Bathing Optional

Vietnam: May-June 2007

Continents

Continents

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Welcome to Hanoi, Vietnam! As we expected, Ho Chi Minhs Mausoleum is the citys premier landmark. His body lays in stasis, hardly different than the day he died, despite his willed request for cremation.
Hanois old town and French Quarter remind the visitor that this city was once the very heart of the French colonial world in South East Asia.
Not all French colonial treasures in Hanoi have been left to ruin. The fabulous Opera House looks as beautiful as the day it was opened.
Progress and development have not left Vietnam behind. We were mildly surprised to see how many modern skyscrapers can be found in Vietnams capital.
Reminders of Vietnams Communist status can be found everywhere in Hanoi.
Hanoi is also a city of lakes. There are more than a handful of them in the city. Central Hoan Kiem is the most popular one as it is the mythical birthplace of the Vietnamese nation.
We knew that the conical hat is basically a symbol of Vietnam but we didnt expect to see one out of five women on the street wearing them!
Vietnam is a predominantly Buddhist nation. However, its Buddhism is more a blend -- Taoism and Confucianism being the two other components.
Many home gardens have their own shrine and a small pot of incense seems to always be burning.
A side altar inside a small, neighborhood temple in Hanoi is dedicated to the beloved leader who united Vietnam: Ho Chi Minh.
Typical old town Hanoi blocks.
One of few old Hanoi homes preserved in its original form -- this mini-museum is a real treasure.
Old style kitchen.
Chinese chess -- popular then and now.
Home Buddha.
Traditional tea set.
Great wooden doors open out to a large second floor patio. The entire old style home is very open.
Vietnamese flags wave just about everywhere in Hanoi.
A great breakfast: rice porridge topped with fried tofu and veggies.
Shop girl.
Street lanterns and French colonial charm.
Looking out onto the street from and old temple in Hanois old town.
A very cluttered (but neat) temple altar.
Temple interior. Lots of lacquer!
Candle offerings and wall mural.
Girl in the traditional Vietnamese womens dress.
Traffic in Hanoi is almost 90% scooters and motorbikes. Weve never seen so many two-wheeled machines in one city as weve seen in Hanoi!
Flower lady.
The government lovest that Communist yellow! Many of the grand French colonial buildings have been painted yellow and are now used as government offices.
Golden Buddhas inside Hanois most important pure Buddhist temple.
Another French colonial great (now the Museum of History).
Love that propaganda!
A beautiful, wooden bridge brings pilgrims to the island temple on Hoan Kiem Lake.
Scooter traffic, sidewalk shops, colonial homes, and glass skyscrapers -- a microcosm of todays Hanoi.
Back in China and here in Vietnam weve learned that Communism does not equal lack of capitalism.
What better way to sell us some pineapple than to offer us her hat and baskets for this great photo. How could we refuse to buy some of her fruit after that?
What would Communism be without the loudspeaker?
St.Josephs Cathedral, more of the colonial legacy.
Afternoon nap on the church steps.
The grandest of churches weve seen in South East Asia.
Nice stained glass!
Intense Chinese chess game in the island temple courtyard.
Incense pot.
Propaganda, love it.
Under that lake pavilion lies a statue of the magic turtle of the national creation myth.
When we see logos like this one, we wish we could read Vietnamese.
Time to retire my Indian flip-flops. Theyve been through a lot.
One of Hanois older temples.
What would a Communist capital be without a Lenin statue?
National dress code? We see dudes with these green, safari hats everywhere!
Hammer and sickle. Sick of it yet?
Another former French building painted yellow. The Presidential Palace.
Pictures of Marx and Lenin hang in Ho Chi Minhs old home.
Approaching Ho Chi Minhs Mausoleum.
School kids by the One-Pillar Pagoda.
One Pillar Pagoda. Why the name?
Visiting Hanois temples we can clearly see the Chinese influence.
Temple gate.
It wouldnt be Asia without those swan pedal boats.
Pagoda at the West Lakes island temple.
Approaching the island temple.
Temple rock sculpture.
Red Guard.
The first gate of several leading into Hanois wonderful Temple of Literature.
A huge flag waves over one of the Temple of Literatures ponds.
Gate.
One of the temple buildings.
Temple doors.
Vietnams very unique contribution to roof tiles.
Two scholars sit inside the Temple of Literature.
Roof dragon.
Temple lantern.
Nothing beats a wooden temple.
