European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 11, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse Vietnam clergymen Pray at a daily service at the Cao Dai great Temple in Tay Mph Vietnam above. A boat sails on along Bay on a misty and overcast Day right. X Ramstein Vogel Weh itt save when you Book any future bus Tours compliments of top Tours enjoy Tours sealing Abc travel service win Deutsche Bahn win airline tickets ferry tickets bus Tours rail tickets & More hours of operation monday Friday 0900-1800 full service travel Agency two convenient locations to serve you Ramstein Vogel Weh building 315 building 2059 480-6330 or 6650 489-7064 or 7692 of on an american in Nam facing memories the Good the bad and the painful the associated press it began As one of those glorious travel moments. One of those moments that make the endless plane flights the Jet lag and the malaria pills All Worth it. It , and i a on the glistening belch at Nha Trang about two thirds of the Way Down Vietnam s coast. I Lay on the White Sand the Clear Turquoise water sparkling nearby. Neighbourhood kids played in the Waves. There was nary another tourist in sight As i Luxuriate in the scene i struck up a Friendly laughing conversation with a vietnamese woman. But suddenly her mood turned serious. She inquired shyly if i had any Way of tracking Down a former go who had been her Lover during the War when his company was stationed nearby. He had asked her to marry him but she declined saying she was too Young. When the cd named Leland returned Home he sent her letters 10 in All. But one Day she threw them All away in fear the communist authorities we researching Homes and she thought if the letters were found she would be sent to jail. Now decades later she had no idea where Leland was. Maybe he got married that s of she assured me trembling with emotion. I just want to know that he s All right. And i want him to know i m of i promised to do what i could but i knew it was hopeless. She seemed to know it too. After three weeks of tracing the length of this a shaped country that afternoon on the Beach stands out perhaps because it so aptly captures the unique feeling of travelling in Vietnam. As the country opens up to the West tourists Are being lured by its almost impossible Beauty mountains beaches the Ever present Rice paddies and the most Luminous shades of Green imaginable. But never far beneath the surface Are reminders of the War that most americans would prefer to forget Don t walk there our guide warned us one Day. to travel in Vietnam then is to confront some unpleasant memories but hopefully not to dwell on them. Because almost All the vietnamese we met were eager to move on to Welcome americans As visitors and to show off their country. Most tourists begin their trips in to Chi Minh City still called Saigon by those who live there and then Fly North. Our group took the opposite route beginning in the capital Hanoi and slowly working our Way South. Hanoi is a much More peaceful place than bustling to Chi Minh Cas Good a reason As any to Start there. Fixed with Trees lakes and wide boulevards Khe place has a stately French colonial feel. Visit our Ramstein sto1 thousands of rugs choose from at bargain prices great collection of rugs from China India Tibet Afghanistan Persia Nepal & Pakistan Etc. V met 74 stripes Magazine August 11, 1994 a
