Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam: Reunification Palace

On July 28th, after my visit to the War Remnants Museum, I headed over to the Reunification Palace (formerly known as the Independence Palace). This was the home to the President of South Vietnam during the Vietnam War.  This was also the location that marked the end of the Vietnam War, when Communist tanks crashed into the gates of the palace, and a soldier ran into the building, up the stairs, and hung a Viet Cong flag from the 4th floor balcony on April 30, 1975.

The palace is built with modern architecture which makes it stand out in the city. The inside of the building has been preserved almost exactly as it was that day in April 1975 with very spacious chambers which are all nicely decorated.

The basement of the palace is a series of tunnels and telecommunications rooms that were used for military activities and as a bomb shelter.

On display outside the front of the palace are the first tanks to attack the palace on April 30, 1975:

After visiting the Palace I walked over to the Notre Dame Cathedral, built between 1877 and 1883 with materials imported from France. In front of the cathedral is a statue of the Virgin Mary. Unfortunately the Cathedral was closed, so I was unable to visit inside.

Next to the Cathedral is the Saigon Central Post Office, the largest post office in Vietnam, built between 1886 and 1891 by the French architect Gustave Eiffel (who also built the Eiffel Tower). Inside the building reminds me of European railway stations.

I continued on my walk, and went past the Opera House, built in 1897 by the French architect Eugene Ferret.

City Hall was my next stop: the office of the Ho Chi Minh People’s Committee. The building was built in 1908 by the French. In front of the building is a statue of Ho Chi Minh.

I really enjoyed touring around the city, but I couldn’t help notice the significant gap between the rich and the poor here. Most of the population is poor here, the prices for food, products and services are very cheap because the average household income is about $32 US per month. Some of the houses along the river are in such poor condition:

Yet, although so much of the population is poor, I still found a collection of very expensive stores and restaurants that seem so out of place in a city like this. See the photos below for the Louis Vuitton and Versace stores.

I suppose in every city there are the very rich and the very poor, I have just grown to really like the Vietnamese people an culture, and find it so sad to see such a gap in wealth between the people.

Ho Chi Minh City has been great so far! I’m really happy I’ve finally been able to see the major sights in the city, and experience the city not only as a tourist, but with Mads as an expat living in the city.

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam: The War Remnants Museum

On July 28th I headed over to The War Remnants Museum, formerly called “The Museum of American War Crimes” (the name was changed when relations with the US improved). It is a museum that exhibits photos and artefacts mainly relating to the American involvement in the Vietnam War. 

Since the Vietnam War was so recent, many people already know the history of it, but I’ll give a very brief and simplistic summary. The Vietnam war took place from November 1955 until April 1975 in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos, and it was fought between North Vietnam and South Vietnam. The North Vietnam was Communist, and was supported by other Communist allies, while the South Vietnam was not Communist and was supported by the United States, and other anti-communist nations. In the end, the North Vietnamese took victory over the South with the capture of Saigon by the North Vietnamese army in April 1975, and Communist governments took power in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos.

Visiting the museum was difficult, as many of the photos showed awful events and treatment of the Vietnamese people by the Americans. I realize that war is not meant to be peaceful, happy or pretty, but walking through the museum and seeing photos of suffering people and such great destruction is heartbreaking.

Outside of the museum a number of US Military aircrafts and machinery are on display:

Inside the main building there were a number of photography exhibits showing the brutality and effects of the war, specifically focusing on the actions of Americans in the war.

In the photo below, some American troops are performing one form of water torture, where a rag is placed over someone’s face and water poured on it, making it impossible to breathe.

Another form of torture was to drag prisoners behind the tanks:

The museum also showed photos of all the destruction within Vietnam caused by bombings and raids by the US.

In the photo below you can see bomb craters through the countryside of Vietnam:

One of the saddest areas of the museum for me was the exhibit on Agent Orange, it’s use in the war by the US, and how the Vietnamese people are still suffering the effects of exposure, and will continue to suffer for generations to come.

Agent Orange is a herbicide used by the US Military during the war, and it’s main purpose was to wipe out the forests and rural land, forcing peasants to flee to the US dominated cities. During the war the US Military sprayed 12,000,000 gallons of Agent Orange in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia as part of Operation Ranch Hand. Agent Orange is highly toxic and caused as estimated 400,000 deaths and 500,000 children born with birth defects in Vietnam alone.

Below are photos of US troops preparing to spray Agent Orange through Vietnam:

The museum also showed photos of the effects of Agent Orange on the Vietnamese people, and the children who were born with birth defects.

I was so saddened while looking at the photos and seeing how these innocent Vietnamese people were impacted so severely. But what is especially saddening is that the effects are passed down through generation, causing birth defects for many generations within families. The impacts of Agent Orange will continue to be a major part of thousands of Vietnamese people for many many years to come.

By the time I finished visiting the museum I felt so sad. Living in Canada, and so far from Vietnam, it’s easy to only get one side of the story – the American side. But I believe that it’s equally as important to see the reverse side, and the major impacts that the war had on the Vietnamese people. I will not place blame or point fingers, as all parties involved in war suffer greatly, but I am happy I was able to be exposed to this perspective of the war.

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam: Third Impressions

On July 25th we flew from Bangkok to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. This was my third time in Ho Chi Minh City in the past 9 weeks, but my first time really experiencing the city as a tourist. The first time I was here I was sick and in the hospital, the second time I spent it with Mads unpacking and repacking to prepare for our backpacking trip. This time I have the time to finally do some sight seeing.

My first few days back in Ho Chi Minh City I spent them acquainting myself with the city.

Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) is the largest city in Vietnam, with a population of over 7 million people. When you include the surrounding area, the population of the Greater Ho Chi Minh City Metropolitan Area is over 9 million people.

Unlike us in Canada, Ho Chi Minh City only has two seasons: the rainy season (May – November) and the dry season (December – April). But no matter what the season, it is always hot! The temperature here ranges from 16^o Celsius (in the very early mornings of December) to 39^o Celsius, with an average temperature of about 28^o Celsius. Mads tells me that at the school where she teaches English they import their books from other countries. The children get so confused with exercises relating to seasons - for example: picture matching exercises, where a child has to match an umbrella or mittens to the appropriate season: spring, summer, fall or winter. She has to explain to her students that in other countries they experience different types of weather than they do in Vietnam.

The last time I was in Ho Chi Minh City I wrote about the motorbike culture, and how motorbikes dominate the roads here. Almost everyone has a motorbike here, and very few people have cars. This motorbike culture still fascinates me, so I feel the topic requires more attention on my blog! Vietnamese people are so resourceful, and will use their bike as their transportation vehicle for all sorts of items:

They also use their motorbikes as a family vehicle, cramming as many people as possible onto the bike. I’ve even seen families drive around with their dogs on their laps at the front of the bike! The dogs love it, and especially love their fur blowing in the wind (unfortunately every time I’ve seen the dogs I wasn’t fast enough to snap a photo). I actually one time saw someone driving around with a chicken in his lap!

During rainy season (which is right now), it can rain on a daily basis, but not even the rain will stop the Vietnamese from using their motorbikes! They are well equipped with ponchos that cover themselves and their belongings on the bike.

While Mads and I were out on the bike it started raining, luckily Mads whipped out her poncho and we continued on driving!

I enjoyed watching the Vietnamese people on their bikes, I found them so interesting, especially their seamless reaction from sunny weather to rain. When the rain starts, everyone pulls over to the side, takes out their ponchos and continues driving as if nothing were wrong.

For passengers who do not have their own ponchos, they will huddle underneath their driver’s poncho:

Apart from observing the interesting motorbike culture, Mads and I also made a trip to the backpacking area of town. In that area you can buy every possible movie or TV show for a dirt cheap price. Since all the DVDs are copies, I’m pretty sure they are illegal, so it surprised me to see how open and on display they were in the stores!

You can also buy fruit from street vendors for very cheap:

We then went into the Ben Thanh Market, one of the largest markets in Ho Chi MInh CIty, established in 1912, where you can buy anything from textiles, souvenirs, fruit, vegetables, seafood, kitchenware, and much more. I did a bit of souvenir shopping there. Everything is bargainable here, and nothing is a fixed price. The general rule is when they tell you a price, you offer them half of what they ask for, and then you negotiate back and forth to a price in the middle.

My first few days in Ho Chi Minh City were very enjoyable! Once I was acquainted with the city I was ready for some more major sightseeing in the following days.