The main altar at the Temple of Literature.
Dragon embroidered silk robe.
Had to get a photo of this scooter baby seat. This contraption definitely beats the more common alternative: just having your toddler stand in that gap and grip the handlebars with their small hands as you do 50 kph through killer traffic.
Probably nowhere else in Asia have we seen so many people out at 6 a.m. as we have in Hanoi. Even better, most of them are out exercising like these ladies doing aerobics in a small, very Communist plaza.
Another morning exerciser by one of Hanois lakes.
Ancestor worship is a huge part of Vietnamese life and many a home comes complete with a large family altar like this one.
Another of Hanois temples.
The ultra-famous Halong Bay. When in Vietnam, its a place not to be missed. We did the two day trip with a night on one of these boats and loved it!
Houseboat galley. Lunch is (almost) served.
Little boat lost amongst the big guys.
Halong Bay is VERY popular. Needless to say, we werent the only boat heading out into the Bay that afternoon. Once out there, though, with more than 3000 islands in the Bay, things werent as congested.
Passing some of the limestone pinnacles that make Halong Bay the amazing place it is.
Getting further out into Halong Bay.
Karst islands. Great!
Passing another boat.
Those waters would look even better on a sunny day!
Inside Halong Bays premier cave.
They couldnt help but highlight that striking rock inside the cave.
Cave.
More cave.
Bay walk.
Again, we werent the lone boat visiting the caves that afternoon.
Dragon boat. Actually, most of the Halong Bay boats had a carving like this on their prow.
Floating village.
Floating convenience store. Buy from me, buy from me!
Ashe in the front of our dual kayak.
Halong Bay swimmers.
Floating village lady.
Halong Bay islands.
Fabulous views from the top of one of the many karst towers in the Bay.
Bay boat.
Island beach.
Island views.
More Halong Bay islands.
Sunset.
Islands. Beautiful!
Great beach!
Over the Bay.
Pavilion rooftop.
Bay boats.
Cloudy sunrise over Halong Bay.
Morning boat on the Bay.
Early morning fishing.
Cant leave Halong Bay without going for a jump off the boat and swim.
Boats for hire along the river leading to Vietnams most important Buddhist temple complex, the Perfume Pagoda. Good thing we came in off-season -- only a few of those boats went out for the day.
With air much cleaner than in many places weve been, we wonder why Vietnamese cover themselves so much when cruising around town on their scooters.
Lunch.
Lunch? Snakes fermenting inside some kind of elixir as we docked near the Perfume Pagoda.
River boat.
River traffic on the way to the Perfume Pagoda.
River lady.
Ashe, a little bit hot in the early summer humidity.
Great scenery the whole way!
River boat.
Another lizard, reptile concoction.
Water? Crackers? Cobra?
Old gate as we approached the Perfume Pagoda.
Great scenery along the hike up to the Perfume Pagoda cave temple.
The area behind the shops along the hiking trail didnt look too good. We were left wondering if the stench of this garbage was the reason for the name -- the Perfume Pagoda.
Karst scenery in the distance as we reached the peak.
The Buddhist flag over the entrance to the Perfume Pagoda cave temple.
Ashe on the steps down to the cave.
Small altar at the entrance to the cave.
Incense offerings.
Real and ghost money offerings.
The main cave altar -- love the psychadelic halos around the Buddhas heads.
Cave temple bell.
Lantern.
Stalagtites hanging from the cave ceiling.
The answer is definitely blowing in the wind.
Gate to the main temple in the Perfume Pagoda area.
A golden Goddess of Compassion.
Temple gate.
Temple guardian.
Stupas.
Incense, the real reason the Perfume Pagoda is named so.
Temple doors.
Temple lion.
Great wooden doors.
Thousand-armed Goddess of Compassion.
Looking out.
Temple hangings.
Heading back down the river.
This rowing thing is not as easy as it looks!
More great scenery on the way back.
Still trying, but switched to the one oar technique.
Sapa, the portal town to Vietnams wonderful, mountainous northwest region. The town has outgrown the charming stage, but is still quite a wonderful escape in the misty, green mountains.
Sapa was once a French hill station and it shows.
Great old mansion in the hills around Sapa.
The best reason to come to Sapa is that it is located right in the heart of hill tribe country. There are a handful of very unique tribal villages in the surrounding countryside. Here, a couple Black HMong ladies sit in the market in Sapa.
