Ho Chi Minh

Back in Ho Chi Minh for the Last Time

After two hard-working days, those few hours we had left in Rach Gia were those that cannot be forgotten. Finally saying goodbye to the families we got to know better and meeting with the workers from Habitat for Humanity later last night, we had a delicious dinner at a riverside restaurant. Everyone felt so proud that they had succeeded in their goal and privileged to have been able to experience such a wonderful opportunity to contribute to the local Vietnam community.

Waking up this morning realizing our goal had been reached, we knew it was finally time for relaxation. Arriving at the Ho Chi Minh airport, everyone was excited to be back in a bigger city with more entertainment and shopping. In the early afternoon, we came back to Ha Hien hotel but unfortunately we didn’t have much time to relax because we were all starting to feel hungry and so we decided to head out for lunch.

After lunch, given only a couple of hours available, we had two choices to go to either a water park or the Museum of Vietnamese History. With the teachers deciding in the last minute, the water park was cancelled and we ended up on the bus to the history museum, which was a great disappointment for many of us. However, we were delighted after hearing that we were finally going to eat western food, that wasn’t noodles or rice, but BURGERS AND PIZZA. It was an awesome dinner!

Xavier Dell

9:31 pm

01/06/10

Goodbye Rach Gia, Hello Ho Chi Minh!

After two days of intensive work in Rach Gia we returned to Ho Chi Minh. This was a pleasant experience as we were chatting and talking all the way to Ho Chi Minh. I guess after almost twenty hours of intensive construction working we had become very good friends and felt free around each other. It just goes to show that friendship can be born, even in the hardest of conditions. So after the pleasant flight back to Ho Chi Minh we all dropped our bags in the hotel and went for a bowl of delicious noodles of, as the Vietnamese call it, pho. After the delicious lunch we all had a great time talking and laughing as we were on our way to the Museum of Vietnamese History.

  

This was very exciting and enlightening, as all saw the growth of Vietnam from its earliest stages to where it is now. Later some of the girls went for shopping for souvenirs and the guys bought ice-creams and sat in the shade! There is no better way to spend your afternoon in Vietnam than sitting with your friends joking around (lets just leave it at that) and having a delicious ice-cream; it takes away all your worries and problems. Our next destination was the Reunification Palace and I think it made some of us sad to see this; it is amazing to see that Ho Chi Minh used to be a battleground and the center of mass killing when now it so serene and peaceful. Anyway, we heard that were going to have western food for dinner and were really longing for it, as I think most of us are sick of noodles and rice. We still have two days left in Vietnam and we are all awaiting what more it has to offer us. So you guys just have to keep visiting the blog to see what amazing adventures we go through!

Sathya Shanmugam Pillai

4:08 pm

01/06/10

Dinner and a Show in Saigon!

So after a really long day we came back to the hotel and crashed in each other’s rooms. We watched HBO! ‘Confessions of a Shopaholic’! We had more than free two hours to relax, and I spent 5 minutes with Seb and Steven writing the day’s blog entry which was intense. We were told we were going to dinner on a boat along Saigon River! We were extremely pepped up for the dinner and a few of us (girls) put our best clothes on and make up as well. Just before leaving we had a practice rehearsal of ‘Wonderwall’ (by Oasis) and ‘Time of Your Life’ (by Green Day) in the lobby. We sounded pretty good, I think, and I hope the villagers will be entertained tomorrow night!

We hopped on the bus and left for dinner. We now had seats allotted in the bus, and really didn’t fight, but Seb still tried to make a dash for the bus before the rest of us (but we won, yet again). We arrived at the ferry and saw a huge fish-shaped boat with three decks. We walked up this huge ramp over the mucky waters of the river. I don’t know how to swim, so I was a little scared.

We got a huge, long table on the top deck and were served authentic Vietnamese food. The pork spring roles were really good, but their potatoes tasted like carrots! We did make a fuss about the food but we survived! We split up into different groups and, well, naturally the girls sat around and had a long chat about boys, school and all the rest. After like half an hour, a girl arrived at the front of the boat, and started break-dancing.

She was a skillful dancer and we soon realized she was extremely acrobatic too, when she did some fire tricks. It was a great show! The boys enjoyed it a lot, and so did the girls. All in all it was a great night. Now we’re ready to go to bed and wake up really early, which won’t be fun. But we’re extremely pumped for our first day in Rach Gia! Bye!

Amy Brar

9:51 pm

28/05/10

Day 2: A Night Cruise on the River Saigon








Finding our way around Ho Chi Minh

After a decent night’s sleep we woke up to a Vietnamese eight o’clock breakfast. We prepared ourselves for a big day out exploring Ho Chi Minh. Our first stop was the old French district, including the City Hall, then a French Church called ‘Notre Dame’ in the downtown area, which were both very interesting. Then we came to the highlight of our day; the war museum. At the war museum we first saw the “tiger cage” prison, which was scary. We then ventured into the museum itself and took a look at all the interesting images, sculptures and recovered artifacts. The photos and the facts behind them were somewhat disturbing and gruesome, but all in all it was an enlightening experience from which we learned a lot about the Vietnam War, a must see if you’re in Ho Chi Minh. After that we had lunch at a local Vietnamese restaurant, Pho24: awesome noodles. After a great lunch we went to see a Buddhist temple, which smelled like incense. We were easily amused by the turtles, and Jordan’s hat fell into the turtle pond (though it was rescued thanks to Ye-Lin). Prior to visiting the Chinese temple, a war for the backseats in the bus had started (winners will not be mentioned). After settling this minor dispute and visiting the temple we made our way to a super busy market. A few of us stayed back in the bus due to lack of energy, and some of us hit KFC, which had the worst service and the worst chicken. Ever. After a long eventful day we made our way back to the Ha Hien Hotel. Yay!

Sebastian Kratz and Steven Nardo

3:27 pm

28/05/10

Day 2: Exploring Ho Chi Minh in Pictures

Getting here…

 We all met up at the M block car park, excited about the trip. It was a long ride to the airport but we made it, with no problems. We all got our passports, and luckily had no problems with checking in (a few scissors were confiscated but everything went smooth). We finally boarded the plane, with some sitting next to friends and some next to strangers. It was a quiet flight as, after all, everyone had spotted the television screens. Some people slept, while others were annoyed by the person next to them. Once we touched down in Ho Chi Minh and left the plane, everyone was dying to use the bathrooms, so we took a break and waited for the bus to the hotel. Right now we are in the bus, and in front of us is a sea of motorbikes. Everyone is peering out of the windows amazed by the amount of traffic and people crowded into the streets. While snapping pictures all around us, you could tell we were all very excited about later tonight. We’re planning to go visit a market, after we have settled into our hotel rooms and had dinner.

Caitlin Muller

7:43 pm 

27/05/2010

Day 1: Leaving Singapore for Vietnam!