Siestas are a Good Thing

Day Twenty: 3/2 – Saigon City Tour
Title: Siestas are a good thing

Today on the schedule was a city tour of Saigon and its biggest sites. We met the Purdon’s in the lobby at 9 am. Shortly thereafter we were met by our guide, Dat. Dat is crazy. I think he has a serious case of ADD or something. His English is great but he is all over the place. I actually like the fact that his pace is much faster than every other tour guide we’ve ever had. However, I think he may be wearing a little thin on the old people.

Our first stop of the day was the Saigon History Museum. This museum was more enjoyable because, as previously stated, Dat moves quickly. I think that Jon P. and Sigrid actually liked the pace. Dad, on the other hand, probably wished he had all day to spend there. I’m trying to remember the coolest thing we saw, but I was pretty darn tired, so I can’t really come up with anything worth noting.

At 10 we attended a water puppet show inside the museum. It was actually kind of cool. I have never seen this advertised anywhere else in the world, so I think it may be a Vietnamese thing. There was a stage, which was basically a pool with a few set elements. In the back of the pool there was a pagoda looking thing with curtains. The puppets would come in and out from behind the curtains. Each puppet is connected to a long green pole. The poles have strings attached to them, which allow for the finer movements of each puppet. If you picture a marionette, attached to a pole, being manipulated in and out of water, then you’ll have a fairly accurate picture of a Vietnamese water puppet show.

Our next stop was the Reunification Palace. It was a your typical stately complex filled with gigantic rooms. I’m certain the tacky yellow dining room could have seated fifty at its table. The interior was dated. It was like a time capsule straight out of the sixties and seventies. Evidently they have left the Palace in its original operating state for the historical effect. The coolest part of the building was probably the basement. It too was left unchanged from the sixties and seventies. At this time the basement was used as the war room or war command center. I would not have wanted to spend any more time in that basement than we did. It was a little claustrophobic down there.

The French influence can still be felt in much of Saigon. For instance, many of the government run museums and buildings take a one and half hour break from 11:30 to 1. We finished touring the Palace around 11:30, so we decided to take a break for lunch before visiting the Vietnam War Museum in the afternoon.

The Vietnam War Museum was quite an interesting place. I’m sure all of you who lived through the war remember the sites quite well. I, on the other hand, had not seen many of the actual pictures taken from the war. The pictures filled me with emotions. The emotions ranged from sorrow, anger and grief to adrenaline, happiness and pride. The museum had a definite overall anti-American sentiment. I don’t know enough about the history to know if this was justified. I look forward to researching the subject so that I can have an informed opinion on the matter going forward.
After the museum we went back to the hotel to freshen up for dinner. Originally the itinerary had us going to a traditional Vietnamese restaurant with traditional Vietnamese music. I told dad that it was fine if he wanted to go to this but I had no interest. I didn’t really want to listen to any more cows die. It turns out that dad, John P. and Sigrid all wanted to bag the traditional dinner, so we asked Dat if he could change our reservation. After a couple more rounds of vetoes, he found the perfect place. Upon initial inspection the place seemed slightly sketchy because it was totally tucked in off of an alleyway. Sigrid had specifically requested that we have an air-conditioned room to eat in. They had set our original table up outside so they had to find us a new spot. We ended up sitting in a conference like room upstairs with just the four of us. It was really quite pleasant. The food was a set menu with eight courses. Each course was very good and the fried bananas for dessert were the best that dad and I have had during our time in Asia.

After dinner we returned to the hotel and called it a fairly early night. Dad had said that he wanted to go for a walk but he fell asleep before that happened. Speaking of sleep…

The longest Dr. P. ever went without sleep was 40 hours. He can’t remember if this occurred during residency or med school but he remembers it happening. He says during his training he often had to work 36-hour shifts with little to no rest. In the event that he did get to lie down it was only for 20 minutes or so. He says, however, that he would awaken from these naps refreshed and ready to go. It saddens him that today, at 65 years of age, 20 minutes sleep no longer cuts it.

I am tired and going to call it a night. Day 20 is in the books. Home is a mere three days away and it is sounding pretty darn good. I’ll write again tomorrow.

Katy