Mekong Delta

 It's a water world where boats, houses, restaurants and even markets float upon the innumerable rivers, canals and streams that flow through the region like arteries.

HCMC

In Ho Chi Minh City we met up with Corinna, she will join our travels for the next months. Ho Chi Minh is not really interesting,  big, noisy and a lot of pollution.  We enjoyed our Vietnam war history lesson in the museum and on the tunnel fields. Thousands of miles of tunnels situed underneath the Cu Chi district northwest of HCMC ( Saigon). Soldiers used these underground routes to transport communications and supplies, lay booby traps and for mount surprise attacks.

The war was over 18 years long until the fall of Saigon (HCMC) on 30 April 1975.

It was fought between North Vietnam—supported by the Soviet Union, China and other communist allies—and the government of South Vietnam—supported by the United States and other anti-communist allies. They fought a guerrilla war against anti-communist forces in the region.

The divisive war ended with the withdrawal of U.S. forces in 1973 and the unification of Vietnam under Communist control two years later. More than 3 mio. people were killed in the conflict.

Despite that this war whiled over 18 years, for me personally was the agent orange attac a horrible fact. Agent Orange is one of the herbicides and defoliants used by the U.S. military and South Vietnam as a part of its herbicidal warfare program during the Vietnam War from 1961 to 1971.
Tragically the use of this chemical involves nowadays and after the war deformations of babies.

Mui Ne

The original fishing village is still here, but tourists outnumber locals in Mui Ne these days. Mui Ne sees only about half the rainfall of nearby Phan Thiet. The sand dunes help protect its unique microclimate, and even during the wet season rains tend to be fairly light and sporadic.

Dalat

Dalat is small enough to remain charming, and the surrounding countryside is blessed with lakes, waterfalls, evergreen forests and gardens.

Hoi an

Arrived in Hoi an in a little charming village we enjoyed 2 relaxing days and explored Vietnam's life style.

Son Trach Phong Nha - Ke Bang Nationalpark

Via ovetnightbus we travelled to Son Trach. Just a small town near the beautiful Nationalpark Phong Nha - Ke Bang. As we saw our first opportunity to explore Vietnam by scooter,  we rent some and had great fun in the rice fields of Son Trach.  Unfortunately it started to rain and some minutes later I found myself on the dirty road.  After some plasters and one arm hurting we stopped our tour.

Next day we booked a tour into the national park and the cave system.  In the national park, surrounded by forest and karst peaks, this remarkable cave system extends for 31km, though we only visit the first kilometre or so. Once you’re inside, the sheer scale of Paradise Cave is breathtaking.

After the spectacular Paradise Cave we visited the adventurous Dark Cave which includes zip-lining into a river and swimming into that cave.

The tour does a loop through Hwy 20 and The Ho Chi Minh Trail West - roads that dissect the park that were built during the “American War” to get troops and material to the south to help in fighting on the southern side of the DMZ line.

Hello lovely Vietnam

After a 5 hours flight from Beijing we arrived in Hanoi. Hanoi is the main capital of Vietnam. Showing sweeping boulevards, lakes and ancient pagodas, Hanoi is a very atmospheric capital and an energetic city. Motorbikes and pedestrians drive and walk together through the Old Quarter’s centuries-old commercial chaos.

From Hanoi we took a trip to the Ha long Bay,  a breathtaking nature surrounding.
Hạ Long Bay has an area of around 1,553 km2, including 1,960–2,000 islets, most of which are limestone. We did some kayaking in the bay and had fun in the "surprise" caves.

Beijing

After an over night train from Pingyao, we arrived safe in Beijing.

We did some sightseeing like the Summer Palace,  a amazing ensemble of lakes, gardens and palaces and sure also the famous forbidden city; Built in 1406 to 1420, the complex consists of 980 buildings and covers 72 ha. The Forbidden City was the Chinese imperial palace from the Ming dynasty to the end of the Qing dynasty. It served as the home of emperors and their households as well as the ceremonial and political center of Chinese government for almost 500 years.

And of course we didn't miss one of the 7 new world wonders - the impressive built great Chinese Wall. Built in 7th century b.c. The Great Wall of China is a united defense system. It is the largest man-made monument ever to have been built. Many thousands of people must have given their lives to build this colossal construction.