Day 19 - Vinhomes Central Park, War Remnants Museum, AO Show

Today was a day of mixed emotions. A spectrum of uneasiness, sorrow, and excitement formed this emotional rollercoaster.

The first obligation of the day took me to Vinmec Central Park International Hospital. I don't want to go into the exact circumstances of my hospital visit, but I would love to share my experience in a Vietnamese private hospital. It was recommended to me by the yoga teacher the night before and it is also on the list of partner hospitals of my international health insurance. The staff there speaks both Vietnamese and English and they focus on well-off Vietnamese, expats, and tourists. The staff accompanies you every step of the way - whether you need to go to a treatment room, get an ultrasound, go to the cashier, or to the pharmacy. The clinic staff is highly professional and the facilities are sparkling clean. The doctor took the time to explain the prescribed medications and the further treatment process in detail and calmly. So I felt well taken care of and my initial uneasiness about receiving medical treatment abroad quickly disappeared. Something unusual was that in the first basement, a pianist and a guitarist played gentle songs in the X-ray department and in the gynecologists' lobby. I have never experienced anything like this in a hospital before.

The hospital is nestled in the newly built Vinhomes neighborhood. Countless 30 to 40-story high-rise buildings are lined up next to each other. On their ground floors, there are bakeries, cafes, restaurants, banks, and convenience stores. Numerous signs advertise furnished apartments that are still available. In the center of the neighborhood, there is a small shopping center with medium- and high-priced shops, a few restaurants, and a cinema. That's where I bought myself a coffee and a croissant for a late breakfast.

Between the residential complexes and the Saigon River is Vinhomes Central Park, after which the hospital is named. On a very spacious area, there are opportunities for outdoor relaxation for every age and preference. You can relax on the green areas, stroll among palm trees and frangipani trees, or let your soul dangle in a Chinese garden with a koi pond. The park also has a basketball court, a badminton court, a tennis court, and two observation towers. A large adventure playground ensures that even the little ones have fun in this park. So I settled down for a small picnic and a long break with a book and enjoyed the tranquility.

At noon, I took the bus back to the city center. After a small lunch, I visited the War Remnants Museum. It covers the wars of the 1940s to the 1970s. On three levels, the war for independence and the war against the U.S. invasion are explored. The descriptions of the My Lai Massacre and the special exhibition on the impact of Agent Orange particularly affected me. I fought back tears more than once because of it. I consciously didn't take any photos because it felt somehow disrespectful to further display the depicted misery.

I also didn't take any photos of my last activity of the day. However, this was because it was not allowed. As an unintentionally strong contrast to the afternoon, I visited the Lune Productions show AO at the Saigon Opera House. It is a combination of acrobatic show and musical performance. The approximately 60-minute show was phenomenal. I was completely captivated from start to finish and was as excited as a little child on Christmas. AO tells the story and traditions of Vietnam from its beginnings to the present day. Many traditional Vietnamese objects are used in the show, such as basket boats, baskets, bamboo poles, and fishing nets. The show acts also told small stories and were hardly surpassed in creativity. I strongly recommend anyone in Saigon to get tickets for this show or one of the other two shows by Lune Productions.