Vietnam 2008
Hanoi is the capital of Vietnam and the starting point of our trip. It is a city full of motorcycles. The city still has some French influence and the Hoan Kiem Lake and the mausoleum of Ho Chi Minh are some of the sights in the city.
The North Western part of Vietnam is mountainous and inhabited by many different minorities, each with their own traditions and costumes. We took the night train from Hanoi, but were stranded because heavy rains had blocked the railway track. By car we finally reached Bac Ha and Sapa where we took a dip into nature and culture.
Halong Bay is a collection of hundreds of karts islands in a bay with blue water. We took a boat together with 2 other couples and enjoyed the scenery and the excellent food onboard. The boat itself was build in the style of an old Chinese Junk and our room was beautifully furnished. This is the perfect way to relax.
Hue used to be the capital of Imperial Vietnam. Like Bejing it has a Forbidden City and also the architecture clearly reminds you of China. The monuments suffered during the war when the Vietcong occupied the city for a few weeks and many of the buildings where bombed and shelled by the US Army in order to recapture the city. In Hue we stayed in a very beautiful resort hotel
Close to Hue, many emperors have build a residence / mausoleum. Most are styled according to the taste of the emperor. Many have beautiful gardens. A common element are the stone servants and animals to serve the emperor in his next life.
Hoi An is a traditional village which has retained a lot of it’s old charme. It used to be an important harbour with traders coming from China and Japan. These traders have built houses, temples and bridges that now dominate old Hoi An. We stayed in a nice hotel with a view of the river.
The Hoi An quay side has many bars and restaurants where you can have a good meal with a nice view.
My Son was the capital of the old Champa kingdom and it is on the UNESCO World Heritage list. It survived many centuries in good condition, but it was bombed by B52’s in 1969 leaving the site in ruins. It is still possible to see the former splendor and the location in the forest is also superb. Some buildings still have parts that survived destruction.
Ho Chi Minh City, or Saigon as it is still called by many people is the economical capital of Vietnam. It is a busy and dirty city with many French buildings from the time it was the capital of French Indo China. The city hall (left) and the old presidential palace (right) are among the buildings from that era. We stayed in the Rex Hotel an icon from the Vietnam War.
The Mekong Delta is a large wetland area with a lot of agriculture and fishing. It is very densely populated and when we asked about wildlife and birds, the Vietnamese remarked that most of that has been eaten. We stayed in a very nice hotel in Can Tho

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