VIETNAM // Few museums anywhere convey the brutal effects of war as powerfully as the War Remnants Museum in Ho Chi Minh City. For many who only know the 1954-75 war in Vietnam through histories told by the West, this is a rare opportunity to hear the Vietnamese share their own stories about the conflict they call the American War. While some displays are one-sided, there's no denying the photographs: injured bodies, children affected by napalm, atrocities such as the My Lai Massacre - horror and grief up close. Among the many other exhibits are contraptions of cruelty, including a replica of the infamous "tiger cages' that held prisoners on Con Son Island. There is also a section showing images of support for the antiwar movement from around the world - a somewhat positive note.

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