About.com Southeast Asia Travel

Cu Chi Tunnels, Vietnam - Hype and Reality.

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 01:11:40 +0000

Image from "Cu Chi Guerrillas" � Cu Chi Tunnel, 1967.

One of the most interesting things they show you when you visit the Cu Chi Tunnels exhibit in Vietnam - provided you can muster a sufficient sense of irony - is the kitschy propaganda video "Cu Chi Guerrillas" (shot in 1967, in flickery black and white), depicting Cu Chi's valiant struggle against the invaders.

It alternates between fun (awww, cute teenage guerrillas!) and grisly (momentary shots of dead American servicemen... thankfully it's in black and white). But overall, it's enlightening - a look at how the Vietnamese establishment is shaping the Vietnam War into its own revolutionary moment in history.

I asked an American Vietnam War veteran about it, and he wasn't angry or hurt; he just shrugged his shoulders and said, "They won... the winners get to rewrite history."

Click "read more" to see three excerpts from the video. Or click through to our article on Cu Chi Tunnels to see the reality behind the hype.

Cu Chi Tunnels, Vietnam - Hype and Reality. originally appeared on About.com Southeast Asia Travel on Saturday, November 21st, 2009 at 01:11:40.

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In Vietnam, I'm On a Boat.

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:50:43 +0000

Apropos of nothing - assorted Vietnam boat pictures to the tune of The Lonely Island and T-Pain. If you don't get my drift, the music video's at the end.

Tourist Boat at Halong Bay, Vietnam.

I'm on a boat I'm on a boat Everybody look at me 'cause I'm sailing on a boat I'm on a boat (I'm on a boat) I'm on a boat Take a good hard look at the motherf---ing boat

In Vietnam, I'm On a Boat. originally appeared on About.com Southeast Asia Travel on Friday, November 20th, 2009 at 08:50:43.

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Kim Bong Woodcarving Village, Vietnam.

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 01:15:29 +0000

Just 30 minutes' boat ride from Hoi An (or an hour's bus ride and an hour's boat ride from My Son - depending on where you're coming from in Vietnam) lies this riverside craft village of Kim Bong.

We make it here on the afternoon following our rather disappointing trip to My Son. I'm sorry to say that the trip has made me a bit cynical; I notice that every tour I'm on comes with pit stops designed specifically to separate me from my dollars. The swag here is awesomely well-crafted, sure, but experience has made me cautious.

Kim Bong Woodcarving Village, Vietnam. originally appeared on About.com Southeast Asia Travel on Friday, November 20th, 2009 at 01:15:29.

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Worship at the My Son "Holy Land", Vietnam.

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 02:12:26 +0000

The last tour in my Hoi An/Vietnam itinerary: a jaunt to the My Son "Holy Land", a sacred city built by the Hindu Champa Kingdom which used to rule the area until the 18th century.

There are good reasons for and against taking the tour.

Reason for: My Son (pronounced Mee SON) is a really good example of Hindu architecture left over from pre-colonial times. You do not simply pass up an opportunity to explore a UNESCO Heritage Site when it's within your reach.

For a millennium, this site was a special religious pilgrimage site for Cham royalty. At its height, over seventy temples stood in My Son, bearing steles inscribed in Sanskrit and Cham.

Worship at the My Son "Holy Land", Vietnam. originally appeared on About.com Southeast Asia Travel on Wednesday, November 18th, 2009 at 02:12:26.

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Window-Shopping in Hoi An, Vietnam.

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 06:49:05 +0000

Hoi An used to be a bustling center of trade in Central Vietnam - until the river silted up, preventing big ships from docking there. Business shifted to nearby Danang, and the town slid into irrelevance - which ironically saved Hoi An from the worst excesses of the last two wars.

Business has picked up since Vietnam discovered fatter pickings from the tourism trade; visitors are willing to pony over mucho dinero for Hoi An's quaint charms.

