I woke up this morning for 5.00am Mass!  It was already hot and humid but not as bad as when I arrived yesterday evening.  It was a horror start, with a the time needed to process my Visa application at the airport taking nearly three hours.  It is easy to accept that patience is a virtue, but when others can pay to have preferential and speedy service, it is rather frustrating.

Today, after a hearty breakfast, I was out there in Ho Chi Min City, Saigon.  The traffic here is kind of chaotic, but it works.  Its about who dares wins!

We went to the visit the Notre Dame Cathedral but it was closed for renovation.    So after a good look at the Post Office, we explored the Palace of Independence and later the War Museum.  The latter is a must, and a reminder of the atrocities and futility of war.   I think the photographers assisted in a big way to show people and record for us, some of the horrors of war, and in doing so, changed the public’s opinion of it.  Some of the basic statistics of the Vietnam war are mind blowing.

One of the most influential photos of the 20th century