Good Morning, Vietnam!

I'm writing this on our 7 hour bus ride back to Phnom Penh. Although we were only in Vietnam for about 3 days, it felt like forever. I don't think I am not a big fan of the country. We didn't make it up north, so I won't say for sure. The people there are very strong. They have almost like this fighter mentality. They are much different from Cambodian people. Also, Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) is so touristy. Our first night we were in shock. There were so many lights, people, bars, restaurants, and shops.
The next day we toured the city. We saw the War Remnants Museum, Reunification Palace, Post Office, Notre Dame Cathedral, and Chinatown. All were very cool.
On our last full day we took a boat down the Saigon River to the city Vung Tau. It was the closest beach to Saigon (even though we never made it onto the beach). The city was beautiful. Mountains surrounded by the ocean. When the French were in Vietnam they completely controlled this city. There is French architecture everywhere. We had a guy give us a tour by motorbike. This was my favorite day of the whole trip. I'll post pictures. We went to the top of one of the mountains and saw the lighthouse. Then, we went to Villa Blanche. It's where the heads of the French army used to live in the city. Next we went to the Catholic church and a Buddhist temple. Both have ginormous statues around them. The pictures will really show you how awesome this city was. We had a return boat ticket for 4:30PM, but because I'm a fatty and wanted a sandwich for the ride, we missed the boat by literally 5 feet. I probably could have jumped from the dock, but I didn't risk it. Luckily, they gave us a refund and there were 2 guys from Hong Kong (Pong and Ricky) who also missed it. We all got a taxi together and made it back to Saigon. These guys were hilarious. After the 2 hour taxi ride we agreed to go home and shower and then meet back up for dinner and drinks.
So far I've made a new friend from Vietnam, friend from China, and 2 from Hong Kong. Not including the other volunteers. We've all exchanged numbers and Facebook and will keep in touch. I'd love to make it to Hong Kong at some point (Only a 2 hour flight from Phnom Penh).
Anyway, back to work. Tomorrow morning we have to go back to the hospital again; with a translator this time. We have to find out how Mr. Yang and his wife would like their house built. The doctors say he will be able to walk again. This is great news and means that we don't have to build the ramp.
Also, we have to call SISHA when we get back so we can share all the info with them from our interviews with the villagers about the missing kids.
Oh! Our meeting with Amnesty International last week went great. We don't really know what to expect now, though. We told them everything we knew about the situation with the man in prison and they said they would start looking into it and see what they can do. We will probably follow up next week..

Pictures next.

Daniel