vietnam

vietnam was the last of the countries that we visited in southeast asia. like many visitors, we began in the north and worked our way south. we spent several days in hanoi, and visited ha long bay. from hanoi we traveled to central vietnam, where we stayed in hue and hoi an. we finished our time in saigon (ho chi minh city). at different times, we traveled by plane, boat, car, bus, and motorcycle.

standing in line at ho chi minh's mausoleum - hours of waiting!

vietnamese water puppets

young monks in hue, playing with a remote controlled car

the photo below was taken by tara. the man in the picture was our guide on a tour of the former DMZ area, which was the scene of intense fighting during the war with the Americans. ("The American War" as the Vietnamese refer to it). as a young man, he worked as a translator for the Americans for a number of years. after the war, he was briefly in a prison camp, and he then worked as a teacher for most of his life. he now gives tours of the DMZ - taking tourists (many of whom are American vets) to sites in the DMZ where he worked during the war. he is standing inside the ruins of a church that was destroyed during the war, and preserved as a sort of memorial. the bullet holes are clearly visible.

in the hills of central vietnam

the beach at da nang

typical stoplight in saigon

people listening to mass on their motorbikes in saigon