Vietnam II – Day 1

Back in Saigon, we spent the morning doing work stuff, but in the afternoon had  a little free time so we visited the War Remnants Museum.  This is not a cheery place to go – very much like visiting one of the concentration camp sites where the brutality of war hits you full force.  It is especially interesting though to see this war from the perspective of the Vietnamese after being raised with the American view your whole life.  The exhibits are mainly photographic, but everything is very up-to-date where pertinent, such as resolutions on the US responsibility to Agent Orange victims which just came down about 4 months ago.

Later that evening, we met for happy hour at the rooftop lounge then dinner at Mandarin.  Mandarin was down a small alley that seemed a little sketchy until all of a sudden it opened up into a small enclave of several restaurants and clubs – very random.  The food was delicious and the presentations unbelievable.  Checkout teh carved flowers with our spring roll:

I also had crab & corn soup and grilled fish with passion fruit sauce.

Observation of the day:  The Sheraton leaves me two free bottles of Aquafina in the bathroom each day.  Out by the TV though, you also have the option to drink Evian, but that costs you $5 USD per bottle.  How crazy is that?  I may be biased b/c I hate Evian, but who would pay that when you have free water 10 feet away?