Vietnam by Karen

Vietnam has been interesting. Wild, crazy bike ride with Active Vietnam in Nha Trang, but really interesting. We first had to blindly follow our guide across the busy intersections, with no traffic controls or sense of any rhyme or reason to what was going on. I'd have to say it was quite a lot more riding on very chaotic and busy streets than I expected. however, it was quite fun to see the world around us. We'd have loved to stop at the markets, but there was really only time to ride and see the designated sights. We passed some  villages, but they were more like suburbs to Nha Trang. Riding a bit into the countryside was nice - rice fields, cattle here and there, etc. We basically rode up one side of the Cai River, then back the other side. Our tour was mostly historic and cultural in nature.

We had a nice lunch at a riverside restaurant which obviously sees more business at other times - not quite high summer season. It appears that quite a bit of their summer tourism is from Russia. We never really saw the modern side of the city but drove past the beaches.

Saigon was a whole different world - the combo of glitz and street sellers is very odd - more because the glitz is so far above what you'd expect here. We wandered on our own, mostly just taking pictures of the listed sights - the fancy hotels that have risen again since the war are quite impressive, as well as the huge new stylish skyscrapers and some of the pre-war buildings were interesting to see.

I think there would be much more worth seeing in this country, but it was good to have had at least a glimpse of Vietnam.