Lucky Day 13: a Poem
We woke up to a rather overcast day,
Yet the heat didn’t go away.
A stunning buffet breakfast on a particularly high floor,
We were all eager to finish and rush out the door.
On the bikes, slightly drenched and set to go,
Weaving through light traffic we established a good flow.
Our first stop was the emperor’s Citadel,
The indulgence in the history and the sights were quite swell.
Walls and ruins barely standing, but soaring high,
Peppered with bullet holes, the butterflies still flew by.
Moving on, we found ourselves in the middle of an ancient combat,
Between the elephant and a mighty tiger; the big cat.
But it was not the animals that were in the arena,
Instead us students, who ended up playing a muddy game of British Bulldogs.
Up the hill to the bunker, built by the French, attacked by the Americans,
A rather thrilling and chilling destination, lucky there were no detonations (trying to rhyme).
A beautiful view over the magnificent Perfume River,
Jaws were dropped and the height made us shiver.
A steady cycle to a unique pagoda,
Where we would be greeted with an unusual set of food
An overload of veggies, and luckily no soda (parents, you should be delighted)
Departing the monks to travel the sturdy route, they wished us only good.
The view from inside the chilly pool only motivated us to kick around a soccer ball
So we scurried off to the stadium, only to be kicked out, ignored once and for all.
We then found a different ground with a local boys team,
Who then slightly obliterated us Australians, they were surely not what they seemed.
As the teachers let us go to indulge in the local cuisine,
Many veered away from this offer, thinking it was pretty mean.
Western food was the choice and ticked off the checklist
But Vietnamese culture surrounded us, something that could not be missed.
Now, writing this rather exceedingly dramatically long poem for you,
We can’t wait to jump into bed and be tucked in, oh dear, it’s already 9:02.
So goodnight, good morning, tam biêt or xin ciao.
We had a wonderful day today, and these 24 hours are wrapping up now.
Dima & Ayda & Owen
Photos: stopping at the Citadel and Colosseum as part of our cycling adventures. 
