This three-part series on Vietnam is based on the personal impressions of William Ketter, CNHI’s vice president of news, during a recent two-week trip to the country that played a major role in American politics, foreign affairs and cultural change during the 1960s and 1970s.

The trip included an eight-day motorcycle trek down remnants of the infamous Ho Chi Minh Trail with five other Americans. The group covered 850 miles, from the northern mountains of Vietnam to the former American military base at DaNang and China Beach, on the coast of the South China Sea.

It was Ketter’s second trip to Vietnam. His first visit occurred in 1995, when he led a group of American editors on a fact-finding mission.

Note to Editors: Find embedded links to stories within the summary below. Photos are included within each story.

Part I

Land of communist capitalism - Vietnam struggled to feed its people and prosper as a nation after the war with the United States ended in 1975. Now, it is the second fastest growing economy in Asia, trailing only China. That’s because it abandoned government control of all commerce in the mid-1990s and adopted an open-market economic system. But the government still tightly controls the political system and Vietnam remains a poor country. (700 words)

Sidebar: Vietnam’s booming population - The country's population has increased from 60 million to 85 million people since the Vietnam War ended, causing the government to impose a two-child limit on families. But enforcement is lax and so is the use of contraceptives. (250 words)

Part II

Tied to the past, seeking the future - You can access the Internet anywhere in Vietnam, including mountain hamlets. But the farming methods used to harvest rice, the country’s No. 1 export, remain 19th century. The contrast has Vietnam caught between the past and the future. (600 words)

Part III

Tourism riches at bloody war sites - Despite 50 years of continuous war with the Japanese, French, Americans, Cambodians and Chinese, Vietnam remains among the most attractive tropical places to visit in the world. It features gorgeous mountains, deep valleys and endless rivers. But most of its tourism is tied to bloody war sites, including the Ho Chi Minh Trail, the main route for weapons and supplies that was bombed heavily by American B-52s during the Vietnam War. Vietnam is also one of the few places in the world today where the American dollar is stronger than the local currency. Travel there is a bargain. (800 words)

Sidebar: English no longer banned - When pale-faced Americans arrive in the smallest of villages, youngsters rush up to them to practice their English. The language is now taught in elementary grades across the country, a sharp contrast from 20 years ago, when you could be arrested for speaking English. (150 words)

William B. Ketter is CNHI's vice president of news. He previously worked as editor-in-chief of The Eagle Tribune in North Andover, Mass., chairman of Boston University's Journalism Department, vice president at the Boston Globe, and editor of The Patriot Ledger in Quincy, Mass. He also spent many years - as a reporter, editor and vice president - at United Press International. He is a former president of the American Society of Newspaper Editors, director of the Society of Professional Journalists, member of the Pulitzer Prize Board and five-time Pulitzer juror. Read his blog or e-mail him at wketter@cnhi.com.