Vietnam

We started our day at the Reunification Palace. The palace was rebuilt in 1962 due to a bombing in February of 1962. It took 4 years to rebuild. In 1975, the liberation forces entered the palace and raised the flag of liberation and the general surrendered. In 1976, it was declared a national site and in 1990 opened to the public. There is a lot of history in that building. One of the things I loved the most was all the bonsai gardens throughout. I know...they have nothing to do with the history enclosed in the place! But they were so so pretty!! The Emperor of Jade Pagoda was our next stop. The walls all had the most intricate carvings...telling the stories of many generations before. There were many people there worshiping. It was interesting to see them in their worship, making offerings to a Buddha so they can have good fortune. One of the first things I noticed about Vietnam was the men in uniform. There were so many guards and gated buildings as we drove around. Next up was the Notre Dame Cathedral. It was beautiful, although I'm told it is not the most beautiful Cathedral there is. The outside architecture was a lot to take in, but then you walk inside- the walls, the worship corridors, the painted glass... it was all so beautiful! They have English worship and I'd have loved to go take that in, but time only allows so much while on vacation! The Central Post Office was beautiful too. It was HUGE. I sent a picture to the girls and said the U.S. needs to step up their game. The building was yellow with white trim/detail. There was multiple wedding photos being taken there. We pulled out our Vietnam Dong there. The money of other countries always intrigues me. It's fun to look at. The inside of the post office was massive. There were many windows. As I watched, I couldn't help but notice how efficient they seemed to be. Phuong Nam Lacquerware was fun to visit. Our guide there looked like a kid. It really made me wonder if he was educated in schools or just taught English and a trade to make money. Here they made pictures of Vietnam culture from duck egg shells and/or mother of pearl. They took us through the factory to show us the process from making the thinnest sheets of mother of pearl to cutting it down to the shapes and carving the details. It was said that a single picture could take up to two months to make with the finished lacquer on it. Once again, I was suckered into buying a piece from the factory... probably ten times what I could have paid at the flea market. But I guess knowing it is real and watching them make it is worth the extra money. Dragon fruit was all over Asia. I absolutely fell in love with it. I'll miss having it for breakfast every day. Also the Pho in Vietnam was sooo sooo good. I like American spring rolls better tho. Our peanut sauce is better. Plus, it is hard to trust the meat in anything when you see all the meat sitting out at room temperature everywhere you go. I had a hard time eating the shrimp in my spring rolls there because I was afraid of how long it was sitting out and what kind of stomach issues I might get from it. They took us to a flea market next. I thought it was pretty interesting how huge this place was. Almost every booth was the same... filled with buddhas, t-shirts, magnets, figurines...all the same souvenirs. But there was at least 500 booths, if not more. It was insanely busy and the sellers were very pushy! "what you need?" "want to buy?" They'd grab you and put stuff in front of you. It was annoying. But you just kinda pushed your way through and realized this is how they make their money. We went to a very nice restaurant for lunch. the gardens around it had me swooning. So, of course, I skipped lunch and went exploring. I did feel like a crocodile would get me at any time with all the mucky waters around. I was very cautious. haha. The butterflies were all over. It was like a dream. Except the water was brown. Everything was just so lush and green. ahhhh....take me back! The CuChi Tunnels were very cool to see. I was glad we did that tour. They showed us the small man holes that men would go into. They were barely big enough for a small man. I chickened out and didn't try it, but I now wish I had tried! They took us through the jungle to show us just how hidden things were. The air holes for the underground tunnels weren't noticeable. They had traps that had huge spikes in them that they'd coat with snake venom...cuz the spike wasn't bad enough! They said because the army was so large and the jungle so expansive, their own men would also get caught in the traps. There was no way of remembering where every trap was. We went thru one of the shorter tunnels. They were so small. I was having a panic attack at the end of it. We had to basically walk with our butts to the ground or on our hands and knees. They told us that when it rained, those tunnels would fill with water and the men only had inches of air at the top of the tunnel to breathe. I just couldn't imagine being stuck in one of those. It was very cool to experience. Vietnam was hot and humid. We walked to the night market, where I bought new luggage. I would have paid $90 in the U.S. and only paid $35 in Vietnam. The night market was very similar to the day market...lots of people, lots of bargaining, and lots of the same stuff. Along the way we saw a park that had all kinds of workout equipment. I was shocked that so many people were there working out. I guess it's normal in other countries. There was a few people dancing in a terrace. Some people doing some kind of tai chi or something in an open air area. And then a massive amount of people on ellipticals and all kinds of workout equipment. A little further down, we saw a massive amount of people on mopeds along side a park. And tons of people in the park too. I thought, "how cool that this community is this social and still enjoy the community parks so much!" Then it happened. My friend noticed they were all on their phones playing Pokémon Go! WTF?! I didn't believe her at first, but phone screen after phone screen proven to me what a sad, sad world we live in... they were all Pokémon Go. On the way home, we stopped for spring rolls. They were only ok. I was disappointed I didn't find any great ones. The peanut sauce was liquidy instead of pasty. And the rice paper was hard at the ends. There was no mint or cilantro. Bleh.