Active Vietnam . . .

Woman rowing to Perfume Pagoda Vietnam has never been high on my wish-list as a country to visit. I was 7 (1967) when we got our first television and I remember that the news was for years dominated by the Vietnam war. And as I like strolling around the countryside, Vietnam is not the most suitable country for that. The Lonely Planet says : "A landmine can ruin your whole day . . ." . But looking for yourself is the best remedy against these prejudices. Vietnam turned out to be a very pleasant country. I arranged my visa in Phnom Penh for half the price and on a Sunday at a travel agent. Don't ask me how they can deliver a visa on a day the embassy is closed !! It is just a matter of having the right stamp I suppose . . . Took the bus from Phnom Penh to the Vietnamese border. I like these border crossings where you have to walk across but I hate it when you have to unpack your carefully packed backpack. In 17 months of travelling this has only happened once : on entering Australia. This time the Vietnamese officer started to feel in my bag and found his hands full of sun-cream as my bottle of sun-block had opened. That was enough for him but I unpacked the rest voluntarily . . .

Millions of motorbikes . . . Arriving in Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnamese for Saigon) is nervous. Imagine a Honda motorbike with 2 to 6 people on it and horning constantly. Now multiply this picture by 10 million and you got Saigon. There are no traffic rules and crossing the street means just go and the motorbikes will magically swarm around you, unless you are in bad luck. One of the main attractions near Saigon are the Cu Chi tunnels. This is an amazing network of tunnels (200 km!) used by the Viet Cong during the American War (Vietnamese for Vietnam War).

Cu Chi tunnel entrance Our guide explained proudly how many people of the enemy were killed using the tunnels. There was even an fortified American base built on top of the tunnels allowing the Vietnamese to attack from inside ! But when the B52 bombs were dropped many Vietnamese must have died a terrible death in these tunnels. I also did a 50 meter stretch in the original, 60 by 80 cm, tunnels and was very happy to see the sunlight again. After the tunnels I went to the war museum to get the Vietnamese view on it. Then I decided I had seen enough. And actually apart from these tourist sites there is practically nothing that reminds of the war. People are reasonably friendly and the whole country bursts of activity. If I were to invest money in Asia, Vietnam would be my choice. They are really building their country and have climbed already to rice-exporter number 2 in the world, after Thailand. I am sure they will be number one soon. Vietnam is a country I could live (for a while) but for the independent traveler it is a little bit uneventful as everything is organized via tours. There is one travelers trail everybody is following. But I didn't mind and it felt like being part of a big family. One of the highlights on my way up to Hanoi was the city of Hoi An. Beautiful old village in French style and famous for it's tailor shops. Wasn't really planning to buy anything but ended up with 3 tailor made suits . . .

Diep and Trang made my new suits My allergy for buses, which is already high, got to a maximum on the night bus from Hue to Hanoi. The trip was supposed to take only 12 hours but we needed 20. It started with a little fire in the bus and because of that the electricity fell out. But the driver continued using a flashlight to see the road ! When the batteries ran out we stopped and waited hours for the repair. But I finally arrived in Hanoi. A pleasant capital with many red flags. But with the standard Asian hassle to get to your guesthouse. The basic scenario (with many variations) is something like this : You want to get to A. You negotiate a price with the rickshaw/motorbike driver. He brings you to B and claims it is better than A. You don't like B and he wants more money to go to A. Then it turns out he has no clue where A is. Finally he drops you at C and says it is A. And it ends with you walking yourself from C to A after a quarrel with the driver. I was lucky that the distance between A and C was not too big in Hanoi.

Praying woman (Hanoi) Visited the Mausoleum of Ho Chi Minh. The "father of Vietnam" wanted to be cremated but it was decided to conserve his body and now he is exposed to thousands of visitors each day. 2 months a year he goes to Russia for maintenance and I have to say he looks fit . . . From Hanoi I went on a tour to Halong Bay together with about 400 other tourists. We visited an army hospital in a cave and used during the American War. An old Vietnamese guy started singing songs and soon most of the tourists started clapping and singing with him. Afterwards one of the American visitors asked what the songs were about. "Oh these are just communistic war songs on how good it feels to kill the anti-communistic enemies . . . "

The singer (left) The best of Vietnam came at the end : Sapa. A beautiful village high in the mountains close to the border with China. Wanted to stay just 2 days but ended up extending my visa and stayed more than a week.

Halong Bay

All ingredients for a prefect place are there : A great guesthouse (Cat Cat guesthouse), many walking tracks, perfect climate (20 -30C during the day, 15 C at night) and friendly traditional tribes everywhere. Wish it will stay like this . . . because this is one of these places I want to return to.

Miss So my favorite guide in Sapa Now I am on my way home. Just a last week in Thailand. Many people ask me what I will do when I am in Holland again. I don't know but the best starting point is, I guess , to look for a job to fit my 3 new suits . . .

Mr. Lon showed me around in Hanoi. He makes nice paintings Mong girl .