Again, no Trump.  We're leaving in about a month to the Osaka Expo, then a cruise from Yokohama to Vancouver.  Thus, today, a look at travel, featuring  Condé Nast Traveler 's  Best Places to Go in Asia in 2025 , where Osaka is featured.  First,  Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City, which was known as Saigon during and before their war with the U.S. Has grown into one of the world's fastest growing tourism powerhouse. Have been there a couple of times.  Here are some  tidbits from 2009 . Interesting that I said the population is nearing 10 million, and expected to reach 20 million in 2020.   Well, this is 2025 and the population is 9.8 million. Located 1100 miles south of Hanoi. That population is for the metropolitan area.  For only the city itself. HCMCity  3.5 million Hanoi  1.4 million Da Nang  0.75 million This is surprising, for Vietnam is in the northern hemisphere, but HCMCity is cooler in September than January and Fe...

I'm getting old, with only a very few trips left in my life.  I've flown close to 3 million miles and taken more than a dozen cruises.  Took around the world trips at least ten times.  Been to every World Expo since 1962 ( they occur every 5 years ), except the one in Dubai, which was delayed a year.  We were on track to be there, but the pandemic and other factors got in the way. I was perusing  Condé Nast 's  Traveler  2024 Reader's Choice Awards , and saw that I had not stayed at most of the best hotels. This was their 27th edition of their globetrotting annual event. I learned that they uncoupled their voters and now only use the input from their UK readers, and maybe that is why I'm not familiar with some results. Never been to these best hotels. #1 in Europe:  Paris, Hotel de Crillon, a Rosewood hotel.  But I don't stay there because I looked at their  daily rates , which seem to average around $2200 this month and $1600 next month...

From  Worldometer  (new  COVID-19 deaths yesterday):           DAY    USA    WORLD      Brazil      India      South Africa 2020 June     9     1093     4732         1185        246       82 July    22      1205     7128         1293      1120     572 Aug    12      1504     6556        1242        835     130 Sept     9      1208      6222       1136       1168       82 Oct     21      1225      6849         571        70...