Vietnam! (Not food) -Nina

Although you probably can get a good idea of what our trip to Vietnam was like from Abby's last post, I also have a bunch of pictures to share! Hopefully there won't be too much overlap. When we were there, we allocated that I would take pictures of food, and she would take pictures of scenery, but I couldn't help myself and also took some pictures around the city. Don't worry though, there is a whole post of food pictures coming up! 

Post office! If anyone knows anything about architectural styles and wants to explain some of these buildings to me, it would be much appreciated. None of the architecture here seems to fit together. 

The only Hindu temple in the city. Sorry about all of the telephone wires in the picture. It's hard to take pictures in this city without them appearing. Also, the temple itself inside of the gate had a big, colorful tower, but it was hard to see it from almost any angle. 

This is the town hall? Cam, correct me if I'm wrong. 

I also have some pictures from Vietnamese Disney World, since it was just so...special. Abby and I were confused by the mixture of religion and theme parks, but everyone else seemed perfectly okay with worshipping and praying in Disney World.

Another example of what makes this place so special: a disco ball hanging from the pagoda ceiling.

Fake snow paradise! I cannot believe that I paid to put on dirty boots and enter an overly air-conditioned room full of dirty, fake snow. It was definitely worth it though.

Abby proudly showing off her dirty boots and posing next to the igloo. Did they make us take off our shoes AND socks to put on the boots that seem never to be washed? YES. Did our feet come out covered in some sort of brown substance? YES. Did we get any diseases from them? Surprisingly, no. 

The sledding hill! Abby and I tried it out, and it was pretty fun. Cam decided against it, even though she's successfully sledded at Williams. It definitely does not rival the sledding hills of New England and Rochester, but the kids from southern Vietnam who are deprived of snow were pretty excited about it. 

The next day, we went to a mini-resort outside of the city that has tried to recreate the feel of Vietnam hundreds of years ago. They had lots of delicious food and beautiful scenery (pictures to come). They also had this swing, which you're apparently supposed to stand on. We were afraid, so we sat. 

Back in the city, I took lots of pictures in and around Cam's neighborhood and house. This is the canal and pagoda behind Cam's neighborhood. It looks pretty, but apparently the canal smells so awful that nobody wants to live around there, despite the fact that it's one of the calmest parts of the city. 

Cam's local temple. I was really excited that there was a beautiful temple down the street from her house, but she just shrugged it off. 

Close-up of the second floor

Some houses near Cam's street/alley

The view from Cam's rooftop garden

                                      

The view from Cam's bedroom

Cam's house! Sorry about the glare. That little tree on the second floor is on the little porch off of Cam's room,. 

Cam's rooftop garden

Starfruit tree in the garden!

Next door neighbor's rooftop. Cam's family and these people seem to have the best rooftop displays in the area. 

More neighbors

Even more! (Last ones, I promise)

The spiral staircase in Cam's house that goes all the way from the first to the third floor. 

My gecko friend! Houses there are all infested with geckos! They're so cute! After living with cockroaches all summer, this was a welcome change. They even eat little bugs! 

That was a lot of pictures. Thank you for sticking with me to the end. There will be more pictures of food to come. Also, Abby and I are busy preparing for our first day of school on Saturday (September 1st)! We'll post about our new life in Xi'an soon.