Visiting the Buddha

We had language class at a satellite campus of UEF today that was much closer to our hotel. Ms. Tuyet helped us learn how to bargain in Vietnamese--except my skills at bargaining are sub-par even in English. Then we headed to Ben Thanh market to practice! It reminded me a lot of the market I went to in Quito last summer, but more people spoke English. Which was nice, because last time I knew enough Spanish to get by. There was so much there!! Fish, crabs, clothes, trinkets, etc. I'm hoping to go back on Friday; I wanted to buy a sarong, but couldn't find one. Sad panda. Also I hope it's a bit cooler when I go back because I was sweating buckets yesterday afternoon.

After the market, we visited the Xa Loi Pagoda (Temple of the Buddha's Relic). It was taken over by the government during the war, but is famous for being the home of the eight monks who lit themselves on fire to protest the suppression of religious rights. In addition to a shrine to those martyrs, there was a large hall with a huge Buddhist statue and a mural along the walls of the stages of life. The whole place was so serene and reminded me a lot (understandably) of the Hindu temples I have been to. However, there was a special exhibit of naturally formed, beautiful rocks with names given to them that I didn't really understand. The temple was decked out in colorful Buddhist flags and flowers to celebrate Buddha's name day tomorrow.

The last stop of the day was a memorial on the famous street where the monk Thich Quáng Đức burned alive in 1963. The statue of him burning was carved wonderfully and had an interesting mural behind, but again, done with a very anti-American sentiment. With all out planned activities done, I got some mochi ice cream (it was not good) and then headed to a seafood place for dinner. We got to see al the animals before they were served on a platter, which was an interesting and TASTY experience.

On another note, the monsoon rains have kind of started. The city in the soft rain has such a pretty look... I hope I can get a picture that accurately shows it.