TOUR OF VIETNAM

• Saigon 20-22 October  Metropole Hotel, Post Office, Reunification Palace, Thien Hau Pagoda, War Museum (3 pages)

  Mekong Delta 22-24 October  Vinh Long, sampans on canal to ceramic and brick factory, sweets factory, fruit nursery, bonsai garden, and homestay with Mr. Ba Linh and family, Cu Chi Tunnels, Cao Dai Great Temple (5 pages)

  Nha Trang 25-27 October  Cruise to Tri Nguyen Aquarium, Tam Island fishing village, the Green Hotel (2 pages)

  Hoi An Pt 1, 27-28 October   Danang, China Beach, Van Loi Hotel, World Heritage town of Hoi An, markets, Japanese Covered Bridge, Quan Cong Chinese Temple and 200 year old house 

• My Son and Hoi An Pt.2, 29 October  World Heritage Cham Kingdom ruins from 4th Century. Of 68 structures found, 25 have survived the American (Vietnam) War. Back to Hoi An.

  Hue  30 - 31 October  Marble Mountains and Cham Museum, Danang.  Lunch in the rain at Lang Co. Bypassing the Cloudy Pass, we reach Hue. Festival Hotel. Imperial Citadel and tomb of Tu Duc, the fourth Emperor in the rain. It begins to flood. A village of incense makers. Hue from the air.

• PLAN 1 November.  I leave the tour group and go to visit my foster  PLAN  family norht of Hanoi.  PLAN organizes a driver and interpreter and I have  a marvelous lunch with the Nguyen family, then  visit other PLAN  projects in the area.

  SAPA 1  2 November  Reached by bus after overnight train, we stay at the Royal View Hotel, in Sapa.  A walk through the town and market assailed by hawkers, then a hike down to the falls of Cat Cat, assiled by hawkers.  The motorbike ride is a highlight!

• SAPA 2  3 November  A day never to be forgotten.  A 5 1/2 hour trek in the rain and muddy hills held up by two devoted handmaidens. Brief respite for morning tea and lunch at a guest house. Everyone covered by mud by the end. The worst day of the tour.  I didn't make dinner.

• Bac Ha  4 November  Horrendous mountain drive to village markets of the Flower Hmong, Phu La and Dao Tuyen people.  Bus back to Lao Cai after a stop at the China border.  Then the overnight train back to Hanoi.

• Ha Long Bay 6-7 November  Our trip ended with a lovely overnight stay on a luxury junk in beautiful Ha Long Bay. So happy we rallied from the bug which had hit us on our last night in Hanoi. Enjoy! (4 pages)

  
  HANOI 2  5 November and 7-8 November. Hanoi lake with sacred turtle temple and bridge, the Temple of Literature and Confucius Temple, the Old Quarter of ""36 product streets," Water Puppets, cyclo ride, restaurant where we got sick!, and farewell to Trish at the Army Hotel.

• These photos are from a 3 week Wendy Wu Highlights tour of Vietnam with tour guide, Diem, and an extraordinarily cohesive group of 17 Aussies*.  A never to be repeated adventure!  

• *Group: Dick and Peg, Sheila and Chris, Robert and Min, Annette and Lyn, Denise and Ross, Jusith, Bill and Kaye, Billie and Bob and Trish and Georgia

  
  

  G Phillips, photographer