Vietnam ~ An adventure traveling northward from Ho Chi Minh City to Đà Lat to Nha Trang Bay to Đà Nẵng to Hội An to Huế to Hanoi and to wonderful Hạ Long Bay. Lots of ancient art and culture, a museum of the American War, a day at a cooking class, a few stupendous traditional meals, and children with infectious smiles saying allo. And with 88 million people and 37 million frenzied motorbikes, crossing city streets was wild to say the least, but I survived!

(1) Woven Bamboo Basket Boats, (2) Rice, (3) Pagoda at Hue Royal Palace, (4) Lotus Flower, (5) Ký Lân (Asian Unicorn), (6) Give a man a fish, feed him for a day / Teach a man to fish, feed him for a lifetime, (7) My Mother sculpture.

Fishing Village ~ A plethora of floating homes on Hồ Trị An Lake northeast of Ho Chi Minh City. [Google map of photo locale]

Thiên Hậu ~ Three deity figures at Thiên Hậu Temple of traditional Chinese religion, who is revered in the southern maritime provinces of China and in overseas Chinese communities. The temple is located in Ho Chi Minh City. [Google map of photo locale], [Wikipedia Reference]

Chicken Village ~ Not your everyday tourist sighting. But why? Located northeast of Ho Chi Minh City. [Google map of photo locale]

Tuyền Lâm Temple ~ is a Zen Buddhist temple outside the resort town of Đà Lạt. [Google map of photo locale], [Wikipedia Reference]

Tuyền Lâm Lake Village ~ We enjoyed an afternoon boat ride near the town of Đà Lạt to view this lakeside village. [Google map of photo locale]

The Crazy House ~ Known formally as Hằng Nga Guesthouse (and also know as a "fairy tale house"), it is an unconventional building designed and constructed by Vietnamese female architect Đặng Việt Nga in the city of Đà Lạt [Google map of photo locale], [Wikipedia Reference]

Woven Bamboo Basket Boat ~ Fit and nimble ladies handle these unconventional boats near Nha Trang Harbor. [Google map of photo locale], [More on Bamboo Basket Boats of Vietnam]

Woven Bamboo Basket Boat ~ Amazing dexterity these ladies have to pilot these boats near Nha Trang Harbor. [Google map of photo locale], [More on Bamboo Basket Boats of Vietnam]

Bamboo Basket ~ A talented friend inspired this drawing, thanks Ed.

Champa Art ~ Part of the Cham Temple of Po Nagar, it was founded sometime before 781 and located in the medieval principality of Kauthara, near modern Nha Trang. [Google map of photo locale], [Wikipedia Reference]

Apsara ~ A statue located in the Museum of Cham in Đà Nẵng, it is a female spirit of the clouds and waters in Hindu and Buddhist mythology. [Google map of photo locale], [Wikipedia Reference]

Dvarapala Warrior ~ A statue located in the Museum of Cham in Đà Nẵng, it is a guardian often portrayed as warrior or fearsome asura giant, usually armed with a weapon. This warrior is standing on a defeated buffalo. [Google map of photo locale], [Wikipedia Reference]

Ganesha ~ A widely worshipped deity in the Hindu pantheon. Although he is known by many attributes, Ganesha's elephant head makes him easy to identify. The statue is located in the Museum of Cham in Đà Nẵng. [Google map of photo locale], [Wikipedia Reference]

Portrait ~ A contemporary sculpture at the Museum of Cham in Đà Nẵng. [Google map of photo locale]

My Mother ~ A contemporary sculpture at the Museum of Cham in Đà Nẵng. [Google map of photo locale]

Reading Book ~ A contemporary sculpture at the Museum of Cham in Đà Nẵng. [Google map of photo locale]

Tam Thai Pagoda ~ Located on Thuy Son (Water), one of the Marble Mountains near Đà Nẵng. The pagoda was constructed on the mountain top in 1930 and is considered a national pagoda and a Buddhist site. [Google map of photo locale]

