Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam

bar

The Saigon Cigar Club

A quiet, air-conditioned, respite from the heat, noise, humidity, and bustle of Saigon. The Cigar Club sits on the 24th floor overlooking Saigon. Great views, great atmosphere, and a nice selection of cigars. The bar is next door and provides your choice of wines, whiskey, cognac...whatever you wish.

Luang Prabang, Luang Prabang Province

bar • restaurants

525 Cocktails & Tapas

Stumbled upon this quiet bar and restaurant returning to my hotel in Luang Prabang. It’s not located on the peninsula but it’s not a far walk. Met the owners (Brit) and they were great. The chef fuses traditional Lao cuisine with modern tapas fare, making the eats a treat. Great bar and great atmosphere.

Szentendre, Hungary

destination • experience • shopping

Szentendre

About 25 kilometers north of Budapest is the town of Szentendre. It traditionally has been a Serbian village in Hungary. It now seems to be a major tourist destination, and not necessarily for foreign tourists. Many Hungarians head there on the weekends to shop, eat Serbian cuisine, and get away from Budapest. The crowds were unexpected and disappointing. But, it was good to visit a different locale so near to Budapest. Get there early and not on the weekends to suck in the culture and cuisine.

destination • experience

Lake Ohrid

Sitting between Greece and Albania, Lake Ohrid is a beautiful and quiet destination that is worth a stay. From an ancient walled town to an abandoned fortress on the hill, to a beautiful lake, it captures what old Europe was - and still is here.

Esztergom, Hungary

destination • experience

Esztergom

I was interested in driving into Slovakia on a free day in Budapest. You can take a train to Bratislava but we had a late start because of the need to do laundry. We chose to hire a driver and car to drive us to Esztergom, which sits on the Danube along the border of Slovakia. Before both of these countries became part of the European Union, the bridge between these countries was one of the major thoroughfares. Now, it’s a backwater. But Esztergom hosts the largest Eastern Orthodox basilicas in Europe. Not much else worth seeing in town.