Floating Kitty, Halong Bay

Floating Village, Halong Bay

Floating Village of Halong Bay

Boats at Halong Bay, Viet Nam

Incense Sticks Drying

Which Ones Are the Tourists?

Sand as a Liveihood

Many people in Viet Nam survive by gathering sand from the Mekong to sell for construction.

Boat Guard

New Zealand's Finest

The stars were aligned when I signed up for this Viet Nam trip. The 12 other people were great - smart-funny-interesting and game for any hike or adventure. I was lucky.

Monks in Training

One lock of hair is kept until the novice decides whether or not he wants to become a monk.

Tranquility

Work on the Mekong

Plowing the Rice Field

Mountain View north of Da Nang

Mekong Ferry

Peeking at the Foreigner

Vietnamese and Proud

This boat on the Mekong River flies multiple flags of its country.

China Beach, Viet Nam

The 12 day tour of Viet Nam was one of the best arranged and best deals I've experienced. A group of 13 of us travelled the length of Viet Nam. Our guide was excellent and the hotels all were 4 or 5 star. I don't know how Gate 1 does it for so little money. Three of us on the trip were repeat customers with positive experiences in other countries with them.

Hoi Ann, Viet Nam Open Air Market

Ancient Bridge, Hoi Ann, Viet Nam

See Hoi Ann now if you have the chance. This quaint beautiful city is quickly being dwarfed by the massive hotels and casinos being built just down the road.

Ho Chi Minh, Viet Nam

Inside of post office, built by French.

Cowboys in Laos

Yesterday I left Vientienne Laos to fly to Luang Prabang for the final part of a not so exciting tour of Laos. Half way into the 45 minute trip I looked out the window to see the view had changed to a forest of lush green mountains with craggy peaks. A few minutes later the pilot announced "prepare to land." I could see nowhere to land until we banked almost 45 degrees to squeeze through some mountains into a spectacular valley fed by the Mekong River. Still no place to land, but we kept descending until I saw the smallest runway in history.
In flight school the one thing that you practice endlessly is the short field landing, in case you have to make an emergency landing somewhere. The Lao Airways pilot must have paid attention during these lessons because he planted the plane.
Waiting for my luggage in the tiny airport, I was grinning like a fool when the 2 pilots walked past me. They gave me the "what's wrong with you, Lady ?"look. I couldn't stop grinning. They had just planted 300 people on a postage stamp and were walking away like it was nothing.
Later I was talking about the landing with my new guide. He said that if it is cloudy or if it is the rainy season, none of the other airlines will fly into Luang Prabang. Laos Airlines flies here no matter what.
The wild west is still alive in the far east!

Viet Nam Contrast

New Face of Saigon

Saigon is now known as Ho Chi Minh city and along with the new name, it has a very new look. The downtown looks like any major city in the world. Even though the country is over 80 % Buddhist and only %10 Catholic, there were more Christmas decorations and lights throughout the city than I have seen in American cities. The same thing was true of New Years Eve celebrations. It was a beautiful celebration complete with flower shows, lights and parties, even though it was a western celebration. Chinese New Year isn't until Feb 14, but the western New Year was a big event.

New Years Day in Halong Bay, Viet Nam

The wooden dragon prow of our boat points the way through the thousands of limestone pillars and mists of Halong Bay. This is the northern most point of our trip and today we head to our last stop - Hanoi.