Another tribal lady with blankets for sale.
Tribal ladies in the market.
More well-dressed ladies.
$What an outfit!\r\n$ What an outfit!\r\n
Cool leggings.
The children here are especially cute!
Not the best expression but check out that headgear!
Black HMong lady.
Hotel suite over green hills.
Rice terraces cover most hillsides around Sapa town.
Even the scarecrow wears ethnic garb!
Hill girl.
Reflection.
Very cute!
Plowing the paddies.
Walking the buffalo.
Ducklings.
Another very cute village child.
Front yard garden times two!
One of the best small villages we passed during our full day hike beyond Sapa.
Rice paddy home.
Another beautiful village girl!
A couple girls that followed us for an hour and were ecstatic when we finally bought their 12 cent bracelets.
Bye, girls!
Paddies like mirrors.
Mother with baby.
HMong girls in Sapa.
Municipal building over Sapas small lake.
Baby carrier.
Great look.
HMong girl.
Another lady with baby.
Ladies and baskets.
Baby.
Farmers, unite!
Out in the paddies.
Rice paddies at Ta Phin town, one of the best villages near Sapa.
A Dao lady at work in the fields at Ta Phin town.
Local boys.
Mother and child.
Young boy.
Ladies in the fields.
Another pair of cute, village boys.
Wearing their best into the muddy fields.
Love the bamboo irrigation system!
Another bamboo, water powered contraption. Its a rice mill -- amazing!
Theres no green greener than rice paddies.
If you keep Maciej in a room past 7 a.m. hes bound to start acting like a caged animal. Much to Maciejs dismay, we slept in on our final day in Sapa.
Return to Hanoi, the city of Lakes.
First thing we did back in Hanoi is we rented a scooter. We were ready. It was time to brave the streets of the capital the way they are meant to be ridden.
And, our first stop on our new scooter was our favorite juice bar in Hanois old town.
Mmmm, mango smoothies. Our favorite. We must have lived on five or six mango shakes each per day during our hot stay in Hanoi.
The streets of Hanoi -- colonial charm meets Asian energy.
We had missed it during our first few days in Hanoi so we made it there this time. The old Prison Museum was first a French prison for local opposers of the colonial power and later a Vietnamese prison for imperial POWs.
The Vietnamese prisoners lived in atrocious conditions while jailed under French rule. Looking at their small, concrete cells, however, we found them to look strangely familiar to many guesthouse rooms we had enjoyed while in India...
Guillotine. The French were still using it in the 1920s! Barbaric? Definitely.
Streetfood.
Wonder what shes praying for? A Vietnamese man told us that where Vietnamese once prayed for peace and health in the local temple, they now pray for wealth.
A small piece of the old left standing in one of Hanois lakes.
This lake home is overshadowed by its brand new, gleaming neighbors.
View from the balcony at the amazing Ethnographic Museum. A dozen traditional, tribal homes and buildings have been built right on the museum grounds to give the visitor an even more tangible taste of Vietnams ethnic diversity and way of life.
Traditional puppet inside the museum.
Museum display shows just how many fishing baskets one man carried around on his single bicycle while making his sales rounds around the countryside.
The museum is filled with amazing exhibits including traditional textiles and clothing of just about every minority group in the country.
What an outfit!
Outside, one of the traditional tribal homes.
Great window covering inside one of the huts.
The most impressive of the traditional homes rebuilt at the museum.
Wood figures surround a tomb. The peoples of Vietnams Central Highlands believe that these figures will accompany the dead into the afterlife.
Flower lady back on the streets of Hanoi.
Late day temple visit. There are plenty of great temples hidden away in neighborhoods seldom visited by visitors. We made sure to seek out a few. The scooter made it easy.
Temple grounds are often the only piece of open space in otherwise crowded neighborhoods. We found people using temple grounds for all kinds of activities.
Another temple, more sports. Are there a people more active? We had already learned that dawn is a time for exercise, walking, stretching, tai chi and other exercise and we now found out that Hanoians also use dusk as a time to exercise some more.
Training wheels. A girl at the temple sits on a miniature, electric toy scooter. Soon, she will join the madness on the streets of Hanoi of the real thing.
We knew when we were close to Tam Coc about two hours south of Hanoi when we saw these giant rocks appear in the rice fields. We were back in karst country.
We had arrived in Tam Coc during harvest season. The streets were literally covered in grain and the people were setting even more out to dry in the sun.
