If you ever want to get a "feel" for France without having to deal with the French, then head to southern Vietnam. Over the past week or so, I have been to Saigon, Dalat, and Nahn Trang. Each town has its own flair, but each has French colonial undertones all over the place. The French connection comes in a many, many forms - wide boulevards with flowers down the center, baguettes, street side coffee shops, French restaurants, a mock Eiffel Tower, etc. All in all, the French did a nice job building some beautiful cities. Unfortunately, the Vietnamese have not mastered French food. With a lone exception, they just don't get the little things right so the food falls well short of expectations. The local wine however holds its own. I keep holding out hope, but sticking with Vietnamese food is the safest bet and seldom disapoints. As far as big cities go, Saigon is quite nice. Unlike Bangkok, it's just not that intimidating (much like France). In spite of all the historical sights available, my favorite part about Saigon was all the photo copied books that are sold on the street. Women walk around with stacks of books (30+) that are strapped together somehow. The books are usually about $5 but you get what you pay for. Not only is it obviously a cheap photo copy, but they also contain loads of typos with hand written corrections along the way. Dalat is an exceptional little city. Being there is like being in an alpine village straight out of a Walt Disney movie. It is known as the honeymoon place for Vietnam. This is in part due to the wine, the flowers, the weather (cool), and finally the French Colonial homes/mansions. Nahn Trang on the other hand is all about white sandy beaches, a lively night life, and a laid back attitude. Hiring motorbike drivers is a very common way to get a cheap tour in Vietnam. I usually shy away from these kinds of trips, but this time was different. Within an hour of being in Nahn Trang, I ran into the same moto driver that I had met in Cantho two weeks prior. While in Cantho I told him that I would use him when I got to Nahn Trang so I reluctantly followed through with my commitment. The sights were cool and all, but I settled for a half day at the mud spa. I am not sure what the therapeutic value was, but I can now check it off of my "been there done that" list. If you are a random stranger reading this entry, then my advice to you is to get out of Saigon ASAP and get to Dalat. It's like another world within Vietnam.