War Remembrance Museum

We arrived in HCMC after thirteen hours of travelling. After finding a place to stay, getting something to eat, and doing a little walking around, we chilled in our room. I did sneak out and get a massage. It was 120,000 Dong ($6) for 90 minutes, and was pretty good.

The next day we got up early and made our way to the War Remembrance Museum, which chronicled "The American War," aka The Vietnam War. I am somewhat of a history buff/nerd and I keep up with foreign affairs, so I found the museum very interesting and informative.

On the other hand, as Union General William Sherman said, "War is hell." The museum certainly didn't gloss over the atrocities committed during the war. We saw the horrific conditions prisoners on Pho Quoc Island were kept. The piece that touched me the most, however, was the Agent Orange Exhibit. There was an entire floor dedicated to it, and although I knew about AO, most of it was from a Western perspective. While the media in the States covered the debilitating injuries and complications American soldiers faced from AO, the suffering of the Vietnamese has either been glossed over or completely ignored.

Examples of torture techniques used.

America's use of AO destroyed many of Vietnam's beautiful forests, and left behind generations of disabled and disfigured Vietnamese. It was a truly sobering exhibit. People spoke in hushed voices throughout the exhibit, and I saw a few folks crying. It didn't exactly make me swell up with pride, being an American, by the time I had exited the museum.

The aftermath AO left behind

However, the last US troops left Vietnam over 40 years ago, and while not forgotten, and maybe not completely forgiven, the Vietnamese seemed to have moved on. Unfortunately I fear there will be a similar museum like this in Iraq 40 years from now.

40 years later and all we have to do is replace SE Asia with Middle East

Ho Chi Minh City

Vendors taking their things from the market after it had closed

After living in Shanghai for three years, and having visited three other Asian capital cities, (HCMC is not the capital of Vietnam, but is the largest city) I was not expecting to be impressed with the city sometimes still referred to as Saigon. Thankfully my expectations were proven false and I ended up having quite a good time while learning a bit of history as well.

View outside our hotel window

HCM is a bustling city, just not on the same level as Tokyo or Shanghai, and not nearly as seedy as Manila or Kuala Lumpur. I saw no businessmen/women shuffling to and fro, or prostitutes asking me if I wanted "massages," or offering me Viagra. Most importantly the people seemed happy. I saw smiling faces everywhere I went and people who seemed to be enjoying life.

The King of Pop immortalized in blinds outside a cafe in HCMC

There were motorbikes, and they were EVERYWHERE! At first Zoe and I were quite scared to even cross the street, but we quickly got over it. Pretty soon we had fallen in with everyone else and did the dance of zigging and zagging while crossing the street to avoid being hit. It was good practice for Hanoi, which I've heard is even worse.