The highlight of a visit to the Tam Coc region is a boat trip down the river that winds its way through rice fields and karst mountains.
Another boat passes us with the lady rowing with her feet!
Once in a while, we would see a conical hat poke up from fields of rice.
Another passing boat and another rower using their feet!
Spectacular karst formations flank both sides of the thin river.
As we followed the river we even passed right UNDER some of the karst towers, through fantastic caves!
Back at the boat landing.
Colorful hanging at one of the local temples.
Beautiful blooming lotus in the pond at another local temple in the Tam Coc area.
Temple figures.
Ceiling hanging inside a small cave shrine.
Us with our scooter for the day.
Great views down to rice fields and more karst peaks from the top of the peak above one of the temples we visited.
Looking out into the mountains beyond the roof of a temple we had climbed up to.
Beautiful countryside around Tam Coc.
Rice village.
Cliffside temple.
Rice fields and karst peaks.
Temple horse stands in perpetual guard over the temple entrance.
Temple roof.
Rustic bridge.
Fabulous views over the karst peaks from one of the peaks in the Tam Coc area.
Pagoda.
Another craggy, mountain pagoda.
Wow!
Like we said, its harvest time and all roads are covered in hay!
Sunset.
Fiery sky.
Hue, the ancient royal capital of central Vietnam. The walls and gates around the immense citadel have been restored and serve as a reminder of just how great the Nguyen Dynasty was.
The largest flag weve seen yet has been hoisted up over the citadel in Hue to remind everyone that the new Dynasty is the communist regime.
The contemporary towers of the Notre Dame of Hue reminds us that Vietnam is Asias number 2 Christian nation.
A bird cage hangs in front of a houseboat home along a canal in Hue.
Hue is a city of rivers and canals.
Another church in Hue blends western and Vietnamese design elements.
In the countryside west of Hue we spot a tomb island in the middle of a sea of rice paddies. We just learned that by planting family tombs in the middle of agricultural fields, families secure their claim on that plot of land where paper titles are often useless.
Out in the countryside beyond Hue stands a wonderful 17th century bridge.
The old, wooden bridge seems to be the local hang out spot for elderly men.
Another man chilling on the 300 year old footbridge.
The cyclo, a mode of transportation that is virtually extinct in Vietnam. Weve only been driven on one of these once.
People along Hues canals make homes of houseboats.
Houseboat girl.
With her brother right after he claimed my sunglasses for himself.
Giant lotus leaves fill the old moat surrounding Hues ancient citadel.
One of the Hue citadels four primary gates.
Old palace bastion.
The main gate to the ancient Forbidden Purple City.
Colonial church near our hotel in Hue.
Palace gate.
Before heading out on our boat trip along the Perfume River the next day, we had to check in with the local police first. Communism lives on!
Other boaters on the river.
Boat lady.
First stop along the river -- a visit to Hues most important temple.
Beautiful brick pagoda.
This temple was made famous by its head monk who set out to Saigon to burn himself alive in protest of the Vietnam War several decades ago.
Brown-robed monk at the temple.
Vietnams ancient royal capital Hue is most famous for the marvelous royal tombs strewn about the countryside along the Perfume River outside of town. We visited two.
An old royal tomb.
Water pavilion at the tomb gardens.
Incense sticks drying in the afternoon sun.
Statues flank the approach to another royal tomb.
Main gate to the second tomb we visited along the river.
Temple statues.
The royal tombs outside Hue are much more than just graves. Each is set inside a large, landscaped piece of land, with numerous pavilions, temples, and other structures.
A fine lacquer ceiling inside one of the many buildings at the second tomb site.
Most of the buildings have been restored while others stand in need of a new coat of paint.
The main temple at the tomb site.
Temple gate.
Temple altar.
Amazing temple interior.
Lots of lacquerwork.
Hues royal tombs are probably the best collection of traditional Vietnamese architecture to be found anywhere in the country.
A small bridge crosses a pond to the last of the buildings at the tomb site.
Looking out from one of the pavilions.
Black and red never looked so good!
Pavilion doors.
Cactus!
Fan-shaped windows. Nice.
Gardens and traditional structures. We were in heaven.
One of the many gates inside Hues Forbidden Purple City. Much of the ancient royal palace is in ruins following the war, but what remains or has been restored is great.
Giant urn at the royal palace.
Fine woodcarving.
Rooftop figures at one of the palace temples.
Palace lanterns.
