Travels and Adventures

First, Thank you Davina for taking and sharing, the many more pics than normal haha! ( I forgot my iPhone at the apartment and Davina shared her phone. )

We headed out on a 1/2 day small group tour of the Cu Chi tunnels, famous underground tunnels during the Vietnam war. It was quite interesting. Our first stop was at a place where Agent orange handicap workers made beautiful things. Agent Orange has hit all the way to the 4th generation. And continues but at a much lesser degree. Note right foot. Then we got to the Cu Chi tunnels. The war ended 42 years ago but, it’s definitely not forgotten. As I am visiting many places in Vietnam, today gave the larger picture. I understand more now.

They taught us about the many booby traps. And the hiding places. And the tiny tunnels.

They lived in these tunnels for 20 years. Hidden air holes for the tunnels. They even had a " hospital" and maternity ward. Dining halls and sleeping bunkers. They had emergency bunkers that formed a triangle for safety. Millions of Vietnamese lived-in these small quarters. And a bunker with a deep well forvfresh water, a bunker to the Saigon river. Davina crawled thru a tunnel 20 meters.which was increased in size by 40% for foreign travelers.I did not attempt because, I didn’t think my knees would handle it. The Vietnamese ate Tapioca and green tea, 3 times a day for 20 years. We got to try it. They only cooked in early mornings, so the US air troops couldn't see the smoke,as it looked like morning dew. They also wore their shoes backwards so if the US troops seen the foot prints they looked like they going other way... pretty clever. Black pepper, chili powder deterred the dogs from finding them. All the tunnels were made by hand. 250 kms of the tunnel system. We had an opportunity to shoot a AK47!! 5 rounds each. Totally missed the target!! Alot of kickback and I had to stand on tippy toes. Story of my life.... Our tour guide, "Typhoon Honey" funny guy and he loves his job and his country.

We ate our lunch peanut butter and Jelly sandwiches on the bus on the way back. instead of dropping us back off at the apartment, we bailed at the indoor market, since we wanted to head there anyway. Saved a Uber ride.... Love people watching haha!! We were hounded bad at this market. Sometimes I feel rude saying no and walking away , but it’s the culture and how they make money to live. This big load tippped the scooter over backwards. they carry so much stuff!! I earned my wings! Davina too! Hard at work as usual haha!! We have seen many sleep like this... We also got to see the Saigon Cathedral outside. and the famous Saigon Central post office.

Then we went to the War museum and this is where it got super sad. I cannot share every detail or picture... but here’s a few. IF you want to see more pics and get more info, message me on Facebook.many, many countries protested the Us to stop fighting with Vietnam... so sad here, so much information. I’m not exactly sure how I feel about all of this. There was a whole large room full of photos and personal stories of agent orange victims, very sad. The smaller room next to it had agent orange effected people in it but, we didn’t take any photos. snob coffee hmmm... We were exhausted so we headed back to the apartment to eat and relax a bit. I had a migraine come up while at the war museum. Today was a tough day emotionally and it was a lot of info to take in. I’m not sure how I feel about all this. For a moment in time, I felt guilty for being an American.

Vietnam is thriving today! And very friendly, I have not come across a hateful person at all. As Typhoon Honey says: "we love you long time."

Up at 5:15 am to catch our flight. The Homestay prepared a breakfast to go for us and had a cab called the night before. I love Hoi An Vietnam. I gonna miss it. But onward we must go.

Ho Chi Minh is Otherwise known as Saigon.(Named changed 42 years ago) This city is a mix between New York City, Athens Greece, touch of San Francisco and Vietnam. After we finally found where we were supposed to go. We are on the 19th floor with a city view. And A Kitchen with a big fridge and microwave!! A little Western comfort. The Next 10-12 days = lots of moving!We got settled in and went for a walk to find a grocery store. To no avail just little markets. So, we got a Uber and went to Lotte Mart. When we arrived in the store a "Walmart" greeter type person stopped us and put locks on our backpacks.Holy Grail of food! Now, if we can figure out the Vietnamese writing.... We got this!!

There is a 2nd floor and they have escalator ramp to go up. I’ve never seen this before. There must be magnets on the wheels because once I got on the escalator ramp, I could not move the cart at all.

While we were shopping, a mother caught our attention, her little girl wanted to interact with us and mom wanted a picture. (or visa Versa, Not quite sure) So, we obliged. Here we go feeling famous again. This little girl walked away with a nice, huge smile on her face. Priceless!

We may have over indulged in shopping just a little bit. Steak, mashed potatoes and corn on the cob, will be for our Late Easter dinner. Snacks too! Bacon, eggs, cereal... Since we decided in "biting the bullet" and taking a cheaper bus to Cambodia (and not paying excessive amounts for baggage) we can take any extra stuff with us! Got a Uber and headed back.Pool time!! 7th floor between 2 high rises.And time to make our Easter dinner.