After a well deserved sleep, we were abruptly woken up by the heat. Even though some of us were still tired, we entered the breakfast buffet with smiling faces and enjoyed a variety of Vietnamese breakfast foods, from fried rice to noodles, and interesting local Vietnamese fruits such as Dragon fruit, and some familiar foods like watermelon and pastries. It was definitely strange having these foods for breakfast, but we were all stoked about the day ahead.
Entering the bus with an open mind, we traveled to China Town. We instantly felt the sun on our skin, melting off our sunscreen, and were greeted by an unfamiliar culture and a variety of smells, most of which we had never experienced before. The China Town in Ho Chi Minh City is not how we know it back in Melbourne. Here there was a diversity of items being sold, from Vietnamese food, to clothing and kitchen utensils. The hustle and bustle of the narrow pathways made the environment exciting. Although the heat made the sweat drip down our backs, we loved every moment of this experience and wanted to learn and take as much information in as possible.
We didn’t only visit China town but we also had the opportunity to learn about the religion on a deeper level by going to the Chinese temple.
We were definitely excited to jump on our air conditioned bus to journey to one of the most confronting experiences on this trip so far. We had no idea what was going to be placed in front of our faces as we entered the War Remnants Museum, which was once called the Museum of Chinese and American War Crimes. As a group our emotions were running high and after the visit there was significant drop in the mood, as we recalled the images and information that we had witnessed. After visiting the war memorial we had many questions about Vietnams history. The experience was educational and confronting, especially the pictures of the children and adults affected by the Agent Orange chemicals. The bus became quiet on the way back to our hotel as we had a deeper understanding of the history of Vietnam.
Putting together all the knowledge we had previously learned about Ho Chi Minh City after the last two days (especially the traffic- which may we add- is hectic) we were able to split off into groups of four or five to navigate our way to different check points around the city, including the Saigon Skydeck, where we were able to see a three sixty view of the amazing city. Yesterday we thought we were never going to be able to achieve this task as it is a foreign country with many different ways of life.
Vietnam Red is safe and happy and excited for the next 16 ahead! We are already professionals at crossing the road and it’s only been two days! (In Ho Chi Minh City, regardless of the traffic light colour, go!)
Missing you all!!
Signing out -Eve and Danielle
Picture 1: Checking out some local transport on the Great Race around Saigon.
Picture 2: Vietnam Red in front of an American aircraft at the War Remenants museum.
Picture 3: Vietnam Red at the Chinese Temple.
