Vietnam

Vietnam

Most Americans cringe when they hear “Vietnam”. What conjures up in the American mind, of course, is the Vietnam War (the Vietnamese call it “The American War”) from about 1965-1975. It’s not a pretty memory for many, many reasons. But present day Vietnam is a world apart from the 1960s and 70s. Though the country is still overall very poor, it has come a long way and has a developing economy and middle class. Hanoi has 4,000,000 people and must have at least 1,000,000 motorcycles – literally, not figuratively. What amazed me the most was how much young Vietnamese people like Americans and American culture – they are sucking it all up. People over 50, though, feel very differently because the US (in their minds) devastated their country.

Ha Long Bay, a three hour drive north of Hanoi, is a beautiful place reminiscent of Guilin, China with many limestone peaks sticking out of the water. An overnight cruise around the bay here is well worth the time. At the northern border with China is a small town called Sapa. To get a sense of rural Vietnam, in a beautiful mountain setting, I would recommend coming here. While Vietnam is not high on my travel list, when coupled with time in Thailand and Cambodia, it makes for an interesting part of the world to visit.