New Year's Eve

Saigon is much closer to Bangkok than anywhere else we have been. Oded and I were dropped in the backpacker ghetto, full of guesthouses, western food, book stores and tourist offices. We immediately ran into Israelis who told us where we could find the Chabad and as the New Year was but 24 hours away from starting, we headed straight there. We were greeted by the main Rabbi and 2 Australians who fed us (Israeli salad, soup, hummus...mmm) and gave us the low down on celebrating Rosh Hashana in Saigon. We reserved spots at the next night's dinner and headed back out...

We spent our first day in Saigon walking around and visiting the main sights--the city itself is really lovely, full of trees, parks, and crazy drivers zooming in and out of oncoming traffic. We spent most of our time at the War Remnants Museum (it used to be called the American War Crimes Museum but they changed it as it didn't prove too popular). Museums so far in southeast Asia really honor the horrors of the past with photos, personal stories and recreations of torture chambers and the like. What they lack across the board is framing--there was no basic history of why the war happened, where the main fighting took place, how long it lasted, and what the outcome was. As an American and my mother's daughter, I have a basic understanding of the Vietnam War and America's role in it, but as a tourist I crave more information. Despite the lack of framing, the museum itself is a necessary introduction to the country and its recent history, inlcuding an entire exhibit on the effects of Agent Orange which will forever be engraved in my memory.

We quickly returned to our guest house, showered and took motorbikes to a fancy hotel in downtown Saigon to join the rest of the Jews in welcoming the New Year. It was me, Oded, our two Australian friends from the previous night and about 150 other Israelis. No joke. My Hebrew is improving if only from hearing it so often--I think I hear more Hebrew than Vietnamese. Dinner was lovely--challah, hummus, soup, chicken, fish, apples, honey--all one can ask for when their family and friends are so far away.

We left dinner and headed to a local bar with two new friends. After one beer we headed to a popular night club where we danced the rest of erev Rosh Hashana. Not surprisingly, most of the folks from dinner were also at the club--Rihanna and Michael Jackson ruled the night amidst a mix of American music from the 80s and the 90s.

All in all, Rosh Hashana was really nice--Shana Tova u Metuka to all who are celebrating. I wish everyone a sweet year full of happiness and love.

To see photos of Saigon, visit http://picasaweb.google.com/abbey.greenberg/Saigon##