Good Morning Vietnam! (I couldn't resist)

A perfect replica of the tiger cages that held prisoners.
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Ok, I've fallen way behind on my journal so here goes.  Ho Chi Min City is a breath of fresh air after the weird menacing vibe of Phnom Penh, and with its colorful buildings and 4.5 million scooters on the streets the energy level is high.  I met two travelers on the bus from Cambodia; Claudio from Mexico and his travel partner Tara from the good ol USA.  We found a great hotel called the Canadian and I couldn't resist staying.  The area of town we were in is called the Pham Ngu Lao district and is the choice of many a backpacker due to heaps of hotels, restaurants (with english on the menu), and more than a few food stalls.

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The day after arriving the three of us headed out to the main attraction in town: The war remnants museum.  The museum is a stark reminder of the nasty business of war and definitely does not paint a rosy picture of America's role in the Vietnam war, repeatedly calling the American army "the American Imperialist Occupation forces".  Filled to the brim with gruesome pictures and examples of the mines and  weapons its not for the faint of heart.  Included in the museum is the actual guillotine used to execute dissidents and prisoners.

the actual guillotine used to execute dissidents and prisoners.

Claudio,Tara and myself
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Poor Claudio lost his wallet on the way to the airport and had to turn around half way, something I can sympathize with very easily.  For two days he moped around the hotel room unable to formulate a plan of action, something that aggravated Tara to no end.  Eventually he came around to my constant lecturing on the benefits of Western Union and finally got some money from his brother back home.  By this time Tara had left for Nha Trang with the final fifteen days of her trip booked, scheduled and organized.

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The next day I had booked a tour to the Cu Chi tunnels, but wound up sleeping in and missing the bus.  But the girl at the booking agency was very nice and offered to change the day on my ticket to the next day for only a buck.  The tunnels were a key point in the Viet Cong resistance to the American forces.  The tunnels span a distance of over two hundred kms and were built over 17 years to house the resistance and provide a means of getting to several villages and hiding from the army.  At the compound are examples of the many types of booby traps and defenses used by the VC in their guerilla warfare.  Its easy to see why the Americans moral was so low during the war and why the Cu Chi area was never taken over.  We were given the opportunity to crawl through some parts of the tunnels but were restricted from really exploring.

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The tour included a stop at the main temple of the Cao Dai religion, a unique faith that has fused several religions together including Catholicism, Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism.  We arrived in time for the Midday worship and were ushered upstairs to watch and listen.  The temple itself is an explosion of color inside and extravagant decoration.  The central focus is a large sphere with a "divine eye" painted on it.  On the walls are sculptures of the various prophets that have been appropriated including Jesus, Mary, Buddha, and Confucius.  Strangely enough, the patron saint of the Cao Dai is poet Victor Hugo who had appeared numerous times in seances held by the high priests.  The seances aren't sanctioned any more and since its inception there have been "underground seances" that have brought forth testimony that is contradictive to the original teachings.

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While in Vietnam a must do is get some clothing tailored as its incredibly cheap and the quality can be very good if the right shop is found.  I had a pinstriped black suit made as well as a dress shirt.  A silk tie was thrown in for free and even came with matching cuff links, all for about $80.

After a few days in HCMC it was time to move on to the next stop: Muine beach, a small beach town off the main highway that is still fairly undiscovered by the masses.