Thursday, October 7, 2010

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

I've been a bit slack due to enjoying the end of my holiday and then having to work, but here is some observations regarding Ho Chi Minh City...
  • everyone has a job
  • very disorientating and a lot more hectic than Phnom Penh. the graciousness shown on the roads in Cambodia definitely isn't there, but we found we were able to walk around a lot more without being hassled which was a pleasant change and we got to soak up a bit more of the city.
  • at dinner on our first night in town i won a raincoat, ate free birthday cake and made a baby cry!
  • visited the Cu Chi tunnels. they were very impressive and resourceful. the backward sandles to mislead the enemy as to which way they were walking were simple but brilliant.
  • there were more guns to fire there, but i declined the opportunity - didn't feel quite right funny enough.
  • our tour group included a highly religious catholic from Costa Rica named Fernando. he just so happened to be the Costa Rican ambassador to Korea. we swapped cards. he told me that he could get me into some North Korean sites if i ever wanted to visit Korea and to give him a buzz. curious? tempted? i'd say i am.
  • on the way back into the city we got a good taste of the state by getting taken to a handicrafts factory where the employees were all handicapped. we were then led to a warehouse full of handicrafts at 10 times the price of what you'd pay in the market and told repeatedly that it's all owned by the government.
  • long live Chairman Uncle Colonel Sanders

Photos will be appearing soon i hope...


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