Saigon, Vietnam

A happy reunion at the Saigon airport. I met sister Melanie and her fiancé Ivan at baggage claim. We stepped outside and were picked up by Ivan’s family and taken to their place. His mother, Vicky, his step-father Andrew, and his brother Michael, were all so very nice and gracious hosts. They are a very fun family and I can see that Melanie will fit in very well. Our flights arrived later in the evening and the international travelers were very jet-lagged, so we visited for but a few moments, called home to Denver, then retired for the evening. The next morning I woke up to the smells and sounds of our wonderful hosts’ cooking meat for breakfast. Ivan made eggs with vegetables and Melanie helped Vicky make delicious fruit juice from fresh fruits. We spent the day as good tourists; first we walked to the local Ban Thanh Market and perused the aisles of fresh food, exotic meats, and of course, souvenirs. Then we walked over to a large cathedral—Melanie commented on the similarities to Notre Dame and French design—

then we visited the Post Office, another work of structural and architectural art. For lunch we met Ivan’s folks at Pho 2000. This place is famous for having hosted President Clinton for lunch. Pictures cover the wall displaying this momentous feast for the small restaurant. The Pho was incredible, as was my avocado shake! Following lunch, we were given a tour of the inner office of the U.S. Consulate office, where both Andrew and Vicky work. The Vietnamese who work with them were all smiles and full of jokes.

Our next stop was focused on war history; we went to the War Remnants Museum and boy, did we get our war history, mixed with plenty of propaganda. The Museum cast America in a very bad light, and understandably so from their perspective, and the perspective of many Americans who opposed the war. And who are we to judge, when our own text books and museums carry the appearance of propaganda and one-sided historical accounts to foreigners in our country. About halfway through the museum tour I recognized two others in the building: one of the teacher’s from my Thai Training Program, Tara, and her boyfriend, Lee. They’re from Canada and are working in another part of Thailand; I hadn’t seen them since training ended, and what a coincidence that they should tour Vietnam and the same museum on the same day and time! It was great to see them there!

After about two and a half hours in the museum—complete with terrible pictures, big guns and tanks, and sad stories—we left and went to a nearby café for a sit-down. Ivan ordered the pineapple cake but hey, he’s on vacation. Lastly, we tried to squeeze in the Reunification Palace but, alas, it closed at four p.m., so we missed out. We returned to home base. With the rest of the group, we went to the top floor of the building and had snacks, looking out over the city lights at night. Then off to dinner at Ben Thanh market again for delicious fresh food, especially seafood. You know its fresh when you see the food moving in water buckets nearby, then the cook picks out the critter and sets it directly on the grill. It was a wonderful dinner. We finished off the night with a walk through town, one of the famous malls, up to the city river, and back through to the apartment.

Breakfast the next morning featured more fresh juice and some interesting sandwiches, like a French baguette with a Vietnamese twist and, of course, full of Vietnamese foods! Delicious! I said my goodbyes and thanks to the host family, then the driver took me to the airport en route to Mel and Ivan’s tour for the day. We ran into some trouble on the way to the airport, so hugs had to be fast and furious as I leapt from the vehicle and ran inside, but I made it in time. One hour and a half on a plane, another hour in a train and bus, thirty minutes walking, and I was back home in Thailand before I knew it.

I hope to see more family out in SE Asia…