Why Vietnam?

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There are many reasons to go to Viet Nam. Viet Nam is a country the size of New Mexico but has thousands of miles of pristine beaches. A two-thousand year history of ancient kingdoms and a French Colonial past that will both charm you and bring tears of sadness for what all these people have gone through. You can experience the sweltering heat of the delta, pleasant cool temperatures of Dalat or cold weather in the North. You can enjoy one of the best cuisines in the world influenced by all the civilizations that have come, conquered, ruled and eventually been thrown out. The Vietnamese have always absorbed some of the culture of these temporary masters. Therefore you have French bread and Chinese noodle soup and everything between. Added to the cuisine are the wonderful fruits only a tropical country can enjoy.

Viet Nam cannot be enjoyed in a short time. It takes time to enjoy the variety of food, the changing scenery and absorb the turbulent but interesting history. Take time to know some of the people there. They are some of the friendliest people in the world.

Recently I found another reason to go to Viet Nam. After spending three weeks there I had marked improvement in my health. I went there overweight, diabetic and had an acid reflux problem. I also had scaly farmers forearms with sun-damaged skin.

I came back twelve pounds lighter; blood sugar normal with no pills, no acid reflux problem and my skin was as smooth as a babies butt. I credit all of this to walking 2-3 hours a day, eating all I wanted of fresh vegetables and fruits. Also, I had no stress. For three weeks I had not a care in the world.

I had often been told by my Doctor to walk more. In the states I always have one excuse after another not to walk. There, I would take off in the hottest part of the day and walk one hour, mess around for an hour, talking to people, looking at stuff, and then walk back. I would cover about six miles. It was unbelievable how much better I felt and what that did for my blood sugar. I had a hard time keeping my blood sugar under 150 with pills in the states. There, without pills it was usually around 105.

I was taking a pill for acid reflux in the states that cost $3.00 a pill. It worked but I didn’t need any pills after a day or two in Viet Nam. Probably the food and a lot less stress had a lot to do with it. For some reason, I still don’t need the pill to this day.

As for my skin, I think the high humidly, soap in a defoliator and cold showers did it.

There are a lot more reasons to go to Viet Nam but a health break might be just what you need.

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Photos

Trang and one of her great meals.
Trang and one of her great Vietnamese meals. She is a great cook. It seems most Vietnamese know how to cook anything.