Leaving Vietnam

Ben Thanh Market

Visiting Vietnam was a whirlwind trip. In three days, we visited Reunification Hall (the former Presidential Palace), Notre Dame Cathedral,the huge and beautiful Saigon Post Office, two universities, and Ben Thanh Market. We toured a portion of the Mekong River and many neighborhoods.

Traffic in Ho Chi Minh City/Saigon

The traffic was amazing--crossing the street as a pedestrian was truly a risky venture with busses, cars, and motorbikes coming from all directions non-stop. I just followed the directions of our guide the times I ventured out on my own--walk slowly, not stopping or turning around. Truly amazing to step out into traffic and just walk slowly across the street, trusting that the 50 motorbikes and bus coming at me were going to go around or slow down.

We stayed at the Caravelle Hotel on Dong Khoi Street in District 1. The Caravelle was the headquarters for diplomats and journalists during the Vietnam/American War. The rooftop bar was a big hangout place for journalists.

Caravelle Hotel



The hotel was incredible (and why I regularly thought of my carbon footprint)--a state-of-the art fitness center where I worked out every day and an unbelieveably beautiful swimming pool where I went swimming two times. Although we ate at various restaurants, the hotel restaurant buffet was a show-stopper. European, American, Chinese and Vietnamese fare everyday at every meal. Except for an occasional diversion, I focused my meals, including breakfast, on Vietnamese and Chinese fare. I had soup for breakfast every day--herbs, noodles, vegetables--delicious along with dragonfruit, lychee, longan.

This trip is so filled with contradictions--staying in a luxury hotel while trying to understand the deep inequality in the country and trying to understand contemporary Vietnam while the past is ever present, including the American war.

We left Vietnam on Saturday morning and are now in Cambodia.