Viet Nam, Ho Chi Minh

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July 29 - arrive in the evening in HCMC
July 30 - Aug 1 HCMC

We got into HCMC/Saigon late on Sunday night from our Mekong Delta trip. It was raining heavily so we quickly found a place to stay. I went out for a bite by myself as Jen was feeling sick. I met a very fun guy from Australia named Henry who was on his way to Bejing and Hong Kong for a year.

My friend Evie arrived on July 31 in the morning. It was so great that she could come out and travel with us for a couple weeks! Evie, Jen and I went sight seeing a couple days around Saigon - The Reunification Palace was not at all what we expected - everything looked like it was straight from the 1960s. AFter touring the 'palace' we watched part of a propoganda video, ending with a patriotic song that went something like... 'Viet Nam, Ho Chi Minh, Viet Nam Ho Chi Minh...' They love Ho Chi Minh here in Vietnam. All around the city (and all of Vietnam) are posters of him and other Communist propoganda. I can't help but notice the resemblance between Ho Chi Minh, with his skinny white beard and Colonel Sanders.

We also went to check out the War Remnants museum which was very disturbing, especially the graphic photos of the victims of agent orange and the devastation during the Vietnam war, which they refer to here as the American war. It was truly disgusting, and we were still wondering whether we should be telling people that we were American.

One day we went to the Cu Chi tunnels outside of HCMC where one group of Viet Cong villagers hid out and lived in after the Americans had completely destroyed their land, killing all the foliage. Before going into the tunnels, we viewed old footage of these villagers/Viet Cong soldiers in a propoganda film describing in a thick Vietnamese accent the various awards they would win for 'killing American enemy.' We saw some of the disgusting bamboo and metal rod traps they made. Oddly, before going into the tunnels, our tour stopped by a firing range where we could shoot automatic weapons. Hearing the gunshots in the distance added to the strange feeling of this area. The tunnels themselves were very cramped. We actually only walked through about 30 meters of them, but it was enough for me - enough to get the claustrophobic feeling of crawling through the winding tunnel. My heart was racing...

Unfortunately, I'm not able to upload any photos of this yet, but will do so as soon as I get to a proper computer.

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Photos

Motorbikes
There are very few cars in Vietnam in proportion to the number of motorbikes.

Crap Soup
Mmmmmm... sounds delicious (Menu in Ho Chi Minh City)

Squid vendor
Peee-ew - very stinky, the squid vendors park their trikes in front of the street cafes, hoping to sell some dried squid.

Book seller
The tourists are frequently harassed by locals selling photocopied books.

Agent Orange Victims Making Handicrafts
On our way to Cu Chi tunnels we stopped at a charity for victims of agent orange who make beautiful inlay handicrafts.

Cu Chi Tunnels
Tiny entrance to the original tunnels at Cu Chi

Trap for 'Killing American Enemy'
Bamboo spikes at the bottom of this trap covered by a wicker swinging door hidden with leaves.

Cu Chi trap
Guide shows us another trap used against the Americans. This one would swing down through a door, stabbing the victims with metal spikes.