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| Thien Hau Pagoda with incense coils that took weeks to burn! |
Our city tour did not solely comprise of the War Remnants Museum,
although this certainly was the most memorable portion of the day for me. We sampled coffee (yuck) and I was shocked to
hear that Vietnam is the second largest exporter/producer of coffee in the
world (after Brazil). Coffee is
second only to rice in value of agricultural products exported from Vietnam,
with their most popular coffee of course being the famous weasel coffee.
We wandered around Chinatown and walked past the Binh Tay Market –
a wholesale market with high rises of flip flops and overflowing barrels of
pistachios. We went to the Thien Hau
Pagoda which is a Chinese temple with coils of incense that last for 3 weeks,
and stopped for lunch at a delicious cart with crab and noodle soup. After lunch, we visited a handicraft workshop
where disabled victims from the Vietnam War and subsequent generations affected
by Agent Orange worked to produce beautiful lacquer plates, paintings, vases,
and bracelets. These crafts were made
out of crushed eggshell and each one took approximately 3-4 months to make!
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| Outside the Reunification Palace |
The Reunification Palace was a sight – the most modern palace I
believe I have ever seen. Modern however
is dated in this context, and wandering down the massive open-air halls I felt
like I was wandering down my old corridor at the UN – except this palace didn’t
have asbestos. The grandiose
architecture and rooftop dance floor seemed near perfection and just like in
Anastasia when the old palace lights up with ghosts from the past, this dance
floor, dining hall and library all seemed to come alive. This apparition was quickly dismissed
however, the minute you stepped foot underground in the two levels of basement
where you saw bunkers, maps of military use, and war rooms. Even in a massive palace, the remnants of the
war are clearly visible.
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| 50 cent Bia Saigon - sitting outside in downtown Ho Chi Minh taking in the sights |
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