AU REVOIR SAIGON

Table of Contents

AU REVOIR SAIGON - HALLO HO CHI MINH CITY - VIVA VIETNAM

Ho Chi Minh City used to be known to everyone as Saigon. Many people – including local Vietnamese people – still call it by that name today. The city was renamed in 1975 after the fall of Saigon, when the North Vietnamese Army captured the city. The name honours Ho Chi Minh, the communist leader who led the country to independence and the reunification of North and South Vietnam.

Back in the late 19th century, Saigon was transitioning from a Vietnamese village into a burgeoning French colonial city. Canals were filled, boulevards were paved and lavish French style buildings were constructed. You can still see many of them today – for example the grand Central Post Office, the Opera House the iconic Majestic Hotel, the Hotel Continental and Saigon’s own version of Notre Dame Cathedral.

The colonial city was hierarchical – Europeans lived in separate neighbourhoods, usually in villas, while the Asians lived on the outskirts of the city. Saigon’s image in those days was of a city full of joie de vivre where you could wine, dine and dance just as though you were in France. You could drink a tasse de thé in a cosy café, buy a baguette or enjoy boeuf bourginonne in a French style restaurant

During World War II, Japan briefly occupied Vietnam. After Japan’s defeat, Ho Chi Minh declared Vietnam’s independence in 1945. Saigon became known as a black-market city, with various illegal activities and a strong reliance on a parallel economy. The city also struggled with issues like poverty, unemployment, and high levels of crime.

It is a challenge for Ho Chi Minh City‘s to escape from its troubled war torn history. The Vietnam War (1955 – 1975) was a long, costly and divisive conflict that pitted the communist government of against South Vietnam and its principal ally, the United States. The conflict was intensified by the ongoing Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union and a fear of the “domino effect” of a growth in communism.

For the US, the episode was one of its most humiliating in history. As many as 2 million Vietnamese civilians and 58,000 US servicemen lost their lives in the conflict. The defoliant Agent Orange was deployed and destroyed vast swaths of forest and agricultural land. It also led to significant environmental damage and had long-term health consequences for all those exposed to it. The effects were carried forward to more than 3 generations.

The shocking photographs of the Vietnam War remain indelibly etched on many of our minds today. One of the photographs that has been attributed with changing the course of the war is the Napalm Girl – taken by Pulitzer Prize winning photojournalis Nick Ut. The image of that 9 year old naked girl fleeing from the horror of war is impossible to forget. Thankfully, Kim Phuc survived, and eventually recovered from her extensive injuries.

There were also memorable photographs of helicopters frantically lifting personnel and civilians out of the city from the top of a building in 22 Gia Long Street, half a mile from the U.S. Embassy.. “The Last Mission” sign remains visible on top of the building as a lasting reminder of the Ho Chi Minh‘s troubled history.

Hallo Ho Chi Minh City

Ho Chi Minh City is really two cities in one. The broad boulevards along the Saigon River house the old French colonial buildings whilst the rather less orderly Chinese settlement of Cholon lies further up the river. You can enjoy all the hustle and bustle of Bình Tây market here and discover all manner of Chinese traditional medicines, dried fish and bird nests for soup. It is like stepping into another – rather more exotic – world.

Ho Chi Minh City today remains a battleground of sorts. New buildings sit uncomfortably beside the old colonial buildings of days gone by. Luxury brand logos and other symbols of capitalism glare out between fluttering red star Communist flags. When we visited, Vietnam was celebrating the 50th anniversary of 30 April 1975 – National Reunification Day. A few days before our visit, the main streets of the city were closed to accommodate huge military parades in commemoration.

Today, the Hotel Continental is managed by Saigontourist – Vietnam’s state owned tourist authority. The beautiful, evocative façade remains, but the hotel is no longer the luxurious hub of Saigon’s social scene. That belongs to the new five star hotels that have sprung up in the city.

Norodom Palace is not the original building either. It was bombed in 1962 and rebuilt as the Independence Palace or the Reunification Convention Hall.

Viva Vietnam

Since reunification, Vietnam has transitioned from being one of the poorest nations in the world to a lower-middle-income country with a rapidly growing economy. A benign Communist régime has managed to transform Vietnam from being an agriculture based economy into today’s global manufacturing hub.

