James and Jo’s south east Asia adventure

With no particular plans for the day we decided to walk in the vague direction of Chinatown, stop at a coffee shop and take a taxi the rest of the way. However shortly after leaving the the hotel a man carrying a wooden yoke started chatting to us as we headed in the same direction and asked if we were going to the war museum, we hadn’t actually realised but it was just round the corner. He placed his yoke on my shoulder and pretended to walk away, it was much heavier than it looked! There must be a technique to it as I wouldn’t have fancied walking more than few metres with it, especially in the heat.

We bought a couple of overpriced coconuts off him, the coconut water was very refreshing and helped lighten his load slightly. Stopped at a cafe for an iced coffee and pate baguettes and a croissant before heading to the war remnants museum. Despite knowing the general facts the individual and personal exhibits were difficult viewing. Even though it was obviously many years before I was born I’m glad that the British weren’t explicitly involved given the groundless involvement, millions of civilians killed during the conflict and debilitating legacy of the land mines and chemical weapons.

We ate out in a proper restaurant for the first time since visiting Vietnam, and at least went to a proper Vietnamese restaurant. My main dish was snakehead fish, and though it was nice it wasn’t as good as the similar dish I had on the street in Hanoi a few days previously. Jo loved her prawn and gourd soup and salted chicken.