Vietnam

Of all the countries I am to visit, I am by far most excited by Vietnam.  The country has always fascinated me ever since I saw Apocalypse Now when I was 9-- a huge cliché, of course, but I've been reading books and watching movies about the conflict for as long as I can remember, and I have also developed an enormous appreciation for the cuisine.  I'm knee deep in a huge book on Vietnamese history, which focuses on the war with the U.S. but also reaches back to the country's earliest recorded history and proceeds through the French colonization and eventual defeat at Dienbienphu.  I've compiled a list of places I want to visit, which includes the obvious-- Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) and Hanoi, along with riding a Chinese junk on Halong Bay, and visiting Haiphong, Hoi An and Danang, and of course the Mekong Delta.  I think I can do all of this within 3 weeks to a month, and I'm currently researching tours that will be able to take me to at least some of these places.  Naturally I look forward to my first morning in my hotel room in Ho Chi Minh... "Saigon.... Shiiiit.... I'm still only in Saigon."

I'm also considering expanding my trip to Cambodia-- which was originally intended to only involve a visit to Siem Reap and Angkor Wat-- to include a flight to Phnom Penh to amongst other things visit the museum dedicated to the Khmer Rouge, which promises to be a memorable if grueling experience.