Well, we are almost to noon with no word from INS.  That was to be expected, however it would have been really nice to get that part of the process over today.  I spent an hour on the phone last night trying to find us hotel rooms in Hanoi.  Apparently this is a busy tourist season there right now and every hotel was booked solid.  I finally found two hotel rooms for us, so now we just need to finish business off here and head up there.  I think tomorrow has a much better chance.

Yesterday afternoon Kelly, Mia, and I went to the War Remnants Museum.  It was a HOT and HUMID afternoon … kind of what you would expect from Vietnam.  For the first time, Mia even put on a hat!

The museum was OK.  Basically a shine to all the awful things the Americans did to Vietnam.  Outside they had U.S. military equipment that they had seized.  I figured I would include the next picture just for Max since he likes bulldozers.  This bulldozer weighs 42 tons and was used for clearing large areas of trees and foliage.

They also had an area that was either a recreation or reconstruction of a US prison used to hold North Korean insurgents.  It showed how they were tortured and forced to live in subhuman conditions.

Overall, it told only the worst half of the story.  While much of it probably was true, and it was sad to see what war does to innocent people, you still had to remember what the South Vietnamese were fighting for.  However walking through this museum, as an American, with all the Vietnamese around you, you DID feel a little uncomfortable!  You kept wondering what THEY were thinking about YOU!

Just outside the prison above, a guy mention my Cincinnati Reds hat.  Ended up he was from Dayton, but had been living in HCMC with his wife for the past three years.  He was managing the local United Airlines branch.  Nice guy.  When I asked him about his family, he told me that he had one son that was older than me … 27 years old.  That made my day.  Kelly keeps reminding me and everyone that I tell the story to that I was wearing a baseball cap at the time.  If not, he may not have made the same judgement!

After leaving the War Remnants Museum, we went for a walk in the heat. We decided to check out yet another park.  I know that I make a big deal about the parks, but I don’t think I have ever been anywhere that had so many beautiful parks in such close proximity to each other.  All of the parks we have been within walking distance of our hotel and we seem to go to a different one every day.  This one was probably the prettiest yet, with fountains and everything.  This was the first park we had been to with water. 

At dinner, I tried to instill a little hometown pride in Mia.  She wasn’t too thrilled about it!

We met a nice gentleman from Germany who was an American citizen.  He had spent his career with the State Department and had moved to Germany with his wife after retiring in the US.  His wife does something with Germany’s space program.  (They have a space program???)  Anyway, he was back in Vietnam for the first time since being stationed there from 1966 – 1968.  He offered to take our picture, so we obliged.

On the way back to our hotel, there was some sort of major congestion at one of the intersections.  Now, these intersections are usually congested as it is, so when something happens, they become a mess. That meant that all the scooters that HAD been on the road NOW were using the side walk!  So, this is what we had to walk through, on the sidewalk, to get home.

Here is another view of us crossing a street at dusk.  This is what you have to fight every day.  There are no crossing lights, stop lights, right-of-way, etc.  You just kind of time when you are going to walk into the street and then hope that they all go around you.  This picture is with us in the middle of the street.  That is the market in the background.

Finally we make it to our street.

It was one of the most harrowing walks that we have had yet!  I don’t know what it is about Monday night in Saigon, but it is a busy one!!

This afternoon, if it isn’t TOO hot, I think we may walk down to the Saigon River.  All last week it had rained every day around lunch, and that really kept the heat down.  But, it hasn’t rained since Saturday and it is really humid right now.  That makes it hard on Kelly, especially when she has the carrier and is holding a sweaty little girl on the front of her all day.

Keep praying for the process.  If we can get through INS by tomorrow sometime, we can still make it home for the weekend!

Cameron