Day 02 - The American War

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So we spoke to soon is saying our travels to Vietnam were uneventful. We boarded in Korea to head to Saigon and got a good laugh watching the shit show of people boarding trying to get their luggage on and use a combination of letters and numbers. We arrived Saigon and waited for our visas with only one guy working them. Kirsten commented that it at least when they got their visas their luggage would be there. Heading down the elevators, Lynn and Chester see their luggage on the carousal. Kirsten did not see hers and after a few minutes getting run over by luggage trolleys, Kirsten told Chester she did not have a good feeling about her luggage. And she was right. It never arrived. So she made a claim with a 3rd party who does not even give her a claim number and advised they can not call international phone numbers. The last place her luggage was seen was San Francisco. So off to the hotel we go. We finally get to bed around 1:30 AM.

We had a huge breakfast in the hotel and met our guide around 9 to start our day. Kirsten in Chester's clothes but only flip flops to wear. We first head about 90 min out of town to the Cu Chi tunnels. These are a huge set of underground tunnels built by the Viet Cong. Our guide gave us some history of the tunnels and some of the tactics used by the VC to booby trap the Americans. Lynn started the tour by going into one of the tunnel entrances. Chester and Kirsten realized their asses would in no way fit. the Lynn verified this when she had to be pulled out. Chester and Lynn walked a few hundred feet in the tunnels that were about 4 feet tall. Kirsten started but started to freak a bit when people came in behind her so bailed out. She can jump out of a plan but small spaces do her in. The tunnels were mixed in among the jungle so to say it was hot and humid would be an understatement.

We followed the tunnels up with a lunch along the river and some traditional Vietnamese food. We wanted to share 2 meals but they were not having this and forced us to order 3. Of which we ate 1.5 of them. There was a bit of a breeze along the river giving us a chance to dry our clothes out a bit.

We followed this up with a visit to the Presidential Palace. It was unlike most other old palaces as it was built in the 60's a full of art deco design and furniture. We got a bit more political history of the country. We then proceeded to the War Remnant Museum. It was predominately their version of the history of the Vietnam (American) War. So to say the museum was a bit biased on their history was an understatement. If you didn't know any different you would walk out of their comparing the Americans to the Nazis. You can definitely see the communist propaganda work at its best in the museum. There was a large section on Agent Orange, with tons of graphic pictures and a few fetus preserved in chemicals for all to view. That one crossed the line a bit. All in all it was VERY depressing. The history of Vietnam consists of various invasions by other countries including multiple times by China and France.

We finished up with a visit to the catholic church and the post office. Both built by the French. Our guide dropped us at the hotel where we tried to do a bit of shopping for clothes for Kirsten but nothing remotely fit. There were several calls throughout the day see the status of the luggage with the same response. "no update" which means they don't have any idea where the luggage is. Lovely.

We got back to the hotel and immediately booked a one hour massage at the hotel spa. They guided us into 2 rooms for 3 people. Yes Lynn got to have her first couples massage. With Kirsten. She said she was a bit uncomfortable with this but with Kirsten offered to go get Chester, she said she would deal with it. So Kirsten and Lynn are getting undressed, Kirsten is on the table covered and they knock on the door to come back in. Lynn asks them to wait but they come right in any way. So she does a running dive for the table and both started laughing. The massages were great and cheap. We follow this up with a dinner close to the hotel at a wine bar.

All are struggling to keep it awake until 9PM. Hopefully tomorrow is a bit less of the war and a bit more up beat compared to today.

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