Mom and I made a return trip to Cambodia in 2002, to check out Angkor Wat during the monsoon season. "While we were in the area" we decided to spend a week in Vietnam too. We visited Hanoi, Saigon, and some areas near Saigon (the Mekong Delta, the tunnels near Cu Chi, and one of several new golf courses in Vietnam). The photos above were all taken during that trip.
The Vietnamese people now welcome American tourists, and speak openly of the need to look forward and not dwell on the past. It has been nearly 30 years since the U.S.-Vietnamese violence stopped, so most Vietnamese people have no memory of the suffering of war.
We retained two excellent guides in the Saigon area, both of whom work through tourist-guide agencies. Nguyen Dinh An, or An ("on"), can be reached at 826-5223, or via email at anvietnam@hcm.vnn.vn. Ly Giang Son, or Sam, speaks fluent English and Chinese; his cell phone is 0913682484, and his email is sam@saigonnct.com.