Wednesday, June 18

ABC Wednesday = V

This week my ABC Wednesday post will be covering my wife´s trip to Vietnam in January 1995.
Only a year after the lifting of the US embargo, Tullen and three friends took a short break from the expat-wife luxury living in Singapore and visited Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi and Halong Bay in Vietnam. A memorable tour at a period of the country´s development prior to the increase in economy, business and tourism.

See some of their experiences as presented in:

V is for Vietnam

In front of the Ho Chi Minh City Post Office you may see a sculpture of the great hero Ho Chi Minh. Ho led the Viet Minh independence movement from 1941 onward, establishing the communist-governed Democratic Republic of Vietnam in 1945 and defeating the French Union in 1954 at Dien Bien Phu. He led the North Vietnamese in the Vietnam War until his death; six years later, the war ended with a North Vietnamese victory, and Vietnamese unification followed. In Saigon, as the city was called earlier, the transportation at that time was almost only by bicycle-taxies (Cyclos), and they rented one pr. day for each for almost no pay, and a tour on the Saigon River made them see some of the living condition at that time.
The next photo is taken underground in the defense tunnel system beneath the jungle surface.
It was one of the head quarters for the resistance, and Tulenh = The boss.
The entrance to this tunnel system, and no claustrophobia is required to go down.
Some of the hidden entrances were traps, and the real entrance could be right under the sharp knives.
Ho Chi Minh City is located 1760 km south of the Capital of Vietnam, Hanoi and the temperature is much lower in the north. The market at that time is shown below.
Time, they are a´changing in Vietnam too, but still you may find the look and smell of this extraordinary country and its citizens. Go for a visit before it is too late to feel the real Asia.
East from Hanoi you may find the fantastic Ha Long Bay in the Gulf of Tonkin. The Bay has a coastline of 120 km long with thousands of limestone karst and isles in various sizes and shapes. The last photos on this journey is taken inside one of the great caves in Ha Long Bay.
For more ABC Wednesday = U adventures, go to Mrs. Nesbitt Place.

14 comments:

Kjersti said...

Kjempebra Valg for denne ukas bokstav. Ønsker deg en fin onsdag.

Anonymous said...

Beautiful photos, especially Ha Long Bay. Painful painful memories and I am glad that the nation is recovering.

FO - 2 said...

En spennende og eksotisk reise.
Det siste bildet er utrolig vakkert! :)

Liz Hinds said...

What a great trip that must have been, and a lovely country when not ravaged by war.

Kyanite said...

Fascinating photo's.
Great to see Vietnam, other than a worn torn nation.

mrsnesbitt said...

What an insight, a world we would never have known.

Gordon said...

An interesting and informative post and beautifully illustrated. Thank you.

Louis la Vache said...

Very good choice for "V"-Wednesday!

Over at San Francisco Bay Daily Photo, we have Visions of Hell!

Daryl said...

What a great V .. and a glimpse into a very interesting country

:-Daryl

AphotoAday said...

Very interesting shots of Vietnam.   A great V...

Neva said...

I have a niece going to Vietnam for her honeymoon in July....enjoyed your photos of the place!
Mine is up here

Paulie said...

Always interesting to learn more of a place I have only heard of during the war there. . . we have Vietnam refugees in our church. Glad your wife had the opportunity!

Anne said...

Hmm... passer bra, jeg som leser "Kineseren" for tiden...

Unknown said...

Som vanlig en informasjonsrik og lærerik post med tilhørende bilder.
Excellently V post.