The Hanoi, Vietnam Museums: War is Over if You Want It
Although the American-Vietnam war has been over for more than forty years, sometimes it's still a bit hard to escape. The reminders are there everywhere there is an exhibit of any sort.
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Vietnam's Museum of War Remnants
Flag flying war memorials litter the center of Ho Chi Minh City, which is what the Vietnamese renamed Saigon after the American War. Most of these memorials feature captured American war materiel, such as intact helicopters, jet fighters, tanks and artillery pieces. You'll run across them in parks, in the front yards of the aforementioned government buildings, and, of course, at the war museum sites.
The most visited tourist site in the city is the War Remnants Museum. The Museum used to be called the Museum of American War Atrocities.
Hue Imperial City and Citadel, Hue, Vietnam
The Citadel, built by the Vietnamese emperors in the early 19th Century, was severely damaged in Vietnam's two wars of the 20th Century. In 1947 against the French, and again in 1968 against the Americans, the center of Hue was the site of ferocious battles. The citadel area once held over 140 buildings. Only about 20 remain after extensive restoration since the 1990s. Most buildings were completely destroyed in the fighting and cannot be restored.
Bangkok: 8 Things in 8 Days
I don't know why I picked eight things to tell you about Bangkok. It's an arbitrary number, I know. But, I've heard that eight is generally regarded as a lucky number in Asia. I was in Bangkok for eight days. That might have something to do with it, but I don't like to read too much into these things.
The Two Most Important Things About Chiang Mai
For those who have never had a Thai massage, you're in for something different. In contrast to the soothing, along-the-line-of-the-muscle Swedish style prevalent in the US, the Thais believe that they should rub hard across the grain of the muscle. This has the effect of stretching your connective tissues, such as tendons and ligaments, in directions they've probably never been in before. Honestly, it hurts. But, after it's over, you'll ask yourself why the hell haven't I been doing this all my life?
Sometimes You Have to Go Home
I grew up in Council Bluffs, Iowa. According to my grandfather, Council Bluffs was, “the only town that ever hurt Chicago.” I've given his pronouncement a lot of thought over the years and I've still never quite figured out what it meant.
Maybe it was because Council Bluffs made fun of Chicago on the playground when they were kids. Or maybe it was because someone from CB wrote a letter once to someone in Chicago saying that having broad shoulders and being hog butcher to the world wasn't really that great. Especially when Carl Sandburg went on to mention that it was also the city of skanky whores and slimy gangsters.