Saigon/ Ho Chi Minh which ever you prefer
Free Hotel Room, Sounds Good to Me
(7/11) I arrived on the train from Nha Trang around 5:30 in the morning and a man who was in my cabin on the train offered me a free hotel room no strings attached. I didn't have to go to dinner with them or anything. He is a Vietnamese-American back to visit his family and do business. He gave me money for a room in this nice hotel for one night. That was very exciting, especially because I had to pay $10 a night for the next five nights (it adds up quickly). That day I walked around Saigon, dropped my camera off to get fixed, got my Cambodian Visa and found the hotel I was going to stay at for the rest of the week. That afternoon I met this guy Latini, from Ghana. We ended up traveling through the Mekong Delta together and spending a lot of time dancing in Saigon.
I needed to do things to get myself on a schedule or feeling normal for a little while so I went to the gym. This was a very nice gym and had a lot of equipment I have never seen in the U.S. including a wooden hula-hoop to work out your sides. I had to have a woman show me how to do it because it was very different from the hula-hoops I played with as a child in the United States and I still couldn't manage it. Maybe next time.
(7/12) Vietnam - American War
Today I went to the War Remnants Museum, a one-sided but powerful view of the American War (the name the Vietnamese government calls the Vietnam War). The museum was definitely biased against the United States but all based in fact around photographs and the experiences of the photographers who documented the war. Learning about the impact of Agent Orange and Napalm bombings is unbelievable. The stories are horrible and as I travel to Cambodia, the idea that sticks in my head is why do we stop for even a moment and learn from history? People have told me this since I was a child but why don't we stop complaining and talking about it and do it. I will start, I guess that is what I am doing.
(7/13) Caodaism
Today I went on an all day tour to the famous underground system of tunnels called the Cu Chi Tunnels and visited a Cao Dai temple. Cao Daism is a religion combining the practices of Buddhism, Catholicism, Confucianism and other religions. Many years ago their pope fled to Cambodia during the war, where he died and his body remains. There is still no pope because no one is qualified; no one has passed through the necessary stages of enlightenment. Seven chairs remain empty for the deceased pope and high officials. There are nine steps to reach nirvana but it takes 10-15 years to pass through one. Anyone want to try? The goal is to escape reincarnation by following the prohibitions of sensuality, killing and lying. Just like all religions there are contradictions. In this case, they had their own army that fought and killed the North and South Vietnamese soldiers in 1956 to gain an autonomous region and they choose not to eat meat (not kill) only 10 days of the month.
The temple was beautiful. It is fully restored and decorated in all bright colors, which of course I like. They welcome visitors during their services. You have to stay on the second floor and are not allowed into certain sacred areas but are welcomed to take photos. Of course my camera was being fixed and the disposable I bought ruined all my pictures. So as the story continues, my great camera luck continues.
Next we went to see the system of underground tunnels and even crawled through one for tourists which is twice the size of a real one and that was hard for me to fit through. I have no idea how the Cu Chi people fit through them. The tunnels had to be small to withstand the earth shaking from the bombings. Their technology of making tools and traps was incredibly inventive.
(7/14 -17) The rest of the week: I had a few days of adventures in the city. Saigon is definitely my favorite city in Vietnam. I went to Chinatown and on a few cyclos, one cheating me (or I wasn't being smart whatever way you want to see it), and the other gave my friend and I a joy ride but we barely made it to our destination. I went to a clothing factory (more later) and went dancing for three nights. My ego grew when the three African men I was with commented on how I can dance! I won't forget that either. On my last day I went to Latini's school where he teaches children English and I taught them the dance to Ring Around the Roses. The school coordinator liked me and probably has some jobs to fill so she offered me a job. Exciting but not what I want to do. If I go somewhere to teach English it will definitely be China. That afternoon Latini and I headed to My Tho, two hours or so from the city even though it took us over 3, to see why people speak so highly of the Mekong Delta.
Garment Factory- Wow!
I went to this factory on a connection from my father. Only if there were a lot more factories like this. All three factories in the two blocks radius that were a part of this company were beaming clean, had new machines, and a cooling system to say a few. I do not know if the workers are happy or if they have a contract but I know they are not union, which could be fine. Anyhow the workers do get a chance to try different jobs, learn different skills and move up in the company. This is very rare but a great step in the right direction. I learned all about the industry, frustrations and benefits to having a factory in Vietnam. The staff were all great hosts and the whole experience was extremely different that mine in China.
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