April 22 - Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam

Ho Chi Minh City, again a place I never thought I would visit. We actually ported at Phu My, approximately 90 minutes from Saigon, which is what the locals in the south still call Ho Chi Minh City. 

We started our tour in Saigon at the Independence Palace, currently known as the Reunification Palace. Yes I'm red - it was Hot & Moist.

It was the home and workplace of the president of the Republic of Vietnam. It was like visiting the White House in DC.

They even had a bunker and the President and his family used it after an assignation attempt 


The Palace was the site of the Fall of Saigon, on 30 April 1975, that ended the Vietnam War, when the tank shown here, crashed through the gates.


We stopped at the 19-century Central Post Office, which is nothing more than a souvenir shop, although it still operates as a post office.

The Notre Dame Cathedral was at the same stop, but under renovation, so we couldn't go in.

We then had free time on Dong Khoi street, where I saw the Opera House

And not only saw but went into the Hotel Continental Saigon,

The Ho Chi Minh Statue and the People's Committee Building behind it,

And other fun things

And then we drove through China Town. You are required to wear a helmet on a motor bike, however they only cost $5. Safe...I think not.



Cool Structures 



Land Mark Tower

Down Town

Residences

Here are the sights I saw along the way to Saigon and back to the Ship.

Lots of Temples


This one isn't even open yet, however it has the highest Pagoda in the country

And an occasional Catholic or Protestant Church,

The War Memorial.

A boat on the Saigon River.

Vietnam was under Russia's communist control until the fall of the Soviet Union (1991). Our tour guide said the north treated the south as "losers" and robbed them of their homes and money. After 1991 lots of countries embraced Vietnam and even the US lifted sanctions in 1995. Clinton's visit to the country in 2000 really sparked a level of capitalism. As you can see here the old meets the new. Shops that made money now have large homes behind them where they use to live in a room in the back of their shops. Or in case of the last picture, the folks that live in this 'house' made their money at some capitalistic endeavor that didn't have a generational shop.

GOOD NIGHT, Vietnam






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