Saigon

Saigon - while as busy as its northern counterpart (Hanoi) - it was ten times easier manage, because the people were much more friendly and the overall atmosphere of the place was more agreeable.

You can carry anything on a moped!

This stand of dried fish produced the worst smell on earth & I almost shelled out some greenbacks to get rid of this woman and her cart of stench.


Traffic photos - just close your eyes and walk forward.



War Remnants Museum




A whole lotta choppers



Cu Chi tunnels

Bryce gets far more excited on the topic of war then myself so I'll let his words describe the experience.

"In the Cu Chi province, the underground was crisscrossed with an intricate and elaborate web of tunnels to aid Viet Cong fighters wage their guerrilla warfare against U.S. and ARVN forces. The tunnel complex itself spans an impressive 75 miles in distance and includes multiple "levels." About 100m of these tunnels were renovated and widened for tourists to crawl through, though they were still absolutely cramped. Despite the renovation, the 100m crawl was enough to stimulate for me how horrid the conditions were in reality.
The Cu Chi tunnels also included an exhibit on the booby traps that the Vietnamese devised to maim and kill U.S. soldiers. These were the most wicked looking traps that I have ever seen. All of them were cleverly concealed in the foliage or ground and featured razor sharp bamboo or steel spikes that would impale the torso or appendage of an unlucky GI. I definitely looked twice at each step that I took after that.
What impressed me was the ingenuity and tenacity of the Vietnamese people during this struggle. For instance, the steel that they used to construct those gruesome booby traps were recycled from the shrapnel of U.S. bombs. Unexploded ordinance was dismantled and used to manufacture grenades and other homemade explosive devices. The Vietnamese used whatever they could to fight against the Americans, including the remains of weapons used against them."

Even though the tunnels were widened for tourists - I had to slide on my stomach in a lot of places.

Bryce and Maya


Various painful booby traps


Where's the tunnel?


Ah!


American cannot fit into the entrance

Hoi An - City of Tailors

Hoi An is the city of tailors - boasting over a hundred tailor shops of varying quality. If your in the market for a high quality suit go to Yalys - while they are the most expensive shop in town they are also the best. Mr. Xe is good place to visit for linen shirts and comic relief.

Mr. Xe washing some freshly made linen shirts.


The beautiful lotus flower



Me getting fitted for a suit at Yalys

Marble Mountain - Da Nang

On the way to Hoi An from Hue we stopped briefly in Da Nang home of the Marble Mountains. Each of the Marble Mountains is named after one of the five fundamental elements - Water, Metal, Wood, Fire, and Earth.

We thought we were at the Marble Mountains, but I guess we ended up exploring some other unknown mountain - none the less we were rewarded with great views, huge caverns, and the lovely sounds and smells of bats - taking in a big whiff of guano can singe your nostril hairs.


The stairs were extremely steep - akin to climbing a latter. Wheel chairs had to be equipped with parachutes to increase braking capabilities on the insanely sheer handicap ramps an avoid slamming patrons into the cave walls.

Hue

Hue

The greatest and most rewarding aspect of this town is the delicious lip-smacking eat until your dermis rips Indian food served up at Omars - worth a flight to Vietnam in it of itself.

"Inside the city of Hue is the Citadel, a massive square with a 10km perimeter that is protected by a massive brick wall and a 23m wide moat. Inside the Citadel lie the remains of the Imperial City, which was modelled after the Forbidden City in Beijing. "

Flagpole of Hue - Pavillion of Edicts

Noon Gate and Five Phoenix Pavillion

The magical fish of Ho Chi Minh - yes, these fish are like the beloved pets of Uncle Ho who would come to him when he clapped his hands. It appears that these fish would come to us not only when we clapped our hands, but also when I threw food in the water - strange...

Ha Long Bay

Ha Long Bay is located on the Gulf of Tonkan and features over 1600 islands formed out of limestone. We spent two nights traveling through the bay. The whole time we were there the bay was filled with a thick fog creating a mysterious setting. At night the crew would shine a strong light over the water - attracting schools of large squids and catch them with a net. On this little trip I ate every size and shape of squid imaginable and I came to the realization that unless they're fried their taste is bland and akin to munching on soft rubber.

A ship similar to the one we traveled on. Islands upon islands of limestone


Bryce and I taking a quick & cold dip


Inside of a cave we explored within the bay


An actual floating town within the Bay -the best place for a child to learn how to ride a bike



A Buddhist temple in the middle of nowhere


Strange limestone formations


Some sea kayaking fun - the tour guide went hoarse from yelling at us to stay with the group - one of the few times where it was a blessing to not understand Vietnamese and feign innocence.

