Day 60 - 22nd August
Well, it'd been two months since I'd left home and I realised time was moving faster than I thought.
It was going to be a sad day - the famous five, the crazy gang as I liked to call it, were about to split up (and I'm not talking about One Direction).
We took to he early morning, 9am walking tour, our guide, Adam from Leeds, Yorkshire was going to spend three hours with us, walking around the main sites of Ho Chi Minh.
Our first stop was the statute of Thánh Giòng, a legend who helped Vietnam overcome China's invasion with a trio of iron aids - a sword, armour and a horse. He was hailed as a god and when he won the final battle, he flew off on his iron horse to heaven. A nice fable to start the day with.
The tour included visiting sites such as the town hall, Notre Dame and the post office. The market was also a key visiting point. Adam showed us before and after images to really bring the history to life and we also learned about Thích Quảng Đức, the famous monk who set himself on fire in protest.
It was an interesting tour and we learned so much that we never would have without this type of tour. On the way back we tried the speciality street refreshment, sugar cane with lime. I definitely recommend it if you visit Vietnam.
Our last lunch together saw us at a vegetarian restaurant with fancy dishes and chopsticks. The Pad Thai and brown rice was really good and we all looked a bit subdued knowing it was probably our last meal together.
The girls wanted to do a spot of shopping whilst us chaps wanted to hit the war museum. In some ways, I wish I'd gone shopping - actually no, I hate shopping but the museum was so intense and emotional, I struggled. Each exhibit revealed new horrors of the Vietnam war.
I didn't take anymore museum pictures out of respect and also because it was pretty horrific to look at.
The images of dead bodies, the torture methods used by the U.S. and the effects of Agent Orange on the innocent people left me disturbed. Once again, it was difficult to be wholly against what America did because the picture was one sided. There was hardly a mention of any American compassion, which I'm sure their was. I honestly don't believe every soldier used the barbaric methods depicted in some of the exhibits.
Following that intense end to the afternoon, we headed back to say goodbye to the girls. Julie was already shaking with fear about the flying home and Anne Banana seemed subdued with the thought of leaving Vietnam. I could've been wrong.
The tears flowed and us boys kept a stiff upper lip, although I'm sure all of us wanted to join in with them. We bared our nipples to them from the curbside as the taxi pulled away - one final act of craziness from the crazy gang members. And they were gone!
A few minutes after, I realised Anne had my room key! Not for the first time. Our final mishap had taken place as a group and our taxi driver was going to return it for us.
We readied ourselves and headed out for dinner. We caught the United v.s Newcastle game whilst eating dinner which was good. We then went a hunt for a bag but failed, so instead we put on shirts and jeans and headed over to the AB tower for drinks at the sky bar.
The view of Ho Chi Minh by night was exceptional and the three of us guys enjoyed one last beer together before our departures the next day (Sèbastien and I to Siem Reap and Jordy to the Mekong Delta).
I was genuinely sad by the time I went to bed. The girls were gone so I had no one to keep me awake with giggling and foreign chit chat and Jordy and Sèbastien were quiet. Everyone had something on their mind. This is the best group I've travelled with and because of the length of our travelling time together, I think this could be the best I'm going to get!
On a more positive note, I was off to Cambodia in the morning to prepare for my volunteering placement, starting Monday. New adventures, new people and new experiences. That's what travelling is all about.
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