Blogs from District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Southeast, Vietnam, Asia - page 41

The bus ride from Dalat to Saigon was roughly 6 hours, as it turns out a lot of the people on the bus to Dalat only spent the night before continuing down the coast. The ride was easy with nothing really interesting along the way except having tyre blow out. Thankfully the bus ran right into the backpacker district and it only took me 10 minutes to negotiate a price on a room. $5 single room with fan, no aircon. That is extremely cheap so it meant I could spend a little more on other things like treating myself to some Western Cuisine. By twist of fate, I was crossing the street just after dumping my bags and I ran into Jill and Braeden again so we made plans to meet for dinner and wing it ... read more

This will be my last blog entry, officially back in the USA. I do have lots of trips planned for the summer but they aren’t quite as exciting. Weddings, Lake of the Ozarks, Iowa State Fair, etc... My last few days in HCMC were great. I met some really fun people and also met up with my cousin’s cousin Jenna which was a lot of fun. I went to both the Reunification Palace as well as the War Remnants Museum. The War Remnants Museum had a huge focus on the after effects of agent orange and was quite disturbing. Some of the pictures they show of American soldiers holding up dead bodies and the aquarium with dead babies didn’t seem to be needed at all. I am not sure if the babies were real or not ... read more

I checked out the War Remnants Museum one of the days. It gives a very candid view of the Vietnam War from the other side. Not a lot of punches pulled - not surprising really all things considered. It'd be like the Confederate South recounting the "War of Northern Aggression" had they been victorious. Anyways lots of atrocity stories and fallout (disease, horrible birth defects) from Agent Orange (think Chernobyl/Hiroshima) in future generations - not dinner table conversation. The US sent quite a few artifacts and documents in recent years as a sign of goodwill. A lot of military hardware on the front lawn. My favorite part was the top floor which was dedicated to the scores of journalists from many nations who entered the warzones unarmed to bring the message back home. Surprisingly warm and ... read more

Vietnam, unlucky, painful vietnam!! Part one..... Ok we are slightly behind, but our dramatic time in Vietnam is definately worth a read. The country has been incredibly infuriating and still impressively beautiful.   Our journey through this country started with a head spinning introduction in Ho Chi Minh City. ( saigon). Which is busting at the seams.  Our arrival was greeted with a cacophony of noise, as hundreds of scooters and horns permiating the air! The sheer volume of traffic, means the streets are best crossed blindfolded, with the innocent bravery of a child!  On our first day in the city we get a disturbing introduction to the American war and it's aftermath. The war reminants museum provides some grusome photos, most notabily the photo's of an American soldier holding the detached head and torso ... read more

I’m pretty sure it’s a Monday so set off for the visa office after breakfast. It seems local on the map but it takes ages to get there. I have to cross lots of roads and this seems to take up much of the time. At one point I literally cause the traffic to stop with my clumsy efforts to get across (safely). I get to the visa office, complete my visa extension form and reach the till. The guy at the till tells me that I cannot apply direct for a tourist visa extension and need to go via a travel agent. So I make the long journey back, trying to avoid the traffic. There is a travel agent I have spoken to before who is reasonably priced. He tells me that visa regulations have ... read more