Day 15

Slept in a little.Had breakfast and walked to city center for our last day of shopping an touring. Tours are readily available here.You can take a boat ride on the river or rent a bicycle and tour the area.Today was very hot.Left Hoi Ann mid-day.Flew back to Ho Chi Minh City.

Arrived Ho Chi Minh City late - about 10:00 p.m.Staying at same hotel - Bong Sen Hotel.

Day 16

Everyone that had been measured for an Alzi, (traditional dress for Vietnamese women) went for their fitting.I had not purchased one but I went along as the official "photographer".The Alzi consists of a tunic top and long flowing silky pants.Everyone looked so nice.

Toured Independence Palace also known as Reunifcation Palace. - This was the home of the king that was assassinated.He had requested the United States join the war effort in South Vientam when they were fighting the communists in the north.Very elegant.We had a chance to tour not only the upstairs rooms, but the war rooms in the basement.This palace had been re-built because it had been destroyed during the war.

Note:Independence Palace or Reunification Palace - This is a restored five-floor time warp to the Sixties left largely untouched from the day before Saigon fell to the North (construction started in 1962 and finished in 1966). Formerly South Vietnam's Presidential Palace, the war ended on April 30, 1975 when tank #843 — a replica of which is now parked on the lawn outside — crashed through the gate. Be sure to check out the impressively kitschy recreation room, featuring a circular sofa, and the eerie basement, full of vintage 1960s phones, radios, and office equipment, supposedly left exactly as it was found when the North took over. There is also a photo gallery and a propaganda film recounting how the South Vietnamese supporters and American imperialists succumbed to Ho Chi Minh's indomitable revolutionary forces, upon which point the South Vietnamese supporters were forgiven and everyone lived happily ever after.

Toured the War Museum - This museum contains planes, helicopters, pictures and a simulation of the cells used for prisoners.It definitely has a Vietnamese slant with a lot of information about Agent Orange and how it maimed the Vietnamese people.The pictures were very graphic.I tried to obtain information on an American solder that was killed in Vietnam but was unable to do so.Most of the booklets that I found did not have much information regarding Americans.The focus was almost entirely on the Vietnamese.

Note:War Remnants Museum, formerly known as Saigon's Exhibition House of American War Crimes, portrays the horrors and details of the Vietnam War. This museum standing near the city's famous Reunification palace, with its halls filled with gruesome photographs and a real guillotine, depicts some of the worst brutality that happened during the Vietnam War.

For its graphic descriptions of napalm, photographs of victims and actual weapons, agent orange and phosphurus bombs, it is the most crowded of all the museums in Ho Chi Minh City. One room of this museum is devoted to the protest that went on across the globe during those days of war. The disturbing displays of the museum depict the cruelties involved in the killing of innocent civilians, torturing of prisoners, the spreading of poisonous defoliant and the effects of the war in the north.

Tanks, bombs, planes, helicopters used during the Vietnam War are also kept in the Saigon's WarRemnantsMuseum. Some rooms outside the museum exhibit cultural products, giving you a glimpse of the Vietnamese culture. Since its inception more than six million people have visited this famous museum in Saigon. Among its millions of visitors around one million are foreign tourists.

Next on the agenda was some shopping at the Ho Ch Minh City Market -This is a market composed of clothing vendors, jewelry, scarves (very pretty and fairly inexpensive), food, whatever you might want.The vendors are very pushy, aggressive and few want to bargain.Some do, but it's tough.I did buy an alzi off the rack - black with orange pants and a few more souvenirs.Everyone scrambling to make money.Everyone vying for your attention -"Hello, Madam, come into my shop".This market was much harder to bargain in than the one in Hoi An.This is a large city with many people and the vendors have more of chance to get their prices.

Great frozen yogurt(Tutti Fruitti) across from the market.I had some before I went to the market and as a refresher, some more when I finished in the market.You serve yourself and pay by the weight.A nice place to cool off after"shopping to you drop".

Tonight we had our farewell dinner at Binh Quoi Country Resort.Everyone got dressed up in the clothes they had made for them or something that they had purchased.Farewell gifts were given to our guides, translators, etc.A couple of our translators had taken a week off just to be with us and translate for us.They were wonderful and we will miss them very much.Every student received a certificate from Le Thi Thu Hong, Vietnam In-Country Director for Brittany's Hope Foundation for our service.After dinner, we were treated to ice cream at one of the many ice cream parlors in Vietnam, a much appreciated dessert.It was very sad to have to say goodbye to these wonderful people who had volunteered their time to assist us through this trip.

Days 17 & 18

Up early - 2:30 a.m.Left Ho Chi Minh at 3:45 for airport - Flying to Hong Kong (2 hours).Arrive Hong Kong Airport -Security very tight - they searched a lot of carry on bags.

Bought some peanuts, etc. in airport -Spent $73.60 Hong Kong dollars (about $9.89 in U.S. dollars).Left Hong Kong and crossed the international date line back to the United States (about 13 hour flight).On to San Francisco where we had a 6 hour layover after proceeding through customs..Then, boarded a plane for 5 hours to Philadelphia.Rob Bates from Del Tech picked us up at 11:30 and drove us to Georgetown.Of course, in Philadelphia, we had to say goodbye to all the friends we had made along the way.What a sad time.We have all agreed to meet on Facebook and keep in touch.Hope we do.Arrived home at approximately 3:00 a.m. Thursday morning and woke my husband to tell him a little about our experiencesWe stayed up and talked until 6:00 a.m. and then I slept until 1:00 p.m.

Friday is back to a normal schedule with time for writing this journal and preparing a reflection paper regarding my observations regarding the social issues.