2006 VIETNAM a trip revisited by heart 17 years later

After Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, Indonesia, China, Vietnam was missing (and Malaysia and the Philippines which will arrive in 2010-11). It was a pleasant solo trip from Hanoi to Saigon by public transport, bus and only one internal flight from Hanoi to Hue but that can be avoided because Vietnam is easy to visit, they are very well organised, they speak English and there are transport that sell season tickets for bus trips that can be made between the two capitals, getting off and on when you want and also staying overnight in affiliated hotels close to the stations. Hanoi the capital is really beautiful, it has a historic center which is a gem with narrow streets full of shops, restaurants and hotels, a romantic island near a central lake and thousands of scooters which you have to pay attention to moving slowly because they are the drivers who avoid pedestrians unless they run. I went to see a beautiful puppet show in which the artists are underwater and move the protagonists without being seen and then appear by surfacing at the end of the show. I bought a set of backpacks from Northface, an American brand that is produced in Vietnam. I visited the mausoleum of Ho Chi Minh, the old president who was a hero of the 70's war against the USA. I did a few excursions to temples, rivers, but the most fantastic was the one to the north in the beautiful Halong Bay which looks like a lake with individual rocks outcropping in an extraordinary panorama. It was a couple of days' journey on a comfortable barge with bottom berths and an unobstructed, panoramic roof deck. The excursion also included the visit of some caves illuminated with colored lamps and the island of Bac Ha. A few days later I took the train to Sapa a mountain resort near the border with China that you visit for trekking among the rice fields and to see the Sunday market frequented by the Hmong tribe with their women flowers, because they have costumes very colorful. I think I shot a few hundred photos and remembered the Chichicastenango market in Mexican Chapas. I took another excursion south of Hanoi along a scenic river and to a temple filled with bonsai plants and then took a domestic flight to Hue, the old capital of central Vietnam. Here I was able to visit the Citadel, the royal palace surrounded by walls unfortunately semi-destroyed by American bombing. I also visited Marble Mountain a hill with beautiful temples, a sacred cave with Buddhas, where they excavate marble and produce beautiful statues, the sandy beach called China, and the royal palace of the last vicious and Japanese-brained Vietnamese king. Then Hoi An a beautiful historic town very important as a Portuguese colony with beautiful palaces of rich merchants and suggestive temples, an old bridge and many tailors who sew clothes for you, letting you choose silk or cotton fabrics and models also chosen from magazines of Italian stylists. I had a complete Armani suit prepared, one in light blue silk, another pair of trousers and two other silk shirts for about 150 dollars, a perfect bargain, dresses that I wear during the weddings I'm invited to and I always make a great figure. Then Nha Trang where I would gladly go to live since it has a beautiful arched beach and in front of various islands that I visited during a boat trip which was very fun because they made us drink and dance as well as eat very well. One island had a zoo, another a good beach. and then Da Nang of which I remember an inland bay where many boats and colorful boats had taken refuge to escape the recent hurricane. From the city I remember a visit to an archaeological museum full of statues of any sort. Finally the archaeological site of My Son with red brick buildings, the little left after the usual destructive bombing by the Americans. Then Mui Ne a beautiful sand beach where there are rounded boats of the fishermen and inside small hotels surrounded by gardens. I then arrived to the southern capital fo Saigon now Ho Chi Minh city, large metropoli with modern buildings, elegant shops and boutiques, shopping centers. The last visit was to the Mekong delta, at the south end and close to the border with Cambodia and its capital Phnom Penh. It was an excursion partly by boat, partly in small boats that entered the canals to visit the farms and the artisan workshops. We saw music and dance performances in the restaurants, many parks with beautiful flowers and many large boats near the very wide Mekong km and km. Vietnam, a country that I recommend to everyone for the many beautiful things it offers, among other things, excellent cuisine which in my opinion is second only to Thai and Chinese

Then it was the turn of a seaside resort: Mui Ne with a beautiful beach with palm trees and fishermen who use circular boats, to be seen when they return from fishing and the women arrive to divide the fish caught. I visited near Mui Ne a semi-desert landscape with yellow and orange pinnacles. Then I took the bus towards the southern metropolis Saigon or Ho Chi Minh City a beautiful and modern city with skyscrapers, some old buildings and being the pre-Christmas period I was able to see all the shops and malls decorated with Christmas trees, Babbi Christmas much richer and more spectacular than what you see in our city centers and think they are Buddhists and not Catholics!