Our main complaint? Everyone -- and I mean everyone -- does exactly the same route (Hanoi-Hue-Hoi An-Nha Trang-Dalat-Saigon) and travels on the same chartered buses, so it's hard to feel a "sense of discovery." We found it harder to meet the locals than we did in China.

Dispatches

• Prison Train: A frigid hello to Vietnam.
• Ha Long Bay: Three rain-free days!
• Touring Hanoi: Dodging scooters on our way to empty museums.
• Vietnamese Death Scooter: The ruins near Hue, in a rain-storm.
• Sissy Town: GQ Geoff in Hoi An.
• Thanksgiving: Reflections on our trip so far.
• Charlie Don't Drive Real Safe: By motorcyle through the Central Highlands.

Photos
(To come)

Random Thoughts and Tips

• General consensus seems to be that Nha Trang should be skipped. It was pouring rain during our 2 days there, so I can't really pass judgement. It certainly lacks some character that other towns further north have.
• The Cu Chi tunnels are not for claustrophics. You will find yourself crawling in pitch black on hands and knees through dusty narrow holes (swearing and sweating profusely!).
• Our motorcycle trip from Dalat to Saigon via the Central Highlands was interesting, but the last 2 days were long, long, long, and the best scenery was day 1. I would suggest doing a one day from Dalat over the mountains to Lak; spend the night there, then backtrack to Dalat. You will see the best scenery and skip the dusty long haul to Saigon.
• We really enjoyed the Perfume Pagoda outside of Hanoi. The pagoda itself wasn't all that great, but the trip there -- by boat and hike -- was quite interesting.
• If you book a Ha Long Bay trip through a travel cafe it will be cheap ($30 for 3 days including all food, lodging, and transportation if I remember correctly) but you will spend the whole time with a large group, including on your trek across Cat Ba island. We did the group thing, but spent an extra few bucks to stay another day by ourselves for some exploring on our own.
• Vietnamese trains are slow, but they get you in touch with actual Vietnamese locals more than the vacum-packed charter buses from the traveler's cafes. We enjoyed our overnight sleeper from Hanoi to Hue, even though it was hours behind schedule, loud, and slow.
• Those shrimp dumplings in Hoi An are incredible!

Books and Movies

Our Route