Hoi An, central Vietnams historic gem. Hoi An was once a very important maritime trading post and retains its old world charm to this day.
Bicycle lady in the streets of Hoi An.
Hoi An is known for its silk. Silk lanterns hang in every homefront and silk clothing is made to order by Vietnams best tailors.
Old facade.
Hoi An is a conservative town so we saw plenty of yellow stars around.
Hoi An storefront.
Boater on the river in Hoi An.
Inside one of the perfectly preserved old homes in Hoi An.
Fine woodwork inside the traditional merchants home.
Uncle Ho bust on home balcony.
Wacky temple dragon.
Hoi Ans famous Japanese footbridge.
Lantern inside the bridge.
Passing through the great footbridge.
Red lantern.
Hoi An building front.
Unfortunately, Hoi An is no stranger to tourism. Most of the old towns historic buildings are now shops or restaurants.
Very nice.
A common sight in Vietnam -- an alley with small tables ready for street diners.
Hoi An was once full of Chinese merchants. Their legacy remains in many beautiful Chinese temples that fill the old town.
Temple pond.
Dinner at our favorite restaurant in Hoi An (we ate there twice per day for the next three days). Like all the other pure vegetarian restaurants we have found so far in Vietnam, it was hidden away in a back alley, and run by a few honest, Buddhist ladies.
Hoi An at night looks great!
Evening lanterns.
Great views along the river in Hoi An the next morning.
Riverside lady.
We thought wed be the only ones at Hoi Ans beach at 6 a.m. but were surprised to find dozens of locals already out playing sports and exercising.
Cua Dai Beach is an amazing stretch of sand only a few kilometers from Hoi An.
Cua Dai Beach.
Early morning fisherman in a typically Vietnamese round bamboo vessel.
Man on the beach.
Beach flowers.
The Indian Cham civilization once controlled much of central and southern Vietnam. Today, the ruins at My Son, forty kilometers from Hoi An, are the best Cham ruins in the country.
A 10th century Hindu temple tower at My Son.
Ancient temple.
Temple statuary.
Looking out.
Temple relief.
Headless statue.
During rainy season, the weather changes incredibly fast. These wild storm clouds rushed in over Cua Dai Beach near Hoi An in just moments. Our half day at the beach came to a quick end!
Maciej trying out the dew rag look.
Back in Hoi An, a house balcony altar. Many homes have small garden or patio altars to gods or ancestors.
Riverside lady in Hoi An.
Colonial architecture in Hoi An.
Giant coils of incense hang and burn all day long in one of Hoi Ans many Chinese temples.
Hoi An home.
Hoi An block -- they love that yellow for any old building.
Old French Quarter.
On a motorbike day trip from Hoi An, we went north along the coast, following beautiful China Beach most of the way. How could an amazing stretch of beach like this be deserted, we wondered? Well, when theres 30 km. of it, it could be.
China Beach near Danang.
Fishing boats.
In Danang, we visited the wonderful Cham Museum housing the countrys largest collection of Cham sculptures. The Indian influence was more than obvious although Ganesh DID look a bit different.
Cham statue.
Danang Cathedral.
Not far from Danang, on the way back to Hoi An, are the Marble Mountains, a few marble lumps on an otherwise flat landscape that were once islands.
The marble mountains now conceal several temples and many caves.
Temple pagoda.
Views out into the South China Sea.
As the Marble Mountains were once islands, wonderful tunnels and caverns have been eroded throughout. The caves, now dry, have been converted into rock temples and sanctuaries.
A huge marble Buddha stands inside one cave.
Goddess of Compassion.
A colorful guardian guards the entrance to the largest cavern in the Marble Mountains.
Another marble Buddha sits high above a small altar.
Cavern temple.
Nha Trang, Vietnams premier beach resort town. Here, the muddy river meets the crystal clear sea.
Nha Trang rooftops.
For the first time in Vietnam, we saw some real disparity.
Nha Trangs long stretch of beautiful beach is rightfully popular.
Island views from Nha Trang beach.
Fishing boat in Nha Trangs river.
View over Nha Trang.
The ancient Cham temple towers on a hill over Nha Trang were a great place to visit.
The Cham temples.
Inside, the temples were undeniably Hindu.
The waters north of Nha Trang looked so good that Maciej didnt even have time to take his scooter helmet or clothes off.
Fishing boats.
Lady hanging rolled mango out to dry. Those will make the worlds largest Fruit Roll-ups!
