A Return to Vietnam and Its Hill Country
Our first trip to Vietnam was over the Millenium and included Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City - but it will always be Saigon to me), the Mekong Delta, Nha Trang, Danang, Hue, Hanoi and Vietnam's first capital, Hoa Lu. ex-Marine (husband, Steve) and I couldn't get over the friendliness and lack of animosity towards Americans. Of course, America is not the only country responsible for dark periods in Vietnam. The Chinese conquered parts of the region in 111 BC and ruled for over 1,000 years. The French colonized the country in 1887 and controlled the emperors. And then came the Vietnam War from 1959 to 1975 with North fighting South over reunification. Over 1,400,000 Vietnamese died and close to 2,000,000 wounded which made this tolerance of Americans and Westerners even more amazing.
It took a trip to Vietnam to really personalize and make all those televisions images from the 1960's meaningful. We visited the "Hanoi Hilton" where Senator John McCain, spent five and a half years. Drove by Tan Son Nhut, and vividly remembered watching Bob Hope's annual Christmas show and hearing him say...welcome to Tan Son Nhut Air Force Base... We crawled down into the very narrow, claustrophobic Cu Chi tunnels that ran for over 120 miles underground at one time, watched a propaganda film and saw horrific booby traps. The tunnels were used by NLF guerrillas as hiding spots during combat, and served as communication and supply routes, and hospitals. The Cu Chi tunnels, more than anything else made us understand the futility of fighting the Vietnamese. And ex-Marine and I only went down into the foreigner tunnel, also known as the "fat person" tunnel, not the the deeper layers of tunnels. A very sad, enlightening experience.
Two years later, we contacted our "go-to" person at the time and asked where else she suggested we visit in Vietnam. Julie responded with multiple suggestions and we finally decided on a return to Saigon and Hanoi, a little ethnic sightseeing around the Dalat area, and day hiking to remote villages in the Sapa (Sa Pa) hill tribe area in North Vietnam. Vietnam's north has always been a hotbed of political intrique and minorities. The Hmong fought for the U.S. in what the Vietnamese call the "American War" and Laotians call the "Secret War." At this time, permits were needed and the Police know visitor's whereabouts at all times. Julie used to run Worldwide Escapes, a California company that tailored trips for expats and people like us who were always looking for something new and different. We were very sad when Julie decided to join the family business, Dancing Coyote Wines, and closed down Worldwide Escapes. Anyone could depend on Julie to arrange unique trips for independent travel. Great hotels whenever possible, private guides and drivers, and a chance to delve into some minority areas. Looking forward to revisiting Saigon and Hanoi, we started making detailed plans.
