The next site to see was the war remnants museum. This was a museum we had been excited to visit as we've been learning bits about the Vietnam war throughout the country. It was mainly full of photographs taken by some amazing photographers. Many pictures were incredibly powerful and portrayed how badly the Americans treated the Vietnamese, even the children who surely must have been innocent. There were also many photos of people with deformities caused by agent orange, the chemical that the Americans sprayed over a large area of Vietnam. It was sad to read that although most Americans have recieved masses of compensation if they were affected in any way whereas the Vietnamese have not. Agent orange can even affect third generations of families. If you ever visit Ho Chi Minh City you must visit this museum. Or Google some of the pictures. Larry Burrows was my favourite photographer.
Next up we visited a pagoda. It was authentic and some of the design was beautifully intricate but I was far too hot to take any of it in. I had forgotten that cities have higher humidity. I know what it's like to go through the menopause. I feel for you mum. Luckily, we stopped for some food not long after so we could cool down. We got some roast pork which you wrap in this jelly like rice stuff. I didn't like it very much but ate loads of the pak choi with butter, salt, pepper and garlic. I ate a lot of garlic. I tried breathing on Matt but I obviously didn't eat enough. Or maybe we just both smell so bad now that the garlic won't make any difference.
We aimed to see the botanical gardens next but as they were in the zoo we pretty much just went to the zoo. I don't like zoos now. They make the elephants dance and they keep everything else in tiny cages or enclosures. Animals should have space or be free. I really want to go to some kind of elephant sanctuary in Cambodia or Thailand now though. You're not allowed to ride them but you can walk with them and bathe them.
After the zoo we headed back to the centre of Ho Chi Minh to see the reunification palace. The palace had been rebuilt after the war so it now looked a bit shit, no old features and grandness. But they had some big cool meeting rooms inside and a really big food mixer in the kitchens. Also, on the roof was a helicopter and target marking where bombs had been thrown.
About five minutes walk from the palace was the Notre Dame. No, I didn't learn how to apparate, Ho Chi Minh has its own version but it's red brick rather than the dark grey of the original. We wanted to go inside but there was a service on so got sent away. Next to the cathedral is the central post office which was huge! Again, it is in a French style but there were loads of postcards and little souvenirs to buy as well as send them. If anyone wants a postcard feel free to send me your address as I've forgotten everyone's (Xander, you're next on my list as I know yours off by heart).
Just before we got to the post office it started to rain. It hasn't stopped raining for a few hours. We managed to hang about looking at things before deciding to go for an earlyish tea. We actually didn't end up eating till 7 though as we had a pot of hot lotus tea to share first with little mini teacups. Such fun! Food wise I ended up choosing a papaya salad like the one we made in Hoi An but originally I chose some noodle with salted fish thing. The waiter and waitress both told me not to have it. One of them said something about the smell and the other said it was hard to eat. It made no sense and left me a little disappointed. I wanted to try something new! We did both go for a sweet soup after our meals though. Mine was coconut milk with beans and jelly. The beans we like cannellini beans mushed up and the jelly was tasteless. Luckily they were all at the bottom so I just drank the coconut milk on the top.
Saigon, as it was formerly known, is quite a cool city with a lot of history but compared to the rest of Vietnam it is futuristic. There's even a macdonalds down the street.
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