Day 2 Ho Chi Minh city
Today we woke up to the sound of our 7am wake up call. We were met at breakfast by a giant Vietnamese buffet. This was different from many of us as we had only ever experienced western buffets. There were foods like pork bun, fried rice, dumplings and wide variety of fruits. After breakfast we got on a bus to head to the parliament gates where Sunny, our tour guide, informed us about the rich history of the street and gates before us. In 1975 a tank crashed through the Parliament gates to protest the union between southern and northern Vietnam.
Next, we took a 10 minute walk to The War Remnant Museum. Along the street we were met by Vietnamese making a living by selling produce, such as food, sunglasses and other miscellaneous items. Once we arrived at The War Remnant Museum we were given our own time to experience the interesting but confronting history of the Vietnamese/American war. Throughout the museum we learnt about the effects that the Americans left in the after math in the Vietnamese war. One of the most explicit and damaging parts of the war was Agent Orange. Agent Orange was a chemical developed by the Americans, sprayed over Vietnamese to not immediately harm the victim but which severely deformed future offspring. 4.8 million people were sprayed but only 3 million were affected. We also learnt that Australian and American soliders that were exposed to the chemical brought it back home and the same effects occurred. At this exhibit some of us were deeply affected by the horrendous images on display, however it is important to be informed about this important aspect of history.
Before lunch, we visited the biggest market in the whole of Vietnam. This was quite a busy and intense experience as we do not have markets like this back in Melbourne. The shop keepers were quite hands on as we found that this is their livelihood. Our money conversion cards proved to be very useful when bargaining. For most of us it was our first time bargaining but we quickly adapted. Some of us got accosted aggressively which was quite funny but painful when we spent more money then we should have. We came away with better bargaining skills and emptier wallets.
After a quick and spicy authentic Vietnamese lunch we went started an adventure race around Ho Chi Minh. During the race we visited icon buildings, rode on cyclo’s and tried intense South East Asian exotic fruits that were new to us with some interesting results. Our last stop on the adventure was the tallest building in Vietnam where we saw Ho Chi Minh city in all of its contrast. After finishing the race we went for a well deserved dinner where we tried a wide variety of new Vietnamese cuisine. On the walk back to the hotel we saw a family friendly festival. The roads were closed off and lots of different music was playing. We are looking forward to a change of pace tomorrow where we will be visiting an orphanage and RMIT university. Bye till tomorrow.
Ash C, Lauren E and James K
