20 February 2004    to     6 March 2004

Click HERE for Bigger Map

Firstly, I must apologize for the poor quality of some of the photos. The originals were slides that I had taken and scanned in with a rather cheap scanner. One day when I can afford it, I'll redo them with a decent slide scanner, but otherwise Vietnam was what probably could be described as, as an absolutely unforgettable experience and holiday. A country well worth visiting! When we told our friends where we were going too for a holiday they thought we were crazy! Unfortunately the image that  the Hollywood movies created has somehow stuck in peoples minds, never mind that the American war was thirty years ago! Admittedly we also had no idea what to expect, but kept an open mind. We wanted to see this "mysteries" place and meet the people that had humbled a Superpower. We were in for a pleasant surprise!

What I have put together here is a fraction of the over four hundred slides and photographs that Silvia and myself took. Here is our story!

We left Johannesburg in South Africa in the afternoon of Friday 20th February 2004 and arrived in Singapore early on Saturday morning. After a three hour stop over, we were on our way to Saigon which was another hour and a half flight.

The air over Saigon was somewhat misty when we came in to land. After a half an hour wait on the taxi way for a parking slot to become available we eventually arrived. The airport was quite old but everything seemed to function at least.  Getting the baggage and clearing customs went quite quick and after changing some money we found our transport that then took us to our hotel. The hotel was quite pleasant and clean and the room had a toilet and shower which was the norm in all the places we stayed in after that barring the Mekong delta where we stayed with some locals. Our tour leader ( Noah ) met us in the lobby on arrival and explained the proceedings. We would meet later on in the evening for a proper briefing and "get to know you" session with the others that would be joining us on this tour. We unpacked, showered and had a bit of a rest before exploring Saigon.

The streets were quite busy, mostly with motorcycles and scooters. Not that many cars were to be seen. The one thing nobody explained to us was how to cross a street as traffic rules seem to be non-existent. OK, here's how...just start crossing at a steady pace even if hundreds of vehicles are bearing down on you, they will just go around you, but don't try it with busses!

There are some nice wide tree lined boulevards in Saigon still stemming from the French era.  That afternoon we visited the War Remnants museum which basically contains a lot of artifacts from the American war.

Next morning we were on our way to see the Cu Chi tunnels. This was the extensive tunneling system that the Viet Cong had created before and during the American war in which thousands of people lived and fought during that period.

The tunnels are an absolute maze with very small entrances. Quite a squeeze for Europeans!   After trying out the tunnels one could try ones hand on the shooting range with just about any weapon. One Dollar (US) a round though, so be careful with the Machine gun, it could bankrupt you in less than a minute!

Anyway I only tried my hand with an AK 47.

After Cu Chi we had a stopover in one of the Rubber plantations on the way back to Saigon. A nice lunch followed in one of the many little restaurants and the rest of the afternoon was ours which we used to explore Saigon further. With Vietnam being a rather poor country (per capita income about $200 a year on average) one is constantly hassled by people trying to sell you all sorts of things. Bargaining is the order of the day!   

After breakfast next morning we drove off to the Mekong delta.

It was a few hours drive and eventually we got to Vinh Long in the delta, and promptly bought one of the famous Vietnamese hats each, to really get into the spirit of things. Here we then boarded a small boat that was to take us to the many little industries in the delta such as a Tile factory, a Sweet factory, a Coffin manufacturer and many others. The ingenuity of the people was absolutely amazing and how they created all the products using very primitive methods.

For lunch we  stopped over on one of the many islands in the delta for a great meal of traditional Vietnamese food which consisted of mainly fish, rice and some very exotic fruit that we had never seen or heard of before. After lunch we headed into one of the small canals and stopped off at a Bonsai "farm"

That's where I met Mr.Hiss....a very friendly chap! Just keep him well fed though.

From here some Sampan's took us to the Homestead where we would stay for the night.

The room where we stayed was similar to the dormitory type of hiking huts that we are familiar with on our hikes in South Africa. The showers were cold water. Now it was time to relax with a great dinner and pleeenty of Rice Wine! Our boat picked us up again next morning after breakfast.

We crossed the Mekong river which is absolutely the widest river we had ever seen and stopped over at a Brick and Pottery factory before driving back to Saigon to catch the overnight train to Nha Trang. The train was very comfortable and included mattresses, bedding and even air-conditioning....wonders never cease!

Nha Trang is Vietnams holiday resort, with nice beaches and plenty of big hotels going up along the beach front. At first glance it could be anywhere in the world.

The first day was spent visiting the local Cathedral, a Buddhist temple and monastery. Dinner was held at a very nice restaurant on the beach front and preceded by a game of pool, a favorite past time in Vietnam.

The next day we had a boat trip to some of the islands off Nha Trang that included some snorkeling, plenty of sun bathing and a ride in one of the peculiar Basket boats that the locals use. Late that evening we boarded the over night train to Da Nang. 

Next morning when we arrived in Da Nang we transferred to Hoi-An by bus and booked into a very nice hotel. Hoi-An used to be the most important trading port in that area of the world a few hundred years ago until the river started silting up and the larger ships could not get in anymore. It consists of various districts that the various trading nationalities had set up, such as Chinese, Japanese, Dutch etc.

A trip to the Champa ruins at My-Son was next on the agenda. The ruins are situated in impenetrable jungle and give one the feeling that one is looking at one of these Indian ruins that one finds in South America in the jungles there.

The next day was spent exploring Hoi-An especially the Chinese quarter which has some beautiful houses. That evening we tried our hand at Vietnamese cooking. Our Intrepid leader had arranged a cooking course for us! Well... the Spring Roles did not come out too bad....nobody died!

The next morning we boarded a bus to the old imperial city of Hue, but first we made a stop over at China beach in Da Nang. This was the beach where the Americans supposedly officially invaded Vietnam in 1965.

After China beach the road crossed the Cloudy Mountain pass which offered some spectacular views and descended into Hue.

A visit to the Citadel in Hue was next on the cards and the next day we boarded a boat up the

perfume river to visit the

tombs of some of the Vietnamese Emperors. That afternoon we boarded the train again for the long trip to Hanoi.

Silvia, myself and our cabin buddies  stocked up on lots of food and beer so the journey was quite pleasant! Next morning we arrived in Hanoi at 4:30 am. Our rooms at the hotel were not yet available so we decided to see what Hanoi looks like before dawn. Not far from our hotel was a small lake with hundreds of people doing their exercises before the start of the working day. That was quite a sight to see!

Breakfast of Pho ( a soup )  in one of the many "restaurants" that line the streets. These places consist of a few tiny plastic tables and chairs and a big steaming pot on the pavement, but the soup is good! Eventually we got to our  hotel rooms and after a shower went on to explore Hanoi with a visit to the infamous

"Hanoi Hilton" which became especially famous during the American war as the prison where the American pilots were kept that had been shot down during bombing raids over Northern Vietnam.

After that a visit to the Long Bien bridge that had been frequently bombed during the American war followed.

After breakfast the next day we left by bus for Halong bay and boarded our boat that would take us through this incredible area of thousands of square kilometers of limestone mountains protruding from the sea. We spent hours cruising through these limestone mountains many of which contain caves one of which we visited. The following and last full day in Vietnam was spent visiting various sights in Hanoi and a visit to a "Water Puppet show" which is endemic to that area.

Our last evening together was spent drinking "Bia Hoi" ( a Hanoi specialty ) on the pavement of one of the streets.

Well...all good things come to an end, and after saying our fond farewells we left for the airport for our long trip back home.

And last but not least...you know who!!

This had truly been a memorable trip!