Here and There Blog

What to do when needing a quick break from work? Visit a Buddhist cemetery of course! This one is near the Giac Lam Pagoda a few paces down on the right hand side of the road. Colorful, still in use, and a quick wander, it's something worth seeing while you make the stop at Giac Lam.

The Giac Lam Pagoda is part of a larger complex with small buildings and statues. I can't believe that no other tourists were here as this is not that far out of the city, free (donation boxes inside) and great photo ops. And of course the ever present electrical wires and laundry everywhere!

Depending on traffic flow, the Giac Lam Pagoda is a 20 or 45 minute taxi from downtown HCM City. The Pagoda is the main tourist sight but within the complex are active temples, cemetary, and crypts.  The Giac Lam Pagoda was built in 1744 and has gone through renovation.

After two weeks in HCM City, I finally got out and went to a temple. You'll have to wait until tomorrow (my tomorrow) for photos since my camera is in my room and I am not. But, it was a cool out of the way place and we were the only two tourists there. Two weeks of walking the same path to/from hotel/work has made me nearly invisible to locals. I've melded into the backdrop of the city and the hawkers and beggars don't see me anymore. I rather like HCM City. It doesn't have a lot to offer but what is offered is oddly enough, a peaceful place to have a business trip. I still wake up at 6:00 am to the sound of boats going down the river and taxis fighting the commute and that's okay. Nearly 10:00 pm now. I have to get up at 3:00 to see a couple of people off and then back to sleep before time to make a side trip on the way in to work. Photos as I have time.

Two weeks down. One to go. This was a long day.

One room is dedicated to war posters and propagnda to getting the US out of Vietnam. This post counters that and is dedicated to peace in the world. More helicoptors and missles left behind. Air Force was here too. This last photo is a tribute to hundreds of people who were buried in a mass grave that was just uncovered in 2008. Inside the glass is sand from the excavation site.

Another part of the museum shows the detention camps that were used by the US and their Vietnam allies to imprison and torture prisoners. This is where you start to think, didn't these same torture methods get used on US soldiers and allies? Which they did. The Tiger Cages were not these barbed wire cages alone but small cells where prisoners were shackled. Below this replica is based on an actual prisoner photo. The likeness was captured well although the image loses something in my photograph. This guillotine and transport cage were used to execute prisoners.