VIETNAM’S LEADING BATTLEFIELD TOUR OPERATOR

Join us for a journey through the history of Vietnam conflicts.

Mr. Vu was our best Tour Guide in Vietnam

Mr. Vu was our best Tour Guide in Vietnam

Review of Annam Tour
Reviewed March 21, 2011
We did a one-day tour of the DMZ with Mr. Vu of Annam Tour in March 2011. Originally, my wife and I plus the kids (6 & 9 years old) just wanted to stay in Hue for two days, but after reading the favorable reviews of Mr. Vu here on Tripadvisor, we decided to extend by one day. Luckily, he could slot us in on short notice. All the excellent reviews are justified, this was by far our best guide in Vietnam and a most memorable day.
Mr. Vu sent a car with a driver to Hue to pick us up at the hotel at 07:30, driving up to Dong Ha, where we met Mr. Vu himself. After a restroom stop and a quick coffee we were on our way. First Mr. Vu did a quick assessment of our level of knowledge and interests for the trip. I have read fairly widely about military history in general, but not so much on the Vietnam War, whereas my wife only knew the outline, not to speak of the kids. Mr. Vu managed very nicely to combine these different outlooks, e.g. giving my wife with the kids time to browse the war relics out side the Khe Sanh museum, while he took me on a short walking tour of the former fixed wing airstrip and the perimeter.
On the way to Khe Sanh we stopped at different points (e.g. Rockpile), and he gave us a rundown of the terrain and tactics employed. Having been a soldier myself (luckily in times of relative peace only), I can attest to his acute eye for detail. We also stopped at a Montagnard (Hoa) village and climbed down to the river, where he told a story for the kids about fording rivers on the Ho Chi Minh trail (then) and slash-and-burn agriculture of the Hoa (now).
The drive back from Khe Sanh to Dong Ha (for a lunch break) is quite long, and could be used for a nap. Instead, we talked about conditions in South Vietnam post 1975, which was really interesting, especially comparing it to our home country Germany, which was was also formerly divided.
After lunch we went to the actual DMZ, stopping at a war cemetery per my request. It was a good opportunity to make the point to our kids that war is not about cool military hardware, but mainly about killing and dying. The bridge over the Ben Hai river was next, with an interesting outline of the forced population changes in either direction. The monument of the longing Vietnamese woman contains quite a few ironies. The museum on the northern side of the river is very heavy on propaganda, even for Vietnam. The tunnels of Vinh Moc were the highlight of the tour for the whole family.
Afterward it was back to Dong Ha to drop off Mr. Vu, and then on to the hotel in Hue. The tour had taken about 1,5 hours longer then advertised due to our questions and lingering at some sites, but Mr, Vu always obliged us. The price stayed the same. Mr. Vu has the best English we heard from a native Vietnamese during our tour. His delivery and knowledge of military history (he is a history teacher with a university degree and has read widely) made the tour so interesting. We wish him the best of luck and would consider a visit to Hue or the DMZ without a tour with Mr. Vu quite a loss.
Date of experience: March 2011
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