Part 1: WHERE I WOULD RATHER BE TODAY: Vietnam

City Hall in Ho Chi Minh City which used to be called Saigon

Hotel Rex, reputedly the CIA used this as headquarters

This Vietnamese market which had some strange smelling food. One fruit smelled remarkably like dog poop.

Ho Chi Minh City traffic, not many traffic lights, mostly motor bikes and mayhem

Click on photos to enlarge

During an Asian cruise tour in 2006, Vivian and I spent part of a day in Vietnam, mostly in Ho Chi Minh City, which you may remember as being called Saigon.

Several of my school friends served time in Vietnam while in the military and a few have returned for a peaceful visit, including Cliff Fromm and Howard Whidden. Howard's recent photos and commentary sparked my interest in checking out the pictures I had taken in 2006.

I asked Howard about the odd smelling food (see photo above). "It is called "Sầu riêng (pronounced show ri-en) in Vietnamese, durian in English."

Part 2 will be posted in a few days.

Photos by Frank Barning