Things to do in Saigon when you're on your own

  Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Friday, November 9, 2007

Well, after a not so good start this morning my day has improved.  I decided to go to the new hotel where I'm booked tomorrow night to try to change and book in a day early.  I decided to walk; that's me, intrepid Cat.  And was that a bad idea.  I have a rubbish map that falls apart each time I open it and I seem to have left my sense of direction in Phnom Penh, so I got lost.  Seriously lost.  In the end I got into a xe om (cyclo) and went the scenic route to Dong Khoi.  I ended up directing the driver to the hotel but I think he was screwing me over.  He asked for 400,000 Dong!!!  I gave him 10,000 but was still done over, cheeky bastard.  This is one reason I am not yet liking Saigon, people go for the main chance which is fine but after Cambodia, I'm used to people just being sweet to me.

Anyway, I found the hotel and went in.  Now perhaps I should have made an effort; turning up in a scruffy pair of hiking sandels, pants and t-shirt that may well have seen better days wasn't too bright.  The receptionist looked at me like I was something dragged in off the street, which is how I felt at that point.  No rooms - ever!  I explained I had a room for tomorrow night and she eventually found the booking but still no room for me tonight.  This means another night of claustrophobia in a minging box.  I got a taxi back to the hotel; much quicker, more direct.  But I only have large notes left so I was running around like a nutter trying to make change.  In the end he took $2 which was fine.

I was not in the best mood when I got back to my hotel and went online to talk to James who was still up.  James seems to be going to bed later and later; I hope he doesn't do this when I get back to England because I'll be tired.  Anyway, had a chat, and was harumphing as you do when you're pissed at something and this chap sitting next to me at the computer started to chat with me.  Tommy is an interesting guy, I guess I'm lost for words on how to describe him.  Perhaps an American version of Elton John would be good, and I think the happiest, cheeriest person I've ever met in my entire life.  Definitely unusual, but hey, unusual is good in its own way.  He invited me to spend some time with him, his Vietnamese fiancee Li, and a cousin of his US business partner, San, who is also Vietnamese.

We went first to the Reunification Palace which was an amazing experience.  The Reunification Palace as it stands now was started in 1962 and finished in 1966.  It replaced the original Norodom Palace which was built by the French when they colonised Vietnam in the 1868.  In 1858, France launched the first attack in Danang, starting its invasion of Vietnam. In 1867, France completed its conquest of Nam Bo (Cochinchina), including (Biên Hoà, Gia Định, Định Tường, Vĩnh Long, An Giang, and Hà Tiên)*. To consolidate the newly-established colony in Cochinchina, on 23 February 1868, Lagrandière, Governor of Cochinchina, held the first building stone ceremony to start the construction of a new palace in replacement of the old wooden palace built in 1863. The new palace was designed by Hermite, who was also the architect of Hong Kong City Hall. That first cubic stone came from Bien Hoa, 50 cm each edge with holes containing French gold and silver coins with Napoleon III images.
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The building covered on an area of 12 hectares, including a palace with the facade of 80 meters in width, a guest-chamber capable to accommodate 800 persons, with a surroundings gardens covered by green trees and grasses. Most of the building materials were inported from France. Due to the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, the construction was behind the schedule. Not until 1873 was this palace completed. The palace was named Norodom Palace after the name of then king of Cambodia (king Norodom (1834-1904). The avenue in front of the palace born the same name. From 1871 to 1887, the palace was for the use of the French Governor of Cochinchina (Gouverneur de la Cochinchine) therefore it was referred to as Governor's Palace. From 1887 to 1945, all Governors-General of French Indochina used this palace as their residence and office. The palace in this period was referred to as Governor General Palace. The office of the Cochinchinese Governors was relocated to a nearby villa.

On March 9, 1945, Japan defeated France and replaced France in French Indochina. Norodom Palace became the office of Japanese colonists in Vietnam. In September 1945, Japan surrendered to the Allied forces in World War II, France returned to the Cochinchina, Norodom Palace restored its position as the office of French colonists in Vietnam.

On May 7, 1954, France surrendered to Viet Minh after its defeat in the Battle of Dien Bien Phu. France agreed to sign the Geneva Accords and withdrew its troops from Vietnam. According to the accords, Vietnam would be divided for two years until 1956 with the 17th Parallel as the temporary border line when a vote based on universal suffrage would be held to establish a unified Vietnamese government. North Vietnam was under the control of a communist government Democratic Republic of Vietnam while South Vietnam was under the anti-communist Republic of Vietnam. On 7 September 1954, Norodom Palace was handed over to the prime minister of the Republic of Vietnam Ngo Dinh Diem and a representative of French government, general Paul Ely.

In 1955, Ngô Đình Diệm overthrew Bao Dai, the head of the Republic of Vietnam in a referendum (or 1955 South Vietnamese election). Ngo Dinh Diem became president of the Republic of Vietnam and renamed the Norodom Palace Independence Hall. From this time this palace became the presidential palace. According to fengshui belief, this palace is located in a dragon's head, therefore it was also referred to as Dragon's Head Palace.

On 27 February 1962, two pilots of Army of the Republic of Vietnam Nguyễn Văn Cử and Phạm Phú Quốc flew two A-1 Skyraider (A-1D/AD-6 version) aircraft and bombed the Hall in what was known as 1962 South Vietnamese Presidential Palace bombing, as a result almost all left wing of the Hall was destroyed . Considering that it was almost impossible to restore the Hall, Diem ordered to have it removed and rebuilt a new one on the site of the original palace. The new palace was constructed according to the design by Ngô Viết Thụ, a Vietnamese architect who won the First Grand Prize of Rome (Grand Prix de Rome) in 1955, the highest recognition of the Beaux-Arts school in Paris. He was also a laureate of Rome Architecture Award.

