Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam

Controlled chaos, the end of the well oiled Vietnamese tourist trail for me. I learned some history at the War Remembrance museum and drifted gently down the Mekong Delta.

A surreal paddle down the Mekong Delta.

I provided most of the paddling of course.

No fear.

In Saigon (as well as Hanoi) college kids come out to the park and practice their English. White skin helps you become prey 🙂

How the War Remembrance museum begins. Informative, shocking, and makes you think about American involvement abroad. Well worth the visit.

Traffic on the road? No problem. Side walks are fair game.

Social dance at the park.

My best eating experience in Saigon. Order lunch in a tight alley, get ushered into a home where I share a table with a young girl. I take her picture, she takes mine, and I watch TV with grandma in front of the ancestor altar. And the food was tasty! $2 for a full plate with tea, watermelon, and soup.

Dalat, Vietnam

Dalat was my favorite city in Vietnam, likely due to the cooler weather and less touristy feel. The French made this their getaway back in the day. Its high elevation helped them (and me) dodge the crazy hot weather elsewhere in Indochina.

Central lake that was unexpectedly 6km to walk around when I thought it was going to be a 30 min stroll.

Strongest waterfalls I've seen here. You had the option to rollercoaster (yes, rollercoaster) down to these falls. I was too cheap to spend the $2 to do that and walked.

This is one way to bridge the gap between romanized languages and their character based past. Roundify.

The wine produced here was decent! Haha at least to the wedding reception open bar level.

Cable car built by the Austrians that dropped us off at a Buddhist temple. Go figure.

The view out into Dalat city.

Nha Trang, Vietnam

I ventured my way down south and arrived to the Russian beach town of Nha Trang where I mainly did activities like snorkeling and bike riding.

All Russian signage. There is a direct flight from Moscow to Nha Trang. Never seen so many Russians in my life. Wish I could communicate with them.

Going out snorkeling and tried scuba diving for the first time!

South central style pho. Breakfast everyday!

Nha Trang beach. View toward a big amusement park that's accessible by cable car.

Bike tour

Brit and Aussie teachers from Singapore with our guide.

Just biking through town.

Mountain biking time

This fruit is directly translated as "breast milk." Decent tasting.

Waterfall swimming. Water is so dark due to water depth.

More swimming