Hello Vietnam!

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I have arrived! It only took a mini airport breakdown and a couple days to get here, but I have made it. The flight over was probably the best I have ever had, though my stop in China was held up as Customs agents inspected my visa from Bolivia - telling me it looked fake! Why would someone create a fake visa to get into Bolivia and then use it in China? It makes no sense, but they were very worried about me for awhile there. I met another traveler while there though who had his passport stolen in the Beijing airport and was in China for 3 days trying to get his paperwork sorted. Life is hard overseas without a passport - always (always) copy your passport and email it to yourself so you can always access it later.

Ho Chi Minh aka Saigon is the first stop on my itinerary. As usual, after two days of travel I'm completely wrecked. But is good to get up and moving around. I started with breakfast at the hotel - a lavish spread with an omelette bar, delicious fruits and vegetables, soups, rice and patties, and much more. It was a beautiful setting with the Ho Chi Minh city in grand view. The city is very much European in design, with evidence of the French colonialism throughout.

My first stop of the entire trip was a somber one, the War Remnants Museum. This museum is dedicated to detailing the Vietnam War - and no detail, no matter how harrowing, was on the walls. It is important that we analyze, that we see, what happened. I was particularly taken aback by the exhibit on Agent Orange.

Then we moved on to the Reunification Palace which served as home to several Presidents. and was the site of the ending of the Vietnam War - the fall of Saigon. You'll see a gate in the picture, that is where the tank drove through.and on site there are a couple replica Soviet tanks. Then a quick drive by Notre Dame (currently under rehab) and the post office.

Tomorrow on to the Mekong Delta.

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Comments

[Carrie Lippert]

Yay!!
Already loving the pictures!! Looking forward to more!