The old town is a smaller enclave in the general Hoi An metropolis - lodgings are outside the old town, centered along Hai Ba Trung and Ba Trieu streets, not too far from the old town's borders. I check into Thanh Xuan (Long Life) Hotel (compare prices), a ten-minute walk to the old town, less if you rent one of the hotel's bicycles (cheap at $1 per day).

Window-Shopping in Hoi An, Vietnam. originally appeared on About.com Southeast Asia Travel on Friday, November 13th, 2009 at 06:49:05.

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Tomb-Hopping in Hue, Vietnam.

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 03:11:33 +0000

I thought the weather in Hue, Vietnam was supposed to be bad. I thought the gray clouds blanketing the former Imperial city on my first day in town were par for the course. So why were we now exploring Hue's network of imperial tombs on a cloudless, sunny day, with accompanying ghastly heat?

Vietnam's Nguyen Emperors were buried in style, but didn't like to be buried close to civilization. Visiting the Emperors' tombs in Hue requires transportation - you can hire a xe om (literally "hug the driver", i.e. you ride behind a motorcycle driver), or your hotel can arrange a ride for you, or you can join one of the tours that regularly make the rounds of the tombs. Either way, you're in for a treat. (If the notoriously bad weather doesn't get you first. Or in my case, sunstroke.)

You think our generation keeps death at arms' length, check out the Nguyens of Vietnam - no expense was spared to create the illusion of continuing life and glory. But appearances can be deceiving. The tombs we visited were a glaring contrast to the Emperors' lives of pathos and regret.

Tomb-Hopping in Hue, Vietnam. originally appeared on About.com Southeast Asia Travel on Thursday, November 12th, 2009 at 03:11:33.

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The Hue Citadel, and the Ngo Mon Gate.

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 08:07:10 +0000

It's one of the ironies of Vietnamese history, that it took the last dynasty of Vietnam to create such a grandiose living complex for itself... only to see it mostly obliterated by World War II and the Vietnam War.

The Hue Citadel is a huge compound covering 520 hectares of prime space on the north bank of the Perfume River in Hue. Within its thick stone walls, Vietnam's modern history unfolded at an ever-accelerating clip.

The Hue Citadel, and the Ngo Mon Gate. originally appeared on About.com Southeast Asia Travel on Wednesday, November 11th, 2009 at 08:07:10.

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Eating (and Drinking) like the Vietnamese.

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:04:14 +0000

Here's a quick rundown of the food you can expect to eat when you're jaunting around in Vietnam.

First of all, if you can eat nothing but potatoes and bread, you're out of luck. Sure, the Vietnamese do really great bread (thanks to their "tutelage" under their former French masters) but the country is really big on noodles and rice. And fresh herbs, like (almost) nowhere else in the region. Which is good, except when there's a cholera epidemic on, but that's another story.

Eating (and Drinking) like the Vietnamese. originally appeared on About.com Southeast Asia Travel on Tuesday, November 10th, 2009 at 15:04:14.

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The Train, Boss, the Train!

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 20:04:54 +0000

To get to Hue from Hanoi, I decided to try something different: the train.

Vietnam is blessed with a rail system that spans the length of the country, traveling from Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) in the south to the border with China in the north. The tourist destinations of Sapa in the northwest and Ha Long Bay in the northeast are accessible by rail, as are the cities of Hue, Hoi An, and Da Nang in central Vietnam.

Private company Livitrans operates a separate car attached to certain train lines. Livitrans tickets are 50% more expensive than comparable first-class berths on the regular line, but offer more comfort.

The Train, Boss, the Train! originally appeared on About.com Southeast Asia Travel on Monday, November 9th, 2009 at 20:04:54.

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Adrift on Halong Bay.

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 19:32:18 +0000

Words are not sufficient. More images after the jump.

Adrift on Halong Bay. originally appeared on About.com Southeast Asia Travel on Sunday, November 8th, 2009 at 19:32:18.

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