"A Very Laid-Back Place"

History professor Edward Miller teaches a class about the Vietnam War and has visited Vietnam eight times since 1995. He also speaks Vietnamese. "I'm a Vietnam War kind of guy," Miller says, "so my interests tend toward that." For fellow histoiy buffs, Miller recommends a visit to ApBac and the city of Hoi An.

Ap Bac

Ap Bac is the place of the famous battle of 1963 in which Viet Cong (communist) forces defeated a South Vietnamese army with American advisors. "This was a very significant battle. Not only did a smaller Viet Cong force maul a much larger South Vietnamese force, but it also shot down several helicopters—it was the first time the Viet Cong had succeeded in doing that," Miller says.

How to Get There: Ap Bac is located in the Mekong Delta, near both Ho Chi Minh City and the city of My Tho. A street in Ho Chi Minh City called Pham Ngu Lao has many hotels that cater to foreign tourists, Miller says, so if you go to any hotel or cafe on that street they will arrange trips to Ap Bac and the Mekong Delta for you. There are bus tours, but it might be easier to rent a car in Ho Chi Minh City and drive along National Highway Route 1. Ap Bac is right off the main highway. Many people choose to combine a trip to Ap Bac with an overnight in My Tho, where you can go on boat tours.

Why It's So Interesting: Ap Bac is a special place to visit because it provides foreign tourists with an understanding of the Vietnamese culture they might not otherwise experience. "Ap Bac was seen as a great sort of historic event, so it fits very well the Communist Party's official narrative of the triumph of the war," Miller explains. "Lots of schoolchildren—against their will—are obliged to go on field trips to this place." There are markers throughout the field that purportedly show the places where American helicopters crash landed when they were shot down. Some also show where South Vietnamese armored personnel carriers were blown up. "As you walk up to the memorial on either side of the walkway you can see these markers," Miller says.

Touristy Factor: Relatively high—but you'll see almost exclusively Vietnamese tourists, rather than foreigners.

Hoi An

This town in central Vietnam was once one of the most important trading ports in all of southeast Asia. Remnants of the multinational merchants from its ancient days remain.

How to Get There: Miller says to fly to the city of Danang, also in central Vietnam. Hoi An is about a half-hour taxi ride from there.

Why It's So Interesting: "In the 16th and 17th centuries there were merchants in Hoi An from all over the region and beyond. There were Chinese and Japanese and people engaged in the junk trade with what is now Indonesia," Miller explains. "In Hoi An today they've preserved a number of the Chinese place associations." Place associations, called hoi quart, were communal halls and clubs set up by Chinese who came from differ- ent parts of China. "They're large buildings that look like temples. They have statues of various deities, which are worshipped, and they have spaces where members of the association could gather. On the walls they have a lot of plaques with Chinese writing that record things like major events in the history of the association or donations that were made to the association by various merchants." Miller says that several of the place associations in Hoi An are still in remarkably good shape and definitely worth seeing. "I like Hoi An," he says, "because going to these different place associations is very interesting. But they also have great food. It's a great place to try the central Vietnamese cuisine. The food is excellent."

Touristy Factor: "It's definitely on the tourist route—tourism has been growing," Miller warns. "But it's not like Orlando or something like that. Hoi An is a very laid-back place, especially when compared to the big cities. It's a small town. There's a steady stream of tourists, but it's not super-kitschy."

When you're in the area

Soak up History: Be sure to check out the Museum of Ho Chi Minh City, Miller says. The building itself is historically significant because in 1962 Ngo Dinh Diem used the building, then called the Gia Long Palace, as his governmental headquarters. Diem was in the palace on November 1, 1963, when the coup against his government began. "Diem had installed an underground bunker in the palace just for this eventuality—in the event that there was a coup and he was under siege he could go down in the command bunker." In early 2008 Vietnamese officials opened the bunker to tourists, who can now walk through the secret passageways.

Take the Train: A town called Sapa in northern Vietnam is a large tourist resort destination. If you stay at the Victoria Sapa Resort & Spa Hotel, Miller says, you can ride a refurbished colonial-era train.

Dine Out: If you visit Ho Chi Minh City eat at a restaurant called Quan An Ngon. "Most of the food comes from the Mekong Delta, and it's excellent," Miller says. Quan An Ngon is easy to find—it's right across the street from the former South Vietnamese Presidential Palace.

Enjoy the Scenery: For spectacular scenery visit the Ha Long Bay in northern Vietnam. "This bay has thousands of tiny islands, and it's very dramatic—they stick out of the water," Miller says.

Hoi An, Vietnam

CAROLYN KYLSTRA a former DAM intern,work at Men's Health magazine in Pennsylvania.