A visitor from the states
03/22/2009
After being away from home since January 4, it is wonderful to have a visitor from the states. Deb arrived late Friday evening after a very smooth trip, and we spent yesterday doing a little sightseeing in Ho Chi Minh City. Since I'll be teaching a course on Vietnam in the fall, I wanted to visit the War Remnants Museum and the Reunification Palace (where we had an excellent guide). Both were quite fascinating, in different ways. I was quite taken with an exhibit at the War Remnants Museum entitled "War Through Children's Eyes." The other exhibits in the museum are very disturbing--photos from the war, of the effects of Agent Orange, etc., but overall I would say the object is to promote peace. We toured from top to bottom in the Reunification Palace, seeing the official spaces (like the room where the South Vietnamese leaders handed over power in April 1975) as well as the map and communications rooms that were of vital importance during the war. Deep underground, they could withstand a 2000 pound bomb blast.
Today we traveled south of Ho Chi Minh City to My Tho, where we took motor boat and paddle boat rides on the Mekong River, stopping along the way for a delicious lunch of elephant ear fish, stir-fried morning glories, jumbo shrimp, chicken, and spring rolls. From our rowboat we could see many coconut trees, which are used for so many purposes--the stems and leaves are used to make a roof, the coconut husks are burned for fuel, the meat and juice are ground and cooked to make candy.
The ride back to the city was a bit chaotic because of the heavy traffic. There is much construction just south of Ho Chi Minh City, so large trucks compete with cars of tourists, motor bikes, and bicycles. Tonight we're dining at the historic Rex Hotel!
