South to North in 4 Weeks

---

Vietnam was a fantastic blur. The country is ideally suited to one way travel as both Saigon, in the south, and Hanoi, in the north, are major transport hubs. Additionally, there is severe cutthroat competition for open tour buses that run between the 2 cities. The open tour aspect means you can get off at one of the scheduled stops (there are 5 or 6 depending on the ticket), stay as long as you like, then hop back on to the next city. My ticket was $16 starting from Saigon stopping at Mui Ne, Nha Trang, Hoi An, Hue, and Ninh Binh before finishing in Hanoi. It doesn't get any cheaper than that.

Before leaving Saigon, took a 2 day Mekong Delta tour that flew around on boats and buses at breakneck pace. Tours in Vietnam almost always work out cheaper than DIY and this was no exception. Mui Ne is a touristy beach resort but was OK for a couple of days but I liked Nha Trang much more. It is a "real" Vietnamese city, still a lot of tourists, and the beach is beautiful. Next was Hoi An and Hue in Central Vietnam which were downers as the only places where it rained enough to be an issue. Fortunately the weather was good for the DMZ tour, most of which was 2-3 hours north of Hue. Ninh Binh is close to the limestone pinnacles at Tam Coc - a must see for any visitor to Northern Vietnam. Took the train from Hanoi to Lao Cai near the Chinese border but that was only to catch a minivan to Sapa where the trek to Fansipan Peak, highest in Indochina (is Myanmar considered Indochina?), would begin. The trek was OK but for a 3000 meter peak the views weren't so grand, mostly because of the weather. Overall, the weather in the north wasn't as nice as in the south but it was oppressively hot in Saigon and the delta so everything balances out in the end. Halong Bay is another must see in the north.

Flew from Hanoi to Bangkok last week and have since made my way to Ayutthaya (old imperial Thai city) and Chang Mai which is sort of a laid back, miniature Bangkok. Onto Laos in a few days then down to Southern Thailand from where I'll fly to the Philippines then home from Manila in mid-March. Hard to believe 10 months have gone by so quickly. Keeping this one short as I went a little trigger happy with the pix.

Jon

---

Photos

Notre Dame Cathedral, Saigon
Vietnam is ~10% Catholic, second highest in Asia after the Philippines.

Main Post Office, Saigon
Saigon, a.k.a. Ho Chi Minh City, has many well preserved buildings from the colonial era.

War Remnants Museum, Saigon
Popular tourist attraction with obviously different and interesting perspective on the war.

Leafy Le Loi Blvd, Saigon
3 million motorcycles in a city of 8 million residents... and 10,000 annual fatalities nationwide. Comforting thought since I took moto-taxis everywhere.

Mytho, Mekong Delta
Boats are the way of getting around down there.

Cococut Candy Factory, Near Mytho
All manual labor in making in these addictive treats.

Rice Noodle Factory, Near Mytho
Makes you want to run out and get an order of spring rolls.

Cai Rang Floating Market
The pole on the right with produce hanging off is sort of advertising what this particular boat is selling. Sellers and families live on their boats.

Row Thru, Cai Rang
Enterprising woman selling banh my, basically a Vietnamese sandwich.

Pineapples For Sale, Cai Rang
About 30 cents for a whole one sliced and diced. Never eat another pineapple back home after tasting one of these.

Ben Hai River, Central Vietnam
Demilitarized zone - former boundary between North and South Vietnam until overrun in 1972. Old South Vietnamese watchtower still standing on the left.

Vinh Moc Tunnels
Near the DMZ. This small space is actually family living quarters. Villagers would live in the tunnels for several straight days to escape aerial bombings.

Khe Sanh Airbase
Strategic base near the Lao border and DMZ. Abandoned by the US after famous siege in 1968.

Dakrong Bridge, Central Vietnam
Formerly part of the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Now being converted into the Ho Chi Minh Highway.

Tam Coc, Northern Vietnam
Rowing through the limestone pinnacles.

Fishermen, Tam Coc
Using a car battery with leads attached to the bamboo poles to electrocute fish. Kind of cheating.

Fansipan Peak, Northern Vietnam
Straightforward trek to the summit. Very bright above the clouds.

Cat Ba Island, Northern Vietnam
Base for boat trips to Halong Bay.

Floating Village, Halong Bay
Like something out of a Kevin Costner post apocalypse movie with fish farms.

Moored In Halong Bay
Chartered a boat with 2 other travelers (one from Seattle) for an overnight trip.

Halong Bay
Many caves under the limestone pinnacles.