And then there was one...

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Rebekah is

The last traveller sweating! Fiona, Taylor, Amy, Sabrina, and Ashley all departed early this morning from Hoi An to Hanoi to Bangkok to Seoul to JFK. It will come as no surprise to you then that they are not with you all yet! In fact they may just be boarding the plane in Bangkok for a 30 hour flight to a town near you.

I said my sad goodbyes to everyone on Monday night and departed all by my lonesome to Ho Chi Minh City. As I am leaving on Saturday morning from Bangkok I decided to press on to the South and see what was left to discover in this diverse country.

And discover I have, many millions of motorbikes made the first impression. I have spent the past two days walking touring around (the trusty lonely planet isnt a bad guide although admittedly I seem to have left my map reading skills somewhere in Chiang Mai when Fee started holding the map). Ill break up the heat with a fruit smoothie (only mango, avacado, or soursop for me please) and some museum time.

The Museum of Fine Arts was surprisingly interesting, I believe the modern art collection has been stepped up since its review in The Book (gauranteeded anytime any of here the phrase the book in passing we will think to our Lonely Plantets for months to come). There was also an amazing installation of silk paintings depicting scenes from the war.

The Museum of Ho Chi Minh City held an intereting exhibition of photographs of Saigons expansion and city plans since the early 19th century, how times change! Deep beneath the museum is an extensive network of fortified concrete bunkers and tunnels which stretch all the way to Reunification Palace. In 1963 President Ngo Dinh Diem (leader of the South Vietnamese puppet government) hid here with his brother, making good use of the undergrounds safety as well as living amenities such as siting room and kitchen! Diem was right to be in hiding as he was eventually killed that same year in a US backed coup.

The War Remnants Museum was certainly the most horrifying and worthwhile stop these past two days. The courtyard houses various US armoured vehicles, artillery pieces, and bombs, while there are are many infantry pieces inside. Among the many displays are those of the effects of Agent Orange, both on American and Vietnamese soldiers and their families, an inspiring photograph display depicting many war wounded re-entering and adapting to the work sector, and foreign support for the ending of the war. My favorite exhibit depicted the war by telling the stories and showing the phgraphs of the twenty or thirty some interational phtographers who died in various battles or went missing. It was very intense to read their correspndance with the AP, Newsweek, Time, etc. and then see the last photo before their plane was shot down or they stepped on a landmine. My knowledge about the Vietnamese war was embarassinlgy imcomplete before my time in this country but I have certainly learned a lot in these two short weeks.

The photos of torture and the jars of still born babies deformed by Agent Orange were enough to send me back to my hostel for a much needed break. But I will be back out there again. Tomorrow holds a day trip to the Cu Chi tunnels at Ben Dinh. More on this tomorrow then

One last smoothie and then back to the first room I have slept on my own in 6 weeks, sad.

Peace, love and motorbikes,
Rebekah

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