You knew that title was coming, didn't ya! Here I am, in the heart of it all, formerly Saigon, now known as Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. What a crazy place it is! If you can believe it, people drive even crazier here that they do in Cambodia. I've got some great video of it, that's the only way I can possibly describe it.
I ended up spending another night or two in Phenom Penh realxing with some English and Irish friends that I made. The backpacker area gets a little old after 4 nights of playing pool at the same 2 bars, so I decided to move on, though I am still awaiting the arrival of Lily to Vietnam. She'll be here Thursday (just in time for the Turkey...hopefully!)
Today I went to the War Remnants Museum. It was really tough to be an American walking around that incredibly sad place. I read up on a lot of history, and studied the photographs and captions on display. So many atrosities in that damn war. I'm still not quite sure why we were there other than to "save" our country from the Communists. It just doesn't make sense. What really didn't make sense to me is a little thing called Agent Orange. Just to type the word gives me the chills.
I just can't believe that human beings are capeable of this tremendously inhumane act against one another. Some of the photos of the children born with disease and deformities were simply atrocious, not to mention adults who were so sadly affected by the dioxins. I felt disgusted by the past of our nation. Traveling really helps you put into perspective the fact that we are all of the same blood and bones. That none of us is better or more righteous than the other. While some of us most CERTAINLY are much more fortunate than others, it simly does not make us "better" than them. Different is fair, but those differences should be met with respect. War is the ultimate sin, no matter what your religion. War is no different that killing a loved one. This is why we all need to travel, and stop living in our sheltered, selfish little worlds where the white man rules and materialism is a goal. What are we doing to ourselves? This is the lesson that I hoped I would learn on this trip, and although I already knew it, I can finally embrace it and make sense of it.
Not quite sure what I'll be up to for the next couple of days, but I'll tell ya, the city just aint for me! I've got a TV in my room which is pretty nice, so I think I'll catch up on some movies. That'll help me save some dough too! It's good to get out early and sight see and then hang out for the afternoon and evening. I'm 99.8% recovered (no more bandages! YAY!) so swimming is in my near future! I may have to spend the day at the pool at a nice hotel tomorrow...mmm, that sounds pretty good!
