Sent on Jan. 26, 2003 from Saigon.

US$ = 15,000 Dongs, 15,352d from bank.
The departure tax at the airport is $12.

I am typing this from a cafe in Saigon, listening to French
music being played on public loudspeakers outside.  After
nearly 60 days, Tom and I have separated in Hanoi on Jan.
24.  He went on a 3-day tour of the Halong Bay in the Gulf
of Tonkin; I wanted to see the Vietnamese countryside,
which took a 13-hour bus ride south to Hue, then a 25-hour
train ride to Saigon.  Tom will return to the USA on Jan.
28; I have 34 more days as a nomad.  Being in the company
of a no-nonsense lawyer kept me out of mischief.  Lets hope
I do not get myself in too deep of a mess now...

1. VIETNAM, GEOGRAPHY, HISTORY.  Vietnam faces the South
China Sea on the east, Laos to Northwest, Cambodia to
southwest, and China to the north.  Hanoi, like Bangkok, is
12 hours ahead of US EST, whereas Kuala Lumpur (more to the
west) and Hong Kong (more to the east) are 13 hours ahead;
so much for orderly time zones.  Historically the Catholic
Church had more influence in Vietnam than in any other
country in SE Asia except for the Philippines.  In 1858, a
joint French and Spanish force from the Philippines stormed
DANANG when several missionaries were killed there.  A few
years later, the Viet Emperor TU DOC signed a treaty that
gave the French part of the MEKONG DELTA. In 1883, the
French imposed the Treaty of Protectorate on Vietnam.  The
French proved to be cruel rulers.  The main resistance came
from the Communists, the Vietnam Revolutionary Youth
League, founded by HO CHI MINH in 1925.  During WWII, the
only group that resisted the Japanese occupation was the
Communist-dominated VIET MINH.  When WWII ended, Ho Chi
Minh declared Vietnam independent.  French attempts to
reassert control led to full-scale war.  In 1954, the Viet
Minh forces overran the French at DIEN BIEN PHU.  The
Geneva Accords in mid-1954 provided for a temporary
division of the country at the BEN HAI RIVER at about the
center, the south under the capricious and corrupt ruler
NGO DINH DIEM.  In 1960, the northern Govt. in Hanoi
decided to initiate an armed struggle against the south. 
The National Liberation Front, better known as the VIET
CONG, was founded to fight against Diem.  Diem was
assassinated in 1963.  After Hanoi ordered its army to
infiltrate the South in 1964, the USA began to commit its
first combat forces, guided by the DOMINO THEORY that some
egghead at the State Department invented.  The TET
OFFENSIVE in 1968 became a crucial turning point in that
after declaring continuous victories at the battle front,
the American public became aware that they were being lied
to; they wanted a negotiated end to the war.  The PARIS
AGREEMENT of 1973 provided for a ceasefire.  North Vietnam
launched a massive attack across the 17th Parallel in Jan.
1975, leading to the surrender of the Saigon Govt. on Apr.
30, 1975.  The Socialist Republic of Vietnam came into
existence in July 1976.  The Domino Theory never
materialized.  In 1995, the USA established diplomatic
relations; late in 2000, President Clinton made a historic
visit to Vietnam.  Corruption and inflated bureaucracy are
major roadblock to growth.  Vietnam is a poor country, with
$200 per capita income, population about 80 million as of
2000, 13th most populous country in the world.

a. TIDBITS.

* Hanoi to Saigon is about 1736km (1100 miles), about the
distance from Miami to Washington, DC, though even Hanoi at
21-deg Latitude is more south than Miami.

* Vietnam has 82 percent literacy rate, thus the most
educated country in SE Asia.

* 84 percent of Vietnam are Vietnamese, then some Chinese,
Khmer, Cham, and Montagnards--highlanders.

* Vietnamese is a tonal language that uses Latin-based QUOC
NGU alphabet.

b. INTERESTING.  Some 2 percent of Vietnamese practice the
CAODAISM, a religion founded in 1926 by NGO MINH CHIEU. 
This religion is a fusion of secular and religious
philosophies from both East and West, thus a colorful
potpourri of Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Hinduism,
Vietnamese spiritism, Christianity, and Islam.  In my
opinion, this blending of cross-cultural historial wisdom
makes Caodaism the most enlightened of all beliefs, since
no one culture or religion surely cannot have a monopoly on
wisdom.

2. HANOI.  This is my 2nd trip to Hanoi.  I had taken an
elaborate tour of the city the first time in 1998,
including the HANOI HILTON where many American servicemen,
also Senator McCain, were imprisoned under very harsh
conditions during the war--though not so harsh compared to
what we did to the Vietnamese during the Vietnam War--which
the Vietnamese know as the AMERICAN WAR.

