Travel Diary

This was another free day, but we had a few things planned regardless. Lunch was at a nice little place called “den long,” which had a great deal of tasty food. Coke Zero was about $1.30, so that was most welcome. We ordered a nice assortment of food and filled up five bellies for the price of under $30. Just so nice.

After that, we walked over to the War Memorial Museum, which included a fun stroll through a park. While parks are not as frequent as some other countries, they still do have them and can be fun to explore. Then we reached the museum. There is a fee there and it’s considerably crowded, but still worth visiting.

Outside are many war leftovers, but inside had the vast wealth of information. Alas, most of it is disheartening and sad. But that cannot be separated from war. A lot of it pertains to the Vietnam War of the 60s and early 70s, yet the conflicts go back further and involve other nations too. With the large crowds and limited time, I just wasn’t able to read and learn too much there. I would say next time, though that is not likely either. Still, there are other ways to learn about it.

Back outside, we quickly observed the tanks and artillery pieces, and the Huey and Chinook. Some are in very good condition. When America departed, it was a fast exit and a lot remained behind.

The prison and torture areas are also displayed outside. It’s not for the faint of heart, but when mankind has no limits and wants information from another human, they become as inhumane as you can imagine—or worse. Again, just a very disappointing time in history and humanity.

Afterwards, we walked around more. I bought some ca phe sua, or milk coffee, which also has a lot of sugar. It’s kind of fun to get those drinks, a quick spike in caffeine and sugar, but it was also just for vacation. No way, I’d drink that on a daily basis.

We went to another fun pho spot for dinner and they served some wonderful food. Then we grabbed a Grab and headed over to a popular walking street part of the city. It’s essentially a little island between two busy streets but very long. Families stroll out there and buy various items and food. Photos can be taken of iconic places and it’s well worth checking out one time. Even with all the New Year’s Eve events being done, the place was still packed.

After that, we headed down less crowded streets and found a fun ice cream place to enter. In some ways, it was like going back in time, as it definitely had the 1950s feeling to it. There were just so many freakin’ choices on the menu. Hard to even know where to start. As usual, all the options made me mainly just pass and allow others to decide. But what little I did have was very good.

We walked on farther and found yet another coconut ice cream place. Well, why not compare the two? So more treats were obtained. The winner? Eh, apples and oranges. Both were very good.

At this point, the others wanted massages and were going to seek them out. I decided to head back. My phone battery was quite low, but I had enough to safely return to the flat. Luckily, I was soon in an area I recognized. I suppose it was several days now. I was learning the territory...just in time to leave it.