Central Vietnam: The DMZ, tailor made clothing and being TV stars!
By Mike and Linda

Location: Central Vietnam
Date: August 25, 2000

Hello all and Greetings from Nha Trang, We have been here for 4 days now, drying out from some heavy typhoon rains up north (Hoi An). We didn't realize Vietnam had such spectacular tropical beach settings. The Central Vietnam coastline is lined with coconut palm trees and has miles and miles of turquoise water.

After 2 days exploring the caves and karst landscapes of beautiful Ninh Binh we took a 15 hour night bus to Hue. Unfortunately Mike arrived very ill and after a doctor's examination he was diagnosed with a severe case of food poisoning. Other than a very high temp (40 degrees C, 104 F) and some crazy hallucinations (though those could be from the anti-malaria medication, Larium) he was fully recovered the next day. The blood test for Malaria came back negative.

Before the American war Hue was a cultural center of beautiful building and a surrounding Citadel. It was the seat of 200 years of the Nguyen dynasty rulers (we visited several of the Emperor's lavish tombs). Unfortunately, Hue was the site of the bloodiest battles of the Tet Offensive of 1968. The city was totally destroyed when the Americans finally "recaptured" it from the North Vietnamese after 24 days of Communist control.

We took a day long tour of the former Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), guided by a man who was 7 years old when the war began and had some terrifying stories about growing up in this area during the 9 years of US bombardment. Formed in 1954 (at the Geneva conference) the Ben Hai River served as the demarcation line between the north and south. Today, not much remains of the former war sites. We viewed the battlegrounds at Khe San Combat Base, the "rockpile", Con Thien Firebase, Camp Carroll and the incredible Vinh Moc Tunnels. After 18 months of work, 200 plus villagers lived underground during 4 years of the war. Seventeen children were born in the 2.8 beachside, kilometers of tunnels and families lived in 4' X 10' closet like caves. Craziness. But, today quite a tourist attraction.

A definite stop on the tourist trail is the beautiful city of Hoi An. The city itself is a museum, containing preserved Chinese and Vietnamese style buildings and houses. Luckily, the town was spared during the American war. Another plus is the food, by far the best cuisine we've tried in Vietnam, and possibly SE Asia. Besides exploring the town and stuffing our faces, we had some beautiful clothes tailored for us. There are over 100 tailors in Hoi An who can make anything you desire: suits, dresses, bathing suits, all at incredibly low prices. Lets just say we spent a good chunk of change here, preparing for our reentry into the work world.

We've been enjoying the sand and sea for the last 4 days in Nha Trang. Relaxing has been easy. We experienced an island tour on Mama Hanh's famous party boat and have crashed in lounge chairs in the shade of large palm thatched umbrellas. Not much else to do, other than wave off the cyclo drivers and numerous used book vendors. Capitalism is all over Vietnam!

Yesterday we starred in our first and probably last Vietnamese TV commercial. We enjoyed delicious cans of Lipovitan energy drink while walking and talking along the beach. The filming and directing were pure amateur and we were happy to assist in their project. Too classic.

Tomorrow we head south to another small beach and then into Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City). Look forward to our final 4 weeks of travel and will talk to you all soon.

Love,

Linda and Mike

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