With the bustle and rush of Day 7 over, the students enjoyed a much needed sleep in until the late late hours of 9am.

Day 8 started the way we wish it hadn’t – a long morning walk while weary and half-awake. Though I’m sure none of our daydreams would prepare us for the journey ahead. Soon, the bustling morning life of the locals faded into background noise as our destination came into view. All 20ish of us – a much more awake 20ish of us – entered the gates of the expansive Independent Palace.

Inside this prestigious property we found ourselves passing two hours in an entirely different era.

Rusting telecommunications equipment. Yellowed maps littered with long gone plans. Seats that have been left bare for longer than sat on. These were our sights as we passed the two hours learning exactly how Saigon fell in 1975. We read, or maybe skimmed, each plaque that described how the palace was before it was empty. Each new room revealed another aspect of the war and soon, after this in depth history lesson, we reconvened for the next leg of the day.

We rested for lunch in the brimming Ben Tanh Street Food Market. From cheesy naan to Greek gyros, everyone found themselves chowing down. Luckily, the refreshing taste of ice creams and a myriad of desserts helped against the beating humid heat.

After lunch we found ourselves walking to our new destination – the War Remnants Museum. From the entrance we passed by swathes of military vehicles, a replica of the cruel cages and conditions of the prisons, and then finally into the main building.

As we climbed each level we were confronted again and again by the stories which were no longer fictional to us. Each exhibit further opened our eyes to the atrocities of warfare. From the photos on the wall we were exposed to the debilitating consequences of agent orange, the extent of the warcrimes committed , and how hundreds of thousands of lives were lost or impacted decades post-war. The entire twenty years of war – the bloodshed, the families, the people – were all condensed into this museum.

Although quite heavy, I know we all came out of it wiser and aware.

The rest of the day was fortunately much easier to stomach. That is, once we arrived back at the hotel we found ourselves splashing around in the pool, bartering at the markets, and dropping off some laundry (most likely to the relief of the parents reading this.)

Finally, we enjoyed a satisfying dinner of local Vietnamese cuisine.  Our stomachs full of food and belly deep laughter, our heads full of new lessons, and our hearts feeling a small tug as this tour approaches it’s end.

From Joshwa