Phu My, Vietnam

March 15^th….day 69

Phu My, Vietnam

We docked at the port of Phu My which is the gateway to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) which is a 70 mile drive to the city. The port is mostly industrial, so an excursion into the city it was. The weather is expected to reach 100 with humidity to match. Yikes! Packing water is a must today. Saigon is home to over 9 million people and most of them drive motor scooters. So the streets are jammed with them. There are about 21,500 people living per square kilometer so most of the living conditions are not very good. Everyone wants to live on a major street so they can set up a shop in front and live either above or behind the store. The government wanted to stop this, but for most of these people this is their only way to make money. Jobs are scarce and hard to come by. With the traffic and poor road conditions it took us about 2 hrs to drive one way. We drove through rice fields and rubber plantations. Saigon is the largest city in Vietnam located on the Saigon River. It is busy, and the smog and heat were intense. We visited a history museum which had artifacts illustrating the cultures from the Bronze Age to modern day. We enjoyed a water puppet show and went to a lacquer ware workshop which is exported all over the world. It was very beautiful and we did buy some panels. The most moving place we went to was the Reunification Hall Museum. Formerly known as the Presidential Palace, this was made famous when a North Vietnamese tank crashed through the front gates, signaling the end of the Vietnam War. We toured through the underground halls and much of the American telecommunication equipment is still there. The preserved pictures and war maps lining the walls say it all. Our tour guide was young, only about 7 yrs old when the war ended. His Father worked for the US military during the war. He now wants to become a policeman, but the communist government researches the family back at least 3 generations. So, because of the US connection, or unless he has a huge bribe, he or his sons will not work in any government job. The Vietnamese people are only allowed to have 2 children and if a government official has more, they are fired. I don’t see how this could be enforced for the general public, since most of the families live together under one roof. This was from a Vietnamese perspective but believable. The history is incredible, and the people resourceful. And believe it or not, everywhere we went we were watched, to a point. Government security was everywhere. They want the tourists to come back, spend money and have a good experience. 2 days at sea, a St. Patrick’s Day party, and on to Singapore.