Brad Pitt, Jolie make surprise trip to Vietnam

HANOI, Nov 24 (Reuters) Hollywood superstars Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie made a surprise visit to Vietnam, cruising the streets of commercial hub Ho Chi Minh City on a motorbike.

Photos of the couples on a grey scooter appeared on the front pages of state-run newspapers today, puzzling some Vietnamese who had never heard of them before.

''I saw the pictures in the newspaper but still have no idea why the fuss about these Westerners,'' Nguyen Van Thu, a construction worker in Hanoi, said. ''But now maybe I will watch their movies to know why.'' Pitt and Jolie arrived in Vietnam on Thursday during what appeared to be a break from filming ''A Mighty Heart'' in India, where they have been mobbed by fans and stirred a media frenzy.

The film stars Jolie as the wife of US journalist Daniel Pearl, who was abducted and murdered by Islamic militants in Pakistan in 2002. Pitt is the producer.

State newspapers said the couple flew into Vietnam yesterday from Cambodia, the birthplace of their adopted son Maddox. They were seen dining at a Vietnamese restaurant undisturbed and were due to return to Cambodia today.

It was not clear if their children were traveling with them.

REUTERS DKA KN1606