| Hanoi, Vietnam |
| When I flew up to Hanoi from Ho Chi Minh City, Chris and Adam had already been there a couple days and had done the sightseeing thing. I didn't actually end up spending much time in the city, though what I did see seemed very nice, and I would like to go check it out sometime. |
| We had a great tour at the Ho Chi Minh Museum. They have guides who speak excellent English, and they'll take you around for free. It was all really interesting stuff. Was kinda sold on this Ho Chi Minh guy. I'm sure there was a degree of bias involved, but it basically sounded as if Ho Chi Minh was leading a popular rebellion against the French. When the French could no longer afford to maintain their presence, the Vietnamese declared their independence. They even modelled their Declaration of Independence on the US version. It only took about a month before the US moved in to try and gain control of the previously French region. The area has a lot of valuable resources and is an important strategic location. Things didn't go as planned for the US, and the rest is history. Fighting such a popular rebellion on their turf was tougher than expected. By 1974, Vietnam was unified and Saigon was changed to Ho Chi Minh City. Over 4 million Vietnamese were killed over the course of the war, not to mention around 2 million Laotian and Cambodian people, but in the end, their will was stronger than that of their oppressors. |
| The Ho Chi Minh Monument |
| Adam on the prowl |