A white Buddha sits over Nha Trangs main temple.
A pair of monks on a scooter.
A giant granite Buddha reclines by one of Nha Trangs temples.
An even larger white Buddha sits on a hill behind another temple.
Nha Trang Cathedral.
Inside the Cathedral, a neon cross! Only in Asia.
Dusk hits the beach in Nha Trang.
Dalat, the most popular of cities in Vietnams Central Highlands region, from the right angle, can look like a bit of old Europe, in the middle of Vietnam.
View over Dalat and its central lake.
Dalat hill homes.
Dalat is also super cheesy. The cowboy theme can be found everywhere and theres more karaoke bars than in all of Japan!
The pine forests and waterfalls around Dalat make it a great place to explore for a few days.
Street food, our favorite!
Each tower of windows is a distinct hotel. Dalat is overflowing with hotels.
Dalat Cathedral.
The Crazy House, a personal project by a famous Vietnamese architect.
Ceiling lights are stalactites inside the Crazy House.
Each room is different inside the Crazy House, but all are equally eccentric.
Ashe on a bedroom balcony.
Bed nook.
Another bedroom.
Maciej on Crazy House steps leading to the highest of bedrooms.
View over Dalat from the Crazy House.
No, not a cave, a hallway in the Crazy House.
More of the cave-like Crazy House. The owner-architect wanted to create a home that blended with the nature around.
A giraffe looks at one wing of the Crazy House.
Most of the waterfalls around Dalat have been turned into semi-amusement parks with lots of cheesy things like concrete swans all around.
A shirt to match the umbrella? This cant be real!
Maciej on a famous phone in the office of Vietnams last emperor.
Nun approaches one of Dalats more active temples.
Temple monks.
Flowers.
Horse and flower carriage inside the Dalat Flower Gardens.
Huge temple dragon statue.
Morning hills around Dalat.
Yellow star.
The Dalat areas most orante temple is found in a agricultural village 6 km. away.
Temple pagoda.
Enlightened in neon.
Countryside.
Lots of farming around Dalat.
One of the many waterfalls around Dalat.
Bear man taking a break.
Us by one of Dalats waterfalls.
Like we said, they love the cowboy thing in Dalat.
Indigenous lady. Or is she? With so much exploitation going on in Dalat, we could never tell what was the real thing.
Another of Dalats falls, Prenn Falls.
Treehouse at the falls.
Ashe, under the waterfall!
Ashe, camouflaged in her new green t-shirt, on the swinging bridge.
Another indigenous hill tribe lady?
Dalats very own Moulin Rouge. It actually looks better than the Paris original!
Chapels in Dalat.
Sure, it looked as if it would pour any minute for our three days in Dalat, but the cool of the hills was a very welcome change from the sweaty heat of the coast!
Cruising around Dalat on our motorbike!
Mui Ne, fishing town turned beach resort. This stretch of still-quiet beach is a hit with foreign visitors.
Fishing boats off Mui Nes beach.
Lady on the beach. Its confirmed, the conical hat is the hat of choice with both northern and southern Vietnamese!
Lots more fishing boats.
Mui Ne is also well-known for its amazing sand dunes which look very much like a desert.
Great sand dunes.
We could be in the Sahara.
Fancy hotels beyond the dunes.
The Red Canyon.
Cool.
Sunset over Mui Ne beach. Beautiful!
Dusk sky with palms.
Sunrise, 5:15 a.m. the next morning.
Uniquely Vietnamese fishing boats.
Sunrise on the coast.
Ladies on the beach.
Another coastal town, another ancient Cham temple.
Very Indian.
Our breakfast.
Mini veg crepes.
View to flatlands along the coast from near the top of Ta Cu Mountain, 40 km. north of Mui Ne.
We had done the 45 minute hike up Ta Cu Mountain to see Vietnams largest reclining Buddha. Ashe was impressed with its grandeur.
Blue-headed lizard!
We had to take shelter in an abandoned shack with hammocks while rain poured down for about 30 minutes during our descent on Ta Cu Mountain.
Beach shrine at Pan Thiet beach.
Maciej in one of those round fishing boats.
Larger fishing boats.
Seashells.
The latest in our string of scooter rentals.
Us on the beach in Mui Ne.
Mui Ne beach, on a sunny day, looks fabulous!
Love those colors.