The construction of the new Independence Hall started on 1 July 1962. In the meanwhile, Ngo Dinh Diem moved to Gia Long Palace (today this is the Ho Chi Minh City Museum). But Ngo Dinh Diem had no chance to see the completed hall as he and his brother Ngo Dinh Nhu were assassinated in a coup d'etat by the opposition alliance on 2 November 1963. The completed hall was inaugurated on 31 October 1966 and was chaired by the chairman of the National Leadership Committee, Nguyen Van Thieu. The Independence Hall became the presidential palace again and was Thieu's home and office from October 1967 to 21 April 1975.

On 8 April 1975, Nguyen Thanh Trung, a pilot of the South Vietnam Air Force (but in fact he was a communist spy) flew F5E aircraft, originated from Bien Hoa, bombed the Hall but caused no significant damages. At 10:45 am 30 April 1975, a tank of the North Vietnamese Army hit the main gate, ending the Vietnam War.

In November 1975, after the negotiation convention between the communist North Vietnam and communist South Vietnam was successful, in memory of that event, the Provisional Government of the Republic of South Vietnam renamed the hall Reunification Hall ("Hội trường Thống Nhất").

Here endeth the history lesson.  Remember guys, I'm writing this for me as well as you to read, so I'm chucking things down while they're still in my memory.  The Reunification Palace is an amazing place, palation as the name impies, but modern at the same time.  I didn't much like being in the bunkers, they felt very claustrophobic, so I'm glad I don't have a job that requires me to work underground, especially not in a hot place like HCMC.

Next we decided to go for lunch, probably the most expensive meal I'll have in Vietnam at $10!  The Rex Hotel is one fancy place; only the seriously rich (and, alas, tacky) tourist can afford to stay there (http://www.rexhotelvietnam.com/).  It's so opulent, it felt like the gold was literall dripping off the walls into my lap.  Hey hey, they let me in despite my scruffy garb, so not all bad.  The eat as much as you like buffet was $10 and I ate loads just in case I can't be bothered to go out to forage for food this evening.  We had a good time with my new friend Tommy singing along to show and movie themes (not my idea of what to do in a restaurant but I'm in Vietnam and won't be seeing people again so the embarrassment factor doesn't come in to it), and shedding several tears when he became overcome with emotion.

After lunch a quick taxi ride for Tommy to confirm his Korean Air flights and that was an experience in itself.  Korean Air is situated above a fancy department store, Diamond Plaza, and it was this that totally fascinated me.  Diamond Plaza is a luxurious shopping center in downtown District 1, Ho Chi Minh City. The complex includes a 22-story building and a 15-story building and serves as shopping center, 6 cinema lounges, restaurants, café, hospital. The complex was completed and open for business in 1999. There is a helicopter pad on the roof of the building. By this building is located Saigon Notre-Dame Basilica and Saigon Central Post Office.  So, there's just oodles of money in Vietnam, so not what I was expecting.

My last stop of the day was the War Remnants Museum - what a cool name!  The history bit: The War Remnants Museum (Vietnamese: Bảo tàng chứng tích chiến tranh) is a war museum in District 3, Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam. It primarily contains exhibits relating to the American phase of the Vietnam War, and is a major tourist attraction.
Operated by the Vietnamese government, the museum was opened in September 1975 as the "The House for Displaying War Crimes of American Imperialism and the Puppet Government [of South Vietnam]." Later it was known as the Museum of American War Crimes, then as the War Crimes Museum until as recently as 1993. Its current name follows liberalization in Vietnam and the normalization of relations with the United States, but the museum does not attempt to be politically balanced.

The museum comprises a series of eight themed rooms in several buildings, with period military equipment located within a walled yard. The military equipment include a UH-1 "Huey" helicopter, an F-5A fighter, a BLU-82 "Daisy Cutter" bomb, M48 Patton tank, and an A-1 attack bomber.

 Display of anti-war artwork by Vietnamese children One building reproduces the so-called tiger cages in which the South Vietnamese government housed political prisoners. Other exhibits include graphic photographs, accompanied by short copy in English, Vietnamese and Japanese, covering the effects of Agent Orange and other chemical defoliant sprays, the use of napalm and phosphorus bombs, and atrocities such as the My Lai massacre. Curiosities include a guillotine used by the French and the South Vietnamese to execute prisoners, last in 1960, and three jars of preserved human fetuses deformed by exposure to dioxin.

The stuf fin there is just plain scary, tanks, planes, facts...

So anyway, here I am back at my shitty hotel wondering what to do next.  Do I bother to go out now before it starts to rain again?  Do I just retire to my room and fall asleep in front of the Disney Channel?  Might be brave (stupid?) and go wander to find the Zen Building.  I've been told that there's serious sushi there so if they can make it veggie, it's all good.  Also, a fantastic Facebook friend John Edmundson has given me names and numbers for two of his friends here in Vietnam so I'll try and call them.  It'd be great to hook up with a friendly face.

* How impressed are you guys that I can type in Vietnamese!!!
**Yay, I figured out that I can copy and paste photos from websites on here so you can see what I'm on about.  No more waiting for me to edit my snaps when I get back to England.