59-Vietnam

Vietnam is one of the jewels of Southeast Asia with beautiful landscapes & friendly people. Having kicked the Chinese,French,American, & Khmer Armies the Vietnamese people have now embraced capitalism & 'Uncle Ho' is now on every dong dollar waiting to be spent! (just like the King of Thailand)
When I got off the bus in Ho Chi Minh City(Saigon) I was instantly greeted by an elder woman who told me she had a room for me. I followed her through the narrow alleys of District 1, zigzagging until we came to the 'Hen House', her home she shared with her husband & severely retarded son. It was a great room (only 6us) but the neighbors across the alley were so close (& arguing so loud) I decided to move after 2 nights. District 1 is the tourist 'backpacker' district with numerous hotels,shops, & sidewalk cafes where you can drink cheap beer or tea & watch the street scene. My 'tourist' highlight in Saigon was probably visiting the War Remenants Museum which had intense pictures of the Vietnam U.S. War but also a gallery devoted to childrens paintings of peace & war.(check out my photo link..password 'breathe')
I didn't stay long in the big city and soon took a Bus up the coast. My seatmate was incredibly another American from the South(Tennesse) who told me he had already voted for McCain so we had an interesting chat. He got off the bus at Mui Nue but I stayed on a few more hours to Nha Trang. Nha Trang has a great beach with a long park buffering it from a coastal road. It has several fancy hotels but also lots of budget options. I started out in a hotel/homestay(8us)but the first night I got woken up at 1am by the elder mamasan who wanted me to close my patio door(I was on the second floor) I found out later she was worried about folks coming into my room to steal something but I decided to find a more mellow setting. I checked out the local market & met some interesting new friends. My tourist highlight was probably going to the local Pagoda with a huge white Buddha at the top of the hill. Halfway up there was an old lady with a huge copper bell who insisted I 'get in'. Then she gonged me! It was a good vibration so of course I gave her some dong which she requested.
I decided to take a ride in a mini-van further up the coast to Quy Nhon. I stayed at Barbara's Backpackers/Kiwi Cafe next to the ocean. Barbara is a former New Zealander who has lived in Quy Nhon for about 10 years. She says it is the 'real' Vietnam as it really isn't on the tourist trail (she has a point but even more real is the rural countryside where 75% of the population lives) I only stayed 2 nights but I enjoyed Quy Nhon alot. It is more a fishing boat beach but renting a bike & riding around was quite enjoyable. It was also the first town where no one was constantly trying to sell me something which one has to deal with in poorer countries. At Barbara's I met some cool fellow backpackers including a guy from Australia named Jeffery.
Jeffery & I decided to travel by train together to Danang/Hoi An. From Danang we got a cab to Hoi An. Hoi An is a great little town which is well known for it's dozens of silk clothing shops/tailors. Jeffery & I decided to share a room(15us)at a 180yr-old wooden hotel right in the central market. On his 33rd birthday we partied at a bar called Eden & had a blast with 3 young denists from England among other travelers. Jeffery was on a limited time schedule & decided to keep heading north but I decided to hang around Hoi An. I connected with a 'couchsurfing' internet friend named Nhung Lu & we met at her brother's restaurant. Nhung Lu proceeded to be my tour guide over the next several days. We rode bikes to the practically deserted Hoi An beach one day & another we took the local small boat ferry & rode our bikes on one of the islands across the bay. She even invited me to her house & cooked me a vegetarian meal we shared with her parents. Nhung Lu was awesome & everyone should checkout couchsurfing.com when they travel. Also in Hoi An I got a silk vest made & bought two silk sleeping bags that are sure to come in handy.
I could have kept traveling north up into Hanoi,Sapa,& Halong Bay but decided instead to take the overnight sleeping Bus back south. My next stop was the south central mountain town of Da Lat. It is a good thing I had one pair of long pants & one long-sleeved shirt as Da Lat gets quite chilly at night. The highlight of my two night stay was eating most of my meals at the Peace Cafe with the very talkative & friendly owner Tu Anh. Da Lat was a little too chilly for me so I continued back south to Saigon & eventually took the Bus back to Cambodia where I am staying now in the mellow rivertown of Kampot(& soon back to Thailand where my flight leaves Bangkok Dec 22)
One fellow backpacker says Vietnam has only a 5% tourist return rate but I wonder about that statistic. It's a beautiful land with friendly people. I'd like to go back one day & bike up the incredible coastline. Any takers? SMILES