Last night in Vietnam

We celebrated our last night in Vietnam with a swim in the South China Sea followed by a dip in the swimming pool of the resort at Red Beach. As you can see from the photos we have to grow old but we still haven't grown up. On the way back we spotted the Cruise Ship in Danang Harbor.

106mm Recoiless rifle

I found this 106mm recoiless rifle in a museum in Hoi An. It still had the 50 caliber spotting rifle attached and the breech of the 106 worked. A little cleaning and I think it would fire. The enraving was still legible in the 50 caliber rifle.

Hoi An

We visited the ancient city of Hoi An. This city is about 30 miles south of Danang. It was pretty much left untouched during the war. It is now known for its silk garment business and art. The old Chinese footbridge separates the old Chinese side and the old Japanese side of Hoi An. The bridge dates back to the 14th century.

Colin Montgomerie Golf course

After we visited Marble Mountain again we headed for the ancient city of Hoi An. On the way there we passed this golf course and Terry wanted a picture of the billboard for his nephew who works for CB Richard Ellis in Pittsburgh. Just another example of how the country is trying to reinvent itself as a tourist destination. The last photo is the greens keeper. Not really!

Shopping at Marble Mountain again

The first time we visited Marble Mountain our guide took us to large shop where he receives a commission on our purchases. They were very high pressure and none us purchased anything.


We were followed that day by some young girls on motor scooters. They gave Charlie and Terry their cell phone number and when we returned we visited their family's shops. When we got out of the van they were screaming "Charlie Malley". They were very happy to see us and we all had our own shopping assistant. It was a successful shopping trip and we had fun again.

They loved my iphone!

Easy Riders?????

Sunday night in Danang

We arrived back in Danang in the early afternoon. Denny has a friend in Syracuse, Hahn Tran. Hahn was a ARVN helicopter pilot and his wife Diana still has two sisters living in Danang. Denny arranged for us to go to church with Diana's sister Huyen,her husband Xuan and their son. I was able to follow the Catholic Mass even though I didn't understand a word they were saying. The Mass was celebrated by the Bishop who wanted to meet us after Mass. We then asked the family to join us for dinner.

We then visited Diana's other sister and her family. Her mother in law was married to a NVA Captain killed near Dalat. Her current husband was a NVA doctor. We looked at some of my photos from 1969. Notice the motor scooters are in a car port attached to the living room behind Terry.

Hai Van Pass

We left Hue and headed south to Danang. The old route runs through the Hai Van Pass. The fortifications there are left from the French. There were vendors there selling all kinds of trinkets and stuff. Terry is bartering for some jade bracelets and Charlie bought so much he got a back rub. The second and third last photos of the crescent shaped bay are of an old Leper's colony. It has been moved to make way for a resort.

Leper Colony

Leper colony