Our first day was going to be a time to take in the history of Saigon a.k.a Ho Chi Minh City. A travel agent told us that most of them would be closed because of the Tet Holiday. The New Year's celebration continued to bog down our plans. She suggested a massive flower display which centered on the Year of the Dragon. Many houses will put up a tree similar to the one pictured. After that we walked around and headed for the Reunification Palace, which was open, just like the lady misinformed us. Sometimes I hate being a tourist. It was later in the afternoon and we wouldn't have time to go to the Palace and the War Remnants museum in the same day. We wanted to see the museum more than the palace so we went a few more blocks to see if that was open too. Sure enough, 0-2 with that travel agent lady. They were both open. At least we saw one of them while we were there. Things closed fairly early in the evening so we went back to the hostel to relax.
Day two was a day trip to the Mekong Delta. We were disappointed in the tour. They told us that we'd see a fishing village and some rice patties, but we never did. Our conclusion was that it may have been a seasonal thing. We went island hoping and saw a coconut candy making place - good eats. Then an island where they made honey and banana wine. The next island was lunch. Then we tried local fruit and heard some local music. Our last bit of fun on the Delta was a row boat ride. It became a bit crowded on this small creek, but It felt very jungle-ish. The whole thing was more a tourist trap to buy their products than an up close look at life on the Mekong. It was not what we expected. Still hungry from snacking and a light lunch, we ate Subway for supper. I will remember this only because of the currency exchange in Vietnam. Every 1 U.S. Dollar converts into 20,000 Vietnam Dong. When my Subway meal rang up the cashier said, "That will be 110,000 please." I imagined myself in America and having a cashier tell me to pay that amount for anything. It would be outrageous! Not in Vietnam. Here, I was a millionaire.
The last day in Saigon was spent out at the Cu Chi tunnels. These tunnels were dug by the Vietnamese during their wars with the French and then expanded during the war with America. You must understand also, during our stay in Saigon, we experienced a lot of propaganda about the war and all of it was anti-American. The various things they told us were how they dug out tunnels, how they made weapons to fight against Americans, and how they lived in the tunnels. They even made a cleaner and bigger tunnel for tourists. We could fit our "McDonald's bodies in these tunnels," as our tour guide put it. Saigon didn't go so well, but I took away a new perspective and viewpoint of the war between them and us. Both sides did lots of damage and war is never a nice thing. Here's a shout out to all you veterans, families of veterans, and current service men and women. Thank you for your sacrifice and work at securing freedom and safety for the United States of America. We are a country unlike any other and it is thanks to brave people like you. Thank you.
Our first day was going to be a time to take in the history of Saigon a.k.a Ho Chi Minh City. A travel agent told us that most of them would be closed because of the Tet Holiday. The New Year's celebration continued to bog down our plans. She suggested a massive flower display which centered on the Year of the Dragon. Many houses will put up a tree similar to the one pictured. After that we walked around and headed for the Reunification Palace, which was open, just like the lady misinformed us. Sometimes I hate being a tourist. It was later in the afternoon and we wouldn't have time to go to the Palace and the War Remnants museum in the same day. We wanted to see the museum more than the palace so we went a few more blocks to see if that was open too. Sure enough, 0-2 with that travel agent lady. They were both open. At least we saw one of them while we were there. Things closed fairly early in the evening so we went back to the hostel to relax.
Day two was a day trip to the Mekong Delta. We were disappointed in the tour. They told us that we'd see a fishing village and some rice patties, but we never did. Our conclusion was that it may have been a seasonal thing. We went island hoping and saw a coconut candy making place - good eats. Then an island where they made honey and banana wine. The next island was lunch. Then we tried local fruit and heard some local music. Our last bit of fun on the Delta was a row boat ride. It became a bit crowded on this small creek, but It felt very jungle-ish. The whole thing was more a tourist trap to buy their products than an up close look at life on the Mekong. It was not what we expected. Still hungry from snacking and a light lunch, we ate Subway for supper. I will remember this only because of the currency exchange in Vietnam. Every 1 U.S. Dollar converts into 20,000 Vietnam Dong. When my Subway meal rang up the cashier said, "That will be 110,000 please." I imagined myself in America and having a cashier tell me to pay that amount for anything. It would be outrageous! Not in Vietnam. Here, I was a millionaire.
The last day in Saigon was spent out at the Cu Chi tunnels. These tunnels were dug by the Vietnamese during their wars with the French and then expanded during the war with America. You must understand also, during our stay in Saigon, we experienced a lot of propaganda about the war and all of it was anti-American. The various things they told us were how they dug out tunnels, how they made weapons to fight against Americans, and how they lived in the tunnels. They even made a cleaner and bigger tunnel for tourists. We could fit our "McDonald's bodies in these tunnels," as our tour guide put it. Saigon didn't go so well, but I took away a new perspective and viewpoint of the war between them and us. Both sides did lots of damage and war is never a nice thing. Here's a shout out to all you veterans, families of veterans, and current service men and women. Thank you for your sacrifice and work at securing freedom and safety for the United States of America. We are a country unlike any other and it is thanks to brave people like you. Thank you.
