From Dalat, we fly to Ho Chi Minh City, formerly Saigon.
With a population of more than 6 million, it's back to busy streets.
Streets of HCMC as we head into downtown.
Streets of HCMC
We stopped here for a visit.
The museum contains a lot of US Military hardware.
Inside there many exhibits of weaponry as well as pictures of destruction and death.
It's a somber experience.
Workers at a large Lacquer Shop.
Egg shell framents are pressed into the lacquered scene.
Very tedious work.
Crowded street of Saigon.
The Central Post Office building has designed and constructed by the famous architect Gustave Eiffel, now a popular tourist stop.
There's a lot of activity here. They also sell ice cream.
This large portrait of Ho Chi Minh hangs in the Central Post Office.
The building has a gothic architectural style since it was constructed when Vietnam was part of French Indochina.
The Notre Dame Cathedral of Vietnam.
Again, we continue to see multiple wedding parties per day.
The cathedral is a popular place for wedding pictures.
Our accommodations is the historic Rex Hotel. Daily press conferences were hosted here during the Vietnam War.
The rooftop bar at the Rex Hotel was once a well known hangout for war correspondents.
City Hall is across the street from the Rex Hotel. Kay stand before a statue of Ho Chi Minh.
Saigon streets as night falls.
Kay window shops. The streets around the Rex Hotel are a busy commercial district.
City Hall at night.
Traditional music is played at dinner time.
The Rex Hotel at night.
Night lights of City Hall
The streets at night are as active as in the day time.
Night lights of the Opera House.
Streets of Saigon.
Kay and I wander around the business district.
Scenes from our drive to My Tho village along the Mekong Delta.
We stopped at a beautiful rest stop. Now, if only our rest stops would look like this.
Beautiful lilies.
Visiting the Cao Dai Temple located in My Tho.
This temple combines the teachings of Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Confucianism, Christianity, Islam and other religions.
Called Caodaism, it's one religion in all to promote peace.
Caodaism was founded by Ngo Minh Chieu who was a French civil servant and a well known mystic.
Caodaism began in 1926.
Ceiling of the Cao Dai Temple
This symbolizes that multiple religions are one.
Caodaism is the third largest religion in Vietnam after Buddhism and Catholicism.
The Cao Dai Temple
Drying herbs on temple grounds.
Herbal medicine is also provided to locals at the temple.
Cruising the Mekong Delta.
The Mekong Delta is the river region in southwestern Vietnam before it goes to sea.
Vietnam is the second largest exporter of rice globally after Thailand due to the rich soil of its deltas.
The banks of the river are lined with homes and fishing boats.
People in the Mekong Delta region are largely ethnic Viet, with a minority of Khmer.
There is a large aquacultural industry in the Vietnam waterways.
The Delta region was a fighting ground between Viet Cong and U.S. Navy's during Vietnam War.
Life along the Mekong Delta.
Visiting a village along the Mekong Delta.
Visiting a local coconut candy factory.
How about a little distraction. Yes, it's real.
Life in the Mekong Delta revolves around the river. Many of the villages can only be accessed canals.
Paddling the hidden canals of the Mekong Delta.
Cruising the hidden canals of the Mekong Delta.
Local using her foot to guide her along the edge of the canal.
It's a way to make a living.
Lunch at the village. Check out the fish!
Rice wrapped in lotus leaf. Isn't it pretty?
It's time for a snooze after such an active trip.
Ron and Lynn from New York.
Buzz and Kathleen from California
Dennis and Judith from California
Doyle and Mary from North Carolina
Sara from Maryland.