Theres no better way to introduce Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) than to show this photo. There are probably more scooters on the roads of HCMC than anywhere else in the world!
HCM City is Vietnams largest and feels it.
Its in HCM City, too, that weve felt the most disparity. Nowhere else in Vietnam have we seen so many poor and rich together in one place.
Its busy, but there are still some quiet temples, parks and gardens in HCM City.
Another grand, and pink, cathedral.
Theres even an old Hindu temple right in the center of Saigon.
More scooter traffic.
Fine figures cover the rooftops of many a historic temple in Saigons Chinatown.
Tiny figures.
Something we love about Vietnamese temples: walls and walls of photos of deceased loved ones.
Dinosaur attack! Ashe (and my Dad) were hoping that the dinosaur would, once and for all, put an end to my ridiculous, used-to-be orange pants. But, it didnt.
Ashe, on better terms with her dinosaur.
Trapped! Our ferris wheel experience was a locked caged deal at Saigons outrageous Dam Sen amusement park.
Views to the amusment park ponds from the ferris wheel.
Giant papier mache guardian at our favorite old temple in Saigon.
Very fine woodcarving inside the old, Chinese temple.
Beautiful!
Pet store on wheels. We couldnt believe it when we saw this motorbike with caged pets parked on the side of a very busy street in HCM City.
Psychadelic Buddhas!
Thats more like it.
The closer we got to Saigons old colonial quarter, the more likeable the city got.
At the heart of colonial Saigon is the old Hotel de Ville, now the Peoples Commitee Building.
Colonial balconies in old Saigon.
Classy.
The old theater is at the center of old Saigon.
The Municipal Theater.
Downtown Saigon, a mix of styles.
The old cathedral.
The old French post office.
Inside the post office. Love those mahogany phone boxes.
Ho Chi Minh, a national god.
Downtown Saigon.
It may not seem like it af first, but there is still some green to be found in Ho Chi Minh City, especially those giant, old trees lining some of the centers main avenues.
Nessie in the park?
Goddess.
Tay Ninh, the headquarters of the unique Caodai religion, a Vietnamese mix of the worlds large, great religions.
Caodai Temple tower.
Caodaists arrive for the noon ceremony.
A Caodai temple priest prepares the altar before the noon ceremony is to begin.
The main altar image is a huge globe with the all-seeing eye.
Caodaist at the temple.
KKK meeting? No, Caodaists at the noon ceremony.
The Caodai faith is highly hierarchical and these men were almost front row.
With 4 ceremonies in the temple daily, we were left wondering if the followers dress up and attend each one. Thats a lot of work!
Caodai ladies.
Rarely have we seen a religious ceremony that is so colorful and interesting.
Great hats!
Us with a Viet Cong soldier at the site of the Cu Chi Tunnels, a more than 200 km. long network of tunnels and underground shelters used by VC revolutionary soldiers during the civil and Vietnamese wars.
Maciej emerging from one of the concealed tunnel entrances -- a tight fit.
Ashe coming up a tunnel staircase.
Crawling even 40 meters along one old tunnel, was hot and hard enough for us. We dont know how those soldiers lived and moved through those tunnels for years. In the end, the tunnels allowed the VC soldiers to win an overwhelming victory in the region.
In southern Vietnam, the thing to do is to take a Mekong Delta tour. No visitor can leave without getting a glimpse of life in the delta of one of the worlds longest rivers after it has wound its way through China, Lao, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. We saw a lot of boats and a lot of muddy water.
The next morning, we hit the large floating market near Can Tho, one of the Mekong Deltas largest cities. Once the sun rose, local traders hit the waters and began selling.
The mystery of each boats cargo was solved using bamboo poles advertising the goods that particular boat had for sale.
A man in a small boat buys a huge order of fruit from a larger boat.
Laundry day for this floating market family.
Floating market ladies.
Market traffic.
Another lady looking for buyers.
Us at the floating market enjoying a fresh pineapple off the pineapple boat.
A veg cargo.
Standing rowing technique.
Floating market kids.
PIneapples for sale!
Breakfast.
After all these years, we finally learned how rice noodles are made! A visit to a small rice noodle factory showed us all we needed to know.
We were surprised to find out that rice noodles are made from a mixture of 60% rice and 40% lard. Thats the last time well be eating pho!
Set out to dry before being cut into noodles.
Back in the delta.
Delta boys waving goodbye as we pass in our small boat. Goodbye delta boys and goodbye Vietnam!

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