Saigon (Chu Chi tunnels, War Museum, Mekong Delta, farewell dinner) 11-16/17-2015

December 05, 2015

Saigon (Chu Chi tunnels, War Museum, Mekong Delta, farewell dinner) 11-16/17-2015

On the way to Saigon, we board a separate bus with a tour guide to head out to the Chu Chi tunnel complex, while Phu goes on to our hotel with all of our luggage. The Chu Chi tunnel complex is perhaps the biggest tourist draw in Vietnam now. The Chu Chi tunnel complex existed before the Vietnam War, but was greatly expanded during the war. Much of the exhibits show the nasty ways they used with bamboo spikes to kill American soldiers, and the tour culminated in going into the actual tunnels. Donna went the furthest of anyone in our group - I could barely crawl though severely hunched over. Then it was back to Saigon, and a tour of the War Museum. This is one of 2 War Museums (the other one is in Hanoi). We were told that this one is "more balanced", but I don't think so.. the war was clearly a mess and a big mistake by the US (watch the Fog of War), but with that said this museum is definitely not balanced...the information provided on the US is basically factually correct, but nothing of the atrocities by the Vietnamese is ever portrayed. I was fortunate to have just missed this war - I doubt I'd be here today if I would have been born 4 or 5 years earlier. That night we go to Phu's Uncle's Pho restaurant - his Uncle Bill Clinton that is (Clinton visited it a few years back and a picture of his visit hangs prominently in the restaurant). Phi tells us that Clinton is well thought of in Vietnam (it was during his administration that relations were normalized between the US and Vietnam).

Our second full day in Saigon (everyone in the south calls Ho Chi Minh City (the new name) Saigon), and we head to the Mekong Delta, where we tour a coconut candy production; take a motorized tour of the countryside, eat a gourmet lunch in the countryside, take a small boat ride in the byways of the delta, and cruise on the Mekong River. We end our tour in Vietnam with our farewell dinner, where Clare (a fun lady in our group from Sydney ) honors Phu with a great speech. We are Phu's "happy group" and "lovely group". This really was a great group of folks...we feel very fortunate to have gotten with such a compatible group of people, and Phu was such a great guy. Nine of us are going on to Cambodia, the other 7 are heading back home or onto another adventure - we pick up one more person (new doctor Jenn from Canada, raised in Mexico, and doing a fellowship in Melbourne) for our Cambodia adventure which comes up next.