I wish I had more time really, but work's piling up back home and It'll be irresponsible for me if I keep on extending my journey. So I had to put a deadline to this trip and have alloted days to my remaining itinerary.
Nevertheless, I still had a grand time in Vietnam. After spending the night in Hanoi, I then went to the ancient cities of Hue and Hoi An. Hue was an interesting stop because they had the oldest temples in Vietnam there. I got myself an open bus ticket for $20 and that gave me six tops to my disposal, at my own pace, at my own time.
Hoi An was magical. Probably the most scenic town that I've ever been, second only to Vigan. I almost used up all of my camera's memory because I was just snapping shots most of the time. It's also a mecca for shoppers. If I wasn't bringing a sack-of-rice-like bag back home I'd be tempted to get some suits and stuff, not that I've any used for it. It's really was just a steal, $40 for a complete three piece suit.
Oh, it was so hot in the middle of the week. I stayed 2 days in Nha Thrang to spend some time in the beach. Nothing grand, but the locals were breeming with life. Saigon was my last stop in Vietnam, I just had to stay there for awhile because there were some stuff to do.
I met two travelers whe were alse travelling on their own too - Harry from U.K. and Octavio from Mexico. We checked out the Cu Chi tunnels and it was the highlight in my Saigon travel. It was just so great to be entering the tunnels. It was not just a learning thing for me but it was very experiencial. I couldn't imagine how the Vietcongs were able to manage and to have inhabited the small tunnels. It was just so claustrophobic.
We have a very good guide who gamely answered all our questions. I was so careful not to be too political because I know that the American-Vietnam war is still a very sensitive subject in Vietnam, but our guide was dead pan about it. He even told a joke or two about how the South was won by the communist north (damn too politically incorrect that I don't think I have the guts to mention it here).
It was a different type of trip in Saigon and I'm glad that I went there. I was about to scratch it off in my itinerary but I've included it in the last minute. It was just really overwhelming. It made me feel good to know how resilient humans are in the face of adversity. Painful it is to remember, this part of Vietnamese history only makes their culture more colorful.
