I just love airplanes and long-haul flights. We boarded the award-winning Singapore Airlines with about 30 hours to go. With 8 magazines, 6 movies, 4 meals and a sleeping pill, I arrive relaxed and ready to explore. American airports are still not friendly to people. Singapore’s ultra-modern airport beckons you to stay with free internet terminals, a movie theater, a rooftop pool, aromatherapy spas, oxygen bars, an indoor natural garden with waterfalls, and a koi pond.

I am escorting my smallest group yet with 28 singles. More than 60 had begged me to offer these destinations, but most dropped out at the last minute citing fear of bird flu. So it’s like a vacation for me with this entourage of culture vultures of quality over quantity.

We start with an orientation tour at the top of Mount Farber with spectacular views. I can see that the group is impressed with this brilliant metropolis located between Malaysia and Indonesia. Here is the leader of Southeast Asia, a bustling port that was modernized by the British Empire. It is called the “City of the Lion” and is inhabited by 4 million souls. 76% are Chinese and the other minorities blend in harmoniously. Singapore is a city, a state, a capital, and a country all rolled into one and attracts 8 million visitors a year, but few Americans have yet to discover it.

We checked into the Four Seasons’ opulent Regent Hotel. I get a suite and using this wins the friendliest staff on the planet award. We have come at a perfect time now with the “Grand Shopping Festival”. There’s nothing like some retail therapy to ease our jet lag. Orchard Road, like a tree-lined Fifth Avenue, is one block away and is the center of all life. Shopping is the national obsession and bargain hunting can become a blood sport here.

There are 150 mega-malls with some never closing. I am a slave to labels and buy a used authentic Rolex with papers for a fraction of its original cost. We only have 4 days here. So much to do 24/7 is like Hong Kong on steroids. The Arts Festival is underway with a multitude of venues. After dark, it becomes a party town in trendy Clarke Quay by the river.

We have an astute and friendly guide named Farida who shows us all the sights along with a great sense of humor. We visit the lush National Orchard Gardens with 60,000 orchids, China Town with its markets and temples, and Little India with its intense scents and vibrant colors. Then on to the ultra-contemporary financial district, Merlion Park with its iconic fountain, and the historic colonial area that was established by Sir Stanford Raffles.

We stop for a Singapore Sling at the famous Long Bar of Raffles Hotel, where rooms start at $700 a night. Other tours included the Jurong Bird Park and the Night Safari at the zoo, considered the best in the world with its free roaming cages for 2,500 animals. At leisure, we ride rickshaws around the city and take the cable car to Sentosa Island.

Some of us opted to return to the zoo for a jungle breakfast with the orangutans. In the evening, Terry and I have chili jumbo crabs and rice cakes for dinner. This vibrant island state of Singapore is sparkling clean with purple bougainvillea bushes lining the roads. All cars are equipped with alarms that sound if one exceeds the speed limit. No graffiti, no gangs, and in this tightly controlled “democracy,” it’s the death penalty for drug dealers. We all make jokes about being whipped for chewing gum or jaywalking.

It has been a quiet visit here. I often feel like Jack Bauer in the TV series 24 on my travels with non-stop itineraries. I feel rested as I board our 3 hour flight to Vietnam.

We arrive in another world with paddy fields, sampans, lotus flowers, coconut milk and noodle soups. It’s like traveling in a time machine to the 15th century in this elegant land steeped in history. It is much poorer than I expected. However, there is a seductive charm to be found in the gentleness of these people with the most sincere of smiles. I am a fan of the Third World. While Singapore was dynamic, Hanoi is culturally exciting. The city is dotted with lakes and shaded by tamarind trees. It is a dichotomy that is bubbling with Chi energy and yet calm at the same time.

We checked into the luxury Sheraton Resort, an oasis of calm amid the chaos. Our fabulous guide named Hong will be with us for 6 glorious days. His first lesson was teaching us to cross the streets. The 7 lane traffic is horrendous with 2.4 million scooters. “It’s called the Chicken Game.” Hong says. “Don’t run, don’t stop, just walk slowly so drivers can predict your direction.” That afternoon I was stranded in fear for 20 minutes on the sidewalk as this lesson goes against all instincts. There are whole families on a single scooter, called “Vietnamese sandwich”. Everything is transported on these mopeds, 8 little pigs, a dozen upside down chickens, a TV, a tree and more. Pollution is bad. The city center looks tired and worn. Suddenly there is a monsoon downpour. People cover ponchos and become a waterproof city. It dissipates as quickly as it started and life goes on.

