Third day in Vietnam!

On our third day in Vietnam, we spent it walking the streets of Saigon, stepping into the various tourist shops and taking in the sights. We strolled down the Don Quio, known as the “Paris” street of Saigon, which oddly enough ends at the Notre Dame Cathedral. We went to the Benton Market, an enormous building absolutely filled with vendors where you could get anything from beef to underwear (don’t worry I got neither). After barely making it out alive (from the claustrophobia and smell), Jason and I were coerced by two elderly men to take individual rickshaws to our next destination. Although the men and their bikes looked a little worn for wear, we took them up on their offer and off we went down the streets. WARNING to anyone who goes to Vietnam and thinks about taking rickshaw: DON’T. Going down the middle of a busy street in Vietnam, going slower than if we were walking was terrifying. If traffic wasn’t dangerous enough just looking at it from the sidewalk, being thrown in the middle of it on two 40 year old bicycles driven by two 90 year old men was exponentially worse. We went about ¼ of a mile before we stopped off at the nearest landmark we could find. I have never been so relieved. We ended up at the Ho Chi Minh City Museum, which felt to me like an 1800’s big white Southern Plantation home smack down in the middle of Vietnam. It was quite beautiful and very interesting.



Harbor at the end of the street:


Market:


Jason and I took pictures of eachother simultaneously...probably not the best idea in hindsight now looking at the picture:


I hope this helps you picture how terrifying it is to ride in a rickshaw in Vietnamese traffic:


Museum:


We meandered down the street, stopping in periodically at shops to view the local art or handcrafted silk clothing. We ended up at the Cathedral at just the right time when the bells began to ring and a flock of birds circled around the gorgeous structure.



Another major aspect of Vietnam is their massages. Massage parlors are everywhere, and people are on every street corner passing out pamphlets advertising “special deals” for their parlors. We had been warned previously that most of the massage parlors do not only deal in the work of massage, so we wanted to make sure we steered clear of any “sketchy” ones. We went back to the Rex, and although Jason will never admit it, we got pedicures and a 60 min leg massage. For $30, it was relatively inexpensive and quite a relaxing way to end our afternoon.

Can you say, blackmail?? :)



After going out that night to a local bar, we were up at 7:00am the next day to take a field trip to a disabled school for children and orphans who are deaf and mentally disabled. Magically, we were able to get a 45 seater passenger bus down the narrow dirt roads of the small village, and made it to the school. Although I was preparing myself for a very disturbing and sad visit, I was extremely happy to see really favorable conditions and an abundant teaching staff. The students were adorable. All the semester at sea students had brought tons of things to play with, so immediately we went off to play with the kids. Even though you would think they would be interested in soccer balls, bubbles, and chalk, nothing excited them more than our cameras. They would love to take pictures and then see themselves on the screen. Beyond the language barrier, many were deaf and could not speak, but you could see their faces light up when they saw their picture. One child nearly leapt for joy when I gave him my camera to take pictures. He took a good 20 pictures of just me. It was a great experience, the kids were so happy to see us and how well they were schooled and cared for was a very quite a welcomed surprise.

This little girl was my favorite. She was deaf and could not speak but we spent a good amount of time writing to each other in pictures.




Cutest little boy EVER




At the end of the visit, we departed from the group and went off with the Vietnamese tour guide to a school for the physically disabled. Jason had asked the woman about schools for those who were handicapped in Vietnam since he is working on a project for a community service organization at school on the treatment of people with disabilities across the world. She was extremely enthusiastic to show us, so we went in a taxi with her and her mentee (who is actually attending Louisville in the fall), to a school. Again, Jason and I were expecting the worst. However, when we arrived we were amazed at what we saw. The school was beautiful, with open gardens and water features. We were taken to a conference room, where we sat down with the principal of the school. The school is a vocational training school for those with physical and mental disabilities. It teaches students trades such as sewing and painting, as well as accounting, engineering, and electronics. It was opened in 2006 due to the generous donations of many private beneficiaries. It is completely free for those who attend, and handicapped people across Vietnam are eligible to be students. Many are orphans, who would not of had any chance of an independent, self-sufficient life without the school. They brought in about 20 students and we spent half an hour speaking with them through the translator and learning about their life at the school. Our guide, named Bee, informed us that this actually wouldn’t be allowed if she wasn’t close friends with the administration at the school. In order to come, you typically must get a clearance by the government of Ho Chi Minh City. I felt extremely fortunate to be able to see such an amazing complex and witness the progress Vietnam has made in giving those with disabilities a chance for a fulfilling life.





After saying our goodbye and many thanks to Bee for taking us on such a journey, we were back in the city of Saigon. We walked the streets and ended up at the War Remnant Museum. The museum chronicled the Vietnam War, which the Vietnamese call the “American War”. I left the museum speechless and horrified. It goes without saying that it obviously had a very biased view on the war, but the images and stories shown of the terror the US brought on Vietnam was nearly impossible to dismiss as propaganda. The US lost 55,000 Americans in the war, and the Vietnamese lost 3 million, 2 million of which were civilians. By no means does this belittle the precious lives of the Americans, but it does speak to the destruction the Vietnam War had on the country. 1/3 of the population was eradicated. Twenty million gallons of Agent orange, a herbicide contaminated with TCDD, was sprayed across Vietnam in an effort to reduce jungle cover and crop production, and destroyed over 20% of the jungle of Vietnam. 2-5 million Vietnamese were exposed to it, and to this day severe birth defects happen as a result. Random stories littered the museum walls of the torture and civilian killings the US inflicted. I had only read about the Vietnam War in my textbooks in History class or learned about it in the classic movies released about the war. It was an utterly eye-opening experience to see the war through the “enemies” viewpoint.



Just a taste of the horrifying pictures that covered the walls in the museum:


After we left the museum, we returned to the ship, napped and showered, and went to the “backpacker’s district” of Saigon. It was a huge strip filled with bars, restaurants and shops. There was a public park, where local kids came to play hackey sack and people of all ages came to relax and socialize. We went to a bar called Crazy Buffalo and spent the rest of the night people watching. From policeman attacking fire breathing stuntmen, to witnessing sex tourism at its finest, we got quite an interesting glimpse of Vietnamese society.



The telephone wires in Vietnam were piled so thickly. I just can't imagine that it's very safe.