To me Hanoi is one of the most zestful and vibrant cities
in SE Asia.  It has an alluring charm perhaps like no other
major city in these parts.  I may be a bit biased in that
in 1998 I had a very nice brief fling with a beautiful
Vietnamese student in Hanoi, whom I met at a disco the
first night I arrived.  Ah romance . . .

Hanoi does not have the impersonal largeness of Kuala
Lumpur, Singapore, and Bangkok, as much as I like the
latter.  In Hanoi, all neighborhoods feel as if it is your
neighborhood and all alive.  Of course, the best place to
be, especially at night, is around the HOAN KIEM lake at
the center of the old town.  And the best hotel in that
area, all for $15 per night, is: GOLDEN DRAGON HOTEL at 3
BAO KHANH St. (Tel: 8.250 271).  I strongly recommend the
place.  Besides being steps from the lake, the street in
front of it may be the most charming in Hanoi.  One more
good thing about the hotel; it will do your wash for $1 per
kilo.  My jeans and one shirt looked and felt like plastic
from 60 days of sweat and grime; they came back soft and
smelling sun-shine . . .

For booking tour reservations from Hanoi, also on 1, 2, or
3 day tours of the Halong Bay, use Hanoi Tourism Service
Company at SINH CAFE at 98 HANG TRONG St. (Tel:
84-4-9286329; SINH Cafe is also one of the largest tourist
agents in Vietnam).  (For the best tours of the Halong
Bay--also most expensive--get in touch with the KANGOROO
CAFE in Hanoi--look for it on the web.)  The SINH Cafe has
one other advantage: if the train is fully booked and you
must take the bus, or you prefer the bus, it loads right in
front of the cafe.  Even better, it is about 2-minute walk
from the hotel.  (Exit hotel, turn left, walk 30 seconds to
the corner, turn right, walk 2 minutes up, the cafe will be
facing you on the left.)

Anyway, I booked a day-long tour of the Halong Bay, then
made the mistake of walking to the French cafe right around
the corner, got a table right next to the water, to enjoy
the evening lights reflected on the lake.  The zestful
sounds soon got to me.  Here I was going to have only 1 day
in Hanoi, and I was going to Halong Bay.  I instinctively
decided to cancel the tour and romance Hanoi instead, until
7pm (24th) when my bus would pick me up for the 680km,
13-hour ride south to HUE.  I got about a dozen post cards
of the Halong Bay to complete the joy.  Hanoi versus Halong
Bay, the former won in my case.  I picked up a motorbike
rider, told him I would pay him $1 for 1-hour tour around
the lake, and some side streets--like the street with the
Hilton Opera House. Then I did shopping, asked strangers to
take my photo at various charming spots, attended several
cafes, day dreamed, watched the lights come on in the city,
on the lake, and felt alive . . .  Then, bye bye Hanoi.

3. HUE.  When they picked me up for the bus in Hanoi and we
got to the station, it seemed there were twice as many
people in the bus as seats. One dispatcher told me because
of demand they had decided on a second bus to Hue, but I
could not be sure and I was on a tight schedule.  So I
pushed and shoved my way into the bus.  Indeed, soon many
people started to leave; they were accompanying someone,
saying bye.  Hanoi never really ended.  Towns, villages,
settlements overlapped.  There was heavy traffic on the
road that was for long stretches not paved.  With all the
jumping over the pot holes no one slept; we stopped every
2.5 hours to stretch our legs.  At 8am the next morning we
arrived in Hue, right in front of the SINH Cafe there.

As soon as we arrived I had to decide how to proceed to
Saigon.  The bus would leave at 1pm, same as the train that
day, 25 hours either way to Saigon, BUT with 2 changes of
bus if I took that.  I decided on the train, IF I could get
a seat.  I asked an agent at the Cafe to give me a ride on
his bike to the station, for 20,000Dongs ($1.33).  For
446,000Dongs ($29) I got an upper berth in a soft-sleeper
cabin (the best).  Everything was orderly at the ticket
counter in Hue, unlike the zoo-like ambiance of the same in
Hanoi.  (You can get your own ticket in Hue; you may need
to pay about $5 for an agent to get your ticket in Hanoi,
perhaps also in Saigon.) He brought me back to the Cafe and
found me another bike rider to take me around the city,
also to the CITADEL for an hour--for 25,000 Dongs ($1.66).
I also had the time to check my email, buy post cards,
flirt with girls . . . before my train.

Hue has the charm of Hanoi, much less the crowd; it is a
beautiful city.  A river divides the old Citadel--must see
feature of Hue--from the rest of the city.  The citadel
compound is Hue's answer to OSAKA CASTLE in Japan; it covers
a huge area.  (It would take a good part of a day to walk
around it.)

4. TOURS from HUE.  There are several organized tours from
SINH Cafe in Hue.  One of which goes to DANANG from the
Vietnam War era, another north from Hue to the DMZ Line
also famous from the war years.  Be sure to ask the cafe to
give you a brochure of available tours, and keep your
schedule flexible: you may want to spend a few days in Hue,
before continuing either to Hanoi or Saigon.

