Connecting in Vietnam

I enjoyed the article “Vietnam — Personalizing the Experience” in the June ’06 issue, as I had made a similar trip in March 2001. Mr. Emmet’s one criticism seemed to be that the guides, in regard to their English abilities, “could not handle more than simple declarative sentences” and he hoped this would improve as tourism built in Vietnam.

On our trip to Vietnam, we had five wonderful guides, all of whom had excellent English skills and were also personable and informative.

On a lousy rainy day in Hanoi, our guide there recognized we were not looking forward to more sightseeing in the rain and allowed us to linger at lunch while she brought out pictures of a family wedding and discussed family and local customs with us.

I will also never forget a quiet morning on the not-to-be-missed Halong Bay, where our guide Long read poetry and discussed eastern philosophy with us.

Our trip was booked through Wild Card Adventures (Bellingham, WA; phone 800/590-3776 or e-mail swild7@juno.com), whose ad is on page 38 in the June issue.

FRED DeVINNEY
Oakland, CA