I awoke today to a sweltering Ho Chi Minh City. I decided to stick with walking though, despite the incessant requests from locals about taxis and motorcycles. I strolled north through the
boiling sunshine to the War Remnants Museum which, above all else, is a
collection of photographs from, the Vietnam War - a number of which are
quite harrowing images of the sufferings of both the soldiers and civilians during the conflict.
After leaving the museum I walked to nearby but rather unremarkable Xa Loi Pagoda - in hindsight it is the events that
stemmed from inhabitants of the location are more important that the building itself. Finally the heat got the better of me and I jumped into a taxi and headed back towards the financial district where I took in lunch before paying a visit to the
Fine Art Museum which also included the impressive Not Mau exhibition.
It was still
unbelievably hot so I decided to make my way back towards the hotel for a
cool down but made a slight detour for a cold drink in the Bitter Sweet Coffee House, a
delightful coffee shop I had found that is split across five or so
levels and with its wonderfully chilled atmosphere is a great place to
sit and watch the mania on the Ho Chi Minh streets several stories
below.
John and Hannah are due to arrive this afternoon. It will be great to have some friends to share this magnificent country with, so as ever, I am sure there will be more to follow....