5. HUE to SAIGON.  The REUNIFICATION Express (train) from
Hanoi to Saigon is the fastest of the 5 other train
connections, like a difference of 9 hours: 32 versus 41
hours.  From Hanoi to Saigon the best seat is $53, from Hue
it is $29.  The bus is much cheaper ($9 Hanoi to Hue,
$14.40 Hue to Saigon), but also uncomfortable and
inconvenient.

a. INTERESTING. By the way, the CHINA BEACH (BAI NON NUOC
in Vietnamese) of the American TV series, is along the road
from DANANG to HOI AN, just south of Hue.  It stretches
about 30km north and south of the immense MARBLE
MOUNTAINS.  This also was the most dramatic part of the
train ride immediately south from Hue, as shear cliffs
accompanied the train tracks on the eastern side, huge
mountains and endless tunnels all around.

6. In SAIGON.  The intersection of the DE THAM and BUI VIEN
streets may be the most lively in whole Saigon.  That is
where I stayed, in a spotless hotel with king size bed, a
mini fridge, hot shower, TV, all for $10.  The Hotel VAN
TRANG is at 80 BUI VIEN St.   There are dozens of other hotels
on that street, normally at $6-15 range, and many cafes. 
City tour is $4, as also the one-day tour of the CH CHI
TUNNELS--90km from Saigon--that the Viet Cong used during
the war to infiltrate the south.  Otherwise, just sit at a
cafe and daydream.  It cost me 20,000D ($1.33) on the back
of a motorbike to get from the train station to the hotel. 
The airport is also close; pay about $3 for a taxi.  Get a
map, mark the landmarks, jump on the back of a motorbike
rider and see the city for an hour or two at about 15,000
Dongs per hour.

7. HINTs.

* From the airport to Hanoi center, taxi drivers will tell
you it is 40km to the town, that $10 is a fair price for
the ride.  Forget it.  Take the Airport Shuttle van for $3.
 It will bring you to your hotel, or leave you at a
reasonably-priced hotel.  Do negotiate.

* Although you can use Dollars for everything in Vietnam,
do exchange some money to local currency ($=15,252 DONGs),
as you do not want to be forced to pay Dollar bills for
things for which you can instead pay say 5,000 Dongs.

* For just about any travel within any city, jump on the
back of a motorbike and take a tour, like around the Hoan
Kiem Lake.  Pay 20,000 to 25,000D ($1.33 - #1.66) for one
hour. For more leisurely rides to shorter distances use one
of those bicycle-pushed seats, say for 15,000D ($1) for 20
minutes.

* Many internet cafes are no good, too slow.  A very good
one in Hanoi is at 54 HANG BE near the hotel.  Pay 3,000 to
4,000D (15 to 20 cents) per hour.  In SAIGON, use the one
next to the PHO TAY hotel/restaurant--up the stairs.  The
rooms there go for $4 to $5 per night, with private bath
and hot shower, AND order their Fried Rice with Vegetables
and Grilled Chicken for 25,000 ($1,66), and nice SAIGON
beer for 10,000D (66 cents).  VERY tasty.

* Post cards (very good quality single cards) cost 5,000D
(33 cents), but you can negotiate to 4,000D in
Hanoi--2,000-2500dongs in Saigon--which means I got cheated
in Hanoi! For the ones that come in packages of 10, they
ask 10,000D; pay what you can get away with, as they are
not the best.  Stamps to USA are 9,000D (60 cents), Europe
8,000D, Asia/Mid-East 6,000D.

* As in most poor countries of SE Asia, negotiate for
everything, but dont be heartless.  5000D means a lot to a
Vietnamese, 33 cents to you!

*  Getting a train ticket at the TRAIN station in HANOI on
your own may be next to impossible: one window and a pile
of people in front of it.  I did it by politely announcing
myself and pushing myself forward--only to be told that the
train was all full.  You can pay a fee of $3-5 to a travel
agency to do this for you.  The same may be true in
Saigon--I have not tried it.  But in Hue, you can do this
on your own.

* Do NOT try to book northern sites like the Halong Bay
from Saigon, and vice versa.  You can but the trip will be
arduous.  Better start from Hanoi, arrange your return from
Saigon, or vice versa, and break your train/bus trip at
Hue, possibly also in Danang.  Then arrange the tours close
to those stops, like from Saigon (south): Cu CHI Tunnels,
MEKONG DELTA--the Mekong joins the sea just east of
Saigon--beaches of MUI NE; from Hue and/or Danang: Marble
Mountains and China Beach, Hoi An, the DMZ; from Hanoi:
HALONG BAY, MAI CHAU area, PERFUME PAGODA, NINH BINH area.