Sapa

SAPA

This a small town perched high in the mountains of N. Vietnam. The surrounding area is lush with green forests, and filled with various indigenous mountain tribes. The whole time we were here it was extremely foggy, which I guess is quite usual for this place - but they went a step further and began burning the fields in the afternoon causing a fog + smog overload allowing you to see only a few meters around you. Before the fog we did get a chance to climb the mountain in the center of town and we were rewarded with a great view of the city and outlying areas.



View of the weekly market - tribe folk from nearby rural mountain villages come to trade their hand crafted wears and crops at this market. Even though it was a whole lotta hustle and bustle this was pure serenity incomparison to Hanoi.














Town center of Sapa - even in the fog and smoke its a beautiful place




View of the town from the surrounding mountains - if you look closely you can seen the French influence on the architecture.

Hanoi

Hanoi is pure lunacy, especially in comparison to relaxing laid-back Laos. The sounds of engines and horns fill the air constantly from 6AM to 11PM daily. The Vietnamese use their horns like they use their tires - when they turn they honk, when they stop they honk, when they slow down they honk, when they speed up they honk, when they say hello they honk, when they say goodbye they honk - basically when they do anything but hit you they honk. Aside from non-stop noise - Hanoi is the city of thievery and lies - I have never been to a place like it and hope that there isn't another place similar to it, it is the akin to Gotham City & Sin City - filled with all the same inhumanly devious souls - they're pirates I tell you. I understand and am ok with locals charging tourists higher prices for things, but people of Hanoi go staircases further. If you try to book train tickets through your guest house they'll tell you the train is all full and that you'll have to stay another day - when in fact its not full + they'll try to charge you twice as much for train tickets. If you don't pay attention to the prices of menu items they'll charge you more for them and even if you call them out on it they'll tell you that the menu prices are old. All the guest houses and some of the restaurants will try to charge you a 10% government tax, and there isn't even a government tax of that sort + it takes 20 minutes of bickering to finally get them to remove it. The list goes on and on + aside from the lies - when trying to sell tourists goods they hassle them incessantly, and refuse to listen to the word "no," but will instead follow you for blocks grabbing you and shouting in your ear to buy buy buy. The only good thing about Hanoi are the massive quantities of blackmarket DVD's and CD's, which you can buy for a dollar. The local artists here are also quite amazing, and if you want to spend 30-40 dollars you can get replicas of aged masterpieces from the famous artists of Van Gogh, Monet, Dali, and Harper. Aside from these few perks the best part about Hanoi is leaving it.

Bryce getting hassled by a local to purchase some post cards.


The N. Vietnamese have a very different perspective on the war, than the one found in US textbooks... Their Army Museum was quite interesting & here are some photos.

Golden Uncle Ho & me


Mig Fighter


Tank 843 (the actual one), a Soviet-made T54, was the first tank to crash into the palace gates during the strike on Saigon by the N. Vietnamese on April 30, 1975. This strike occurred hours after the final US helicopter had left the country, and led to the collapse of the S. Vietnamese government.


The A-37 Dragonfly was a low cost efficient means for fighting the guerrilla tactics used by the Vietnamese



Bell UH-1, "Huey."



A bunch of pieces from various French and American planes shot down in Vietnam




Photos from the Hoa Lo Prison, aka Hanoi Hilton, which was built by the French to imprison Vietnamese political prisoners, and later used by the Vietnamese to hold American POWs (John McCain was one of the POWs held here). The Vietnamese strongly deny torturing American POWs, and in fact state the opposite: "though having committed untold crimes on our people, the American pilots suffered no revenge once they were captured and detained." They even state that this prison was more like a home away from home - complete with lots of free time for the inmates to play the guitar, read, and get involved in some great cooking + they got to send and receive all sorts of mail from home. I wondered if the museums statements coincided with what John McCain and his fellow prisoners said about their stay at the Hanoi Hilton - and found out the opposite McCain said he was beaten & held in solitary confinement and witnessed the killing of his fellow comrades at the hands of prison guards at his "home away from home."(a New York Times article of McCains return visit to the Hanoi Hilton can be found @ http://www.vietnamwar.com/johnmccainbio.htm - I don't know much about the objectivity of the whole website).

One with the Vietnamese dissidents who were held and tortured in Hoa Lo Prison by the French.


A memorial wall dedicated to those held by the French in Hoa Lo Prison.


On a much lighter note - the best bang for your buck when your looking for a bite to eat is Doner Kebap - only 10,000 Dong (about 68 cents).


Thang Long Water Puppet Theater - an ancient traditional art native to N. Vietnam practiced by moving puppets connected on long poles through and on top of a shallow pool of water. Instruments and vocals produced by local Vietnamese musicians accompany the display.
Sorry I couldn't get better photos. The show is quite amazing with the puppeteers being quite deft in their control the puppets.