War Remnants Museum and Bo La Lot

So much has changed in Saigon since Eric and I were here in 2006.  There are hardly any bicycles now, way more motorcycles, and pedestrian crosswalks are fairly commonplace.  Some even have pedestrian crossing signals!  You still have to be careful though - there is usually no yellow light equivalent so the light goes from green to red without warning and you can find yourself stuck in the middle of the road while traffic moves around you.

Another notable change is the subway!  Saigon has plans for a huge subway network.  The first line was apparently 10 years in the making, and it opened earlier this year.  We took the brand spankin' new subway from Ben Thanh Market to the Saigon Zoo.  It was 2 stops and it cost us 7000 VND each (37 cents).  It was a very efficient, clean, quiet, and smooth ride!  We were all impressed.

After a quick photo op at the Saigon Zoo, we were all still digesting our massive banh mi breakfast so we took a leisurely half hour walk to the War Remnants Museum.  

My Dad had recently shared some stories about his past that my sisters and I did not know about.  On one occasion, he survived being shot at by a US military helicopter while transporting rice for the Vietnamese resistance in Tay Ninh province in 1967.  Although Eric and I had been to the museum before, it was especially haunting this time to see an old US army helicopter on display, and to see a photo of an American soldier in Tay Ninh province in 1967 holding the remains of a Vietnamese resistance soldier who had been blown up by a grenade.  My Dad often talks about how lucky he has been and how one of the million events could have changed the trajectory of his and our lives.  It is starting to make sense now.

There are some incredibly humbling, disturbing and educational photos, artifacts and stories (e.g. the lasting effects of Agent Orange and other chemical defoliant sprays, the use of napalm and phosphorus bombs).  It wasn't difficult to see why it was previously called the American War Crimes Museum.  We thought it was good for the kids to see this perspective of the war without any sugar coating whatsoever.

We walked through Ben Thanh Market on the way home and enjoyed some refreshing durian, mango, coconut, and lychee smoothies.  Eric also had a crappy iced coffee made with something reminiscent of Brown Cow chocolate syrup, and I had an equally underwhelming limeade which was actually sugar water with half a lime dropped into it and ice that tasted... old (I ended up throwing it out).  We also picked up some fruit to snack on before dinner - durian (eaten outside of the hotel as oer the rules), jackfruit, pomelo, and dragonfruit.  

For dinner we had bo la lot (beef wrapped in betel leaves and grilled).  It was juicy and delicious!  You are given rice paper, rice noodles, cucumbers, sliced green bananas with skin, pickled veggies, an assortment of leaves and herbs, and a funky and delicious fermented fish dipping sauce to dunk it in.  So good!