Ho Chi Minh City and South Vietnam
Trip Start
Nov 16, 2007
1
7
20
Trip End
Jan 14, 2008
Ho Chi Minh City,
Vietnam
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), or Saigon as most people still call it, is much more modern than Hanoi (I still preferred Hanoi though - it had much more character). The tourist area/city center dates from French colonial times, with wide, tree-lined boulevards, traffic lights that people actually obey ... boring! We did go through the old town, which was interesting and crowded, but more like gridlock crowded because of more cars and fewer motorbikes. Our guide and driver worked hard to avoid rush hour at all costs. The traffic was probably the scariest in the Mekong Delta area; it wasn't as crowded, but the mix of trucks, cars, motorbikes, and bicycles going at different speeds and passing constantly made it nerve-wracking. We saw a couple of bad accidents, and one time we were caught in 4 cars/trucks abreast on a 2-lane road. Aargh!
There are many more reminders of the war in South Viet Nam even though North Viet Nam also suffered a great deal. It's a weird mix; the party line blames the Americans, but most people have relatives who served in re-education camps, were boat people, escaped to the US, etc. What we call the Viet Nam War, they call the American War, but they blame the US government foreign policy and not the public or the soldiers (they're very friendly and pro-American when it comes to tourists, investments, etc.).
Presidential palace grounds
They are understandably conflicted about it (my interpretation - you just get a feeling from talking to different people) - it was really a civil war but they also see it as a battle for independence. Things are much better now. In the early 1990's their Doi Moi policy to privatize and open up the economy has turned the country into a bustling, growing, capitalistic place focused on economic growth and trade. To the young people (a huge portion of the population), it's an old story and they've moved on to more important things. Many of the people who left the country are now coming back to visit or live.In HCMC, we visited the Presidential Palace, the former headquarters of the S. Vietnamese government from 1954-75. It's now a museum, renovated to look like it did in 1975. We also visited the "War Remnants Museum" - not my favorite, and not on the original program; our guide seemed intent on delivering the party line. There was quite a bit of propaganda and one-sided hype, but there are certainly plenty of awful events surrounding that war. We also saw some elaborate Chinese-influenced pagodas and the National History Museum (a very nice museum covering prehistory up through the French occupation and revolt).
We visited the Cu Chi Tunnels, 60 km west of the city. This was where the local resistance/ Viet Cong dug 250 km of tunnels, up to 4 levels deep. It took 3 men 1 day to dig 30 cm in the rock-hard clay. Americans and Filipino "sewer rats" destroyed 70 km of the tunnels (this is all according to their party line). Bernd and I crawled through 40 m of tunnel (probably enlarged to handle tourists) at the top level, following a guide with light. It was still pretty tough given our height, size, and my claustrophobia. I can't imagine living in those things for months at a time. We watched a 20 minute propaganda film from 1976 which would have been comic if not for the serious nature of the subject.
One more observation: They certainly seem to like bright, gaudy, over-the-top decorations. This was especially in evidence by the Christmas decorations in HCMC. The people are primarily Buddhist, but have bought into the commercial side of the holiday, plus I guess they're trying to please the tourists. The hotel we stayed in was unreal ... every square inch was covered in aluminum foil, apparently to emulate ice and snow, and there were snowmen, glittery balls, lights, Santa's reindeer and sleigh, etc. everywhere, plus loud Christmas music. Way too-too!!
