Ho Chi Minh City (still commonly called Saigon) is the main city in southern Vietnam. It is a sprawling, dynamic city that is going through substantial growth. While we thought that Hanoi in the north was a hotbed of activity, this pales when compared to HCMC. The traffic is insane, and the motorbikes may possibly outnumber the population. The city is positively abuzz with people, people, and more people. Everywhere, you see busy shops, thousands of street vendors choking the sidewalks and every available little piece of street space, crowded street markets that start early and go late into the night, uniformed students in packs, and tourists galore, snapping away on their Nikons and Canons. The downtown core resonates with the cacophony of street life. Every time we ventured from our hotel, we would face this deluge of sound. Air pollution is a big problem here, and masks are a common sight. Visiting the big cities of Asia, you soon get used to seeing them. There is some serious money here, too, made clear by the many luxury cars and some of the homes seen. However, you concurrently see evidence of abject poverty and people with some serious needs.
Fellow travellers we spoke with were unanimous in feeling that this city is more likeable than Hanoi. It also seems more capitalist-oriented. Brightly coloured neon signs brighten the night and the numerous skyscrapers. Massive advertising campaigns and signage proliferate. In its totality, Saigon felt like a carnival to us. As a visitor, it would be virtually impossible to be bored here. The senses are under constant assault.
Compared with Hanoi, Saigon is a relatively younger city, and there are few historical sites
. However, the 2 main must-see sites are quite astounding. The first is the War Remnants Museum, a building dedicated to showing US brutality in the war. Room after room contained horrifying shots, damning quotes from US politicians, displays of cruelty, implements of torture, and so on. Clearly, it is a combination of gloating over victory in unifying Vietnam and defeating the US armed forces, as well as vilifying American involvement. The grounds contain a sample 'tiger cage', in which prisoners were subject to extreme punishment and deprivation. Truly horrifying. In a large courtyard, captured US military equipment such as tanks, helicopters, and planes are on display. As an American who thankfully avoided the draft due to a high draft lottery number, I felt mixed emotions of disgust, sadness, shame, and anger. Interestingly, our guide, politically astute, continuously used the euphemism: ‘anti-communists’ to refer to the enemy, namely the Americans.We next drove about an hour outside the city to Vietnam’s most visited site, the Cu Chi tunnels
. These are the well-known tunnels built and used by residents and solders to evade their enemies during the Vietnam War. Over 30 kms of tunnels at three different levels are found there. Now a popular tourist site, it has been almost Disney-fied, so some of the impact is lost. Nonetheless, it leaves you in awe of their resourcefulness and ingenuity. We were shown the tunnels and their camouflaged entrances, and had the opportunity to crawl through 50 claustrophobic feet. The Vietnamese are small in stature, and most of the tunnels were not built to accommodate N American sizes. We were shown a black and-white propaganda film from the 60s which was unintentionally funny. Here’s a few examples I quickly scribbled while watching: - US soldiers were said to arrive: ‘like a crazy bunch of devils‘.- Brave Viet Cong soldiers were honoured as ‘American Killer Heroes‘ We were also shown the various booby traps used to capture and maim, the various mines used and their crude manufacturing facilities, complete with animated workers busily building bombs
.To further enhance the experience, visitors are offered a chance to actually choose from a number of weapons and, using live ammunition, fire at a distant target. We chose an AK47, one honker of a weapon, and we each fired off 5 rounds, completely missing the target. (You’re given a prize if you hit it 3 times). The sound of each shot, alone, is enough to scare the hell out of you. Ironically, after all of this exposure to the reality of life and death, you are given a cup of tea to calm the nerves, and a hunk of tapioca which grows here but is not very tasty. It was a staple during the war.We ended our stay in Saigon in a most enjoyable way. We had dinner with a friend of a friend who is in his 30s, and has lived and worked in Saigon for almost 5 years. Brad was a veritable fount of knowledge and gave us great insight into what living in Saigon is really like. Saigon has a large population of foreign nationals, and they are accepted by the Vietnamese with open arms. Contrary to what you might expect, the majority of the population bear no ill will towards North Americans, with the war 50 years in the past
.
Mekong Delta
Leaving Saigon, we slowed the pace a bit, and cruised up the Mekong River heading to Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The Mekong River is essential to life in this region. It provides transportation for people and goods, fishing for food, and water for irrigating crops. We were on a skiff cruising up the river with our boatman and guide, gliding past floating markets, docked aged houseboats, farmland, and thick forest, dotted with the occasional village. We felt like we were in the movie, The African Queen. Bonnie, in her wide-brimmed hat, could have been Katherine Hepburn. After several hours, we rested in a small village where we had a traditional lunch- a type of grilled fish prevalent in this area, with all the trimmings. We also saw a mini performance of traditional Cambodian music and visited a ‘factory’ where a variety of local foods were produced by hand. Examples were pop-rice (like popcorn). banana caramels, peanut bars, coconut chips, etc. We even tried snake wine, a really strong but tasty liquor. Where did this name come from, you might ask. Mostly, it’s because of the large python coiled inside the bottle--Quite dead but with a smile on its face, I presume. Hey, it was offered, it was the thing to do, so we drank it.
Back on the river, we reached PP in the afternoon, and were supposed to tour a Genocide Museum covering the holocaust suffered here as a result of the brutal Khmer Rouge campaign of the late70s. Over 2 million people died-- in most cases, in horrifying circumstances. Unfortunately, a timing foul-up prevented our visit, so we took advantage of the downtime with an early dinner and a stroll through town. Cambodia is quite a poor country, as we could observe on our walk; however, the people we met were considerably friendlier and more pleasant that the Vietnamese who we sometimes felt viewed us as wallets with legs.
The final destination of our SE Asia journey awaits—two days in Siem Reap, Cambodia, visiting Angkor Wat, the largest religious building in the world, built about 1000 years ago. Our next blog entry will describe our time there.
Going, Going, Saigon
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
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2025-02-11
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cissie.retired
2012-03-20
So good to hear from you again, and what an experience you are getting! It's like you are living in the present, but experiencing history simultaneously! Those tunnels must be terrifying. It's such a different world in south Asia. I anticipate your next entry....be well and be safe.
Cecile
The Sunnies
2012-03-25
We did, indeed, get your last blog but things here have been a bit nuts so I truly didn't have the time to respond! I apologize but that DOES NOT mean I haven't been thinking about my two favorite non-Smythies traveling throughout southeast Asia! It sounds as if you continue to LOVE the places you've chosen to explore and are getting a first hand glimpse of what each place is truly like. I can't think of any better travelers than the two of you, as you always manage to find the "out of the way" sights that many tourists tend to
overlook.....I am SO happy that this t rip, as your others, has provided you with many lasting memories. It would not surprise me at all if you return to this part of the world, as you truly seem to be enjoying every moment of this new and exciting adventure! As I've said in the past, perhaps one day we will join you on one of these trips.....but until then, your blogs really come to life and at least make us feel as if we are enjoying your experiences vicariously!
We wish you continued safe travels and a wonderful trip back home. Hopefully, we will talk before you take off for Passover in Buffalo!
Love you guys!!!!
Love and hugs,
The Sunnies