Thursday, January 7, 2010
Vietnam Photos
Day 1: Cuchi Tunnels, Cao Dai See Temple -- photos to be added later.
It was a long first day, and by the time we got back to the hotel, we were hot, sticky, and tired. It was worth it though. Got to do my thing at the shooting range (with live bullets!), learned a lot about the Vietnam War, and saw a bit of what was then an unknown religion to me (the Cao Dai See Religion).
Day 2: Mekong Delta - Floating Market, Cai Be Town; Saigon at night.
I loved the Mekong Delta day. It just felt so quintessentially Vietnamese. And the whole ride through the Mekong was such an experience. Maybe I'll write more about it when I'm more coherent.
(Oh but wait, I already wrote about my second day in Vietnam in previous posts, didn't I?)
On the bus to Cai Be with my lovely sister.
Waiting for our turn to ride the boat that eventually took us around the river. I look so mad. The girls behind us are Jen and Alicia, whom we shared a table with during lunch.
Lia calls this my Ms. Saigon moment.
Partway through the tour, we transferred from our big boat to these little rowboats so we could see a few of the smaller waterways of the Delta.
Day 3: Saigon City. We ate pho, went to the market, did some shopping. Took in the sights, bought a few paintings, and walked QUITE a lot. It's kind of funny how Saigon seems to have been planned out very similarly to Paris. Both cities are divided into districts (arrondissements in Paris), both have narrow streets and lots of roundabouts, both have nice architecture. They even share a similar penchant for good food, especially bread.
It was a long first day, and by the time we got back to the hotel, we were hot, sticky, and tired. It was worth it though. Got to do my thing at the shooting range (with live bullets!), learned a lot about the Vietnam War, and saw a bit of what was then an unknown religion to me (the Cao Dai See Religion).
Day 2: Mekong Delta - Floating Market, Cai Be Town; Saigon at night.
I loved the Mekong Delta day. It just felt so quintessentially Vietnamese. And the whole ride through the Mekong was such an experience. Maybe I'll write more about it when I'm more coherent.
(Oh but wait, I already wrote about my second day in Vietnam in previous posts, didn't I?)
On the bus to Cai Be with my lovely sister.
Waiting for our turn to ride the boat that eventually took us around the river. I look so mad. The girls behind us are Jen and Alicia, whom we shared a table with during lunch.
Lia calls this my Ms. Saigon moment.
Partway through the tour, we transferred from our big boat to these little rowboats so we could see a few of the smaller waterways of the Delta.
Day 3: Saigon City. We ate pho, went to the market, did some shopping. Took in the sights, bought a few paintings, and walked QUITE a lot. It's kind of funny how Saigon seems to have been planned out very similarly to Paris. Both cities are divided into districts (arrondissements in Paris), both have narrow streets and lots of roundabouts, both have nice architecture. They even share a similar penchant for good food, especially bread.
On the infamous "cyclo". This ride was more dangerous than it may first seem. There are HEAPS of motorbikes in Saigon, and they are definitely the princes of the road. They will go wherever they will, and will zoom every which way imaginable. (We actually witnessed a few motorbike/scooter "accidents", but none of them were serious enough to even merit a second thought, apparently. The respective drivers and riders simply brushed themselves off and went on their merry ways.) Add to that all the buses who seemed to think driving was just one big video game, and you've got a suicide mission from third world hell. Being caught in the middle of all that really was quite an experience -- and I grew up in the third world!
2:59:00 AM
