Saigon has only two seasons, hot and .... hot. Just kidding, it has the rainy season and the dry season, both of which are hot and humid. Once we reached Saigon we were welcomed by our taxi driver driving like a madman and finally crashing into the curb of our hotel, hehehe. Well well well ... if Hanoi had a lot of traffic, Saigon has about 4x as much, although the streets are wider so it doesn't feel as congested. I have to say that it's really clean here and Saigon definitely has more money compared to the rest of the country. Unlike the more traditional and conservative North, Saigon is more progressive and has long had a westernized economy.... It feels almost freely capitalistic and entrepreneurial, in contrast to the rest of the country where you may feel more of a Big Brother presence. They play happy hardcore and Asian techno here until the wee hours of the morning ... and then the traffic and noise starts again at 5am .... hehehe .... for those who are looking for easy traveling in VN and don't want too much of culture shock, you would probably enjoy Saigon because it's almost like any other metropolitan city in the US ... if I had to say, I would describe it as being a Vietnamese Los Angeles... crowded, busy, and just a tad aggressive...

Well after staying in Saigon for a day and touring the city, we decided to escape the madness by going to Dalat, a town up in the mountains which the French discovered. The specialties here are artichoke, coffee, and strawberries, which the French brought over. Dalat has long been hyped up as a honeymoon spot, and you can really see why!!! everything has a romantic name, like the Lake of Sighs – Hồ Than Thở and the Valley of Love – Thung Lũng Tình Yêu. Of all the cities we visited, Dalat was probably my favorite, as the surroundings are really peaceful and relaxing especially after the craziness of Saigon, although it's a small town so you might find yourself bored here after awhile....

We stayed in Dalat for only three days, then ventured north to Nha Trang, which we had to skip earlier due to heavy storms. We were really lucky this time that the weather was good when we arrived so that we were able to take a boat ride to the surrounding islands. It then rained for the rest of the week!!! Nha Trang has a resort feel and is being hyped up as a vacation place since it's a pretty coastal city along the beach. There is also an island that's been turned into an amusement park called VinPearl, and you get there from the mainland by taking a ski lift. Anyway, the boat trip we took was really fun, because you get the opportunity to go snorkeling and pass by several islands. For the rest of the week I hung out with a new friend I met there who took me out to some of the restaurants and karaokeing... well as I soon found out, this friendship didn't come without a price, as she began asking me to buy some land in VN and to introduce her to my unmarried brother... hehehe I also had lunch with her family, who works for the government, one day.... now this was an interesting experience because they kept asking me how my family came over the US and what year we came... I didn't think it was wise to say that we were political refugees who had fled the country in the 80's because doing so would imply that we were "traitors" who disliked the communist government... so I made up another story instead.

After a week in Nha Trang, we headed back to Saigon since that's where we would be flying back home from. like many other people who visit Saigon, we went to the Cu Chi tunnels which are these really narrow underground tunnels that the viet cong used during the Vietnam war.... I mean, they are only about 80cm (30 inches) in diameter!!! since they were also really deep underground they also had elaborate ventilation systems, and you can sometimes see holes in the ground which were "breathing holes." The tunnels that tourists can go through have been doubled in width, and although we crawled through a section of only 10m (30 feet) it was already hot and suffocating ... so it's crazy to imagine what life in these tunnels must've been like. On the way to Cu Chi, we also got to see a Cao Dai temple and learn about the religion, which is unique in that it exists only in Vietnam and encompasses Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism.

Our other big tour in southern Vietnam was through the Mekong Delta, a region which supplies the south with abundant rice, fish, and fruits and therefore makes the south's economy better than other parts of the country. Some highlights from this trip were visiting factories where rice paper and coconut candy are made (and they do everything by hand, from cooking, to wrapping the finished product, to sealing the bags!!) and seeing the floating markets of Can Tho province... This was like a supermarket on the ocean where people sell fresh produce directly from their boats, amazing, descriptions really do no justice hehe...

Finally, our last significant journey was to Vung Tau, a city along the coast. Not many tourists come here, so prices are really expensive since the businesses have a monopoly... there's not much to see here but the significance of this city is that it was the place where our family left the country. Much to my surprise, it looked like a clean and newly-built city, and the beach was beautiful! I had expected something like a fishing village, but the town reminded me more of cities along the Florida coast...

I've also put my pictures on the internet for anyone interested, will email the links soon :)

Au revoir,

PS: My Photos Album:

Hanoi: http://s266.photobucket.com/albums/ii249/caren_nguyen/Ha%20Noi/?start=all
Ha Long Bay: http://s266.photobucket.com/albums/ii249/caren_nguyen/Ha%20Long%20Bay/?start=all
Sapa: http://s266.photobucket.com/albums/ii249/caren_nguyen/Sa%20Pa/?start=all
Hoa Lu: http://s266.photobucket.com/albums/ii249/caren_nguyen/Hoa%20Lu/?start=all
Tam Coc: http://s266.photobucket.com/albums/ii249/caren_nguyen/Tam%20Coc/?start=all
Hue: http://s266.photobucket.com/albums/ii249/caren_nguyen/Hue/?start=all
Da Nang: http://s266.photobucket.com/albums/ii249/caren_nguyen/Da%20Nang/
Saigon: http://s266.photobucket.com/albums/ii249/caren_nguyen/Sai%20Gon/?start=all
Dalat: http://s266.photobucket.com/albums/ii249/caren_nguyen/Da%20Lat/?start=all
Nha Trang: http://s266.photobucket.com/albums/ii249/caren_nguyen/Nha%20Trang/?start=all
Mekong Delta: http://s266.photobucket.com/albums/ii249/caren_nguyen/Mekong%20Delta/?start=all
Can Tho: http://s266.photobucket.com/albums/ii249/caren_nguyen/Can%20Tho/?start=all
Vung Tau: http://s266.photobucket.com/albums/ii249/caren_nguyen/Vung%20Tau/?start=all