Saigon, Vietnam

I spent most of yesterday just sitting around.  That sounds incredibly boring, but for me it was one of the best days I have had so far.  Our early flight from Cambodia to Vietnam was delayed until late afternoon, so all we could do was hang around the hotel until that time.  This means I was able to sleep in, get some homework done, and still have lazy time to eat and drink in the shade by the pool.  It seems like God knew exactly when I needed a mental health day. 

We left Cambodia at about 5:55p.m. and had a very quick flight to Saigon, Vietnam.  We were met by our guide at the airport and then chauffeured to dinner for a nice full course meal, complete with live music. 

This morning we all boarded the bus, way too early, as usual; no one really knew what the guide had planned for us.  About a 90 minute bus ride later we pulled into the Cu Chi Villages, a place that was heavily bombed and damaged during the Vietnam War.  The main attraction in the village today is the Cu Chi Tunnels that the Vietnamese soldiers used to defend and fight against the Americans.  At home, we always hear the Americans’ side of the story; today was all about the Vietnamese.   I still do not know enough about the history to go into any of the details, but it was definitely interesting to experience and learn about their side of it.  Everything was either preserved or replicated to accurately illustrate the days of war.  I climbed inside a trench and barrack.  We saw a soldier climb into a hidden barrack in the ground.   Several different kinds of trap demonstrations painted an eerie picture of American soldiers becoming hunted prey.  I even crawled through 100 kilometers (a little over a half of a mile) of underground fighting tunnels, which was a neat experience, but one I will never do again. 

My favorite and most memorable thing from today was shooting an AK-47 at a range onsite Cu Chi.  There is a shooting range where visitors can pay to shoot various types of guns.  As you walk throughout Cu Chi you can hear people shooting in the range from a distance.  It is an effect that really adds to the experience.   The further you walk on the site, the louder the gun shots get.  It is a chilling experience, but I think also a little disrespectful to the past.  Being there today really brought the Vietnam War to life!

Also today we got to visit an architecture firm in Saigon that is run by a Ball State Graduate student and his business partner.  It was great to ask questions about the firm and discover architecture in a different culture.  We were shocked to hear that a senior architect’s salary in Vietnam is on average $1,000 per month.  I guess I will quit complaining about an American Architect’s salary now, or any American job for that matter.