The boxes had been picked up Thursday night and kept over at a man's house ready to drive to Da Nang Friday. The bus for the team was set to come to the hotel early, so we had to manage breakfast and packing before about 7:15 a.m. Frankie and I finished getting the boxes ready for pick up at the hospital Thursday, so they were ready to be en route to Da Nang before we were. Here is a photo Frankie took of us at the hospital, punchy but job finished before the boxes got taken away. The photo almost looks as surreal as we felt. We had to get the boxes on a guerney and down to the truck where a couple of men loaded them into the back. That got us back to the hotel late for our party, but the packing had to be done.
The team was given a beautiful bouquet of flowers and a lovely piece of framed art. We had the picture wrapped and taped for the trip home, but the flowers had to stay, so we all must remember via this photo.
The drive north was uneventful, except for a pit stop half way at an interesting spot with food, snacks, and gifts, as well as a roomy bathroom area. The stalls were very roomy too, because there was no toilet; only a hole in the ground. After riding in a car for hours, standing still enough and taking enough aim to both hit the hole and miss the shoes is more Olympics than I can take when sleep-deprived. We all did manage to pull it off (no pun intended), but after contemplating the lack of toilet paper and presence of long hose and nozzle in each stall, I had to leave before a mental image became too clear in my mind.
Da Nang airport is quite new and very beautiful, except for the brainless idiot who approved the installation of a Burger King in the middle of it.
The first time I was in Vietnam was in Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City) back in 1974. It was interesting to look out over the tarmac at the new, modern fixtures superimposed over the old hangers from the war in the distance. Vietnam has come a long way since the days of the '60's and '70's, and some of us noticed how much better fed and kept these children seemed during this trip.
Something familiar to Vietnam - foreign faces. People have been living in Vietnam for over 1/2 million years, and it is one of the first cultures to practice agriculture. We saw hints of this via the many rice fields we passed during our drive to Da Nang. But with a history of several Chinese and other Asian dominations, as well as the French, Americans, and a multitude of missionaries, there has been no shortage of outsiders. For example, the Vietnamese people used to use Chinese characters for their alphabet, but that was replaced by Portuguese Christian missionaries to facilitate the teaching of faith (that is why we English-speakers can almost read the writing here). As I looked around the waiting room at the airport, all I saw was a sea of white faces traveling from Da Nang to Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC). One was a German man who strutted right up and cut in line with everyone politely queued and watching. No manners!
Once we got our boxes and bags checked through to HCMC, we boarded the flight ourselves and had an uneventful journey to our last stop before home. Our Da Nang flight was too late for us to catch the flight that day to SFO, so we overnighted in HCMC to wait for the next day's SFO flight. Back to a bus, boxes and bags on, long drive to a hotel, boxes and bags off. Can't we just beam the dang things home?
Wendell and Frankie wanted to head off shopping, so we all dropped our things in our rooms and took off for the large market in town. Big cities have many features that are the same, but Vietnam is just different. The wiring for example?
The motor scooters all random and chaotic?
And the largest open market of stalls and goods I've seen anywhere. Do people really need these things, really?
Wendell went off on his own errands. After a bit of roaming around the hot and sweaty market, Frankie and I decided to wander around outside and make our way to the Rex Hotel, where we had all agreed to meet for dinner.
This is a statue of Ho Chi Minh: a Marxist-Leninist Revolutionary, Prime Minister, and President in Vietnam's mid-twentieth century past. He was instrumental in the formation of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam in the North, and fought for an independent and unified Vietnam until his death in 1969. After its capture in 1975, which officially ended the war, Saigon was renamed to honor him. This statue sits in front of the City Hall.
We made our way around to the opera house, which is a stunning building with beautiful, white, marble statues. The geckos think so too!
We finished up our loop by arriving at the top of the Rex Hotel, which was an outdoor covered bar with an amazing view of the city. This 5 star hotel is in District 1, the main downtown area. Supposedly this hotel is where the first American soldiers stayed in 1961 while their tents were being set up. They had their first Thanksgiving dinner on the rooftop, and then the hotel became famous for the daily press conferences about the war. The hotel was where the press conference announcing reunification of Vietnam was made in 1976. The rooftop bar was a popular hangout for military personnel and journalists.
Frankie and I were not sure when we were supposed to meet here for dinner, so we were there for about an hour before anyone showed up. We had a nice visit, and then in walked Bill and Wendell. Soon after came Drs. Hien, Tuong, and Nguon. Hien brought her adorable daughter for us to meet, who enchanted us all. We had a nice visit and a drink, the Vietnamese contingent headed for home, and the team went to dinner.
The remaining five of us walked to the Lemon Grass restaurant, which is on the 14th floor of the Palace Saigon Hotel. It was a beautiful place to sit, and the core Resurge team finally got some good down-time together and a good meal. Thank you Dr. Bill!
The ladies had a good laugh in the bathroom with its tiny doors. We all piled out and walked home in what was a beautiful night - warm air, refreshing breeze, and finally fewer motorbikes on the road. We made it in good time, even including our stop to view the local wildlife. HCMC is truly a place that never sleeps.
