Well, we're finally settling in. The jet lag is wearing off and we're adjusting to the daily activities of life in Saigon.
Let's start from the beginning. The plane ride was LONG! However, we arrived in Saigon at about twelve thirty at night, local time. After having our bags checked twice, we pushed our way through the baggage claim and had our luggage x-rayed before exiting the airport. Leaving the airport was an experience that I will never forget.
We grabbed our bags and went out into the hot, humid air to see what must have been at least two hundred people standing behind several assembled fences, and all of them were watching the exit. As we walked out of the airport, I felt the eyes of everyone there fall upon us. We then proceeded to push our way through the crowd, get into the van that was waiting for us, and drive to the hotel.
The Legend Hotel is amazing. I was impressed by its beauty as soon as I walked through the doors, and was much more impressed the next morning, not only with the hotels appearance, but also with the wonderful variety of the breakfast buffet.
After a satisfying breakfast, we set out to tour the city of Saigon. Our first stop was the former presidential palace. We went on an interesting tour of the palace and finished by looking at some of the animals that were kept there. That was a sort of cultural shock to me. We left the kitchens of the palace and went out to the semi-spheres of bars in which the animals were kept. We found an eagle or hawk (I don't know which) inside of an extremely small cage that happened to be underneath a monkey cage. In another cage were two bears. Thought these were separated from the other animals, their cage was the same size as the monkey's cage. It was quite clear to the group that at least one of the bears was going crazy due to the extreme heat and lack of living space. However, there is nothing that we could do about it and the issue of animal rights is just one of many cultural differences that we, as Americans, share with the Vietnamese people. We toured the city for a little while after that, went on to do some shopping, and then crashed at the hotel after a good dinner.
The next day, we went to an orphanage in Saigon. We stopped and picked up what must have been about four hundred pounds of rice and some sweets at a local market, then hopped into the van and set off for the orphanage. When we arrived, we found a bunch of dogs lying around, a few nuns, and some children, who were having a snack. We divided up the candy amongst ourselves and began to distribute candy to the children. We had also brought some toys with us and I started giving them to the little kids. It's amazing how much a lollipop and a little toy car can brighten up someone's day. The looks on the faces of some of these children are branded into my memory. The smiles and joy that could be brought around by about ninety-five cents is hard to imagine until you see it up close. I got to see a pair of twins discover how to break apart a Kit Kat Bar and immediately give parts of it to their friends, and that sight really warmed my heart. It was a whole lot of fun, and it left me feeling extremely good about what we had done.
Anyway, I am running out of time to finish this, so I guess it's time to wrap this thing up. Vietnam needs to be experienced to be fully understood. Some of the culture is identical to that of the U.S., however there are some things that I have seen over the last few days that sent me for a spin. I guess what I'm saying is that so far, it has been a mind-blowing experience and it's been great. I can't wait for the next time that my perspective is changed.
Sincerely,
Murphy McHugh