Xin Chào from the Việt Nam/China border, Pác Bó is a small village with a big place in Việtnamese history. This is where Hồ Chí Minh crossed the border in 1941 to re-enter his homeland after 30 years abroad. In three different places, we see signs indicating the Chinese border (Border Belt). It’s a beautiful …Read More
Xin Chào from Hà Nội, If you already have a high opinion of Việtnamese women, after you visit the National Women’s Museum in the capital, you will truly venerate them. This is where the welcoming sign tells us that Việtnamese women know more about the grass ceiling (as in the opening for the tunnels) …Read More
Xin Chào from Quê Bắc in Kim Liên Commune, I’m here at the birthplace of Hồ Chí Minh, one of the great leaders of the 20th century. I’ll admit it’s a kind of pilgrimage, to see if there are any obvious clues from those formative years. The house in which Hồ Chí Minh (known at …Read More
Xin chào from Phong Nha, We’re in Phong Nha, in the province of Quảng Binh in the north of the country. We’re here to see the fabled Phong Nha caves; roughly 400, mostly limestone caves, and still discovering more every dry season. It’s a very picturesque valley but there are plenty of reminders …Read More
Xin Chào from Điên Biên Phủ, When Lyndon Johnson was discussing war strategy with Robert McNamara and others during the Việt Nam War, he blurted out – in his inimitable style – “I don’t want no more Deen Been Foos.” He was saying that the big powers didn’t want any tinpot, upstart Third World country …Read More
Xin Chào from Cam Ranh, The Việtnamese people have a long list of wonderful qualities ; mostly attitudinal and behavioural. But there’s one habit which assails the sensibilities. They don’t seem to care about the environment. They are very neat people who spend a lot of time cleaning their neighbourhoods and their own …Read More
Xin Chào from Mũi Né, One of the significant consumer trends in recent decades has been the big shift away from fake towards authentic. It’s a reaction to the relentless upsurge of fakery in all sorts of consumer items. The Chinese manufacturing juggernaut has flooded the world with plastic this and counterfeit that. Even international …Read More
Xin Chào from Côn Đảo, We are on Côn Đảo, a group of islands due south from Hồ Chí Minh City. The 16 islands look like they all formed the volcano and we are staying on the rim. The beachfront is within the massive crater, now filled by encroached seawater. It’s a warm day …Read More
Xin Chào from Côn Đảo, When the French colonised Việt Nam in the mid-19th century, they enforced their will on a proud people with brutality and strength. One little-known site here on Côn Đảo exemplifies this as well as any. In 1862 Colonel Roussex ordered 20 prisoners to dig the graves for dozens of murdered …Read More
Xin Chào from Cát Tiên National Park, With 90 odd million people in a fairly small area of land, and thousands of years of occupancy and development, it’s easy to see why a large proportion of Việt Nam is touched by humans in some way. Add to this, three decades of war. So, preserving natural …Read More