Ho Chi Minh city was a breath of fresh air coming from Phnom Penh. It felt nearly as modern as Bangkok, with warm Christmas decorations everywhere. We noticed right off the bat that the food was great and the people were notably warm and friendly.
There was a local restaurant food expo under way in a park near our guesthouse and we got a chance to sample some nice quality local food.
We took a tour of the Reunification Palace, which was previously the southern headquarters during the U.S. - Vietnam war. Interestingly, all of the usual disturbing historical war photographs are accompanied by descriptions of U.S. atrocities. The famous photos of Buddhist monks self-ablazed is explained as a protest to the U.S. attacks.
