Buon Chuoi village near Dalat: We pose with the chief and his wife. Note that one of our troup bought the piece she just finished.
Buon Chuoi village near Dalat: Our tractor driver.
Buon Chuoi village near Dalat: A look at the hills this tribe inhabit. We barely squeezed by this truck!
Buon Chuoi village near Dalat: Linda makes a friend.
Buon Chuoi village near Dalat: He has a secret! He has a large piece of fruit wrapped in his shirt. What a wonderful face!
Buon Chuoi village near Dalat: The Vietnamese government has helped this hill tribe with housing.
Back in Dalat, Judy and I decide to visit a place called the "crazy house." Vaguely Goudi-like, but made deliberately quite odd.
Crazy house in Dalat.
Crazy house in Dalat.
Nice view of Dalat from the Crazy House.
OK, enough of the crazy house. It does have lovely flowers, as does everywhere in Dalat.
Dalat: A photo of our hotel, The Sammy Hotel.
Dalat: These students of Dalat University showed me around the campus a bit.
Dalat: The students of Dalat University who showed us around.
Next morning, early departure from Dalat to Ho Chi Minh City.
Ho Chi Minh City, which I'll just call Saigon along with many of the natives.
Saigon: Our first visit is to the War Remnants Museum. This museum includes the wars referred to as French, Chinese, and American.
Saigon: War Remnants Museum is busy today!
Saigon: The war/peace posters interested me.
Saigon: Many posters outside and some inside as well.
Saigon: Bob Kerrey, Governor and Senator from Nebraska, who admitted in 2001 to ordering an attack that killed women and children rather than Viet Cong. I think it was part of his pennance imposed on himself to help the museum create this display.
Saigon: Museum has a display of was pohotographs and photographers. This famous photo was donated to the museum by AP photographer Nick Ut. It could be said to have had an impact that changed the course of the war.
Saigon: Last set of posters as we leave the museum - feeling very somber.
Saigon: The famous and busy post office in Saigon.
Saigon: Referred to as the Notre Dame of Saigon, the official name is Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of The Immaculate Conception.
Saigon: The post office from the outside. Really beautiful building!
Saigon at night, all alight.
On our way the next morning to the Mekong Delta area. I've noticed that so many street markets look exactly the same in every developing country. If it weren't for the conical straw hat and the Vietnamese print, this could be anywhere in the world.
Saigon to Mekong Delta: Our guide demonstrates the fine art of hammock rest. He then shows how to get out without ending on the floor!
Saigon to Mekong Delta: This coffee is so incredibly good!
Mekong Delta: After a short boat ride, lunch. This guy was called "elephant ear fish." He (minus the scales) went into a rice paper wrap and was delicious!
Mekong Delta: One of my favorite meals in Vietnam!
Mekong Delta: An shows us a fruit called Durian. The fruit smells awful (note An's expression), but the yellow fruit inside is nicely edible.
Mekong Delta: On a walk through a village for a sampan ride, we came across this lotus blossom, and ...
this gorgeous bud, and ...
this interesting seed pod.
Mekong Delta: I looked in on a woman who was making knives (as I recall) and her husband came out with the baby to say hello.
Mekong Delta: The sampan ride was on a narrow waterway closed in by vegetation. I found it interesting, but not everyone liked it.
Mekong Delta: The sampan ride - and we each got a hat for the occasion.
On the ride back to Saigon, we passed another rice field with burials scattered about. I was told that the Buddist priest/ Feng Shui master works with the family to find the ideal spot in terms of energy forces for the deceased. That's all I know.
Siagon: My camera broke yesterday, and I had a local shop repair it in Saigon. As I walked to get the camera, I became curious about where all those scooters go during the day. A lot of them just sit on the sidewalk, but I also found...
this parking area, basically a parking lot for scooters.
Saigon: One night for dinner we went to this restaurant I'll call a huge deli. This is one of many counters, and the variety on the menu was overwhelming.
Saigon: The start of rush hour in Saigon (from the bus window). It's noisy too!
Saigon: Amazing what you see being carried on the scooters. This looks like a whole wedding moving down the street!
From Saigon to Cu Chi Tunnels: On the way to the Cu Chi tunnels north and a little east of Saigon on the last day in Vietnam. I took one last (moving blurry) photo of the rice fields, the buffalo, the ducks, the farmer...
The Cu Chi tunnels are 125 miles of underground tunnels near Saigon started in the French war and used extensively also in the American war. I failed all but the last bullet in #2 (I'm sober), but went into them anyway.
Cu Chi Tunnels: This looks like a termit hill, but it is actually a disguised vent for the tunnels.
Cu Chi Tunnels: A lot of materiels were found on these grounds.
