Tuesday
Where would we be without Paul Hardcastle.
Breakfast in Saigon was a little disappointing. So far I've managed to keep my bowels mostly in check with a good old fried egg and bacon baguette every morning. The Lavender Hotel in Saigon only has omelettes for eggs and no bacon. Yes, I know it's not very adventurous, but after 46 years I know what works for me. Don't get me wrong, it was still very nice, but in my book, you only eat fried rice in the morning when you have a bad hangover. And even then it's warmed up, not cooked fresh.
So we headed of for a city walking tour at 9.30 much to the disgust of Jonah who insisted he was still in bed at 9am (when he was in fact tucking into pancakes). Go teenage late nights. "I couldn't sleep", well no kidding, if you're sitting on your gayPod until 11.30 at might you won't be able to go to sleep!
And I'm pleased to say within 50m of the hotel was a man stacking far too many glass jars onto the back of his scooter. Our faith in the optimism of the Vietnamese scooterati has been restored.
First stop was the art museum. As you know, art museums are very careful about how they present their art and protect it, with low UV lighting and climate controlled air conditioning. Let me go on the record now, that's a load of bollocks. The Fine Art Museum of Ho Chi Min city is in a fine old solid building with wide open doors and windows and where the lights were working, they weren't low UV. It was quite cool and dark on the South side (mainly due to a power outage thanks to renovations) and flash photography made up for the lack of light (like that can ever really harm a painting). But on the sunny North side where the sun was streaming through the doors and windows, the pictures were quite clear to see.
It was quite pleasant to stand in the humid roar of traffic and contemplate the beauty of the years presented before us.
Outside the builders were carefully working on the scaffolding re-rendering the building, wearing helmets, safety boots and harnesses. Bollocks to that too. They were bare foot, hanging off the rails like it was some big climbing frame in the schoolyard (but 10m in the air), in t-shirts and shorts, waving at the gaping tourists below.
From there we went to grab a drink and ice cream from Xcream, where they had Larue export beer and New Zealand ice cream. And a price for the cool freshener towels that we all thought were complimentary. Hey ho, we won't fall go that one again!
We carried on with the tour which headed towards the hotel where Angela's rellos were staying so we dropped in to say goodbye. We came out of that with a chocolate cake beating mouldy fruit, but it was still edible, apparently (an unwanted 40th birthday present).
Ruby ceremoniously picked up the cake with a glint in her eye and we headed off for some lunch, which was just a couple of blocks away.
Blocks in Saigon, however, are much bigger than others we've come across in Vietnam. Several hours later we rocked up to Thai Express. Yes, we were still in Vietnam, but we fancied a change and it was the first reasonable looking place we came across. Not only that, but they had some beautifully chilled towels to freshen up with. And yes, we are slow learners, because we had to end up paying for those too.
Lunch was a little more than we wanted to pay, but it was good food and still way cheaper than home. The chocolate cake was tried, but was deemed to be an unhealthy option. We left it on the table for the staff to dispose of which confused them no end. Maybe they thought it was a tip. That'll teach them to charge us for towels.
After lunch we cut our walk short and took a taxi to the War Remnants Museum, which we figured may be a little more interesting for the kids to see than yet more streets.
What a fascinatingly horrific place to visit. It told of the war crimes and brutality committed by the American soldiers in the Vietnam war with no holds barred. There were parts we couldn't let the kids in to see, they were so photographically graphic. The terror and plain viciousness reigned down on the Vietnamese people by the US was both unbridled and excessive. Vietnam is still paying for it today with unexploded ordinance and birth defects due to dioxins left over from the chemical warfare and deforestation.
This was, however, a very one sided view of the Vietnam war. There's no mention of the brutal acts of the Viet Cong against US personnel, nor of the wholesale slaughter of South Vietnamese citizens who didn't fit in with the communist ideals, after the war.
I guess we really expect better from the most powerful nation in the world, which purports to uphold freedom and democracy for all, and are more forgiving of a third world country that really "doesn't know any better".
In the end, of course, there are no winners; just innocent families on both sides paying the price for a bad shake of the dice in an all too real game of Risk.
We spent a good two hours looking around the museum before heading back to the hotel, humbled, teary and feeling a little bit dirty.
We assembled at the Bannings for pre-dinner drinks, which we decided would continue until the kids knocked on the door. Finally the knock came and we shouted "Go Away!" as all good parents would. There came a second knock and Ron checked through the spyhole. He assumed it was Ruby because he couldn't see anyone and he put on the door chain and opened the door a couple of inches to make fun of her. Much to his embarrassment it was the maid providing a torch for tomorrow's trip to the Cu Chu tunnels and asking if he needed more towels. Why four people should need protecting from a tiny maid bearing a torch and some towels, is a question likely to confuse her for weeks.
We went back to Mon Hue again for dinner, this time with the Bannings. All the kids went for the beef noodle soup - we truly have an iPho generation. Food was excellent again.
Off to see the Cu Chu tunnels tomorrow morning, which were built to hide the Vietnamese from the US bombing during the war.
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