Vietnam‘s tourism industry is growing fast too, fuelled by both domestic and international travel. The country plans to welcome 23 million international arrivals by the end of 2025. Many visitors come to see the famous landmarks pictured above and enjoy the buzz of the metropolis. The Mekong Delta and the Cu Chi Tunnels located close to the border with Cambodia are also big tourist magnets.

Mekong Delta

The usual way to experience the Mekong Delta is via a boat trip around the Ben Tre Island area. You can easily fit this in as a day trip from Ho Chi Minh City and get a glimpse of daily life on the mighty Mekong River.

Cu Chi Tunnels

The Cu Chi Tunnels were initially built in 1948 during the First Indochina War against the French colonialists. The tunnels were expanded and further developed during the Vietnam War (1955-1975) to create a complex network extending for an amazing 250 kilometres. The tunnel network was designed with ventilation holes, escape routes, and booby traps.

The Cu Chi Tunnels were highly strategic for the Viet Cong, providing them with a complex underground network for defence, communication, and logistics during the Vietnam War. They served as hiding places for troops, transport routes for supplies and communications, and bases for launching surprise attacks against US and ARVN forces. The tunnels also allowed the Viet Cong to evade aerial bombardments and maintain operations even under heavy fire.

The tunnel complex is now a tourist attraction. A mere 70 kilometres away from Ho Chi Minh City, it is easily accessible in a day trip. The tunnels have been widened for tourists but are still suffocating if you go inside. It is hard to imagine how people managed to live for so long in the three layer underground tunnel network. You can see mock ups of kitchen quarters, defence manufacture, and hospital areas etc. The horrendous booby traps that were used at the time are also displayed.

Highlights

Vietnam Traditional Music and Dancing

It is definitely worth catching a display of traditional Vietnamese dancing and music during your visit you can. We saw a superb show at The Majestic Hotel and enjoyed one of their signature cocktails and a great view from the balcony as we watched the action unfold.

Vietnamese Banquet

I can also recommend a Vietnamese Banquet at the Mandarine restaurant. The food is delicious, the presentation exceptional and the ambience is superb with live musicians playing throughout the evening.

Visit to a Handicapped Handicrafts Làng Viêt Lacquer Workshop

Vietnamese lacquerware is of a very high quality and makes a lovely souvenir. I bought a set of coasters from the Handicapped Handicrafts Làng Viêt Workshop at 2/22 Đ. Nguyễn Thị Nuôi, Tân Thới Nhì, Hóc Môn, Hồ Chí Minh 70000, Vietnam. The workshop has some wonderful examples of lacquerware made by disabled people – many still suffering from the after effects of the Vietnam war. You can see the painstaking process used to create fine quality lacquerware in detail before visiting their souvenir shop. Buying a souvenir there is a great way to help a worthy cause.

Watching Rice Paper Wrappers - Banh Trang - Being Made

Watching the process of rice paper wrappers – banh trang – being made at Lang Banh Trang (Rice Paper Village) in Phú Lợi Hamlet near the Cu Chi Tunnels was interesting. The skilled craftswomen there make it look a LOT easier than it would be if I had a go at it. They turn out perfect circles one after another at break neck speed before laying them out to dry in the sunshine. It makes you appreciate Vietnamese Street food so much more when you realise the effort that goes into making the rice paper wrapping.

Lowlights

Motorbikes are the dominant mode of transportation in Vietnam – there are more than 70 million of them in Vietnam and approximately 9 million of those roar around Ho Chi Minh City every day. Everything is carried by bike – however large and unlikely it may seem. Coffins are even transported this way – so are patients in need of hospital. If you call a taxi, a motorbike is what will arrive to pick you up. People even take a nap on their motorbike! There is nowhere to park your motorbike, so people often take it inside their small apartment with them when they get home.

The motorbikes seem to operate under a law of their own which does not involve stopping at zebra crossings. If you want to cross the road, you have to take a deep breath, look straight ahead, step out and just keep going until you reach the other side. The motorbikes all somehow seem to snake around and miss you. It is scary! If you wait for a safe time to cross, you will like as not wait all day – it just doesn’t work like that here. Bizarrely, crash helmets are only compulsory after the age of seven?