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Published: September 5th 2006
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Buddhist Temple
Large Buddhist temple, I forgot the name. Many stories have been told about Vietnam, most of them had to do with the war, but mine has to do with the people and the progress of the human spirit to overcome tragedy and adversity and shine through. Well, after this Hemingway-ish intro, let me tell you about my tour in 'Nam. It all started many years ago for me, and my ever incresing interest in Vietnam and the war fought there by the USA; so, I decided to go there myself and see how it was.
I was living in Korea at the time, so the flight there was only 5 hours and pretty cheap. You have to apply for a tourist Visa in advance, which my travel agent did through the Vietnamese embassy in Seoul. Visa and plane ticket in hand I made reservations for a hotel room online and was off.
Right off the bat it was like stepping into another time, as soon as I stepped out of the terminal, there were thousands of people waiting looking for someone or just people gazing. I felt like a star! Anyway, my ride form the hotel showed up and took me to my room where I would spend
Buddhist Temple Interior
The monks insisted I go in to observe their ceremony, it was wonderfull. the next seven days. The hotel was nice, clean, modern and above all cheap!
I started my exploration of Ho Chi Minh City by just leaving the hotel and walking. Right around the corner was the Opera house, and would you believe it......they were showing Miss Saigon! A trek to the cathedral and the presidential palace followed. At the last location you could hear the echoes of a gone by era (thank goodness) of war and suffering. The palace itself was a great place to spend a morning, with an English speaking guide we were taken deep inside the bowels of the palace; radios, maps with diagrams were all still in place from the last days of the Republic of Vietnam (the south), the President's helicopter is still sitting on top of the roof, complete with the ARVN insignia.
Going ay from the Vietnam war for awhile, I strode through the zoo, and although it was a bit sad in comparison to western zoos, it still had a lovely variety of animals and the only chance I got to see monkeys and elephants, two symbols of south east Asian wildlife. Around the corner from the zoo was the history museum,
Main Market
Here you could find anything, from foods to clothes and toys. with interesting archaeological artifacts and treasures from long passed times.
Well, the food! I'm getting to it. The food in Vietnam is sooo cheap, I must have spent 20 dollars on all my meals combined! Any restaurant you go to (it seemed) offers Pho, the traditional soup of Vietnam, together with a loaf of freshly baked bread and a local beer (Tiger, hmm) it came to a measley $1.20! Now that is economizing. Of course you can find most western cusines in the city as well, including, sigh, fast food.
The people were extremely friendly and wanting to practice their English at any occasion. It seems that the southerners are a lot quicker in forgetting the bad times, and moving into a new age of prosperity and friendly relations with the west and the USA. Everywhere I went people spoke English, and the one time I was confused for a Frenchman, and spoken to in French, the immediately corrected to English once they knew I was American. I never had a feeling that I was being watched, as some have put, by the local authorities, and for the rare occasion of a green uniformed traffic cop, you never
Presidential Palace
This is now known as the Unification Palace. see the police. But there remains an incredible sense of safety and order. A part from the insane traffic of scooters and mopeds, which appear to be a moving river at times. My guide told me to walk out and don't stop, the traffic will flow around you like the Mekong flows around an island. Not for the faint at heart.
I couldn't go all the way to Vietnam without going to see the tunnels. The Cu Chi tunnels were about an hour and a half from downtown "Saigon", and you can organize a tour with one of the many companies that take tourists all over the area. I think it cost me 3 US dollars, can't quite remember. Your guide is with you from the beginning and to kill the time of the bus ride (the most cramped bus in the world) he regails you with tails of the hardships and horrors of those living in the tunnels during the war. Of course, with a bus full of Yanks, he was a south Vietnamese soldier serving on the DMZ during the war, but I think we all knew and would have felt cheated had he not been a
Music of Vietnam
Traditional music display at the Unification palace. VC. The way our guide went in and out of these tiny holes on the jungle floor just re-enforced my theory that he had experience with this place. The jungle canopy is thick, but the sun still get through and the leaves appear to be almost fluorescent green. After viewing the various traps and activities that were performed in the tunnels, we got to fire a weapon from the war at a firing range. At $1 a bullet, it seemed a rip off, but I had to try firing the weapon of the VietCong in the Jungle, so I paid the money.
There were many other locations I explored, including a large Buddhist temple (since I am Buddhist I felt it appropriate to visit one), but I do want people to read this so in conclusion, I reccomend Vietnam to anyone who is a bit curious about this part of the world, wants good value for their money and is just a tad bit adventurous.
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