It's so unobtrusive that when passengers go ashore, they fade into the cities. The ship moves gently through the country, slipping in and out of harbors and attracting almost no attention. Like the wind. The Mekong River is our first glimpse of Vietnam. This waterway, so illuminated in memory by television broadcasts of the Vietnam War, is achingly beautiful and peaceful.
Lotus trees sway in the breeze.
As we pass into the Mekong Delta, families in canoes drift beside us. Large eyes have been painted on their wooden hulls to ward off the dragons of the deep. Entering the country by ship, we avoid the cacophony that tourists often carry with them. T he ship moves gently through the country, slipping in and out of harbors and attracting almost no attention. As I walk through the streets of Hanoi, a small Vietnamese boy approaches me.