We had a busy day of sight seeing and shopping. After breakfast we went on a walking tour of Saigon. We first visited the American War Crimes Museum (aptly renamed the War Remnants Museum to draw in more tourists). It was an amazing opportunity to see the other side of war. We often get the Americanized version of what occured, but this was different. I imagine that the truth is somewhere in between. The photos were horriffic. It is hard to imagine war in your own backyard. We are truly blessed that we have never experienced war at on US soil for a few hundred years. We heard the stories of a few South Vietnamese that fled after the fall of Saigon. They took a boat to an island were they lived in a refugee camp until they were sponsored by a Church to come to America. They left everything behind for fear of the North Vietnamese. Of course their history books all tell of the wonderful reunification, but many southerners still have a very different account.
We also visited the presidential palace that belonged to the Southern Vietnamese President before the fall of Saigon in 1975. It was very nice, but not as posh as I expected. There were pictures of the tanks breaking down the gates and photos taken after the Northern Vietnamese had bombed it. It has since been restored. It is now mainly a tourist site, but it seems that foreign government officials are often entertained there even still.
After that, we had an afternoon of shopping. We bought a few more things and headed back to the hotel. We spent the evening packing since we leave for Hanoi tomorrow. We are very excited to go to Hanoi. We understand that it is less touristy. We plan to take a day trip to Ha Long Bay on Sunday. It is supposed to be the most beautiful place in all of Vietnam. We can't wait.
We still haven't been assigned an interview date with the US Consulate in Hanoi. We hope to hear tomorrow when it will be. Please continue to pray that it will be Monday or Tuesday so we can return as planned on Wednesday.
Liam is still doing very well. Overall he is incredibly happy and easy going. He is becoming less and less independant. Just for the record, tonight he didn't want his momma. He wanted me to rock him to sleep. That made me feel really good.
We can't wait to get home so Liam can meet his big brother. We miss Aiden terribly. We haven't called home for a few days, because talking to him makes it worse. Thanks to everyone that is helping with Aiden. We are so thankful to have such loving parents and great friends. You are all the best. If you see him, give him extra hugs and kisses from us.
We love you all!
2 comments:
So glad to hear you are all better!
I just sent you a video of Aiden via email, I hope you get it easily enough and you can see it before you go to sleep.
We all love you and miss you:)
Glad you are feeling better! I stayed the night at your house last night and dropped Aiden off at Nikkie's this morning. I am still gonna see if I can get Aiden Fri. night for awhile. Your mom said I could get him this Sun. She took him with her last Sun. morn. I miss you guys so much! You are in thought and prayers! Luv ya! Linda B.
Post a Comment