We finally got to sleep in and get over the last of our jetlag. I was able to do my laundry in the morning, which at TDTU meant carrying my laundry over to the dorms where for USD $2, my laundry would be washed, dried, and folded for me.
After grabbing a quick bite we then headed to the heart of Saigon where we first visited Independence Palace. This was the home and headquarters for the South Vietnam president during the Vietnam War (similar to the White House). The inside held many extravagant bedrooms, conference rooms, a cinema, an underground bunker, and tourists. People were allowed on the roof to see where the North was able to drop two bombs that signaled the start of the end for South Vietnam.
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| Meeting room in the Independence Palace |
Afterwards, we were all starving so we found one our new favorite shops to get snacks—the Circle K! The Bánh mì there was delicious: toasted bread and a freshly cooked egg all for just VND 10.000 (~USD $0.50).
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| Chowing down our haul from the Circle K |
Feeling refreshed, we then headed to the War Remnants Museum. We weren't prepared for what we would encounter inside.
A quick note- the next paragraph talks about our experience in the museum; although many of the exhibits were very graphic, I tried not to be too explicit in my descriptions, but skip the next paragraph if it might upset you. Also, I think it is important to note that North Vietnam did win the war against the South and that the communist party currently controls Vietnam. Therefore, everything we saw will always put the current government in a positive light. It is all very real and highlights the negativities of war, but it is also in-your-face and upfront for a reason.
The first thing you see as you enter the first exhibit is a guillotine. Then you see the cages about two feet off the ground, covered with barbed wire. And then there are the photographs of the various survivors missing limbs and features. This set the tone for the museum very quickly. Included was a list of torture methods used in these prisons.
Already shocked by the upfront and graphic nature, we stumbled into the main building which held several exhibitions of the atrocities of the war. There was a section that outlined several of the massacres that both South Vietnam and US troops committed during the war. There were several artifacts, including the sewer pipe from the Thạnh Phong massacre (please read up on the many massacres from the war such as the Mỹ Lai massacre or Thạnh Phong massacre). There was also an exhibition on Agent Orange and its harmful effects on the civilian population. For four generations and onwards, Vietnamese citizens (and US troops and their children) have had a plethora of birth defects and symptoms. The chemicals have had numerous effects; from deformed limbs to skin disease, to all types of cancer. The displayed pair of Agent Orange-affected fetuses especially drove home the point of how inhumane chemical weapons are. The museum also displayed the numerous protests in the US and around the world which called for peace and stability.
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| Front of the War Remnants Museum |
Seeing the evidence and reading the descriptions of the human brutality while standing in the country they occurred was a very sobering experience. At the end of one of the exhibits, there was a quote from Robert McNamara (former US Secretary of Defense) that talked about making sure future generations learned from the mistakes and tragedies that occurred. I believe everyone should learn about both sides of the war in Vietnam to ensure it never happens again. But as Lexi pointed out, there was a similar quote at the end of the Holocaust museum; yet just forty years ago, and even today, these horrific human tragedies keep occurring. It is up to us to put an end to it, to be able to say NO, even when it is hard—especially when it is hard.
Feeling the need to decompress, we found a coffee shop in the area where we were able to chat about everything from income inequality and systemic issues in capitalism to simulation theory and Elon Musk. We ended off the day with a visit to one of our favorite cat-populated vegetarian restaurants (yes, we are all slowly becoming vegetarian). Full of good food, it was a nice way to end our first weekend in Saigon. —Nate
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