DAY19
| DAY19 |
VIEW THUMBNAILS | DAY21 |
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Thanh needed to go into work this morning for an hour or two then visit her mother so I was on my own for the second time since I left Los Angelas. I was feeling much better than the previous night and had decided to go for a stroll. It was a warm sunny Saturday and I walked around downtown Saigon. There was a public concert taking place outside the post office and everyone pulled over to listen and watch. The crowd was enormous and it seemed very difficult for the traffic to make it's way through. I watched for awhile and after it ended the crowd dispersed like a scared flock of pigeons.
I was harrassed by an occasional xich lo rider. One guy followed me for two blocks. I started to feel a little queasy and so hopped into the seat. He took me over to the Cathedral and I ran inside for a quick look. There was a wedding taking place so I made my visit very short. I remember that the inside was beautifully decorated with carvings, statues, paintings and stained glass art works. I had the cyclo rider drop me off at an internet cafe.
The internet cafe was tended by several young pretty gals in light blue uniforms. It was air conditioned and I immediately felt better. As I was wrapping up my email, a few of the girls started to laugh uncontrollably. I looked shocked and once they saw my face they explained that a group of guys behind me were going to grab lunch and wanted to know if I would join them. It was an amiable gesture but I politely declined. I told them I had to meet a friend for lunch. I never figured out why the invitation was so funny to the employees. Perhaps the men were gay? Or perhaps they thought I would pay for them since it is customary for foreigners to do this?
I met Thanh back at the hotel. We ate lunch and then went back to the hotel and relaxed. We discussed what we would do next and decided to visit Hue. Thanh's eyes grew big and she immediately called over to the Vietnam airline's office and found us the last two tickets for the next morning's flight to Hue. What luck. We had both never been to Hue yet we had heard so much about it. I was especially interested in the war history behind this city. Also, I wanted to try and sneak up into the Demiliterized Zone (DMZ). I wasn't sure how to pull this off however. The DMZ was still many miles north of Hue.