Ho Chi Minh (Saigon)

Cyclo about town
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Our final city in Vietnam was Ho Chi Minh city (renamed from Saigon after the Vietnam war). We first had an opportunity to see some of the city streets and sites on cyclos. Much of the sites had to do with the Vietnam war (or the American war as it is called here) .

Our cylco drivers first took us to the War Remnant Museum. The museum detailed via photo exhibits and text depicting the ravages of the war. We both felt very emotional as we walked through the exhibits. It certainly brings it close to home when you see the devastation and impacts here in Vietnam. In addition, it was difficult to look at the pictures of the people affected by the agent orange herbicides that (DDT) and the ravages on the innocent people and villages.

Rush hour while on cyclo!
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Another stop was the Cu Chi tunnels which was one of the Viet Cong’s tunnel systems for the war. It was very interesting to see and actually walk through a part of the tunnel system. Very ingenious really but difficult to walk as the tunnels were less than four feet in height. Our one other stop was to the Reunification Palace which we where the south surrendered in 1975. Here we also saw a film depicting the war and it was interesting to see things from this side of the war.

Our group had a final dinner night which was fantastic. We went to a local eatery where you grilled your meat right on the table. As for the menu, we passed on the goat penis and field rat , but we did try the crocodile and kangaroo – both of which we really enjoyed (although we all are a little questioning of the kangaroo as they obviously are not indigenous to Vietnam). The most stunning part of the experience was when they brought the prawns to the table – still alive in a plastic bag. They throw them on the grill live. Awful really. But they paralyze them first with a toothpick as if that makes us feel better.

Can Scott get a bigger bowl of Pho??
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We were sad to say goodbye to our tour leader, Chinh, here as he was very open and honest about things in Vietnam and how it’s impacted those he knows and his own family. There are always many sides to everything – some good and some bad, and it was nice to have made some new Vietnamese friends along the way.

Tidbits of the day:

· The name agent orange comes from the orange stripes that were used to identify it on the 55 gallon storage drums and by estimates here 21 million gallons of agent orange dropped on Vietnam soil affecting over 3 million people in some way (cancer, miscarriages, deformed births, etc)

Scott disappears down the Cu Chi tunnel entrance
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· The local ladies in Vietnam are often seen on the streets in their pajamas. Seems okay to stroll around anywhere in your jammies – how nice!

What will standout overall from our time in Vietnam:

· Sadly, the Vietnam War – including the personal stories from those that we met and the images and staggering statistics

· Beautiful Halong Bay – well worth an overnight stay as the scenery and the karsts are beautiful

Excuse the pose, but just giving you a sense for size in the Cu Chi tunnels
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· Conical hats – you see them everywhere

· Hanoi old quarter street traffic – will never forget the chaos

· The food, specifically in Hoi An, was some of the best yet

· The skillful tailors of Hoi An

Crocodile BBQ - must try this at home
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· The dirty streets found virtually everywhere

· Driving through the flooded countryside on motorbikes

· The cyclo drivers – you feel like a lazy westerner as this guy half your weight bikes you around. Many of them can’t even reach the bottom of the pedals. It is the way that they make a living however.