Vietnam - Overseas Adventure Travel tour
February 17 - March 9, 2023
Page Three - Southern Vietnam
We headed out by motorbike from Nha Trang to visit a rural area and village.
A gentleman demonstrating for us how bamboo baskets are made.
Husband and wife at their home where we had lunch. He fought for the South Vietnamese Army
and was imprisoned for a year by the North Vietnamese Govt. following the reunification of north and south.
His wife has a sister living in the U.S. He tried to escape by boat many times after the war, but was caught each time.
He's now the mayor of the small village.
Walking in the area where we had lunch
Woman making chopsticks
This family asked me to take their photo using her phone.
This is at Po Nagar temple, near Nha Trang city. It was founded in 781.
Nighttime view from my room of street in Nha Trang.
Rice fields and countryside scene while on the way to the city of Dalat.
Scene on the drive to Dalat
A group from a hill tribe in the mountains near Dalat performed musical numbers for us using their traditional instruments.
Creative trash can outside our hotel in Dalat.
Street market in Dalat
Flower market in Dalat
Xuan Huong Lake in Dalat, where locals and tourists gather for recreation.
Child playing near Xuan Huong Lake
Near Xuan Huong Lake
We drove out of Dalat to learn about agricultural production in the area. One stop was at a coffee plantation
where weasel coffee is made. Coffee cherries are eaten by civets, which they partially digest and then excrete.
Farmers get the beans, wash them, and continue the roasting process. The civets only choose the very best berries to eat,
so this coffee has quality control built in, since they've been chosen by teams of weasel experts.
At the coffee plantation
A lizard who seemed interested in our reactions to tasting the weasel coffee. Although it's very expensive coffee, I didn't like the taste.
We drove to the remote traditional village of Buon Chuoi. These 2 boys from the village jumped on the truck with us along the way.
A baby peeking at us in the village of Buon Chuoi.
In a home where a woman is making the traditional dress worn by women in the village.
Hang Nga guesthouse in Dalat, popularly known as the Crazy House,
designed and constructed by a Vietnamese architect.
The design resembles a giant tree incorporating design elements
representing natural forms such as animals, spider webs, caves, etc.
At the Crazy House
View of the Dalat area from the Crazy House
Inside part of the Crazy House
Our tour group went to Dalat University to meet up with some students. Each of us paired up with a student,
who walked us around campus; and we talked about our respective lives.
This is the student I paired up with. All of the students were learning English and wanted practice speaking.
The students with our tour group in Dalat
War Remnants Museum in Ho Chi Minh City, formerly named Saigon. It contains exhibits relating to the First Indochina War
and the Vietnam War. It has various themed rooms, including one on the effects of Agent Orange
and other chemical defoliant sprays and one on war atrocities such as the My Lai massacre. Some in our tour group elected not
to visit the museum and stayed outside. I did visit.
Sign inside the Museum
Another sign
The Independence Palace in Ho Chi Minh City, also known as the Reunification Hall. It was the home and workplace of the President
of S. Vietnam and the site of the fall of Saigon that ended the war in 1975 when a North Vietnamese tank crashed through its gates.
A Starbucks in Ho Chi Minh City. Yes, Starbucks has made it to Vietnam, also McDonalds, and other familiar U.S. companies.
A woman giving a pedicure on a street in Ho Chi Minh City. Many people in Vietnam still call the city Saigon.
Ho Chi Minh City Book Street, which has the main purpose of creating a space for encouraging a culture of reading.
Ho Chi Minh City Hall, which was built in the early 1900s in a French colonial style.
Preparation for a wedding at the Opera House in Ho Chi Minh City
Woman and child watching the ceremony
Night time in Ho Chi Minh city
We did a river cruise and sampan ride on the Mekong River and stopped at a farmhouse.
Family burial place at the farm
This family had stopped for a rest break from working on their crops.
Kitchen area
View along the Mekong River
Riding in a sampan on the Mekong River
Photo taken by our tour guide
Another photo taken by our tour guide
My brother Sam (third from right) on the Mekong River, way back when he was covering the Vietnam War
for the Chicago Tribune as a foreign correspondent.
Spot where we got off the sampans
Back in Ho Chi Minh city
Everyone in our tour group went to the Opera House 2 nights before we left Vietnam to see the AO Show.
The show tells the story of the transition from peaceful rural life to hectic city life and features fantastic
acrobatics, juggling, body contortions, and stunting. This photo shows me with the performers.
Group shot outside the Opera House after the show
After the AO show, the group had dinner at the nearby Rex Hotel rooftop.
During the War, the hotel was the site of the U.S. military command's
daily press conferences.
Its rooftop bar was a well known hangout for
military officials and war correspondents, so my brother probably went
there during the Vietnam War.
View of the City Hall at night, near the Opera House
Night view of downtown Ho Chi Minh city
Opera House in the background, seen from the restaurant where we ate dinner
Seen on walk back to our hotel
Early morning traffic in Ho Chi Minh City as we were driving out of town to visit Cu Chi Tunnels
Rules for visiting Cu Chi Tunnels
At Cu Chi Tunnels, an immense network of connecting tunnels located near Saigon. The tunnels were used by Viet Cong Soldiers
as hiding spots during combat and as communication and supply routes, hospitals, food and weapon caches and living quarters.
In the middle of this photo, you can't see it, but there is a trap door on the jungle floor leading down to one of the tunnels.
Entry door revealed
The trap door has been revealed, and I am about to venture down into the tunnel. Note that there
is not much space for a human to squeeze in.
Me disappearing into one of the tunnels
One of our tour members crouching through a tunnel
Couldn't stand up
A bat in one of the tunnels
Meeting area in a tunnel
We had lunch at a home where 2 former Viet Cong soldiers joined us. We asked them how they felt about Americans now.
They said they had no anger or resentment toward Americans.
The U.S. Government at the time of the war made the decisions they didn't agree with.
It was Women's Day, so all the women present were photographed
Our hostesses
Water buffalo herd seen on drive back to Ho Chi Minh City
THE END
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