Advertisement
Published: March 23rd 2007
Edit Blog Post
Houses along the Mekong
This is technically still in Cambodia. Route in Vietnam From Cambodia I took a riverboat down the Mekong river to Vietnam and then into Chau Doc, a large river delta town. The Mekong river in Vietnam is a spiderweb of canals form the lifeblood of the region. The delta, I saw, was a densely populated region with farming on the islands and aquaculture and fishing in the canals. While the region did not appear to be overly rich, it was much more prosperous than Cambodia with many new bridges and well paved roads.
From the river delta I traveled north to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon, as the locals still refer to it), which is still somewhat in the delta. The town is rapidly developing with many high rise apartment buildings. I did not see too many of the sights in Saigon, but the town was quite nice with many parks and bonsai gardens. In fact every town in Vietnam had many parks with sculptures, playgrounds, and/or bonsai gardens. In Saigon I did see the War Remnants Museum. This museum had several exhibits and a small collection of American tanks, guns, and artillery. One exhibit was on the journalists who died during the war, with many graphic war
Floating Houses in the Mekong Delta
This is one of the major canals of the Mekong next to Chau Doc photographs and quotations by them. Another exhibit showed the effect of Agent Orange on the local population, with many pictures of deformed children and including several deformed babies preserved in jars. Included with this exhibit were the effects of napalm and flechette shells, again showing the horrendous injuries inflicted. There was also a mock up of a former prison and an exhibit on protesters from around the world to the American War (as it is called in Vietnam).
After Saigon I traveled to Dalat in the Central Highlands. This former French hill station near Saigon is at an elevation of 1475 m. The temperature was cool (lows in the 50-60's), however the locals down filled coats seemed to be a bit too much. The town is surrounded by mountains to climb and waterfalls in which to swim. I went on a guided hike to a mountain overlooking the region. My guide told me stories of his war time experiences. There was an American military base nearby and each time soilders would pass, he would run out to get candy. But the bombings were not quite as fun.
From there I went to Nha Trang, which is a modern
Saigon's Traffic
Motorbikes are the primary means of transportation in Vietnam. beach resort town. The town is nice but lacked character. While there, I decided to go SCUBA diving. Unfortunately, without diving certification I could only go on a highly chaperoned dive, called a discovery dive. None the less, it was wonderful swimming by the the coral reefs and seeing the schools of fish.
My next stop in Vietnam was Hoi An. This town was a major shipping port 400 years ago, however, the river, which served as the port, silted up. This left the small town in essentially the same state it was then. The small town is now a major tourist destination, however it is still quite quaint. Of the many souvenirs available, the most common is tailored clothing. It seemed like 90% of the shops were tailors. They make anything, from suits to leather jackets to blue jeans. One can even bring a picture or the article to copy and they will make it in a day or two. This small town was so charming I spent several days just wandering around. I also went to the nearby ruins of My Son. This was a Hindu temple complex built a few hundred years ago, however the few
Houses and Stores in Dalat
These buildings are typical of Vietnam. Notice the bonsais, they are very common in Vietnam. buildings that were built had a tough time in the interviening years. Some are little more than grass mounds.
I took a tourist bus from Hoi An to Hue. With little time left I did not actually see the imperial palace, I however did take a motorbike tour of the nearby tombs and monasteries.
After Hue I took a 12 hour train to Hanoi. The scenery was beautiful, however I believe someone had a large box of Durians on board. These sweet fruits have a slight smell of dung and in the closed confines of a train car made for an uncomfortable ride. The old town of Hanoi is crouded, hecktic and full of character. With little time left I booked a ticket to Halong Bay and spent the others wandering around town.
Halong Bay is another UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is a collection of over 300 vertical limestone islands. These islands are filled with caves and some have secluded lagoons only accessable through sea caves. The typical method of seeing these islands is to book a multi-day boat trip through them. My trip was for 2 days and included kayaking though some caves and lagoons.
Countryside Around Dalat
The locals around Dalat grow vegetables and let their horses roam free. I thoughly enjoyed it I only wish I could have had a few more days to explore.
Vietnam really surprised me with how much I liked it. I could have easily spent several more weeks exploring the hard to get to spots and national parks, but I must save that for next time.
Next is Dalian, China
Advertisement
Tot: 0.337s; Tpl: 0.014s; cc: 12; qc: 65; dbt: 0.0561s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
Dad
non-member comment
awesome!
I really enjoyed reading about the flavor of the country, hearing about the scenery and the history. It sounds like a nice place. It's too bad you couldn't do everything. - dad