On Friday we touched down in Ho Chi Minh City. My first impression was that it was a lot more modern and spacious compared to Hanoi. The general roads seemed to be more spacious, allowing for the kazillions of scooters to travel at a much faster speed than what we were used to in Hanoi. This sure made for an ever greater adrenaline rush each time we crossed the street. I could only best compare this experience to playing Crossy Roads. Where the scooters are the cars, and we are the game avatar trying to avoid being hit by the cars, in this case the scooters. It’s been fun acquainting ourselves with the traffic both here and in Hanoi and learning about how what looks and feels chaotic to us works really well for people who are used to these patterns! (Do not fear, we have always been safe! It’s just a more jarring street-crossing experience 🙂
On Saturday, we woke up, had a quick breakfast, and walked over to the War Remnant’s Museum. Outside of the Museum there were a bunch of American equipment left over from Vietnam-American War like tanks and planes. It was fascinating to see all the different types of equipment and various purposes they served in the war. Upon entering the museum we where hit with a more solemn vibe as we learned about Vietnam-American War and the devastating impact it had on Vietnam. The last floor of museum focused on stories of war correspondents and their pictures. It was interesting to see how the media coverage of the war developed from initially only being captured through black and white photos, to technology advancing enough to where raw footage of the war was being shown on TV. Which was definitely a big factor in why the Vietnam war became so unpopular back at home. After the Museum, we ended the day on a good note by exploring Book Street, which is literally just a street filled with shops selling books, and going out for sushi and ice cream to celebrate Hadley’s Birthday.
Sunday was our last day in Ho Chi Minh City. We spent the first half of the day planning out our Student Planned Module in a coffee shop and enjoying our last tastes of Vietnamese coffee. After lunch, we got to explore the Ben Thanh market and a military surplus market. We then got to go going indoor rock climbing, where Noelle showed off her amazing rock climbing skills, while the rest of the group struggled to complete anything past a V4 (It’s okay there were many giggles nonetheless). We enjoyed a final dinner in Vietnam and reflected on some country highlights as well as favorite meals, before celebrating with a final ice cream treat!
Even though our time in Ho Chi Minh City was short we had an amazing time and we are looking forward to our upcoming trip to Cambodia.
-August
