March 24, 2002.
Dear Family and Friends,
Swarms of motorcycles, straw woven conical hats, very narrow buildings, rice paddies so green they seem to glow, fresh baguettes, Hill Peoples in traditional dress, remnants from decades of war, all will be my enduring memory of Vietnam. These letters may be getting boring to many of you, but I am going to persist anyway, and hope there is something of interest for you.
Lorraine, Carole and I arrived in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) nearly three weeks ago and we have had a whirlwind tour of the country, south to north. With a population of 80 million, Vietnam is the 9th most populous country in the world, and, or course, it dominated world news for most of the sixties, seventies, and even eighties. Today these determined, hardworking people have put that struggle behind them and are now looking towards a prosperous future. They seem to be a country of entrepreneurs and there is really little evidence of Communism save large billboards urging workers on. Vietnam is full of tourists, Australians, French, German, Dutch, Scandinavians, and lots of Canadians. In fact, we met two pairs of Newfoundlanders in one hotel. I can't recall ever meeting someone from Newfoundland on any of my previous trips.
