Dragonfruit
Ladies Selling Vegetables
The food in vietnam was really great. There were so many amazing fresh veggies to be had, and I was so glad to not have to worry so much about not being able to find vegetarian food (Peru was a lot harder for that). There were a lot of familiar foods, but some, like the incredibly pink dragonfruit above, were more exotic. The dragonfruit, dissappointingly, did not taste nearly as exciting as one might assume from it’s hot pink exterior. It tasted a little bit like a watermelon/kiwi blend, and was stark white with small black seeds.
Sunrise in Saigon
Everyone who knows me knows that I am in no way shape or form, a morning person. But the crazy time difference between California and Vietnam, worked some serious magic in getting me out of be early. I took this photo on our first full day in Vietnam, from the balcony of the Liberty 2. It was probably just past 5am when I took this picture, and the streets were shockingly quiet. It was also already super warm, and it smelled a little like rain (from the night before) and the streets were still damp.
Landmines
These photos are from the War Remnants Museum in Ho Chi Minh City. The courtyard of the museum is filled with US Military aircrafts, tanks, and guns from the Vietnam-American war, and the museum itself is filled mainly with photos of the horrors of the war.
The photos of the effects of Agent Orange (Dioxin) were especially horrifying, as were the descriptions of the effects of the US bombing campaign, and the map of Vietnam showing the areas hit by US ordnance. Having read books about the Vietnam war, and hearing lots about it in school, and now having been to Vietnam, I can honestly say that I don’t think it would be at all possible to fully understand how awful that war must have been. From doing Food Not Bombs I’ve met a lot of homeless veterans, many of whom served in Vietnam, and I’ve always been so saddened at just how thoroughly they were fucked up by their experiences. I seriously hope that the Iraq/Afghanistan vets today don’t suffer the same fate.
Leanne in our Hotel Room
I am going to try to post a photo (or two) a day from my trip to Vietnam. Some of them will probably have stories to go with them, others might not.
This one is from our first day in Ho Chi Minh City. It was taken (IIRC) shortly after we checked in to out hotel, The Liberty 2. It was definitely the nicest hotel we stayed in on the trip, good sized balcony, big bathroom with a great tub and a separate shower.
After checking in, we went and wandered around Ho Chi Minh City, mostly we marvelled at the crazy number of motorbikes, and took forever to cross the streets for fear of getting run over. We also got followed around for like, 5 blocks by a guy with a bicycle rickshaw type thing, he really wanted to give us a ride, but a) we wanted to walk and b) those things are only big enough to fit 1.5 people, but that guy was really persistent!
Recent flickr photos
