip ... exploration in Bhutan, 

followed by relaxation in Vietnam!

Bhutan - Land of the Thunder Dragon

The Himalayan country of Bhutan is unique and special in so many ways but is perhaps best known for creating the concept of "Gross National Happiness" (GNH), a term coined by K4 - The Fourth King of Bhutan, his Majesty Jigme Singye Wangchuck.

Bhutanese people place great importance and emphasis on their cultural and spiritual preservation, and also on environmental conservation. When we visited in March-April of 2018, it was the only country in the world that absorbed more carbon than it emitted.

We feel very blessed to have been able to visit the magical region and learn so much about what makes Bhutan so special. There are less than 1 million residents and relatively few tourists are permitted to enter the country on a yearly basis, so even in high season there was a calm and relaxed feeling wherever we went. We found the local people are highly intelligent, welcoming and warm, and funny too!

We traveled the land with an excellent guide, Palden, and our friendly driver - Rinjen (below)

The numerous temples, monasteries and fortress-like dzongs that we visited were some of the most amazing we have ever seen in all our travels. Some fortresses and temples are perched upon high mountains and cliffs, and it baffles the mind as to how they were constructed hundreds of years ago.

Being the Himalayas, the countryside is filled with towering mountain peaks, steep cliff sides, rushing rivers, and verdant valleys.

The famous cliff side Tigers Nest temple takes about 3 hours to hike to, up a steep but easily negotiated trail.

Here are some other photos from the journey

Mexico: Riviera Maya/Playing in the Sand (PITS-1)

P.I.T.S. #I - 2018

 

We traveled from Isla Mujeres back to mainland Mexico, and then headed to a very different type of getaway (for us). Our next stop was at an all-inclusive resort, a first for the Grateful Globetrotters. The reason - to participate and attend the first of what has become an annual event - Dead & Company's multi-day beach concerts/party ~ "Playing in the Sand!"

A heap of friends, old and new, were along for the ride. Ritchie and Lori came with us from our previous destination (Isla Mujeres), and we met-up with the rest of our crew upon our arrival at the resort complex.

Dozens of deadhead friends from all over the U.S. traveled south to experience the scene and to dance nightly on the beach under warm starry sky's. 









Needless to say, the week was a bit over-the-top, and we spent the week partying and dancing by the light of the moon.

                 Paul celebrated his birthday!

  

It was a non-stop party, where we meet lots of new freaky, fun, friends.

Lost sailors!

 

                                   

Some late-night bowling, post-show!

 

 

             Welcome home!!

~  Floating ~

Great shows - Great fun!

See ya next year!!