Hey!
I know it has been a while since the last update, but here is a major one! :)
I allowed my self 10 days of holiday and went off with 3 friends to Vietnam! Okay, it is not photos from Japan, but it is still part of my life over here!
I would kick off by wishing a Happy Vietnamese Year to my Vietnamese friends! Or in more local words...
Our short trip started in Hanoi, capital of Vietnam.
Hanoi, and its 4 millions inhabitants, is a very lively city. Street merchants are at every corner, selling from fruits to sunglasses... Getting used to the permanent motorbike horns was not easy though, especially when they start at 5 AM!
Hopefully, Hanoi has its quiet places, such as the Temple of Literature, dedicated to Confucius and Vietnamese intellectuals. We can feel the 1000th Chinese occupation influence in architecture.
The second stop of our journey was Sa Pa, a small village in the mountain at the far northwest of Vietnam. There, we could see some beautiful mountain landscapes with many rice fields and also meet the Black H'mong tribes.
It was very dry though, the rice fields were empty, spoiling a bit the charm of this lovely countryside. Down the valley we visited the Black H'mong tribe village named Cat Cat. Actually the name comes from the french word Cascade (waterfall), since we can find a lovely waterfall there.
Sa Pa pets are very laaaazy :p
Third stop, The famous Halong Bay. Too famous though, since it was crowded with tourists. Halong harbor was filled with about a hundred of tourist junks ready to sail off the bay. The tour was (too) quick and we could see only 1/100 of this beautiful natural site...but nevertheless, here is some pictures :)
Next stop, Hue, the old imperial city, where you can find ruins classified in the UNESCO program. The visit was very fast, since we had only one morning to visit as much as we could before kicking off to the beaches! :p
Unfortunately, the emperor tombs itself was under renovation...but we could walk through what was its "holiday" house.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5upN-ecQhGWpfk7a1Xw0cnyMRQvLnundzY_NZaue3YPtcvqKt0hB3MCYqP41R0zB3pk1G8LC9Fap2Ljnz8sOrnshFKU676ert9me5IgXE7rv6mnot7ULaAHgS2ocMuv78W4uiu3ab5YV7/s400/IMG_2788.JPG)
~ One of the many gates surrounding the site ~
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We also visited a pagoda near the Parfume river with lovely orchids and the so called Citadel. of Hue.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzi0x93B35IvmZ6eKanPLZZAUeOHBOvfCiNcRAYD1z8hqbCOI6A8r6Z9JGLcvRpf15Qr-OOIhqQRfl3VMdMqs43CckozTQcDl0czXHdAmIJof5P1ZRJrw_GBsN1RtI4W4FDnNGxdsXGQ-t/s400/IMG_2866.jpg)
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Finally, after 2 days in Nha Trang where we did basically nothing except sleeping on the beach and snorkeling, we finished our trip in Saigon, Ho Chi Minh City.
Saigon is the economical capital of Vietnam, where 11 millions of Vietnamese live. The atmosphere here was almost the same as Hanoi, except it was a little bit more modern and obviously with a little bit more of everything I guess...more motorbikes, more noise, ...
~ more cables ~
Saigon is the economical capital of Vietnam, where 11 millions of Vietnamese live. The atmosphere here was almost the same as Hanoi, except it was a little bit more modern and obviously with a little bit more of everything I guess...more motorbikes, more noise, ...
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCqdT0gY6S7Gxibd8Lv9UbCVTwWc2eBSe0SOENmZ9Mvuf9qZ373UbXZPiGSwIDFzLsDsonSe3XOxede9Erc8MvsCz4Oq4YXRkVPh4s4JEsneP6wg6G5oHiLTog5s1b-ZsF4LyE_iUxMo9V/s400/IMG_2935.jpg)
Propaganda posters are visible every where in the city. Police patrols are equipped with AK-47. We can have a clear idea of the source of inspiration of the Vietnamese political system.
We visited a museum about the Vietnam war and saw some horrible pictures among military artifacts, ...
And we concluded with the Reunification Palace, symbol of the Vietnamese Independence, and the reunification of the north and south Vietnam.
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