February 20 - Saigon or Ho Chi Minh City

We had another extra early start today for our rickshaw ride though downtown Saigon beginning at 6:45 AM. We were trying to beat the morning rush hour apparently. Our local guide here in Saigon is a nice young man named Jonathan. We told him we were surprised that people called the city Saigon, rather than the official name of Ho Chi Minh City (the name given to Saigon after the end of the Vietnam War). We had thought that saying “Saigon” would be considered politically incorrect or worse, but he said it is not a big deal. It is also the name of the river through the city. Our rickshaw ride takes us past Saigon’s city hall and through many streets. We saw the opera house, the Ho Chi Minh Museum, old military aircraft, the US consulate (located on the site of the old US embassy site from Vietnam War days), and a statue of Ho Chi Minh. 

Here is a video:

We stopped at Tao Dan Park where we enjoyed some iced Vietnamese coffee with the sweetened condensed milk. This was so delicious – like drinking dessert! 

The park is lovely with many large fichus trees. We were told that the cafes open at 4:00 AM. Vietnamese people rise early to go for coffee, then they return home to prepare breakfast. The name of the park, Tao Dan, means a place to meet and have conversations, a place for intellectuals to gather. It is located adjacent to Saigon’s reunification palace (former South Vietnamese presidential palace). Getting back on the rickshaws we were taken past the Caravel Hotel, known for being the location where journalists filmed the final helicopters departing the CIA building in the fall of Saigon. Today, that view is obstructed by another high-rise building, and the CIA building is an apartment building. One observation that we made upon seeing some of Saigon is that it appears to be more prosperous and modern than Hanoi. This was surprising given that South Vietnam lost the Vietnam War.

Then we arrived at a local food market. Here we saw lots of meat and fish, some of which, like the eels, were still wriggly and alive. Jonathan told us that the most expensive item at the market would be cherries, selling for $20 per pound. He also told us that it is typical for Vietnamese to shop for food twice per day. We enjoyed seeing the fruit, especially the purple and white taro and the rose apple. Some rose apples were dark red and some were pinkish. 

At the end of the street that housed the market, we were shown a landmark that is an old Viet Cong bunker. This bunker served as a weapons cache: guns, bazookas, grenades, pistols, etc. We were able to climb down into the bunker to view. 

In the display at the entrance there is a photo of a famous Viet Cong spy, Tran Van Lai, who worked in the South Vietnamese Presidential Palace. 

The bunker was constructed in 1965-66 timeframe and was used in the 1968 Tet Offensive. We also saw displays of large blocks of wood that were used to transport and conceal the weapons through the jungle to Saigon.

Still early in the morning, it was now time for a traditional Vietnamese breakfast of pho (beef noodle soup). We were told that Vietnamese people may eat pho three times per day. It was delicious. We were taught how to make the dipping sauce using soy paste and soy sauce and also hot sauce. Bean sprouts and lemongrass leaves were the accompaniment. Cooked bean sprouts could also be ordered to put in the pho. Some in the group ate their pho with local beer, but 8:30 AM was too early for us!

Returning to the hotel in the rickshaws, we had the rest of the morning at leisure. We elected to walk over to the large Ben Thanh market. It is located in a very large, historically significant building. The original market started out in the early 17^th century as an informal market founded by local street vendors. In 1859, under French rule, the market was properly constructed and became a formal marketplace. The original structure included a wooden thatched roof which would later be destroyed by fire in 1870 and was rebuilt to become called "Les Halles Centrales." However, we were not too interested in the inexpensive goods that were sold there. We only stayed about ten minutes. 

We decided to walk from there to the Saigon riverbank to see the views. We could see in the distance the super-tall “Landmark 81” building, the tallest in Southeast Asia, owned by the businessman Mr. Vuong (VIN Group). The complex includes many buildings: hotels, apartments, mall, offices – you would never need to leave!

Lunch today was at Chopsticks, which is located in what was a private house, which had been the home of a former South Vietnamese vice president (see photo of sign). It is in a very nice location and served really tasty food. We enjoyed an extensive, pre-set menu family style. We had spring rolls, grilled “Nha Trang” minced pork, lemongrass chicken (which was the star of the meal), stir fried vegetables with mushrooms, a vegetable and prawn broth, finishing with a flambeed banana.  Really good!  From here we proceeded to the former South Vietnamese Presidential Palace, now known as the Reunification Palace. The weather today was sunny and very warm. We passed the American consulate on the way. There was a line of people outside waiting to request a visa to the US. The French consulate was next door – both were behind tall walls. At the palace we started our tour outside in order to admire the park-like setting for the building. The trees planted there were one hundred years old and from all parts of Vietnam. There was also a display of military equipment, tanks, etc. On the site of this palace had been a beautiful French built palace, but it was destroyed in 1962. At this time, renegade South Vietnamese air force pilots bombed the palace in an unsuccessful attempt to assassinate the president of South Vietnam, Diem (who was later successfully assassinated one year later in a military coup).

The new palace, completed in 1966, was designed by Paris-trained Vietnamese architect Ngo Viet Thu. It is an outstanding example of 1960s architecture with an airy and open atmosphere. 

The first floor has an open-air concept to allow the breezes to flow through the building. We toured the meeting rooms and offices as well as some rooms that housed the president and his family. The main meeting room now has the current Vietnamese flag displayed next to the communist party flag. The Vietnamese flag has one star representing a united people. The red background symbolizes blood and the yellow star means royalty. As our guide Jonathan related information about the palace, a young child stopped to listen in. Jonathan later told us that this made him very nervous as the government is known to use children as spies. The child may have been reporting back to the government what Jonathan had been saying or may have even had a recording device hidden. If something had been said that the government didn’t like, punishment could be three months or more in a re-education camp/prison. (Another spying technique in today’s world involves Facebook – “pretty girls,” obviously fake, will send out friend requests in order to spy on your account.) Our tour included the large bunker in the basement which had a lot of communications equipment preserved from the 1970s. We also learned that there were tunnels from the palace to the airport and to the US embassy. An interesting fact: all the presidents of South Vietnam practiced Catholicism.

One more stop on our tour of Saigon today: a temple for a religion unique to Vietnam called Tao Dai. This religion is a combination of Taoism, Islam, Buddhism, Christianity, and Confucianism. The temple is very colorful with interesting artworks that include images of Buddha, Christ and Confucius together. 

There is also a prominent painting of a left eye (same side of body as the heart). There are about one thousand followers in this temple. Measuring how many people practice a particular religion in Vietnam is difficult as most people will not report a religious affiliation to government officials as there is only downside to providing this information – you never know when the government may decide to crack down.

Returning to the hotel, we had only a short time before attending a performance in the Saigon Opera House. This was a show similar to Cirque du Soleil called the Vietnamese Bamboo Circus. It was very entertaining with very good live music to accompany the acrobatic performances. The show was preceded by a glass of Vietnamese white wine, which was not bad! 

After the show, we were taken to a nice restaurant called Ly Club. We had a three-course meal with an entrée of sea bass (see photo). Our starter was outstanding: spiced meat in lettuce cups – the best thing we had eaten so far on this tour! We enjoyed this with a French white wine called Clarendelle.