About to Travel to Vietnam? Do It Like a Local

Thanks to Children's Hope adoptive mother, Dana Dang, for passing along a great article on Vietnam travel published inTravel and Leisure Magazine in March 2007.

As a world traveler who calls Hanoi, Vietnam her second home, fiction writer Dana Sachs brings the country to life for prospective parents through Vietnam adoption in her article "Vietnam Now". Whether you'd like to experience french fries Vietnam-style, or visit local islands and alternate cities, Vietnam can be a welcome surprise and a lasting memory for those that visit.

Experience your trip like a local and learn about the following terms and locations you may experience in your Vietnamese travels while completing your family.

(These words and locations are mentioned in the article.)
Words to learn:

sampan: a flatbottom Asian boat, small enough to be rowed by one person using two oars

longan: an evergreen tree of southeastern Asia and Australia grown primarily for its sweet edible fruit, similar to litchi nuts; quả nhãn in Vietnamese. The longan, aka dragon eyes, is named for the shelled fruit's resemblance to an eye, as the black seed shows through the translucent flesh much like an iris.

mangrove: a tropical tree or shrub which is mostly low growing in marshes or tidal shores, noted for their interlacing above-ground adventitious roots

Phở: served as a bowl of white rice noodles in clear beef broth, with thin cuts of beef; variations feature meatballs, chicken leg or breast

hydrofoil: a boat with wing-like foils mounted on struts below the hull; as the craft increases in speed the hydrofoils develop lift to propel the hull up and out of the water, resulting in a great reduction in drag and a corresponding increase in speed

Locations to research:

Hanoi
Ho Chi Minh City
Mekong Delta
Can Tho
Vinh Long
Ho Long Bay
Gulf of Tonkin
Cat Ba Island
Hai Phong
Hoa Phuoc

Find amazing photos of these locations at ThingsAsian online at http://www.thingsasian.com/vietnam.
Learn more about Dana Saches and her Vietnam fiction at her web site, VietnamUniverse.