Published on Jan, 2020
My husband and I were seeking a tour that took us into the DMZ of the Vietnam War era, and also to see the Vinh Moc tunnels; David got us there and much more. Our ship was docked in Chan May Bay between DaNang and Hue, so he and our driver Tom obligingly transported us 3 hours to get to the sights we were looking for. Along the way we saw the agrarian side of Vietnam.... farmers working in their rice paddies, cassava fields, peanuts, cashews and bananas, and shrimp farms on the ocean side. We passed through many small country villages and absorbed the simplicity of life in the farming villages of Vietnam.
We stopped for a sample of the amazing Vietnam coffee, so delicious!!
We also paid a visit to the skeletal remains of the bombed Catholic Church, Long Hung, which stands through time as a war memorial.
We saw a lot of beautiful coastline of the East Vietnam Sea, which we had mistakenly been calling the South China Sea. All through the drive David shared the area’s history, and current life of the people of central Vietnam, exactly what we were wanting.
We arrived at the Vinh Moc tunnels and trenches, and David filled us in on that amazing engineering feat, and the history of the people’s years of sheltering there as we climbed deep down into the tunnels. Also still visible are craters from bombs that were dropped there.
At the DMZ, we walked the bridge over the Ben Hai River at the 17th Parallel, the dividing line between the North and South, and discussed the photos and artifacts in the visitor center/ museum there.
David then took us to our meal in a local restaurant that served us traditional family-style, and it was one of the tastiest meals of our trip.... so good! David took many photos of us to document our visit, and kept us well supplied with ice-cold water, and cold towelettes as the day was hot.
Our driver Tom was the best, always safe and very smooth operation. We appreciated him very much.
We cannot say enough good things about David and the tour he designed for us, it was perfect for us. Thank you very much, David and Tom.
