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Published: March 5th 2009
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War Museum Saigon Saigon 7/16 I spent a couple days in this loud, crowded city. A lot of people here are really pushy and tough to deal with. I checked out the war museum which showed very graphically the damage America inflicted on the land and the people in its attempt to save Vietnam from communism. So far its very difficult to notice any signs that this even is a communist country. Vietnam is more free market than most western nations.
Mui Ne 7/18 I explored the giant sand dunes and ended up in a small poor neighborhood. A group of kids were very excited at the sight of a foreigner. As I walked down, some people invited me to join them for some food. Quickly more and more people came over until I was surrounded by about 20 curious smiling faces. In general the Vietnamese that speak no English are much friendlier than those that do. The next day I rented a motorbike and drove to the red sand dunes for some sand-sledding. Then headed to the white sand dunes where I hiked around in scorching heat. I checked out the red canyon and came back to find my rear tire was
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Some kids flying a kite Mui Ne flat. I walked the bike a mile to a repair shop where a kid replaced the flat for a whopping $2. I hiked up a creek until I reached the small waterfall. This place was beautiful. Coconut trees standing over white sand and small hills with a stream flowing toward the waterfall. Talked with the manager at my hotel and he said he makes good money by Vietnam standards at $200/month.
Dalat 7/20 Caught a bus inland to the central highlands. The cool climate had me wearing pants and shoes for the first time in months. I hired a guide for the next few days for a motorcycle tour of the highlands. He was very knowledgeable about the American war giving me a first hand look at the locations of battles or where agent orange and napalm has left a hillside bare of trees. He also stopped off many times to give me a look at the working life of local people. I saw a silk factory, bamboo weaving, silk worm breeding, coffee plantation, wood sculpting, rice wine home brewing, pottery making, rice noodle making.
Nha Trang 7/23 This beachside town is probably the party capital of Vietnam.
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Mui Ne We went out at night and I got my first taste of Bia Hoi (fresh beer). Its homebrewed and very affordable at $1 per pitcher. Afterwards we ventured to The Sailing Club where travelers and Vietnamese party until the sun rises. I took a tour of the surrounding islands. It turned out to be very touristy, but was still a good time. After lunch we jumped off the boat into the ocean and our guide set up a floating bar. He was a bit crazy and started drinking the cheap mulberry wine straight from the bottle and shouting, "Merry Fu**ing Christmas, Happy Fu**ing New Year". I took a motorbike out to the Long Son Pagoda where there is a very impressive giant Buddha statue on top of the hill.
Hoi An 7/28 I made the daytrip to the My Son ruins today. What a disappointment after seeing Ankor Wat. Just bricks stacked on dirt. The town itself is very nice. Its well known for its many custom tailor shops and art/sculpture shops.
Hanoi 8/1 I arrived in Hanoi at 5am dead tired after being on a bus for 16 out of 21 hours and getting no sleep. Found
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An idyllic location near the waterfall Mui Ne a cheap room on the 5th floor of a guesthouse on the northside of the lake. By 6am the street market below is crowded with locals buying their food supplies for their restaurants. The lake is surrounded by joggers, badminton players, and people performing tai chi. I took what was supposed to be a 3-day trip to Halong Bay. There were just 15 of us on the boat, but about 15 other boats on the exact same tour. The scenery was exceptional and reminded me of Milford Sound in NZ. We stopped at an island to walk through a giant cave. We stopped off for some swimming before reaching the island where we spent the night. The next morning our guide told us a typhoon was heading our way and we had to go back to the mainland. This turned out to be an exaggeration. The next day I talked to a couple people that were being sent out for their tour the same morning we were being "evacuated". They had to turn back after reaching the port, but still had to pay for the 7 hours they spent in the minivan. Spent the evening with some friends at Bia
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Silk Factory Hoi junction where we got 5 liters for $1.50.
Sapa 8/5 I took the night train to Sapa, arriving at 6am. The town has awesome views of the mountainous area surrounding it. Many of the people here are tribal H'Mong and D'Zao villagers that wore their traditional dress. They have their own language, but study Vietnamese in school and pick up english from tourists. The younger generations speak fluently and have only a light accent. We rented a motorcycle and rode out to a couple villages. We went caving at Ta Phin in a pitch black maze, but avoided getting too lost. Went to the market for dinner and ordered a couple hard boiled eggs to go with our meal. The guy who didn't speak english held up 2 different eggs and tried to ask us which kind we wanted. One was "cac cac" the other, "bac bac". Unsure what the difference was we just pointed to one. When he served them up we realized "cac cac" means "quack quack". We stared at our duck embryos laughing then said "what the hell" and ate them.
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