Vietnam

Preparations
South America
North America
Asia
Africa
Europe
Returning home

Pictures
Route
1 Arriving in Hanoi
2 Cyclos and scooters
3 Old town Hanoi
4 "Admin" day
5 Halong Bay
6 Halong Bay
7 Uncle Ho
8 South to Hue
9 The DMZ
10 Hue Citadel
11 Open Tour
12 Cham Temples
13 Chuc Mung Nam Moi
14 Hoi An
15 Cycling around
16 On to HCMC
17 HCMC
18 HCMC explored
19 Cat Tien
20 Cat Tien
21 HCMC
22 Mekong Delta
23 More Mekong

Our route is shown in red (click map for a more detailed version)

•	Flight from Vientiane, Laos, to Hanoi
•	Halong Bay
•	Hanoi
•	Hue
•	DMZ (day trip)
•	Hoi An
•	My Son (day trip)
•	Ho Chi Minh City
•	Cat Tien
•	Ho Chi Minh City
•	Can Tho
•	Chau Doc
•	Across border into Cambodia along the Mekong river

Vietnam

Green rice-fields with white birds and women wearing conical hats bent over working the fields, and, unavoidably, Americans trying to bomb a country into submission, these are the images that spring to mind when you mention Vietnam. Like China, it is a very "full" country, which struck us after empty and laid-back Laos. Vietnam has a buzz and energy, and lots and lots of bikes and scooters!

We hit Vietnam just as Tet, the Vietnamese New Year, was about to be celebrated. More than christmas in the west, there is a massive build-up to this event, which is traditionally celebrated en famille, not as a festival or public event. It gave us an excellent insight into the Vietnamese culture. Just over three weeks was just enough to see a fair bit of Vietnam without having to rush through, from the very scenic Ha Long Bay in the north through to the Mekong Delta in the south.

Diary

	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat	Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat	Sun
Jan	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	Jan
Jan	30	31	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Feb

Books, Films, Music, Links, etc.

For more references, check the links section.
•	The Quiet American, by Graham Greene (1955). Pirate copies of this book can be found all over Vietnam. It's set during the 1950's when the French still ruled as the colonial masters of Indochine, with the Americans already busy behind the scenes.
•	Bikes of Burden, by Hans Kemp. A coffee-table book with fantastic pictures of the Vietnamese and their national "beast" of burden, transporting loads that defy belief. There is also a web site but we haven't looked at it ourselves yet. Try www.bikes-of-burden.com
•	Here's a list of films: - Apocalypse Now, by Francis Ford Coppola (1978) - Born on the Fourth of July, by Oliver Stone (1989) - Cyclo, by Tran Anh Hung (1995) - The Deer Hunter, by Michael Cimino (1978) - Heaven and Earth, by Oliver Stone (1993) - The Lover, by Jean-Jacques Annaud (1992) - Platoon, by Oliver Stone (1986) - The Quiet American, by Phillip Noyce (2002) - The Scent of Green Papaya, by Tran Anh Hung (1992) - We Were Soldiers, by Randall Wallace (2002) Of course there are loads more on the "Nam" theme: Hamburger Hill, Good Morning Vietnam, etc.
•	Some books on the American War, also from LP: - Bright Shining Line, by Neil Sheehan (1989) - Dispatches, by Michael Herr (1977) - The Girl in the Picture, by Denise Chong (2001) - If I Die in a Combat Zone, by Tim O'Brien (1973) - Novel Without a Name, by Duong Thu Huong (1996) - Requiem, by Tim Page (1997) - A Rumour of War, by Phillip Caputo (1978) - The Sorrow of War, Bao Ninh (1996) - Street Without Joy, by Bernard Fall (1961)
•	Vietnam: A Traveller's Literary Companion, ed. Nguyen Qui Doc (1996). A collection of stories by Vietnamese writers.
•	Fragrant Palm Leaves, by Thich Nhat Hanh (1998)
•	Sparring with Charlie: Motorbiking down the Ho Chi Minh Trail, by Tim Page (1996)
•	Ten Years After, by Tim Page (1987)
•	A Dragon Apparent, by Norman Lewis (1952)
•	Shadows and Wind, by Robert Templer (1999)

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