Saigon!

A shot of the center of the town. Saigon is a really clean nice city and very busy of course!

Another action shot of the city.

March 8-9th
We arrived in Vietnam on March 8th. The city of Ho Chi Minh. Formally known and best known as Saigon. Saigon sounds so mystical and beautiful as opposed to Ho Chi Minh City and it's funny b/c Saigon signs are everywhere and many Vietnamese still call it Saigon. It was a 7 hour bus ride from Phnom Penh, not too bad compared to our 18 hour bus ride into Cambodia! and we were on a considerably spacious and air-con bus. Quite a step up from the sans air-con mini van actually. Ho Chi Minh is a very fun, busy happening city! It's a bit like taking your own life in your hands to cross the street though. You have to step out into traffic and wait while vehicles and motorcycles mainly whip past you until you can take another step wait again and eventually make it to the other side.

Second day in Ho Chi Minh City we set out to explore the city. We as in, Tiffany and I and another British bloke named Craig whom we met on the bus. We did our own walking tour and stopped at the Vietnam War Museum. The museum was loaded with excellent photos that were both graphic and horrifying. It was especially sad to see the effect of this agent called Agent Orange on the children of the parents who fought in the war. These children are completely deformed and handicapped now. It's terrible. Wars are horrific and to see the war crimes are especially appalling.

It's interesting being in Vietnam. I think of one of my high school friends who was born in Vietnam and think how different his life would have been had he grown up here...

I spent two quiet nights while the others went out on the town. I needed time to be by myself and reflect on what's going on here and what has been going on at home with my family. I still need time to allow myself to grieve and it feels really good to be alone sometimes.

That's all for now =)