Goooood morning Viet 'Mom'

Hi people from Nicki :)


I woke up at 7 (ICT) in the morning to find the boat floating down a river towards Ho Chi Minh City formerly known as Saigon. The first thing that’s noted is that in Vietnam there was no Vietnam war, there was the American and Chinese war crimes. I just found this to be an interesting point of view. Next I think I will answer questions from the latest letter from my Uncle Hank because I think they are probably very common questions everyone has about Vietnam:
Do they like Americans in Vietnam? Do you feel welcome?
Yes. In fact Vietnamese love Americans and are quite welcoming to all of them. Almost everyone we talked to had a positive view about the US and hopes to visit there someday. Part of this is due to the fact that over 60 percent of the population in Vietnam is under 21. So most weren’t even alive during the war and don’t seem to hold any grudges about the stories of old. Although there’s the war remnants museum the only thing that really stands as a reminder is the flag with the red communist star. There are some destroyed buildings but we never confirmed their cause. We did sail to Ho Chi Minh through the straits of Malacca which was FULL of ships. There are ships everywhere in this area which is why we constantly had to have people on pirate watch because any boat is a potential threat. The water is also a lot dirtier in the Indian ocean and there’s constantly debris floating in the water. We had a fuel stop in Singapore but we didn’t get to get off the ship but they were kind enough to stamp our passports. Adding to my growing stamp collection. I would like to say happy trails to Courtney who cut her hand in Myanmar and got an infection and had to be sent home. This is very sad and I hope she gets to come back someday and complete her journey.




After the brief Ambassadors meeting, which happens in every country ambassadors from the American embassy come talk to us about what to expect, Nicki and I prepared her dad’s 50th bday sign and went upstairs to see our parents waiting for us on the dock. It was quite the welcoming experience to share part of the journey with my mom and mike. It was also fun to compare them because this is their first stop and our seventh, so what seems routine and normal to us like crazy traffic and the heat, was almost overhwleming to them at first. The next thing you’ll notice about Vietnam is the traffic. I know the traffic has been zany in every country, but here is especially crazy because there’s a constant stream of scooters at all times which can make crossing the street a challenge. It really becomes an exercise of faith in humanity as you just set your direction and walk and hope the traffic avoids you, it’s fun and dangerous, but altogether part of the great expereience. The next best thing about Vietnam is movies, no not their movies, our movies, that are all out in theatres right now, are all out for sale here. For a dollar. To put it in other terms, C.S.I. the TV show is 75 dollars per season back in the United States. Here, it’s seasons 1-5 for 39 dollars. The only thing you risk is buying a dvd in the wrong regional code so you have to watch on your lap top, OR, you may get one that doesn’t work at all. Although this was very tempting, I don’t watch too many movies to justify ripping off the industry in a grand legal style so I didn’t purchase any.
My mom and step dad were there part of the Semester at Sea parent trip so there was a group of parents there and the next day we all departed for Cambodia. I had pretty high expectations going into Cambodia and I am happy to say they were all easily met. The first day we headed into the mother of all temples Angkor Watt and it was quite the large infrastructure. With all it’s sheer size being amazing I could only imagine what it would have been like in its hay day when jewels were implanted on every stair and the first was lit in every corner. After me and the other 20,000 (not an exaggeration) tourists left my small 30 person group headed back to our very wonderful quaint hotel.
The next day we headed to the Killing Fields. Those that have seen the movie have some idea of what I am talking about. A couple of decades ago, a man by the name of Pol Pot took power, and decided to torture and kill all the traitors (makes sense) and educated people (doesn’t make sense) and you can still see this resonating through the country today. The genocide museum made quite the impact I think on everyone who saw it. After that we explored a some more beautiful temples. One temple was where they filmed the movie Tomb Raider and had trees literally growing from the around and on top of the walls.
After the umpteenth temple, we made our way to the plane and did the one thing no one wanted to do 40 years ago… fly back into Vietnam. Comparatively, Ho Chi Minh City, AKA Saigon, is head and shoulders above its Phenom Penh and Cambodian natives. There was still a lot of anger amidst the people of Cambodia towards its current Vietnamese government. I wouldn’t be surprised to see violence of some sort rise out of Cambodia in the next decade. Which made me very feel very fortunate to have been there in this small window of time.
The last night I was treated to dinner at a fancy French restaurant on the 14th floor of this building overlooking my ship. I ended up getting back to the ship just in time, around 10 30 with required on ship time being 11. However right around 11, there was a mad rush of the gang plank with things getting out of control due to alcohol. So a lot of people got dock time in china which can be anywhere from 2 hours to 24 of required staying on the ship. So now its on to the rising red giant of china to see the next competition, thanks for the wonderful time in Vietnam for everyone who came and everyone who wasn’t, I recommend visiting. It’s an extremely entertaining and cheap town with a 100% Italian wool suit costing only 400 compared to 1400. I haven’t stopped learning now for 74 days, and in the next few days I’ll hit the 75% mark of the trip for the final stretch. Don’t blink now, or else you’ll miss an entire episode of charlie’s adventures. More to come from a parental perspective of this fascinating and wonderful country….