Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City)

I decided to hire a cyclo driver today and see some of sights, though I unwisely also turned it into a bit of an admin trip, though to-ing and fro-ing between Tiger Airways and ATMs that actually gave cash probably shouldn't have been undertaken by a man on a bike that went slightly slower than brisk walking pace.

First up was the 'Reunification Palace'. A strange sort of museum, being a modern building and really just a collection of rather lavish meeting and leisure rooms. It did have some replica tanks and helicopter used in the liberation of Saigon and some war archives in the basement, but the general interest is I guess is the style to which the Party big wigs are accustomed.

After a quick change of dressing at the clinic, which was on a completely different planet in terms of cleanliness, English speaking and treatment than the one I went to in Siem Reap (I've of course subsequently learned that there was an amazing clinic there that served you refreshments and movies while you waited etc), I headed to the War Remnants Museum. This is the more politically correct version, it is otherwise known as the American War Crimes Museum. The latter title is probably more accurate, though their South Vietnamese allies obviously get some flak too, the lions share belong to the US.

You won't be surprised to know that I'm not generally the biggest fan of the US politics, both domestic and international. However I have found myself on this trip defending some of the more anti-American nonsense that people tend tarnish the whole nation with.

Yet I think one of the problems of US foreign policy is the unintended consequences of it's meddling and this was demonstrated in Cambodia, where the strength of popular support for the Khmer Rouge was in no small part due to the US propping up a corrupt regime and carpet bombing the north of the country to prevent the Vietnamese from encroaching. Of course we don't have to look very far to the damage the war in Iraq has done to relations with the Islamic world in addition to the huge number of civilian casualties.

It is however difficult to even argue devil's advocate when it comes to US behaviour in Vietnam. Obviously the 'museum' is intended to stoke this but I had to disagree with the sentiments of some American tourists I overheard, attempting to deal with the by saying there are always crimes on both sides. I would never try and claim the Viet Cong were 'better' than the Americans, but I think that where you can blame the US is in its fairly indiscriminate use of chemical weapons.

Next to a gruesome exhibit of some deformed foetuses in jars, was an apt quote from Senator Nelson: