Day 488 Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

It was a short work week, just three days, and Len and I were back up in the air...China Southern this time, through Guangzhou, South China on our way to bring in the New Year in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

On our layover in Guangzhou, we had pizza in the airport
that also served Samos wine.  How appropriate for Dr. Len
Olsen, the philosopher :)

We got to the Blue Diamond Hotel rather late,
before midnight, but neither of us felt much like
bringing in the New Year. We took a late night walk
around the neighborhood to get our bearings,
mapped out our game plan for two whirlwind days
in Vietnam, then called it a night. The next morning,
we headed out and we were quickly greeted (accosted!)
by this man wanting to sell us a fresh coconut water.
Len tried his baskets on for size :)

It was pretty tasty!

  

I had two things I wanted to see on this 'teaser trip' of Vietnam
(I intend to backpack Vietnam/Cambodia/Laos next February).
First, I wanted to visit the War Remnants Museum.

Political propaganda from back in the day :/

A map showing the various companies of troops
and where they did battle.  South Vietnam,
the Saigon area, (now Ho Chi Minh City)
suffered the most casualties.

Some would say these estimates are high...
at any rate, any amount of KIA or
civilian casualties is too much, if you ask me.
The US lost 58,156 men and women, 75,000
returned disabled (over 23k 100% disabled),
2,338 were MIA and there were 766 POWs,
114 of whom died in captivity.

"At 10:45am on April 30, 1975, the liberation army
attacked and occupied Independent Palace, forcing
the Saigon administration to surrender unconditionally.
This terminated the resistance against foreign invaders
and helped to restore national independence and unity
for the people of Viet Nam"...so the placard said.
We took a walk around Independence Palace after 
our visit at the Museum. 

My favorite exhibit was called Requiem, a collection of war
documentary photos taken by 134 journalists from 11 nationalities
that were killed during the IndoChina War. I was captivated, and
poured over each and every photo.  Maybe because I have
(step)daughters in the Air Force, maybe because my youngest
went to USAFA, and she at one time had aspirations of being
a war correspondent herself.  She now is a local news reporter.

"The title of the exhibit says that it is a requiem for a war, but as much as anything, it was paying a form of homage on the part of those who came back from Vietnam, and to the memory of those who did not. The photos evoke dual images, not just those of a terrible and violent time and of all the casualties of that war, both civilian and military, but images as well for many of us- of the faces of men and women who were there, who were our friends, and who took these very photos. We are reminded of their bravery, of the terrible risks they took, and of course, constantly, of our good fortune.  War correspondents always know who is real, and who is not. A war zone is not a good setting for the inauthentic of spirit and heart."

"We, who were print people, who only dealt in words and not images, always knew that the photographers were the brave ones. They held in that war- which began in an era of still photography and ended with color film and videotape beamed by satellite to television stations all over the world- a special place in our esteem. We deferred to them, reporter to photographer, as we did in few other venues." As I continued to look over photographs, I learned many of the images were found in canisters in their vests and camera bags, which had been taken off of their dead bodies.

"These photographers have given us something special. a remarkable record of that distant war, many of their photos were taken when few people cared about what happened there. They have given us images that have had the power to endure long after the war was over. Now that the war is past, consigned to the normal negligence that accorded to history in America, those images remain powerful, a critical part of what constitutes modern memory. We are grateful to those who took these photos, now as then, forever in their debt."

A wet nurse was tending to an infant who
lost both of his legs. and parents.

 

I started to go through the Agent Orange exhibit,
but after a dozen photos or so of emaciated
children, deformed children, and orphans,
I couldn't stomach any more.  I waited
for Len outside. 

...and then it seemed the remainder of my stay there, I saw disabled, deformed adults on the streets. Seeing so many cleft palates, deformed hands and feet, and missing limbs was almost too much to bear. Many of those born with these congenital defects received the agent orange contamination by eating fish from the area rivers, which is still many of the Vietnamese' way of life.  The next day we planned to take a tour of the Mekong River Delta, and the people who live in the 'river cities'.

Tell me again why we entered the Vietnam conflict?

Ho Chi Minh City was beautifully decorated for the New Year-
at night time, the lights were gorgeous.  Chu'c Mu`ng Nam Mo'i!

I cannot pass by a beautiful old door....
I wish I could get one of these home :)

Next stop was the Saigon Notre Dame Cathedral.

Sadly, I couldn't go in and light a candle for my
father and grandmother, as I have done in
cathedrals and churches all over the world.
The doors were locked that day :(

Next we went across the street to Central Post Office.  It is
actually a bit of a tourist attraction; to mail post cards from here.

The interior is gorgeous, and a bit
like a street market.  So, I bought
some postcards, mailed them, and
we were on our way. Family, have
any of you received your post cards yet?!

Upon the advice of our hotel concierge, we
went to a beautiful restaurant, in a traditional
indoor/outdoor building with rich wood beams
and carved panels, and authentic Vietnamese food.

First on the menu was some cold drinks, as it
was ever so hot and humid walking about town!

We feasted on a variety of foods, including pho, of course.

We made lettuce wraps with shrimp, noodles,
vegetables, cilantro and fresh pineapple- delish!

...and I wish I could remember the name of this place
but it escapes me at the moment.  It was full of
historical artifacts, pottery and paintings, too.
I could get you there; it was near the Independent Palace.

After our late lunch, we cooled off with a nap
in the AC back at the hotel, before venturing
back out to the streets for the evening.

We went to Cho Ben Thanh Market which was just a few
blocks from our hotel. It was nearly closing time,
but it was still nuts- you could buy produce, spring
rolls, purses, trinkets and souvenirs galore....

...and genuine fake watches (at least they're honest!)

...and traditional Vietnamese coffee in which the coffee
beans are 'harvested' from weasel poop.  We had to buy some, lol.

As we left the Cho Ben Thanh Market in search of dinner,
the streets were more chaotic than usual, with a steady slew
of garment carts being wheeled right down the middle of the road!

Not two blocks from our hotel (we really were in a perfect
location :), we went to the nightly street food market in
search of delicious things to eat for dinner.

The sights and smells were overpowering-
too hard to decide!

I'm not sure what all we ate, but it was fabulous, less
than a few bucks, and no tummy troubles afterwards- Score!

And I finished off the perfect touristy day with a
phallic ice cream cone!  I mean, really, it was like a
churro filled on both ends with chocolate deliciousous-ness!

G'nite, y'all! Tomorrow is the Mekong River Delta tour :)