Vietnam

A two week drive around the northern third of Vietnam brought us to Hanoi, Halong Bay, the northwest mountains, Dien Bien Phu and Sapa. This abridged gallery does little justice to the beauty of the land and the variety of hill tribes in these areas. Read the stories about gay Vietnam

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) is a vast, vibrant, hectic, intense cosmopolitan city yet with room to breath and a pace calm enough to ride a bike. As the country cautiously mutates from communism to capitalism, many ambitious citizens have tasted the delights of profit and drive around in SUV’s. Still, most common folks peddle

The very fertile Mekong Delta is Viet Nam’s breadbasket: it feeds the nation with rice, vegetables, fish and fruit. (Vietnam is the world’s second largest rice exporter.) It is a densely populated area, including the waterways where hundreds of thousands of people conduct commerce by boat. A day trip around this floating city is a

In the 1940’s, 50’s and 60’s Viet Nam resistance fighters built these underground tunnels to wage guerilla war first against the French and later American military forces. It’s estimated there were more than 250 km of passages, some of which were directly underneath American bases. Whole populations of Viet Cong fighters and supporters lived–and died–in

Dalat is a city of 130,000 in central Vietnam surrounded by mountains with bustling downtown shops as well as parks, lakes, forests, many hotels and a popular flower festival. The area is also home to numerous indigenous hill tribes such as the Lat tribe who grow beans and coffee. Located here is the former summer

Hoi An is a charming coastal city with much traditional architecture and narrow pedestrian streets. The old town is a UNESCO World Heritage site with its pagodas, antique houses and museums. Artisans turn out paintings, carvings and lots of clothing, rain or shine, flooding or dry. Outside the city is the My Son ancient kingdom

Nha Trang has some of the best beaches in Vietnam. The clear turquoise water and endless sand along with countless informal restaurants and hotels make this city of 320,000 a relaxing traveler’s rest stop (except in November and December). About 100 km south of Nah Trang are the ancient Po Klaung Garai Towers (first five

Hue city is another cultural and historic gem of Vietnam. With 290,00 people the city is alive with commerce, tourism, ancient and modern buildings, ambitious citizens and painful war memories (now mostly out of mind). The major attractions now are not religious but historic. The huge Citadel (Imperial City), once the seat of emperors’ mightly

From 1802 to 1945 Vietnam was ruled by a series of Nguyen dynasty emperors who lived extravagant lives while most of the population lived as paupers. When these leaders died, monumental tomb sites–some like miniature towns–were built south of Hue along the Perfume River. Guidebooks list seven major tomb sites that have become major tourist

Danang is a city of about a million people. It is the major commerical hub for central Viet Nam but most tourists pass through on their way north to historic Hue or south to picturesque Hoi An. For many American visitors the name is synonymous with the war. The enormous military base was often in

Before the American War (1965-75) the Ben Hai River divided ‘democratic’ South Viet Nam and communist North Viet Nam. The demilitarized zone spread about 5 km north and south of the river. During the war the DMZ was heavily militarized and became one of the most savaged places on earth. Located here was the huge