Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam

Ho Chi Minh City is the largest city in Vietnam. Under the name Saigon, it was the capital of the French Colony of Cochin china and later the Independent Republic of South Vietnam from 1955-1975. On July 2, 1976, Saigon merged with the surrounding province and was officially named Ho Chi Minh City.

In the years since the Vietnam War, the city has prospered. We have been very impressed with the cleanliness of the city, and all the modern amenities. There are now 100 million people in Vietnam, and ten million living in Ho Chi Minh City.

The lovely view of downtown Ho Chi Min City from the fifth floor outdoor dining deck area of our cruise ship.

There are several passengers on the boat who were here serving in the military during the Vietnam War (known locally as the American War). There are many sights and museums dedicated to that period of history. We have been told by other passengers that sadly, many of these museums highlight the atrocities that were committed by American troops on the civilian population, and are apparently very graphic, and quite disturbing.

One can also visit the ingenious extensive narrow Cu Chi tunnels that covered over 120 miles and were built underground to escape foreign detection. They were built by the Viet Cong and started in 1948 during the war against the French, then expanded though out the 1960's. They include schools and hospitals and housed up to 16,000 people at one time. People who have any issues with claustrophobia are warned not to go into the tunnels since there is only one way through them. Although these are very important sights to see, especially for those who lived through the American experience of the Vietnam War, as Canadians, we were very fortunate not to be directly involved.

So, we have decided to focus on the more routine tourist attractions in our time here. Our first day was spent on a tour visiting the main city landmarks.

A statue of Ho Chi Minh in front of the French colonial style City Hall. Many of the picturesque old French buildings are still standing. The French legacy also left lovely wide avenues in the center of town.

The lovely lotus flowers blooming in the water planters around the statue to Ho Chi Minh

This is Independence Palace, also known as the Reunification Palace. It was the home to the president of South Vietnam during the Vietnam War. It is now a museum, and all the rooms have been preserved to the time of the war, including meeting rooms, war rooms, and basement bunkers. It was quite an interesting tour.

The government of Vietnam appears to have adopted quite a flexible form of communism. Our guides reported that private business and land ownership is allowed. Education and health care is state provided, although private insurance and hospitals are also available for upgraded services.

Motor bikes are EVERYWHERE! There are very large import taxes on cars, so motorbikes are the main form of transportation. It's not unusual to see a family of four on a motorbike- dad driving, one child standing in front of him at the front of the bike, and mom holding a toddler or baby sitting on the back. You seldom see a regular pedal bicycle. Smog and engine exhaust is a big problem, and most people wear masks when on their motorcycles. For a pedestrian, crossing the street is a huge challenge, since nobody pays attention to the walk signs. As usual, my strategy is, wait for a local, and follow them across!

This is the interior of Giac Lam, the city's oldest temple or "Pagoda", as they call the temple complexes here.

A monk in the pagoda appears to be reading petitions for prayers. People often write petitions for prayers with their donations. The monks here wear various colored robes or pants and long shirts on top.

The Goddess of Mercy is the female incarnation of Buddha, not a separate entity. There were many different reincarnation statues of Buddha in the large Pagoda complex.

Monks are buried on the temple grounds. Their status is measured by how any tiers have been built on their memorial pagoda. This was for a particularly important monk.

The Chinese market was very crowded.

Our second day involved a road trip to the Mekong Delta River area. There were lots of people and urban development along the road all the way. There are still a lot of makeshift living structures along the waterways.

On the way to the Mekong Delta we visited Vinh Trang, an ornate temple with many large Buddha statues. The "Laughing Buddha" is actually a future incarnation of Buddha. When the Laughing Buddha returns there will be no more war, hunger or unhappiness. Everyone will be happy, just like the Laughing Buddha.

Shanty homes along the Delta waterway.

There are often shacks mixed with modern nice apartments as in this picture. Many of the apartments or homes are also very high and narrow as the building on the right hand side of the photo.

We hoped to see rural life and terraced rice paddies, but the area that we visited was a wide commercial river route with lots of large boats and ferries.

We did visit a small island in the middle of the river called Thai Son Island. Since it was Sunday, there were quite a few local people who appeared to be visiting the island for a Sunday outing.

A lady with her python. You could get a photo with the python draped around your neck if you wished. No thanks!

One of the more unusual products I've seen. Each bottle of Snake Wine contains a cobra snake and a scorpion!

I think if you could drink two cups a day of this concoction, you must be in really good shape already!

We visited a neighborhood tea house on the island. There were many local people enjoying the singers and a cup of tea. The specialty was honey tea with bee pollen mixed in.