Jaunted - vn

It's Like Being Dropped on Planet Mars

Jennifer Kester — 2009-10-05T08:47:53-05:00

Chasing Racers is back, with a brand-new Amazing Race 15 mashup. This map will update the morning after every new episode. Send along tips, rumors, gossip, locations and spoilers to our map editors; become a member and comment on the stories below and add to the Jaunted-Flickr photo pool to get in on the fray.

Remember to zoom in, out and around on the map—with so much happening in each episode, it's easy to miss a map point.

On the season-opener of The Amazing Race last week, beautiful blond boyfriend-girlfriend duo Cheyne and Meghan won the first leg of the race, and Pinky and the Brain, a.k.a. Matt and his dad, Gary, were victorious on the second leg. Meanwhile pro poker pals Tiffany and Maria made some enemies when they lied about their background to get the edge. Did the poker ladies' play pay off or was it bad strategy?

Find out after the jump.

Take A Helicopter To Your Luxury Tour

egw — 2009-03-19T15:49:26-05:00

Apparently, there are people out there whose time is worth more than money, where by "money," we mean "fantastic amounts of." It's not enough that you can pre-board that flight; you also have to board first for maximum lollage and/or free beverage consumption. And it's not enough that you take a luxury cruise, you need to be taken to it personally by helicopter.

Halong Bay, Vietnam isn't out of reach for the ordinary traveler -- our own embedded guide reported that the only difference between her cruise and the first-class variety of same was the shrimp cocktail. Nor would we expect second-class treatment from a tour operator called Luxury Travel Vietnam. But after coughing up $745 for a three-day cruise, do they honestly expect anyone to put down $604 in order to travel by helicopter to and from Halong?

The one thing we'll say about all this competing transportation is that it might make an awesome setpiece for a Bond movie. Can the on-the-ground agents stop the helicopter with the nefarious evil conglomerate heads from landing? (Note to self: save money for punch-ups.)

Related Stories:
· Indochina Sails Junk Cruise [Luxury Travel Vietnam]
· Vietnam by Train: Cruising Halong Bay [Jaunted]
· Vietnam coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: doopits]

Is Anthony Bourdain Moving to Vietnam?

BS — 2009-03-10T10:37:26-05:00

No Reservations wrapped up with a semi-season finale this week (part 2 of the season airs this summer), and Anthony Bourdain revisited one of his favorite food destinations, Vietnam.

Bourdain originally did Saigon way back on his Food Network show A Cook's Tour, and he waxed poetic about memories of pho during this season's food porn episode. But the Vietnam Bouridan sees this year is a contrast—you can still slurp snails streetside or stumble down a back alley and find live shrimp on a grill—but the Capital is also overrun with new motorbikes, Gucci stores, and thousands of tourists. Even the "soup lady" street vendor serving steaming bowls of pork blood has now been over-documented by American food bloggers.

Yet Tony still isn't turned off—in fact he spends much of the episode whining about how badly he wants to live in Vietnam, displaying a sentimental attachment to the country that we haven't seen from him before, anywhere. He even checks out some houses and laments that he isn't wealthy enough to ditch everything and move here. Although we're gonna have to call BS on Mr. Restaurateur/TV star/bestselling author not being able to afford a house in Vietnam. Maybe we should start a donation fund?

Related Stories:
· Vietnam travel guide [No Reservations]
· Anthony Bourdain Directs a Food Porn [Jaunted]
· Anthony Bourdain travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Travel Channel]

Vietnam By Train: Where To Find Ancient Ruins, Tailored Suits

ced138 — 2009-02-13T15:31:04-05:00

All week long our roving correspondent Claire Duffett will be sending back her travel reports from Vietnam. Any questions or suggestions? Let us know and we'll have Claire answer them for you.

An hour south of Hue, Hoi An offers a brighter side of Vietnamese history. The city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site unto itself, a preserved shipping village. The entire city rests inside the low-hanging slope of scalloped, stone roofs that characterize Chinese-Viet architecture.

In town, you can watch local artisans, paint, sculpt, and embroider, visit the many gated, ornate homes dedicated to familial ancestors, or stroll across the wooden Japanese Covered Bridge. The whole place is almost too quaint, and you will be surrounded by plenty of wholesome families spending there days eating and shopping. It’s certainly a great place to do both.

Vietnam By Train: Hue Cool

ced138 — 2009-02-12T10:56:51-05:00

All week long our roving correspondent Claire Duffett will be sending back her travel reports from Vietnam. Any questions or suggestions? Let us know and we'll have Claire answer them for you.

After trekking through the terraced mountains, I climbed back aboard the train, headed back to Hanoi, then south to Hu� (pronounced Hway), a small city in the center of Vietnam, dense with history. It seems almost half the city is contained within the walls of the Citadel, the royal capital of Vietnam’s ousted monarchy.

Inside the stone gate, neighborhoods, moats, and pagodas all surround the Forbidden Purple City, the complex once accessible only to the Nguyen kings and his concubines and eunichs. I expected a maze of opulent palaces; I found a grassy field. Fighting during the American War 40 years ago virtually razed the Forbidden City, and like most things unrelated to the Communist party, little has been done to restore it.

The liveliest part of the grounds is the massive koi ponds near the main entrance, where young Vietnamese feed bread to giant fish who flap and scramble over each other, mouths agape, trying to catch the crumbs.

Vietnam By Train: Hanging With The Hmong

ced138 — 2009-02-11T13:25:52-05:00

All week long our roving correspondent Claire Duffett will be sending back her travel reports from Vietnam. Any questions or suggestions? Let us know and we'll have Claire answer them for you.

After returning to Hanoi from Halong Bay, I rode our first overnight train northwest to Sapa, the mountainous town famous for its proximity to Fansipan, Vietnam’s tallest mountain, and for the ubiquity of indigenous tribes.

Riding Vietnam’s national railroad is an experience in itself, and during my travels through the country, I slept on four trains. Cars range from whimsical, antique wooden boxes that look like something straight out of Darjeeling Limited to dingy, plastic cells with mattresses covered in hair.

True story—I found a bottle of warm urine resting on the windowsill in one of my rooms.

Vietnam By Train: Cruising Halong Bay

ced138 — 2009-02-10T11:31:02-05:00

All week long our roving correspondent Claire Duffett will be sending back her travel reports from Vietnam. Any questions or suggestions? Let us know and we'll have Claire answer them for you.

From Hanoi, we headed east to Halong Bay. More than 3,000 limestone islands jut out of the Gulf of Tonkin, so it's often compared to Krabi in Southern Thailand, though I visited there in November and Halong’s landscape is far more impressive. It does, however, lack the sandy, white beaches.

Like many UNESCO sites, the beauty of Halong Bay is constantly at odds with the ugliness of heavy tourism. Its adjacent city is the worst of rapid, unchecked development, with hideous high-rises abutting massage parlors and slums. The bay itself is littered with “junk boats,” heavy wooden boats that ferry tourists through the maze of islands.

While the antique boats themselves look quite beautiful lumbering through the water, there is simply too many of them. Often, the iridescent glean of oil is visible on the water, and I floated past empty bottles and debris.