Thursday
Departure day, those of us that were left said our goodbyes and departed the hotel. Rachel, Kirsty and I went in search of suitable accommodation and after inspecting a couple of dud rooms were fortunate to come across a pleasant place that had a single and double rooms available, both en-suite. My single room has a double bed, the girls double is more of a triple so good size rooms and the aircon works pretty well, which is still a must despite it feeling less oppressive here. We have all booked until Sunday which is when Kirsty will depart for home and Rachel and I will travel together up the coast towards our respective destinations. I am holding out now for the beach and to relax, rest and recharge. I feel like I'm going to crossing over the line in sand that marks my forties at a crawl rather than a sprint. Still, best to be safe hey.
Ho Chi Minh itself is definitely still south east asia, but flavoured a little differently. The motorbike is king here and western brands such as starbucks, pizza hut and mercedes benz all gave a presence along with the street sellers, markets and brightly lit night areas that I have Already experienced in Bangkok and Siem Reap. The outskirts of the city is dressed in the now customary narrow 3 or 4 storey buildings above rather downbeat looking stores along with faded red and white markings along the road boundaries, but the further you venture into the centre, the more up together everything becomes, finally reaching areas that would rival London with designer label storefronts, plush hotels and high rise glass office buildings.
Of all the places so far it also seems the easiest to communicate in english. Almost everyone here seems eager to speak or learn the english language, from coffee houses, restaurants, travel agents, shop keepers, market sellers or people just walking through the park. Westerners are greeted and welcomed as a way to further develop their own grasp of the language, and of course use it for monetary gain aswell under certain circumstances.
So, visited a couple of places, today.
the war remnants museum.
4 floors of exhibits from the vietnam war as well as vehicles on display in the outside area.
It doesn't take long before you realise that the first displays on the ground floor are portraying the american involvement in a negative light. No explanation is given to events which led to the conflict, just straight into posters of protests in countries around the world and quotes from world leaders condemning american actions at this time. Its an unfortunate start as it puts in your mind from the off that everything you are seeing here is going to be a biased representation on the actual truths of the war, and whilst horrors and atrocities undoubtedly occurred during these periods of conflict, you can't help but wish that maybe a more balanced representation or or explanation of the war was on offer here. The one exception to this is the fantastic war photographs collection, which contains strong and powerful imagery regardless of national portrayal or political interest.
The reunification palace.
Not really quite sure what to make of this one. This is where a north vietnamese tank symbolically broke through the gates in 1975, the old political centre and symbol of South Vietnam.
The grounds and building just feel like a large hotel that you have restricted movement through. We missed any tours which I think would have added to the experience. I will have to read more at a later date and see if I can put into context what I have seen here. Truth be told I was still less than top drawer so may not have gleaned the most out of this one as maybe I could have. I think maybe barrellrollman may be worth a watch here, even though he seems like he may be a bit of a douche.
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NRNW8KgUCoU&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DNRNW8KgUCoU
I think that's the thing with coming away to these places, they are full of things that you feel you need to see and experience, if for nothing other than self development and greater understanding of the world. But sometimes you need to just cut the pace a little or you risk only getting a small flavour of the riches on offer.
Or maybe that's just me.
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