Good Morning, Vietnam!

Finally got the pics from my Vietnam trip from the rest of my travel pals! I've been back for a week already, and I'm still dreaming of Saigon! Other than the polluted air, blaring car horns and the ubiquity of tourists, I think Vietnam is pretty representative of the Indochinese charm that has attracted so many people to go to the region.

Many mornings when I woke up and stepped out onto the streets, I had this urge to just wanna shout out loud, "Good morning, Vietnam!"

I will always remember the sincerity and dedication of the locals, and how frugal their lives can be especially in a terrible economy in times like this. But somehow, the smiles on their faces remain. Who says poor people can't be happy?

Here're some pics taken on the trip, courtesy of two of my travel pals - Justin and Chubs. And that reminds me I have to send my camera for repair soon :S

Saigon/Cuchi

Above: Benh Thanh Market - a good aunties' hangout for haggling over cheap grocery prices

Above: Independent Palace which got bombarded and attacked by North Vietnamese. The tanks banged down the palace gates and the President was assassinated!



Above: Saigon street scenes


Above: Cao Dai Temple - home to a unique religion that is a composite of influences from 4 religions - Islam (White), Catholic (Blue), Taoism (Red) and Buddhism (Yellow). They worship the Goat's Eye which symbolizes the Sun and the Heart.





Above: Cuchi tunnels - an underground network of human-dug tunnels beside Saigon River stretching 260km long. The area used to be littered with trenches, booby traps, dead American bodies, landmines and bombshells. I attempted crawling (or waddling or squeezing or wadever) through the 90m tunnel section which was a mere 50-60cm high. My back almost died when I emerged from the end of the section. Must salute the VietCong guerrillas really.

Nha Trang

Above: Some pics taken on our way to Nha Trang - a whopping 11hr bus ride! And then we went cycling around Nha Trang. The coastal road (Tran Phu) made it easy to navigate our way around the little seaside town. We went to some places like the Chong Rocks and Po Nagar Indian Temple before ending the day at the beach washing our tired feet in the waters.

Dalat/On the way back to Saigon

Above: Dalat's supposed to be the Cameron Highlands of Vietnam The weather was nice and fair although it gets quite chilly at night. A good place with a romantic backdrop for couples to hang out at some scenic lakes and flower gardens. We witnessed a workers' protest on our way back to Saigon!

And how can we forget...dining in Vietnam!

Above: We ate all sorts of food from Vietnamese Spring Rolls (Cha Gio), Pho Noodles, Pancakes (Banh Xeo), Chap Chai Peng (economical mixed rice), Steamboat (Lau), to Thai Cuisine, Fish n Chips, Italian and dunno what else. The food weren't that cheap actually. I was hoping for a wider variety of Viet food :S
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