We are docked at Tien Sa Port, Vietnam, 7.5 miles from Danang, the third largest city in the country.  What most remember of this area is China Beach. Why?  There was a TV series that ran for four season from 1988 to 1991, set in an evacuation hospital during the Vietnam War  in the late 1960s at My Khe Beach, Danang. China Beach , had a  Rotten Tomatoes  score of 94. Show was actually filmed in California. American soldiers use this R&R spot, and provided the nickname, China Beach. No official length, but a series of beaches over a 21-mile stretch of the coastline beginning in Danang, going south. I was here in 2010.  A quote from my posting. I am now at the Furama Resort in Da Nang. I walked out to the beach, looked one way, and couldn't see the end of the beach. Then I looked at the other end and couldn't see the end of the beach.     China Beach is 20 miles long   and mostly about 100 yards wide. Some of you might have watched   ...

Again, my tasting session in The Living Room Bar was the highlight of the day.  The Luminara is docked in the port of Phu Mai, Thailand.  I guess this is also called Saigon Port. Lunch was a steak salad with pepperoni pizza.  Except that this was not pepperoni but some other kind of sausage. On the way back to our stateroom, dropped by The Living Room Bar for a Kentucky whisky tasting, all bourbons, except the ninth one was a rye.  Started with Four Roses and Basil Hayden. You can see all the bourbons from left to right. I then mixed all nine bourbons into one blend.  Tasted it.  Great.  For something different, because there is no such thing as a peaty bourbon, I had Alfarino smoke my combo.   For further uniqueness, he had a way to add bubbles. He also had a foamy additive, but said it doesn't work for whiskies.  So he went ahead and made a foamy whisky sour. Should have gone for a long walk, but instead took a nap.  Went to Mistr...

Vietnam brings back a horrid past for the USA.  We lost the Vietnam War, our worst defeat in history.  Here is a  video attesting that the defeat was worse than you thought . The country is officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam with today a population of 102 million, ranking #15 in the world.  The capital is Hanoi, while the largest city is Ho Chi Minh City. Some history, Was inhabited by the Paleolithic age in the first millennium BC. Came under Chinese rule from 111 BC until 939 AD. During the 17th and 18th centuries, Vietnam had two domains. One of them surrendered to France in 1883, and was named French Indochina. In the immediate aftermath of World War II, the Viet Minh, led by Ho Chi Minh, launched the August Revolution, declaring Vietnam's independence in 1945. But France returned to reclaim colonial power, and the U.S. began to encroach in the early 50's. There was prolonged warfare until a treaty was signed in 1954 between the Viet Minh and France, wh...