May 24 War Remnants Museum/Backpacker District (Katie)
Our morning was in stark contrast to our afternoon and evening.
After breakfast, we walked from our hotel to the War Remnants Museum where we absorbed a combination of photographs, weapons, ammunition, aircraft, prison cells, torture devices, and articles that illustrated the effects the war had on the country and its people. I feel Kira and I received the VIP experience as we were lucky enough to have my dad walking with us elaborating on photograph content and sharing memories and stories as they were triggered. The effects of the war had Vietnam in a state of devastation and turmoil...

...which made our evening in "The Backpacker District" all the more enjoyable. We jumped straight out of the horror of 1968 and back into the present... Vietnamese young and old zipping around on their mopeds on a street lined with all the little shops and restaurants you could ever want for in this thriving area in Ho Chi Minh City. Everyone is smiling, no one is unkind, and all are very hard-working. It is beautiful to see what they have accomplished over the past five decades.
Not only is there once again peace in their own country, but peace between Vietnam and The United States. I am anxious as ever to be in the presence of my father and Colonel Tha together when we meet with him later in our trip. I'm finishing off this post with a photo reminder from my dad's 2017 trip and his meeting with Colonel Tha. To become friends with a man fifty years later who was trying to kill you on the battlefield is something extraordinarily special.
Katie
After breakfast, we walked from our hotel to the War Remnants Museum where we absorbed a combination of photographs, weapons, ammunition, aircraft, prison cells, torture devices, and articles that illustrated the effects the war had on the country and its people. I feel Kira and I received the VIP experience as we were lucky enough to have my dad walking with us elaborating on photograph content and sharing memories and stories as they were triggered. The effects of the war had Vietnam in a state of devastation and turmoil...

...which made our evening in "The Backpacker District" all the more enjoyable. We jumped straight out of the horror of 1968 and back into the present... Vietnamese young and old zipping around on their mopeds on a street lined with all the little shops and restaurants you could ever want for in this thriving area in Ho Chi Minh City. Everyone is smiling, no one is unkind, and all are very hard-working. It is beautiful to see what they have accomplished over the past five decades.
Not only is there once again peace in their own country, but peace between Vietnam and The United States. I am anxious as ever to be in the presence of my father and Colonel Tha together when we meet with him later in our trip. I'm finishing off this post with a photo reminder from my dad's 2017 trip and his meeting with Colonel Tha. To become friends with a man fifty years later who was trying to kill you on the battlefield is something extraordinarily special.

Katie
It is great traveling in Vietnam with your Dad. It is like being a VIP on steroids! Send some of that heat this way and keep on blogging.
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