Will be off to Vietnam on Sept 27 for 19-days

That's one place I haven't been. Do keep us informed CI!

In the Central Highlands, in the city of Da Lat, is a house you have to see.
Its called the "Crazy House"

It looks like an old tree, and it was built to look that way.
I was there in 1998, and saw it then.

And in the town of Can Tho is a house you have to go see.
If memory serves me right its the Duong Family home.
If you like architecture and history at all, it is the place to see.
Somewhere in storage I have some old 35mm photos I took in 98 when I was there.

Of course, anywhere in Hue is worth seeing.

But since you have me on ignore, you most likely wont see these recomendations.
Thats a pity, because I have been to Vietnam and enjoyed myself.
They are hungry for American tourists, I guess they want to show they have put the war behind them and have moved on.
The people of Vietnam that I met genuinely like Americans.

Someone that doesnt have me on ignore point out my answer to CI.
I might be able to give him some more good places to visit, if he is interested.

Bon voyage, Tak! Looking forward to your report and pics.

CI, interesting message from mysteryman..







from Jo, have fun on your trip.

I'll guess I'll add that I have some Vietnamese friends that I met in Los Angeles. They are very different from each other but I knew them by their connections to each other. I've good memories of both people.

I'm supposed to have lunch tomorrow with someone who spent five or six weeks in Vietnam for her honeymoon three years ago. I'll see if she has any recommendations (other than wardrobe-related, which I recall as being at least half of her joy in Vietnam - custom made shoes and suits, made in hours).

Have a great trip, ci!
Vietnam sounds a fascinating place. Please report back, OK?

osso, Thanks for the copy and paste from mm; I've also been to Vietnam before, and know that the Vietnamese are friendly towards Americans. Not only do Americans spend more, but most of the Vietnamese now living never experienced the Vietnam war, because of their short life spans.

Our local guide in Vietnam is a Vietnamese with good communication skills. I've already written to her, and asked her to recommend some good restaurants in each city we visit. She told me that the ones I went to on my first visit were good, but she'll recommend some that are more "local."

I'm sure we'll be seeing most of the important/favorite sites during our tour, but will keep in mind that house in Da Lat.

My cousin's there right now, but most of her messages have been about rain...
Nothing else to say, but have a great trip. Can't wait to see the pics.

Hey, Cicerone. Greatly enjoyed the dinner last night. Have a great trip !

Ceili, It's the rainy season, but it's also the best time to visit Vietnam.

George, Thanks again for hosting us for dinner and great company at the St Francis Yacht Club. We really enjoyed the few hours discussing the various subjects - of which I have very little knowledge, but enjoyed your banter with joe.

One more suggestion.
Take your golf clubs.
There are some fantastic courses in Vietnam, especially around Ho Chi Minh City.

Does this mean that George OB met Joe from Chicago? (I'm a nosy parker.) I know JfC and Cicerone already have met as have Cic and George.

Yes, osso, that's what it means. We all had a great time. joe and I did the Winchester Mystery House this morning, went to J-town for lunch, spent a few hours at the Legion Of Honor, had a snack-dinner at the Cliff House, then went to the Giants-Cubs baseball game at AT&T park. The Giants were ahead by one in the 8th inning, but the Cubs got two runs in the top of the 9th and ended up winning. I know I'm supposed to be a good host, but this is ridiculous!

It was a long two days getting here to Bangkok; over 17 hours in the air. I have an hour before we leave for the airport, so I'm spending a few bahts to send some emails and post here on a2k. We're staying at a hotel in the middle of Chinatown, and already did my short walk for the morning after breakfast.

We're off to Vietnam at 9:30am. See you all later.

We finally arrived in Vietnam yesterday at 1:30PM. After going through customs and collecting our baggage, our local guide was waiting for us in the lobby. Our bus ride into Hanoi took about 45mins , and we checked into our hotel, Star View Hotel on the north side of the city. We were given an hour to freshen up before our director took us on a short walking tour as an intro to their country. The important lesson we learned was how to cross the busy streets with so many motorbikes and vehicles. Just walk slowly without changing directions, and they will all drive around you. A little nerve-wracking for the uninitiated,, but it works very well. Unfortunately, the Vietnamese love to use their horns which can be a bit unsettling. Some of us exchanged our currency into Vietnamese dong; the exchange rate is US$1 to 17,800dong; we are suddenly all millionaires.

We had a intro meeting at 6PM, then was bussed to a restaurant for our welcome dinner at the Banana Flower restaurant. The food was delicious, and my two glass of cab cost less than US$6.

We were given the rest of the evening at leisure, so I went to bed early. It's now 6:10AM on Sept 30, and will go up to breakfast after I put on my shoes. Till later.

Thanks for the updates. Remember some of the food to tell us about - I like vietnamese food a lot.

osso, What we call Vietnamese food in the states hardly resembles the food in Vietnam except for pho. Here's a little tidbit; pho pronounced "pho" means road, but pho pronounced "pha" means noodle.

We're going on bike rikshas this morning to the French quarter and old town. See you'all later.

We were on bike rickshas for about one hour, but got a first hand look at the French quarter and the old town section of Hanoi. Our rickshas managed to zig-zag through some heavy auto and motorbike traffic, and some were close calls! After the ricksha ride, we walked to the Temple of Literature (university) based on the teachings of Confucius. They have been holding scholastic exams here from 1442 to 1778, and many students come here to rub on the cement turtle bases of the tablets where scholars are listed. I will write more about this temple when I get home, because my notes are rather cryptic, and short on detail that I'll need to fill in from some web searches.

We had a nine course lunch at the A Taste of Hanoi restaurant; they were all delicious! We started with pho, followed by spring rolls with pork filling, morningglory salad w/beef, grilled beef with honey, sauteed chicken w/cashew nuts, braised pork w/pepper, sauteed vegetables w/mushrooms, rice, and fresh fruit.

After lunch, we headed to the Ho Chin Min mausoleum, although we were not able to see him in state, because doctors are working on him at the military hospital. We also saw his home on stilts, and three cars he was driven around in,

Our final stop was the spot where John McCain ended up in the lake when his plane was shot down before he was taken to the Hanoi Hilton (prison).

We were back to our hotel by 3PM for a hour and a half rest period before we take off at 4:30 to see the water puppet show before dinner.

Till later.