This is Day 10 of my tour. I arranged a private tour from Ho Chi Minh City to one of the rivers in the Mekong Delta. This area is called Vin Long and is the place where farmers from the region come down the river to sell their crops in the open "floating" marketplace. These pictures start out with me standing on top of a pineapple boat. They carved up one of their pineapples for me to eat as a snack. The picture of the young boy and father are two of the family members on this boat. The mother of the boy and the father's brother were also there.

Day 7 through Day 10 I was in Ho Chi Minh City (formerly called Saigon). I visited many sites and in the late afternoon and evening spent time with my friend, Ed Henry and his wife Trang. Ed has been living in Vietnam and the region for 15 years. He provides consulting services for American companies wanting to do business in Vietnam.
These pictures were taken on the day I rented a motorcycle and drove around Saigon like I lived there. As you can see from one of the pictures that the small motocycles are the primary mode of transportation throughout Vietnam and expecially in Saigon. As the country becomes more affluent I'm sure they will "upgrade" to a car just as the rest of the world has. I found the motorcycles a fun and practical way to get around and it was faster than driving a car around town. The Catheral of Notre Dame with the statue of the Virgin Mary is quite impressive. At the time of the US invasion of Iraq the statue "weeped" constantly for a week. No one has been able to figure out what caused it to do that.

Day 5 and 6 Hoi An, Vietnam (south of Danang where the U.S. once had an airbase in Vietnam near the DMZ) This was the only resort I visited. It was on a small island bordered by a river on the west and the ocean on the east. A very relaxing two days. To make the time interesting I took a cooking class! We took a boat to the market and bought all the ingredients for the recipes then came back to the hotel to prepare the meal. It was a fantastic experience. My favorite recipe: Banana Flower Salad with Shrimp and Pork. If you'd like the recipe just let me know. They gave me a copy of it after the class.

These pictures were taken on the boat ride to the market where I shopped for the ingredients for the recipes.

You'll see the way the people who live off the river (by fishing) work and live and a few pictures I took as we approached the marketplace and while in the market. The last two pictures below were taken along the road on the way back to the resort.

Day 4

Hanoi, the capitol of Vietnam, is as busy as it was crowded. Thousands of motorcycles compete for access on the roads and are the primary mode of transportation for nearly all Hanoi residents (as well as in other cities and villages of Vietnam). The constant honking of horns starts early and continues throughout the day. Although I found it annoying none of the residents seemed to mine. I visited local sites in old town since I only had one day in Hanoi. Here are a few pictures of the shrine for Confucious and his venerated scholars:

The entrance (above) to the restored school and memorial of Confucius.

Confucius on the left and on the right another high scholar in the line of teachers following Confucius.

Ho Chi Minh Memorial below.
Ho Chi Minh Memorial is a large and opposing structure that faces out over a large plaza. It is a gathering place for tour groups and locals alike.

The Presidential Place (below) is where President George Bush and First Lady Laura Bush join Vietnam President Nguyen Minh Triet and Mrs. Tran Thi Kim Chi in the Great Hall of the palace last Nov. He was here for the 2006 APEC Summit. (read about this here: http://www.whitehouse.gov/asia/2006/)

Also on the same grounds is the house that Ho Chi Minh lived in while President of Vietnam. Its a small elevated home on small pond and garden. It is very peaceful and charming along the walk around the pond.

After visiting the Ho Chi Minh's home I walked around the old town market:







This is another temple situated on a small island in the center of a lake that centers in the old market area. It venerates a former prince of the region.

Day 1 and 2 I flew to Bangkok from Springfield through Chicago and Tokyo. I won't bore you with stories of that ordeal except to say I made it past the icy storm that swept the mid-west but lost a day on the trip. That cut my Bangkok stay short by 24 hours. I'll miss it.

I did spend my first day in Bangkok at three landmark destinations as well as some shopping and dining. My first tourist stop was the Grand Palace (current King and Queen) here are a few pictures.

The next stop was Wat Arun Ratchawararam (Arun Royal Temple of King Rama II). And finally on my tour for the first day in Bangkok was the famous 50 meter Buddha. It was impressive!