Tracy buying the first of her coconut milk drinks.

Street scene

Breakfast - plain, old fashioned eggs with fancy carrots. Very good. I really was not feeling good today so this bland food was just right for me.
Our last day! It is hard to believe. We planned this for so many months and now it is over. So, of course power shopping was the order of the day for most of us. Tracy, Jeff, Warren & I (Harriet) went walking around town. First we went to get Warren's suit. He ordered a custom suit. Even though they measured him, it ended up too tight. So, after a couple of re-dos it now fits him - as long as he does not gain any weight.
We wanted to see 'Notre Dame Saigon'. We got there, only to find that the hours that you can go inside are very limited. So we looked at the outside and bought some stamps and old money from a vender. Of course, on the way to the church, we had to stop at all of the shops!
Then we went to the War Effects Museum. I could not make it all the way through. I have not been feeling good for the past 2 days and got to feeling quite nauseated while I was looking at the pictures. Maybe it was the pictures. Very graphic. Very real. So sad. The things that people do to people. Over and over again.
So, back to the hotel to drop off our purchases - and out for more shopping and our last dinner in Vietnam. We stopped in to a temple - I thought it would be a Buddhist temple but it seemed more Hindu and we did not see Budda anywhere. Interesting.
Educational Lesson: There are three Southern Indian temples in Saigon and, this one, Mariamman Temple, is for women. Mariamman temple, named after a very large temple in India, was built in the late 19th century by traders from Tamil Nadu. A common belief among the locals is that, the Hindu goddess Mariamman has miraculous powers. Originally constructed by the Tamils hailing from Pondicherry with a raja goopuram, the Mariamman Hindu Temple is regarded as a sacred site by many Vietnamese and Chinese. The architectural design of this temple is based on the principles of temple building, followed in many other ancient Hindu temples in India. A centrally located huge hall (mandapam) and inner and outer circumferences characterize the Mariamman Hindu Temple in Ho Chi Minh City. The address of this temple is: 45 Ð Truong Dinh, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Though there are only 50 to 60 Hindus in Saigon - all of them Tamils - this temple, known in Vietnamese as Chua Ba Mariamman, is also considered sacred by many ethnic-Vietnamese and ethnic-Chinese. Indeed, it is reputed to have miraculous powers. The lion (Simma Vahanam) to the left of the entrance used to be carried around Saigon in a street procession every autumn. In the shrine in the middle of the temple is Mariamman, flanked by her guardians - Maduraiveeran (to her left) and Pechiamman (to her right). In front of the figure of Mariamman are two lingas. Favourite offerings placed nearby often include joss sticks, jasmine, lilies and gladioli. End of lesson.
Budda is all over Vietnam. Almost all of the stores have a little Budda shrine.
Then we went to the Ben Thanh Market, at 45 D Truong Dinh. And had dinner at the evening outdoor market. The big market is open every day. Then, every evening, they set up an outdoor market on some of the streets surrounding the indoor market. The outdoor market is open from around 5ish until 3 AM. Then they take it down - and start all over the next day.
At 9 PM we headed for the airport. Our 1130 PM flight got delayed so we did not leave until around a little after midnight. We flew on ANA - All Nippon Airways. Great service, pleasant flight attendants, lots of bowing, Japanese food - including sushi rolls at 3 AM! We had about 3 hours in Tokoyo and then headed for Chicago.
I will miss the markets and the food. Although I really want a good cheeseburger. And I will miss the people. The kindness of the people. And I will miss the friends that we made on this trip. As Warren keeps saying, part of the reason this trip was so great is because of the people with whom we were working. What an incredible group of dedicated individuals of all ages. We talk about the generation gap at home and about generational differences but I did not feel any of that on this trip. So, thank you TH. Thank you Marcia. Thank you Tam. Thank you Thuy (Chicago) for inviting us. Stay in touch. Harriet