Day 3 was the dullest one in the entire tour. As mentioned in the previous post, we spent the night at Vungtau, a well-known coastal resort 125 km (3 hours bus ride!)southeast of HCMC.

As you can see from the photo, the letters "EL" are missing from the word "HOTEL". Our best guess was that the words were inadequate in withstanding the force of Typhoon Durian, which struck Vungtau 2-3 weeks prior to our arrival. Perhaps in the cover of darkness and in a haste to arrive the night before in Vungtau, we failed to notice the amount of destruction the typhoon had caused to the town. In the morning, it was clear for all to see. Roof tiles from newly constructed houses were randomly missing, leaving unsightly gaps in the roof. Trees were uprooted and fell to the ground. Even the Summer Palace of the Emperor Bao Dai were closed to visitors for fallen teak trees had to be cleared. The fortunate thing - we were blessed that we arrived after the typhoon had gone. Our family had originally intended to visit Vietnam during that time.













After a simple breakfast at the hotel, we went to the Jesus Monument, which overlooks the peninsula and the Pacific Ocean.













This is the Jesus Monument. As you can see, the monument is situated at the top of the mountain. We had to climb a total of 1000 steps in order to reach it. Ha, it was a tiring and challenging climb as we encouraged each other not to give up. As a result, Bro and I were amongst the first people to make it to the top. I was rather surprised that even Dad and Mum made it, for the climb was rather tedious.













This is the base of the monument. We had to climb many more flights of stairs in order to reach the shoulders of Jesus which overlooks the sea, perhaps the Pacific Ocean. This climb reminded me strongly of the time the CO students and I ascendeded the Great Wall of China together.











Bro's feet were made for walking.










The scenic view at the top of the Jesus Monument.










The Whale Temple was the next place we visited. Most Vietnamese are Buddhists, Taoists or Confucianists. However it was rather surprising that the majority of the locals residing in Vungtau are Catholics. Perhaps this was due to the early missionaries who come forth to Vungtau to spread the gospel. Anyway as the name implies, the Whale Temple is a temple meant to worship the whale! The whale is a sacred creature revered by the fishermen whose lives depend on their catch. In the temple itself, there is a gigantic carcass of a whale.

The 3-hour ride back to HCMC was painful. My over-active bladder was screaming since the early part of the journey so I was silently praying for a stopover. Amazingly, we did. It was at this handicraft shop that produced lacquered ware, especially those made from mother-of-pearl and egg-shells. Interestingly, although the shop is meant to equip the disabled with some form of job, I hardly saw anyone with some form of disability there.



















A worker using eggshells to complete his work of art.

Lacquer ware which were priced at exhorbitant prices.

The next visit was to the War Museum in HCMC. Over at the Cu Chi Tunnels, the picture of the valiant Cu Chi Guerillas were painted. Over at the War Museum, the sufferings of the Vietnamese during the Vietnam War were for all to see. Although the Americans were portrayed as the aggressors and Vietnamese as the victims, I sensed that the display was rather prejudiced. As a mark of respect, I decided not to take any pictures of the war victims who were scarred both physically and mentally.










The traffic in Vietnam can only be described using one word - chaotic. With almost everyone in Vietnam riding motorbikes and scooters, it's pretty amazing how the driver Vic weaved his 40-seater, swerving pedestrians and motorists. Traffic lights are scarce in Vietnam. In fact, we spend many death-defying moments on the roads. Thankfully Vic has superior driving skills. We witnessed a terrible accident when a motorcyclist collided head on with a truck. I don't think the victim survived the accident. According to Hua, 12 000 motorists die as a result of traffic accidents each year. Most Vietnamese can't afford to go to the hospital when they are sick.

Our Driver Vic. He taught me to say "I love you" in Vietnamese but I can't remember how it goes already. ;(












My favourite place. Cho Ben Thanh, similar to Chatuchak, houses everything from clothes to coffee powder. Daddy bought many fake Adidas jerseys there. I tried my best to reprise my role to bargain for the best price.

Well, here's a typical conversation with the shopowners I made:

Me: Sin Cho (Hello in Vietnamese)
Seller: Sin Cho
Me: How much? (in a weird accent)
Seller: USD or dong? (payment in dong is usually cheaper because of the exchange rate)
Me: Dong
Seller: *** dong
Me: Ma Qua! (Expensive in Vietnamese) Lower... Lower *finger points to the floor*
Seller: Give me another price
Me: *** dong

and the bargaining continues.

It was rather surprising to find that like the Chinese, the Vietnamese too, value the first and last customers of the day for they believe that a good start/end makes a difference.










The traffic situation after shopping for merely one hour.











We had our dinner on board a cruise ship. Nothing fantastic though.