Our countdown is on now toward a three month+ round the world trip starting in mid-April. I’ll be traveling with my wife, the fearless Finn Mirja Murray. She and I will set out next month bound first for Saigon, ATL-IAD-BJS-Saigon. We’ve rented an apartment for three weeks:
It’s just off Le Loi and just above the Ben Thanh Market. We are coming from the ethnic food-constrained southern Appalachians and looking forward to eating well. Destinations beyond Saigon are up in the air for now. While we’re in Vietnam we hope to get up to Hue for a look at the work my friend Chuck Searcy is doing with Project RENEW. Chuck says, “A visit there brings into sharp focus the continuing legacies of the war that we’re trying to mitigate, unexploded bombs and mines (UXO) and Agent Orange / dioxin.”
Our ultimate mission is to make it to Finland by the time it’s summer there, sometime in June. We have a mökki, a cottage by the lake there. We’ll have to work out the route between Southeast Asia and Northern Europe. Just now I’m keen on flying HAN-IST-Tbilisi and enjoying some fine Georgian hospitality while we wait another few weeks for Finland to warm up, but that is subject to, even likely to change. Any other suggestions?
Meanwhile, from now to then, we’ll try to post a photo a day from previous trips to Vietnam on Twitter, where I am @BMurrayWriter, please follow, and all the photos we post will propagate day by day on Earthphotos.com, too, at this URL: https://www.earthphotos.com/Other/Around-the-World-Slowly-2019/.
This is a wide open, open ended trip. Please help us by lending your expertise. Do weigh in. Or, if you’re local in any of our destinations, please allow me to buy you a beer.
Common Sense and Whiskey 
Hello from Helsinki.
When Mirja and You next time come mökki, then You should visit this incredible meeting! It is a pity that next time will in 2020, but maybe then.
Holy smoke – Gathering of mobile Saunas
Saunas on wheels2
May I be curious, but where is Your mökki in Finland!
Happy Sunday,
Matti
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Hei Matti, it’s on the waterfront outside Varkaus.
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Wow. Direct hit!!! I know Varkaus, because I lived near (5km /3.1mi ) to it in my childhood / youth twelve years. This is amazing! I guess, that Mirja knows these places near to Varkaus, Joroinen, Kuvansi, Lehtoniemi, Canal of Taipale, Taulumäki, Päiviönsaari, Kommila, Könpelto, Kommila etc. I went to school in the Common Lyceum of Varkaus.
Because, You know Varkaus I will show You two of my Varkaus posts. Maybe You have visited these places:
Skillful captain in canal of Taipale
Mechanical Music Museum
Best regards,
Matti
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Sure. We have family in Joroinen and I’m hoping we can take that canal boat trip up to Vyborg this summer. Also have visited that museum. I’ll take a look at those posts, kiitos. If you’re around allow us to buy you an olut this summer.
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Sounds great. :) Okay, I spent 12 years in Kuvansi. I know very well Joroinen. When young I biked there, been vising the Church of Joroinen.
Hopefully You make the Cruise to Vyborg. I have nice post about of it among my travels.
Have a good day!
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I forgot to send my photos of Joroinen cemetery, where my late father rests:
Cemetery after storm
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