The sun shone on our daily tours that included the Temple of Literature, the One Pillar Pagoda, the French Quarter, and the Ho Chi Mihn monument. We lined up with hundreds of people to enter the tomb where his preserved body is visibly encased just like Lennon was in Moscow. The communist armed soldiers order us to bow silently, without cameras, umbrellas, sunglasses and weapons at our sides. Later we visit Hoa Lo Prison, or Furnace of Fire. Built by the French in 1896, thousands of political prisoners were tortured here until 1954. We see the dungeons with shackles, torture equipment and “head cutting machines”. In the 1960s, the Vietcong used it as a prisoner of war detention center for American pilots shot down during the Vietnam War. It was our captive pilots who sarcastically named this place “The Hanoi Hilton”. We also take a walking tour of the Old Town where each alley bears the name of its old trade: Calle de la Seda, Calle del Ataúd, Calle del Pescado a la Parrilla, etc. Hong takes us to a food market with turtles, sea slugs, pig heads and other unmentionable creatures for sale. Thit Chow is a dog stew that is considered peasant food here. Field rat is ceremoniously served at all birthday parties.

Most of our meals are included with elaborate breakfast buffets and 10 simple lunches. All restaurants are affordable. One night, my dinner menu included jellyfish salad, fried eel, ginger crickets, and sticky rice with tender roasted pigeon. It seems that the Vietnamese eat anything that moves because it “tastes like chicken”.

We attend the water puppet show, an ancient art form unique to Hanoi. This mix of music and dance on the water was the source of entertainment for the villagers long ago. We then spread out to explore the city, the oldest capital in Asia. Some opt for massages and pedicures at prices that cannot be resisted. Some buy souvenirs, while others have clothes tailored for them. I have an embroidered silk dress cut to my body in 4 hours for $45. We also visit the artisan villages to find bargains on art, pottery and lacquerware. The currency is a big challenge for us as $10,500 dong is equal to 65 cents. We felt like millionaires, but it was daunting to learn that the per capita annual income is only $320! We tip generously at all times.

Vietnam’s pulse is found in its cities while its decorous grace is found in its villages. We head through the countryside for a full day cruise in Halong Bay. The air is crisp as we pass paddy fields, duck and shrimp farms. It is rice harvest time and hundreds of rice farmers are bending over their ponds. Shy children wave when we pass. We arrive at this natural UNESCO World Heritage Site and board our private wooden junk. Silently we sail into a dreamlike landscape that seems surreal. 3,000 islands of sheer limestone cliffs rise from the emerald sea. There is a timeless and haunting quality to this landscape. Nat. Geo. he calls it “magic in stone and water”. We enjoyed a seafood lunch with fresh crab and prawns. It’s a perfect day in the sun for escapism and serenity.

The highlight of the trip for me was our group bike tour of Old Hanoi on the last day. We round a corner downtown to see 28 pedicabs lined up to take us individually for an hour through the narrow scooter-filled lanes of oncoming traffic. There are some near misses at red lights that are always ignored. We all laugh as the locals watch. Terry at 6’4″ is considered huge even in America. Here he looked like King Tutankhamun sitting on a throne as his 90lb driver effortlessly pushes him in line with our group. We later split up for independent exploration. After For several hours, I found myself lost in an area of ​​the city with no taxis. I had to go back to meet others for dinner. I had no choice but to rent a scooter ride. Dressed in a skirt and with arms full of bags, hop on the tiny seat and off we go. On the freeway, I wrap my arms and legs around my driver like an octopus. He laughs all the way to the Sheraton.

We flew back to Singapore for a good night’s rest at Le Meridian before our long flight back to Los Angeles via Tokyo. I reflect on another trip well done with new insights gained about history and cultures. It was like visiting two different planets on a vacation. The contrast of this journey is evident in our photos from the contemporary garden paradise of Singapore to the new revival of traditional Vietnam. This is certainly an Asian affair that will never be forgotten.