The city itself is made up of 19 urban districts along with 5 rural districts. It’s the largest city in Vietnam with a population of 6 million, twice as big as Hanoi and 2.5 million motorbikes making the city one of the busiest and craziest places to get around in.
We were able to visit a few main attractions before the family departed, the War Remnants Museum, the Reunification Palace and Ben Thanh Market.
War Remnants Museum
The War Remnants Museum displayed artifacts of the war illustrating in detail the statistics of both sides such as number of bombs used, number of civilians killed and number of donations from countries around the world.
They have vivid images displaying the hostility and brutality of the war back then and also the long lasting effects on the country and its people today in the present. There were many gruesome and horrifying pictures of small children and adults who have been affected by the war as a result of Agent Orange and Napalm Bombs throughout the war ridden region. These chemicals continue to cause birth defects and the Napalm Bomb is still so toxic that the vegetation has not grown back due despite the fact that it has been almost 30 years since the war ended. We found this exhibit the most disturbing and difficult one to get through. Chris sat out some of the exhibit due to its severity and cruelty. Although it was difficult for me, I decided to go through the exhibit on my own and was appalled at how horrifying something like war could be. The photos they had displayed were so vivid that you could see the fear and horror in people’s faces and eyes. There was one famous Pulitzer Prize photograph called the “Girl in the Picture” where a young girl is running through the streets of Vietnam naked after being burned by the Napalm Bombs. The girl’s facial expression was one of horror….you could tell she was in pain by the look in her eyes and the fact that she was screaming. Although it was very disheartening, I couldn’t help but stand at this photograph for a quite a while. I kept thinking to myself what this young girl must have been thinking at that time and how someone her age should have been in school studying or playing with her friends instead of having to be a part of and endure such pain and suffering as a result of other people’s ideals and actions. It reminded me that war is never the answer and I can’t help but be baffled at how people come to this conclusion when they can not solve political problems. How can something that causes death, grief, and so much repulsive aftermath do any good to a country and its people. Chris and I sat for a while and discussed this very matter and were quite saddened at how many have suffered due to war and how many may continue to suffer in the future if our political leaders do not come up with other ways to solving issues rather than sending out their militia to get it done.
Reunification Palace
We next met up at the Reunification Palace and it was nothing real exciting. There was room after room and floor after floor of meeting/conference rooms from the former Government of South Vietnam. Derek and Krista got the guided tour and Rav and I just went through on our own, while mom and dad sat in the shade. We were pretty much ready for a nap at the end of this boring visit.
Ben Thanh Market
The Ben Thanh Market was quite the site; imagine Granville Island 100 times bigger, 100 times more stalls, and 10,000 times more people, selling “same same but different” stuff (A favorite and common saying of the Vietnamese people). We went through this market on numerous occasions both during the day and at night. It was a chance for Rav to brush up on her bargaining skills, as I acted as an interpreter. It was often funny to see what was actually spoken when I pretended not to speak the local language. All in all it was a good experience to see just how much you can buy all these same, same but different stuff for one stall after another.
After the family left for Vancouver and 5 days in Saigon, the traffic, noise and heat got to the both of us so we decided we needed to get away from the city and escape somewhere on our own. We decided to visit the well talked about Mekong Delta on a 2 day tour followed by a tour of the Cu Chi Tunnels, an intricate network of underground tunnels used by the local village during the two resistance wars.
Stay tuned…..
2 comments:
i truely hated that day!!!!
So how were your bargaining skills Ravy? Better than in Mexico :)
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