April 30 & May 1, 2015

Siem Reap, Cambodia had a surprisingly nice and updated airport. We enjoyed a seamless travel experience from there to Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), Vietnam (formerly Saigon).

As we were waiting in line to clear immigration, we noticed several signs with today's date (April 30 at the time). We finally saw one with some English and realized that this was the day that the Vietnam War ended...40 years ago.

During the taxi ride to our guest house, we saw all sorts of billboards advertising the special day. I soon discovered that there would be a huge celebration and fireworks that evening.

We settled into our place and got a recommendation from our host for dinner at a local diner. I had heard many stories of the traffic in HCMC and how difficult it would be to simply cross the street. It wasn't as bad as I had imagined. Don't get me wrong, crossing the street is a definite leap of faith, especially if there is no traffic signal, but people just zoom around you on their motorbikes. It's like a giant game of Frogger.

Airport sign letting us know it was the 40th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War

A roundabout decorated to celebrate 40 years of the end of the war.

Vietnamese women cover up to avoid sun exposure and darker skin.

Tallest building in HCMC, complete with helipad on side. The fireworks were set from here.

The rules for our room. #5 no problem, #9 hmmm.

While we were walking, we found a bar that had a rooftop lounge. Every restaurant and bar has someone working outside and asking you to come in to eat or drink. I asked this particular host if we would be able to see the fireworks from their roof. He confirmed we could, so we made plans to return. It was probably best to avoid the huge crowd in the center of the town.

After dinner, the boys decided to stay in the room and Maeve and I went to go see the fireworks. We were a bit early, but we wanted to get a table. They had a drink special, buy two cocktails, get one free. They would have gladly served Maeve. Needless to say, Maeve got a fruit shake and I enjoyed the three drinks over a couple of hours.

There was a local celebratory performance, a sort of variety show, that was being broadcast on television. The bar had it on every screen, but the sound was muted so we could hear typical American bar music. The performances included singing and reenactments of war scenes. It was all pretty dramatic. The weird part was when the bar started playing the Beach Boys song "Surfin' USA." It was a little surreal. All of the employees were so interested in the performances. Locals were entranced and in the background was the constant chant, "...inside outside USA.....USA.......USA." No one seemed to really notice the irony and that was fine with me.

As promised, at the end of the performance, the fireworks began. They were set off from a helipad on the tallest building there. Didn't seem like a good idea to me, but it all turned out fine.

Our view of fireworks from the rooftop bar

Maeve's first bar....another proud parenting moment.

On our way out, we stopped and checked out the traffic from a balcony. One of the servers was leaving and passed us up. He told us he was going to call his mother. He couldn't wait to talk to her and share this special moment with her. He was so happy for her and the independence of her country. Even though he wasn't around 40 years ago, he was beyond excited and thrilled for his mother.

On that note, on another day, we were able to visit the War Remnants Museum. This is a well-organized museum. The first thing that struck me was the amount of information on the main floor that showed evidence that many U.S. citizens did not support this war. The Vietnamese are aware that the U.S. was involved because of the government and it was unsupported by many of the people. This addresses the #1 question we are asked which is: How do the Vietnamese respond to American visitors? The answer is: They have moved on. Their country is developing well and the people seem happy. Many are poor and work long hours, but that is true of many countries. We have been in Vietnam for almost two months and no one has made a derogatory comment about the U.S. or made us uncomfortable in any way.

The Vietnam War was an incredibly unfortunate part of history. The details and impact displayed in graphic pictures, charts, and artifacts in this museum were another sad reminder of what human beings can do. I am, however, glad that places like this exist. We need reminders to be thankful, to forgive and to move on as peacerful citizens attempting to make positive contributions to the world. Our experience with the Vietnamese people has been incredibly positive. Overall, they are welcoming and beautiful people.

Lots of tanks, planes, and helicopters outside the museum