Some completely random notes on the trip that may be of interest:
1. I know it's a sample size of 1, but our tour guide in Saigon was very complementary of Americans and disliked the people from the North. Yeah, I guess it is the spoils of war and all - the North "reunified" the country, and they are in the seat of government - but she talked openly of how the government and the "North" took everything over commerce-wise from Saigon in the past 10-20 years, and no one likes it. I guess I'm shocked that she was so open about it, and from her impression, the South part of Vietnam is still very much pro-American.
2. Went to the Cu Chi tunnels one day - that was interesting. The main attraction are the network of tunnels that the Viet Cong built underground. Freddie, Warren and I went in one and traveled about 40 meters - Freddie complained about them being too small. Warren was fine; he stands just under 4 feet. I was on my hands and knees the whole way.
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And they say they have been enlarged for the tourists.
Of course, there were some disturbing images. There was a display of the man-made traps that the Viet cong built in the jungle. The picture here was the backdrop from the display. That was disturbing
3. A lot of French influence in Saigon. Here is a picture of the main Saigon post office - designed by a French architect. It was undisturbed during the war.
4. Tons - and tons - of motorbikes all over the place. Tons.
5. We also took a tour of the War Museum - yes, the propaganda was in full force there. There was a room called "Historical Truths". In it, charts outlined the American support for the "puppet" government in Sotuh Vietnam from 1954-75. There was a wing solely dedicated to the damage caused by Agent Orange. (The room was orange, by the way). And there were a few American tanks outside on display.
6. The beach town, Nha Trang, was unique. One of the attractions was a resort island called VinPearl. It is kind of like HersheyPark, Sea World, and Chuck E Cheese's all rolled into one, contained in a 5-star luxury resort.
We went on a Wednesday in what is the offseason. The admission fee was about $18 each. The park was open; there were maybe 50 people - maybe - in the whole park. The boys went on water slides for 2 hours and went to the wave pool for another 1 1/2 hours. No lines, no crowds. Just then it started to pour; there was an attraction called "Indoor Games"; in there were bumper cars, a kids play area, and 30 or so video games. All were free.
The play area had about 25% of the safety features of a normal Burger King play area. A sign was present saying the park had no liability for any "severy injuries or fatalities caused by this area". I did not doubt for one second that there mayhave been a fatality there in the past.
The kids corner also had a room for toddlers, with those kids' cars, whiteboards, and toddler beds (for napping). About half the beds had dirty sheets on them.
I'm still in amazement on how this place is still open. Oh - the picture we took is from a cable car that you must take to get to the island. The cable car was built too low; now cruise ships can not come in and dock in the city. This resort apparently has not made many friends in the town.
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