Off to Vietnam (...yikes!)

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I was convinced to go to Vietnam on a three week trip including cycling on the Mekong Delta for 5 days and 3 day boat tour in Halobg Bay; with some trepidation. Recently we have been busily squaring away last minute work commitments, and I'v been away winterizing the P&B coach house still under construction last weekend; draining water tanks and turning off the electricity while watching the first snow of the winter season in the Cariboo, on the Fraser Plateau, thinking how on earth am I going to be cycling in 35C humid Vietnam?.

I've heard great some accounts of friendly people, great food and scenery. A group of 4 of us have come up with a diverse, not too rushed itinerary; HCMC; MoiNe Beach acclimatization 3 nights, cycling on the Mekong Delta 5days, HCMC, Hanoi, Halong Bay, Mid Nam HoiAn and temples at MySon then back to HCMH.

Trepidation ... and curiosity .... comes from, having seen graphic images on the cover of "Time", hearing news of the war, reading autobiography accounts from nam vets of the Vietnam war (when I was at an age when I could have been drafted) and having studied the Viet war in a history course "20th century conflicts" (one of the best uni course ever).

Also I've talked with travelers about some of there experiences of traveling in Nam; cautions of savvy taxi drivers on commission taking travellers to other hotels or saying "oh that ones closed", adding zeros to Viet Dong fairs; snatch and grab motorcycle thieves, aggressive vendors, and having to watch for scamming or robberies makes one a little jumpy. To be fair I err on the side of caution in new territory, I've been in other countries with similar cautions without a hitch.

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