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This country spent a large part of the last thousand years fending off the Chinese. Then the French took over; the communist rebellion rose up under Ho Chi Minh ('Uncle Ho'); the country was divided into the Communist north and the French south; then the Americans got involved, leading to what westerners call the Vietnam War and the Vietnamese call the American War, which finally led to the defeat of the Americans (although to this day they don't admit it). The country was reunited in 1975 under the Communists and went through a period under a strict, repressive regime. Following Doi Moi (the Vietnamese equivalent of Perestroika), the country has opened up to the west and, above all, to capitalism, and is now a thriving, thrusting economy. Apart from all that, it's a very beautiful and exciting country!

16 photographs - click any one to see an enlargement (Please see the note on the home page about popup blockers).

Stilt houses in the Mekong Delta
Stilt houses in the Mekong Delta
Ho Chi Minh in front of City Hall, Ho Chi Minh City
Ho Chi Minh in front of City Hall...
Over the water to a very impressive (war?) memorial, from the bus from HCMC to Dalat.
Over the water to a very impressive...
View across Dalat under a stormy sky
View across Dalat under a stormy sky
Wing and Ted, our 'Easy Riders'
Wing and Ted, our 'Easy Riders'
The delightful, if rainy, Jungle Beach resort
The delightful, if rainy, Jungle...
Waiting for our flight from Cam Ranh airport (Nha Trang) to Danang
Waiting for our flight from Cam Ranh airport (Nha...
Along Cam Ranh bay from the plane - a lot of Vietnam's coast is like this.
Along Cam Ranh bay from the plane - a lot of Vietnam...
A typical old building in Hoi An
A typical old building in Hoi An
A view through the foliage of My Son
A view through the foliage of My Son
Ngo Mon Gate, the main entrance to the Citadel in Hué
Ngo Mon Gate, the main entrance to...
The Dakrong Bridge, leading to the Ho Chi Minh Trail, on the DMZ tour
The Dakrong Bridge, leading to the...
The Huc Bridge to Ngoc Son Temple in Hoan Kiem Lake, Hanoi
The Huc Bridge to Ngoc Son Temple...
Magnificent Ha Long Bay
Magnificent Ha Long Bay
Spectacular terraced rice paddies near Sapa
Spectacular terraced rice paddies...
Dao women near Sapa in the mountains of the north
Dao women near Sapa in the mountains of the north

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