ICHI CAT CAFE

For those who don't already know, I've been developing more love for cats ever since I got together with my other half despite being a dog lover for the most of my life. When my other half mentioned about Ichi Cat Cafe, I felt a little indifferent but the moment I remembered it was the same place he had been last year and fell so deeply in love with, I knew I needed to make my way there.

I was not disappointed.

Not one bit.

Because LOOK AT ALL THE FUR. 

It's worth noting that the cafe was so ridiculously well kept that you sometimes forget it's a cat cafe because it didn't smell nor was it dirty or hot. No, you're walking into a cafe that takes cleanliness to the next level and all cats are so well kept that it puts our house cats to shame. Granted about 70% of them looked like they were of a grand breed but good God all the fur!

All they scratched were poles.

Yoga poses ensured.

And sometimes being pissed is a must.

We spent our entire morning at Ichi Cat Cafe, and ignored most of our 25,000 VND iced coffee to play with the furballs around the shop. There were other patrons as well, but it was nice to see how everyone respected the cats when they were asleep and did nothing but swoon over their furriness as I did. 

Funny cat antics included.

 

 And then there's us.

I think most of us were thoroughly amazed at how quickly one of the cats climbed up this pole and then reversed its way down though, and we spent a lot of time laughing at it. We were welcome to do whatever we wanted to the cats, including massage them and take a whole load of pictures with them, but we were told to never carry them or disturb them when asleep.

The star lord.

His favourite of them all. 

My other half however, had his eyes set only on one Mainecoon who was the star of the entire cafe and you could see that there was a hierarchy system within the cats and Sir Mainecoon was king. We never knew its name, but you could see that everyone really wanted it to come down from its throne. 

Hello, king!

Much to my other half's happiness, the king finally came down from the cornices and graced us all with its presence for a bit before we left. Congratulations, other half. Entrance to Ichi Cat Cafe is priced at 40,000 VND per person but it doesn't include drinks so do expect to spend about 70,000 VND including drinks and taxes but it'll all be worth it for the furry joy it brings.

WAR REMNANTS MUSEUM 

We made our way to the War Remnants Museum after our visit to Ichi Cat Cafe, and all I could think about was how much my other half's brother would have loved to be there. True to its name, you would be greeted with all sorts of remnants from the Vietnam Wars. Entrance tickets are 15,000 VND a person and I'd say that is more than reasonable for the amount of effort they have put in to upkeep the museum.

Tanks from the American army.

And killer choppers that remained.

I was deeply affected by the exhibits at the museum, and felt sorry for the civilians who had lost their lives for something as needless as a war of greed. At a point, I had read that close to 2 millions civilians were sacrificed, and a lot of aftermath such as radiation from chemicals had affected the later generations of those who lived through the war.  

In text: A civilian pleads to the army during a "search and destroy" operation in 1968.

If anything however, the museum had taught me to appreciate our freedom today so much more and to be thankful for all that had happened. May we all live in peace today, for all wars are needless for civilians such as us.