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After having celebrated New Year in Chiang Mai, we crossed the Mekong river into Laos at the Chiang Khong/Houei Sai (Huay Xai) border crossing. From where a two day boat ride down the Mekong river took us to the historic Laotian town of Luang Prabang. <br />

Laos and Vietnam

Odv
2006-04-13 20:10:12

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toilet and that person proceeded to enter our compartment while we were all asleep. The thief stole about 18 Euros worth of Vietnamese Dong from Maris' bag.

These and other incidents caused us to treat people with suspicion, never being able to fully trust them. But that is not all, sometimes one had to be downright harsh and unfriendly, in order to get them to deliver what was promised (as with the taxi driver). This state of mind makes traveling in Vietnam less pleasurable than in the other countries in the region, so when we left Vietnam there was little trace of the sadness we usually experience when leaving a country.

In spite of the nasty undertone set by these incidents, there have still been some enjoyable and interesting moments in Vietnam.

Our first stop in Vietnam was after all the historic city of Hué, which with the palace in the old center and the imperial tombs along the river has a lot to offer. An excursion in a "dragonboat" along the river to these sites is a very nice way to spend a day.

Another long but interesting day trip from Hué is a visit to the former DMZ. The de-militarized zone between North and South Vietnam was established in 1954 when France, the former colonial master of Vietnam, ceded North Vietnam to Ho Chi Minh after having been humiliatingly defeated in the battle of Dien Bien Phu. Of the initial 15,700 French troops, some 4,500 died in the battle and around 10,800 were taken prisoner (of which only 3,300 were returned alive).

I had expected an anti-American rant from the guide, but this did not materialize. Instead he matter of factly explained that after Vietnam had been divided in two, the North attacked the South and that the Americans came to help the South in order to fight the "commie people" as he called them. He continued to explain that in 1975, two years after the last US troops left Vietnam, the South was overrun by North Vietnamese troops. He added that ...