November 3rd
Today is our first official day of our tour.   After a healthy breakfast of a hot latte and fresh raisin pastry,  we started the morning with a city  cyclo tour, a must for first time tourist.   a Cyclo is a rickshaw for one where the passenger is in the front and the cycler in the back; the drivers work in teams to maneuver amongst traffic.  You know that sensation when the world is rushing past as you stand still, this was my cyclo experience.  the driver pushed off from the light, hundreds of scooters rushing by in what seemed break neck speed as we dawdled at our turtle pace.
  Our first stop was the War Remnants Museum, formally called the " museum of American and Chinese War Crimes" , the name was changed at the time Bill Clinton was working on relations with Vietnam.  Most people cry when they tour this site, it is filled graphic photos as a teaching to future generations of the horrors of war and like previous wars to keep the memory alive with hope of peace.   Megan protected the group, which again I was so thankful; when Thinh explaining the history of the museum I was already was getting emotional and was waffling to sit this one out, it is important to see and understand hr said.  the main building contains pictures of anti-war demonstrations from across the world not just America and Vietnam. It also shows graphic images of both civilian and military vietnamese casualties of war during the war and the post war fall out.  a tribute to the journalist from both sides of the war is on the top level, from purely a photographic perspective, the pictures capture the essence of the war, I struggle on a word to describe the photos, they are beautifully composed but tragic in nature.
We continued our tour back to Notre Dame, post office and the independence palace then back to the hotel to cool down.  at 10:30am the heat is already unbearable.  several wedding parties were out taking photos, the bride in traditional western dress and the groom in suites, I am already sweating I cannot image how they feel.
I tried my hand at pho, the traditional noodle soup of vietnam.  We ate at the same place as bill Clinton ate during his 2000 visit; it is a whole in the wall restaurant overlooking the bus terminal and a major intersection, needless to say, very noisy.  In the afternoon we traveled by private bus to Cu Chi Tunnel  which included a quick stop at July 27, a workshop that teaches handicap the art of lacquer on wood;  there was some amazing pieces including a mother of pearl urn that must have been 10 feet high.