I did a bit of washing this morning and hung it up in my room hoping it would dry. I was then out of the house by 9am. Unfortunatly the dogs weren't around to wish me good luck.
I got a moto to the Jade Pagoda for 40,000 dong. There were a few ponds outside, some full with turtles, and others with fish in. The pagoda itself was quite pretty, it was built in the cantonese period/or by the cantonese, I cannot quite remember. It had some features that were very obviously chinese, the faces of the huge wooden statues inside, and the writing. The place was filled with the smell of incense sticks which was pleasant. It wasn't really anything special, although its style was obviously quite different to things I had seen before.
Next stop was to the history museum which was just like most other history museums; old pottery and chairs and various other things. For history lovers it was well organised and vaguely interesting; there were huge stone carvings from Cambodia, and elsewhere there was a mummy which freaked me out a bit as I felt I'd been cursed by looking at it. I took extra care on the roads after leaving.
On my travels I passed a pet shop, which seriously needs to invest in some fish contraception, as they had so many in very small spaces! It was quite ridiculous; I'm sure not that many people can actually own or want to own fish! I also passed a shop selling various teas, such as artichoke tea leaves; which made me think of Helen (Raleigh). I managed to get the lady in the shop to recommend me one, based on my very limited Vietnamese vocabularly from the day before yesterday!
I saw, from the outside, the Notre Dam Cathedral, which I had thought was in France, but apparently not! Outside there was a couple who were dressed in wedding outfits and were getting their photo taken. I'd presumed it was a photo shoot, as their faces didn't really fit like they'd just been married. They hadn't looked overly in love, and the way the man near by lay out the woman's wedding dress made it seem more like a photo shoot. I'm still not quite sure whether it was or not, as I later saw them all piling into a taxi, which seems a little low key for someone with such a fancy wedding dress. Of course I snapped a picture too!
I popped into the post office, mearly to admire it as it had been mentioned in the guide book. It was quite nice, and there were some quite cool features, like the rooms used for private telephone calls, and the ceiling too.
I bought a phrasebook as I thought it might come in handy; and I wanted the lady following me to get lost as she was beginning to become irritating!
The Reunification/Independence Palace was closed until 1pm, so I waited around in a park until it opened again. I had quite a nice time reading my book apart from annoying vendors coming up to me offering me various things which I didn't want to buy! A couple of girls were sat on a nearby bench, studying, they managed to shoo away the annoying vendor, and we had a bit of a chat as well.
The palace was quite cool, very large and posh. There were 4 floors and a basement. Mainly showing lots of wealth of the person who owned it; a games room, personal cinema and various other expensive unnecessaries! In the basement were the maps and radios and various war type memoriabelia. It all looked very nice, and it reminded me a bit of the New Parliament building in Canberra. I nearly didn't go down to the basement as I was feeling a bit lazy, but I was glad I did as it was the most interesting part of the building. It seemed to tunnel around the place and I probably would have got lost was it not for the clear signage!
A moving stop was next; the War Reminants Museum; which had been described in the guidebook as a huge guilt trip on the Americans, although they had been mentioned, it wasn't as obvious as was suggested in the guide book. There were many photos and memoirs by those affected by the American invasion; mainly by Agent Orange; a toxic gas that caused brain damage and deformities in its victims. It was horrific to see so many photos and peoples descriptions of victims being led off to be tortured and killed. There was a section on the photographers who had died taking photos of the various sites of war, which I found interesting. It also thanked all the countries who had supported Vietnam in the war, as well as showing pictures of protesters etc. Outside was some rather shocking photos of people shortly after being tortured; some of whom were dead. Others remained alive but with paralysis and other such problems. There was a list of the many horrendous types of torture used which sounded like something out of a thriller book or film. There was an example of a chamber where the victim was chained up in a certain position and left there for long periods of time; where all physiological processes must be carried out; this was particularly distressing for women. Another technique also used mainly on women was putting a snake up the leg of her trousers. It was quite an eye-opener. It made me think of all the wars going on at the moment, all the stories we are yet to hear, and how pointless they are!
During the day I somehow managed to drink 1.5 litres of water, plus other non-water drinks and was shocked to not need the toilet all day! It just shows how much sweating one does out there!! Not pretty!
On my way back to the hotel, following the Lonely Planet walking guide, I passed a french renaussaince (sp?) style town hall, which looked rather posh. Not too far away was also the also very posh, Municipal Theatre!
I walked through a street market which is one of the few places that stinks more than me! The smell of fish and meat is horrendous! It is a shame as the place is so lively and it's nice looking at all the things for sale. I tend to stop breathing or just breathe out heavily whenever I see such stalls.
It looked like it might start to rain, so I decided to pop into an internet cafe. It was so noisy! It was packed out with many teenage boys playing games, and despite all having headphones on, they made a complete racket! I watched the first 20 minutes of the Top Gear: Vietnam Special, just covering up to De Lat. I recognised the places in Saigon that I'd visited that day! It was rather cool!
I popped into a bread shop to get a snack, before heading the final few streets back to my hotel. Unfortunatly, what I thought was a one way street, turned out to be a 99% one way street! And I ended up getting hit, very lightly, in the shoulder by a motorbike! I apologised before hastly returning to my hotel.
I had dinner in a small cafe; a tofu burger with chips, and a fruit drink; both absolutely delicious!! Lots of people passed me by, and came in to offer books, nodding horses (like nodding busters) and various other things. It was a bit of a pain, and I think the cafe must be used to it, as there is a sign on the table translating 'No thank you, please leave me alone' into Vietnamese!
After stripping and showering, I decided it would be a good idea to book a bus ticket to Da Lat for the following day. So I popped across the road to the nearest travel agent (of which there are many, as most hotels have one!), and got a bus ticket for $7. The lady didn't look particularly Vietnamese and was a bit grumpy! It was 8pm, so I suppose she'd probably had a very long day!
I didn't sleep well overnight; I was a bit too hot and had lots of dreams; I was probably scared of sleeping in, as the bus was to leave at 8am.
Monday, 29 June 2009
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