Sunday, July 10, 2011

HCM then off to Nha Trang

Today started with the full group getting up to go on a tour with Ken around HCMC.  Ken gave us a pretty extensive background of the city and recent Vietnam history.  We toured around for a while, saw the reunification palace (top left), Notre Dame (bottom right), and the post office (top right).  In general, the city is pretty impressive, and very urban.  Outside of the crazy motorbikes, you really could be in any major city anywhere.

The tour then went to the War Remnants Museum.  The museum is filled with photo’s and information from the war.  Words can’t do it justice, but it is pretty disturbing to see all of the atrocities committed by both sides.

Outside of the historical information presented, there are very disturbing photos of soldiers and civilians on both sides being maimed and killed.  There are also the pictures of the people affected by Agent Orange and napalm, and some preserved deformed fetuses. 

Another pretty disturbing section was the area focused on the massacres, imprisonment and torture that took place during the war.  The museum definitely shows how terrible war is.

As we headed back to the hotel, grabbed a local lunch with some new and old friends on the street, we prepared to head to the airport.

We took an afternoon flight into Nha Trang, which is a resort beach community on the coast.  As we flew in, we got a great view of how gorgeous the coastline is here.  There is a beautiful winding coast, that is dotted by hundreds of small islands close to the shoreline.

We drove through the dunes area of the city, and then to the coastal region.  After checking in to our hotel, Jourdan and I walked around the city for a bit, and then needed a quick swim.  The weather was about 34 degrees (90-95 for the Americans).  I didn’t think it could get hotter then it was in Cambodia, but it is.

The whole group went to dinner at Louisianne’s.  I had Viet sushi.  I was unsure at first, but now writing this in hind sight, it was a great idea, and quite delicious.  The whole group then walked over to the Sailing Club, and had a huge beach party with a bond fire.

There was A LOT of drinking.  Those jars of alcohol were quite good.  We are having a great time with some of the new members of the group.  There were a lot of great stories, and ridiculous pictures from the night.  One that I want to emblazon forever is when our new little friend Ally decided to take a swim in the ocean in her skirt.  Jourdan went in to rescue her after he saw her laying in the water not moving.  She claimed that she just wanted to get away from people and take a nap.  The next morning, when told she didn’t have her camera, she said it was okay because it was waterproof.  Where ever it is, I am sure it is still functioning. 

It was a GREAT night. 

Shaky Face!


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