Sightseeing in Sai Gon

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We first went to the agency and have set our bus for 9 am on Monday morning. Hopefully everything will go smoothly and quickly across the border. I keep remembering the crossing from Chile to Mendoza, Argentina where everyone had to get out and stand in pointless lines while they didn't really look through your bags. Apparently we won't have to even leave this "express" bus, so we shall see...

We went to the War of the Remnants Museum after lunch and were lucky to see the special exhibit on Agent Orange. Absolutely devastating effects on future generations. Many of the fathers had been sprayed and their children or grandchildren either died from their deformities or live handicapped lives. Some incredible pictures, I have to say, and something not to miss if you're around the area. The rest of the museum was set up into four rooms with different titles, but mostly it was a museum full of the terrors inflicted by the American troops either directly (burning houses, gutting people, etc.) or indirectly (napalm, bombs, grenades, etc.). An interesting thing shown outside the museum were the "tiger cages" which was one form of torture used by the South Vietnamese and Americans. They explained many of the different tortures used on the prisoners and displayed a few weapons and tools used. Sort of an intense experience and I'm glad we went.

After we started walking to the Independence palace only two or three blocks away and along the way found Yogen Fruz! I was obsessed with this place in Santiago so we went in and ordered. Same same but different...Anyways, we went to the palace and it was closed! We'd come almost a half an hour too late -- it's open from 7 am to 4 pm, so we'll have to try again tomorrow on our last day here in Sai Gon.

We decided to walk to the Church of Notre Dame, a block away. The nuns there told us it was also closed! Apparently Saturday is considered a weekday here, so it closes at 16:00 instead of 17:30. I guess the only day it's open till 17:30 is on Sunday.

After a two-time defeat at sight-seeing, we decided to walk towards the river. Along the way we stopped at a bar for $1 beers and sort of walked around a bit before grabbing some grub and hitting the bars. One thing I can say about this city is that it's nightlife has much more stamina than other places we've been to. The bars were still open at 2 am! Nice.

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Photos

mother and child
the baby is newborn and about half the size of the mother, suffering from hydroencephalitis because of the after effects of agent orange on one of the parents

Notre Dame
the front

Notre Dame
the back

the street by the church
filled witih lights