With passports in hand (phew), we made it to Vietnam on Wednesday. When we arrived at our hotel, our luggage felt a little lite...after much negotiation with a cab driver and an agreement we would ride with a pair of Aussie girls, we settled on what we considered a fair price. hmmm...our luggage felt a little lite...where are my sunglasses and Sean's blackberry?! The cab driver must have pinched them when we let the girls off and he was in the trunk getting their luggage out. UGH!
The streets of Ho Chi Minh are crazy! Everyone on motor cycles and I am not quite sure if there are any traffic laws. It is a funny site when it starts to rain (which is several times a day). Everyone pulls their motorcycles over and gets out their ponchos.
We did a walking tour of the major sites of the city - a tour of the palace, museums, the post office, and a beautiful cathedral. All that walking and we barely made it out for New Year's Eve. We managed to find an Aussie dive bar - the Blue Gecko - in true Aussie fashion, it was a night filled with Abba!
The first day of 2009 we spent at the War Remembrance Museum. What an eye-opening experience?! In the spirit of peace and harmony among our readers, I try to refrain from controversial or politically charged postings HOWEVER I just have to comment here. This was one of the most traumatic experiences of my life. How did I miss everything that happened in the Vietnam War. Boy did I get an American view! On several occasions, I felt sick to my stomach and was brought to tears on one occasion. I ended up buying McNamar's book, In Retrospect, from a man without any arms (a victim of the land mines left in Vietnam). I highly recommend it. It was very enlightening - and disturbing. Makes you think...
