Ah, another day in a small town I have never heard of before. I could not ask for more.

I am about halfway down the length of this country in a town that was once a major port town hundreds of years back. If you happened to find yourself on a ancient boat coming to or from China or Japan on your way to or from India or Africa, this is one of the ports of call you'd stop to pick up some food, trade some spice for silk and do whatnot.

There are many different influences in this town, most of which comes from the neighbors to the north, China and Japan. This place is lucky to have missed out on the American war, so us tourists can now walk around and gawk at what ancient Vietnam may have looked like back in the day. While it is no Colonial Williamsburg, there is enough for you to get an image in your mind.

This is a big juxtaposition from my Thanksgiving day, where I toured the sites in the DMZ. The highlight of which was walking 700 meters in tunnels that were part of the Ho Chi Min trail. The tunnels are narrow, very claustrophobic and are long enough for you to be happy that they put some lights in there. Not a place I would like to be if the American army is trying to kill you, but then again, not many places are that inviting if Uncle Sam is after you. Of the Thanksgivings I have had in my life, I think that this year comes out as the most bizarre I have had.

Well, I have to get to bed early. There are some ancient ruins of an ancient civilization I have never heard of that I am off to see tomorrow.