3 Days in Ho Chi Minh City
Sam, Una and I decided that we deserved a vacation (yes, I know that Una and I haven't technically done any work yet, despite the fact that they are already paying us . . . yes, I know I have the best job in the world). So we checked for the cheapest flight to the coolest place and that was Ho Chi Minh (formerly Saigon). We spent 3 days gorging ourselves on Vietnamese food--so good!
We visited both the Cu Chi tunnels (where Viet Cong soldiers hid in the hills outside Saigon during the war) and the War Remnants museum. Both were very powerful sites. The tunnels, which they have enlarged for tourists, are tiny and scary. I can't imagine the courage it must have taken to hide in them for weeks on end. Our guide to the tunnels worked with the Americans during the war, went to a reeducation camp after the war, and now earns a living showing American tourists around a Communist hideout. The dynamics were complicated and I honestly haven't figured all of them out. I was also embarrassed by my weak knowledge of Vietnam War history.
The War Remnants Museum brought all three of us to tears. It is a brutal look at the atrocities of the war and the lingering effects on the people of Vietnam. The experience of the museum is complicated by the fact that it is confusingly and poorly laid out. While the evidence is, of course, arranged to prove one perspective, sometimes it is not clear what the message is supposed to be because the museum design is so bad.
Una's dad grew up in Vietnam and she was able to find both his old church and the building he used to live in. It added a whole new dimension to the trip for her, and for me vicariously.
We went out with Thai, a friend of a friend of Sam who lives in Vietnam and works in the film industry. We had a great night out with him, starting with drinks at the swank Q Bar, followed by the best meal we had in Vietnam--at a street restaurant!, and ending at a members-only hiphop club. His film is about the developing youth culture in Vietnam which is growing since there are now young people with disposable income. We got to see a window into what his film was about by spending an evening with him.
We visited both the Cu Chi tunnels (where Viet Cong soldiers hid in the hills outside Saigon during the war) and the War Remnants museum. Both were very powerful sites. The tunnels, which they have enlarged for tourists, are tiny and scary. I can't imagine the courage it must have taken to hide in them for weeks on end. Our guide to the tunnels worked with the Americans during the war, went to a reeducation camp after the war, and now earns a living showing American tourists around a Communist hideout. The dynamics were complicated and I honestly haven't figured all of them out. I was also embarrassed by my weak knowledge of Vietnam War history.
The War Remnants Museum brought all three of us to tears. It is a brutal look at the atrocities of the war and the lingering effects on the people of Vietnam. The experience of the museum is complicated by the fact that it is confusingly and poorly laid out. While the evidence is, of course, arranged to prove one perspective, sometimes it is not clear what the message is supposed to be because the museum design is so bad.
Una's dad grew up in Vietnam and she was able to find both his old church and the building he used to live in. It added a whole new dimension to the trip for her, and for me vicariously.
We went out with Thai, a friend of a friend of Sam who lives in Vietnam and works in the film industry. We had a great night out with him, starting with drinks at the swank Q Bar, followed by the best meal we had in Vietnam--at a street restaurant!, and ending at a members-only hiphop club. His film is about the developing youth culture in Vietnam which is growing since there are now young people with disposable income. We got to see a window into what his film was about by spending an evening with him.
posted by Martha Fulford at 7:55 AM
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