Saigon

We made it to HoChiMinh City (Saigon) with only a short delay at the airport. We were getting a little chilly in Hanoi, but when we got off the plane here, we were punched in the face with humidity and warmth at 10 at night. We eventually found a hotel and the people who run it are just like moms. They make sure we hold our bags properly to make sure they don't get stolen. They did our laundry for us. Always fussing to make sure everything is okay. They're so nice. We're currently in some little internet cafe that smells musty.

Yesterday we went to the Reunification Palace, or Independence Palace. This is where communist tanks crashed through the front gates and South Vietnam fell to the North. Lucas said it looked like a place where you could listen to Jefferson Airplane and do some blow. The decor is very 60's. We also went to a market where I bought some perfume, though the one is a bad knock off that's been drowned out with more alcohol and water, and the other one is alright. The place reminded me of China and Korean markets.

Randomly walking the streets of Saigon, we ran into the Aussie ladies again. They just keep popping up everywhere! We ended up eating dinner with them at the outside market last night. As we were eating, the skies opened up and it rained like I have never seen rain before. It was amazing! Right now it is also raining. I think becuase of the humidity all day, it just gathers and at night, it returns.

Today we went to the Cu Chi Tunnels, north of the city. It is here that the VietCong had a vast array of tunnels to hide from the Americans. It's been very interesting learning about the war from the other side. History is written by the victors, right? Even though the Americans didn't win the war, they always hype themselves as the good guys. That's the same thing the Vietnamese do about themselves. We got to shoot a couple of AK 47's. We bought the bullets and went to the shooting range. Dang those things are LOUD!!! Lucas wanted to shoot all of the guns : M1, Thomson, M3, Colt .45, M60, M16, and Russian Machine guns (he's over my shoulder listing them with excitement). We also went to a bar that plays ONLY Gun & Roses. No joke. ONLY GUNS & ROSES. There is only so much of that that one can handle.

Tomorrow we are going to see the War Remnants Museum. Apparently, it's not for the faint of heart as it is a very graphic place to be. I don't think you really get a feel for the way things are if you sugar coat it, or learn in a text book. I learned that when I went to Auschwitz. Also tomorrow, I'm going to get a massage from a place that employs blind masseuses. They have many things around here that help people who would otherwise have a hard time in life. There are places like the one above, and another that teaches street kids to bake so they could make a living.

Lucas and I talked, and we're not going to go to Angkor Wat in Cambodia. It sucks, but we really don't have the time to do that. We decided that we are just going to fly to Phuket. That's a chunk of cash to do so, but I think that it is better this way, and we have a lot more time in Thailand to enjoy ourselves on the beach and see the islands. Then hopefully we'll meet up with a friend in Bangkok - Ben, who I worked with at MoonKkang. We fly to Phuket on November 25 and get in at 5:30. From there we'll try and find a hotel. At this point, it's too late to try and book online. As we found out in Hanoi, we paid WAAAAAY too much online for a night. It's better just to walk in and ask!