A couple takes in the view of Vietnam’s Ha Long Bay from the RV Angkor Pandaw, the vessel the author sailed aboard during his 10-day Red River Delta expedition. (All photos by Ron Emmons)

A 10-day voyage through the country's historic heartland

HANOI -- "Watch out for local land mines!" warned our guide Tifo as we stepped off the RV Angkor Pandaw to visit a village of bamboo weavers in northern Vietnam's Red River Delta. I exchanged a worried look with my fellow passengers, thinking that the legacy of the Vietnam War might have a nasty surprise in store for us.