Seeking the Good Life

The Ho Chi Minh Trail has always been more than just a road. During the Vietnam War, it was a powerful symbol of defiance and determination. Actually a 16,000-km spider web of paths through Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, the trail was called the "lifeline road" by the communist North Vietnamese and used by them to ferry troops and arms. U.S. armed forces tried to destroy it with nearly 1 million tons of bombs, but they never fully succeeded. Quite simply, the Ho Chi Minh Trail led the world's mightiest military to frustration and, finally, withdrawal.

Vietnam's government has called...