spiderbraids

Well, the long-promised Vietnam pix are up. Let me guide you through them one by one...

We start in Mukdahan (town on the Khong river/Thai-Lao border), just after breakfast (our guide told us we were going to have meals in three different countries). This is the bus that will take us (me, mom, grandma) across the border. Note that the lettering on the bus is Laotian.

And to do this, we have to cross this bridge. Nice vista of the river here.

On the other side now, and here's a plaque at Lao customs. We're only passing through Laos on our way to Vietnam: the only stop we had in the entire country was for lunch.

Lots of roadside cows in Laos...

And goats too ;-)

And by afternoon, we're in Vietnam. Hello, big border gate!

Our first attraction is the Vinh Moc tunnels. They're VERY tight...

This should give you a good indication of how tight. (I had to crouch over for most of the tunnel walk. Definitely not for the claustrophobic ;-) )

Random picture of roadside marker just outside the restaurant where we had dinner on the first day of the trip. QL1 = Quoc Lo 1 = Highway 1. TPHCM: Thanh Pho Ho Chi Minh = Ho Chi Minh City = Saigon.