Bình Tay Market ~ An open air market in Ho Chi Minh City. [Google map of photo locale], [More market information]

Hội An Market ~ An open air market in Hội An. [Google map of photo locale]

Got Crabs ~ An open air market in Hội An, a place in early mornings that is bustling with activity. I walked through the market as a participant of a fun cooking class, and then had a stupendous dinner there that evening. [Google map of photo locale]

Guardian ~ One of many protector statues flanking the entrance to the Minh Mang Tomb in the city of Huế. [Google map of photo locale] [Wikipedia Reference]

Minh Mang Tomb ~ One of many classic buildings on the site of the Minh Mang tomb in the city of Huế. [Google map of photo locale] [Wikipedia Reference]

Ky Lan ~ Known by many names including the Asian unicorn, while in the Qing Dynasty as qilin. Depiction of the creature is with the head of a dragon, antlers of a deer, skin and scales of a fish, hooves of an ox, and tail of a lion. This statue is located at the Minh Mang Tomb in the city of Huế. [Google map of photo locale] [Wikipedia Reference]

Ky Lan ~ Another Asian unicorn (also know as qilin from the Qing Dynasty). This one is located at the Temple of Literature in Hanoi. [Google map of photo locale] [Wikipedia Reference]

Dragon ~ Sculpture located at the Royal Palace in the city of Huế. The palace was once called the Imperial City (Vietnamese: Kinh thành Huế) and is a walled fortress and palace in the former capital of Vietnam. [Google map of photo locale] [Wikipedia Reference]

Pagoda ~ Located at the Royal Palace in the city of Huế. [Google map of photo locale] [Wikipedia Reference]

Heavenly Lady Pagoda ~ At the Thiên Mụ Temple, this pagoda is a historic temple in the city of Huế in Vietnam. The pagoda has seven stories and is the tallest in Vietnam. [Google map of photo locale] [Wikipedia Reference]

Warrior ~ At the Thiên Mụ Temple in the city of Huế this statue is one of several colorful warriors. [Google map of photo locale] [Wikipedia Reference]

Lotus Flower ~ The elegant Lotus is Vietnam's National flower. This one was finely displayed in a pond at the Thiên Mụ Temple in the city of Huế. [Google map of photo locale]

Rice Harvest ~ A staple everywhere in Vietnam, this field of rice was near the northern city of Hanoi. [Google map of photo locale]

Urban Garden ~ Although most farmed fields in Vietnam harvest rice, this one near Hanoi appears to be growing a variety of vegetables.

Water Puppet ~ Water puppetry - that is, puppets that dance on water - is a tradition that dates back as far as the 11th century when it originated in the villages of the Red River Delta area of northern Vietnam. This puppet was on display at the Museum of Ethnology in Hanoi. [Google map of photo locale] [Wikipedia Reference]

Dao (Shaman's) Masks ~ These masks are on display at the Museum of Ethnology in Hanoi. [Google map of photo locale]

Man and Carp ~ This painting was on display at the Museum of Ethnology in Hanoi. It brings to mind the poem Give a man a fish, feed him for a day. / Teach a man to fish, feed him for a lifetime. [Google map of photo locale]

Erotic Funerary Offering ~ At the Museum of Ethnology in Hanoi is an outdoor display of Giarai customs where tombs are ornamented with funerary sculpture, some of which are erotic. [Google map of photo locale]

Presidential Palace ~ Located in the city of Hanoi, the Presidential Palace was built between 1900 and 1906 to house the French Governor-General of Indochina. The Palace is inextricably linked to Vietnam's French colonial past, so much so that when Ho Chi Minh took over Hanoi and the rest of North Vietnam, he declined to live in the overtly luxurious parts of the palace. Ho instead claimed to have chose to live in servants' quarters behind the building. [Google map of photo locale] [Wikipedia Reference]