Day 22 Saigon – Ho Chi Minh City

Off to the tunnels. Watched short propaganda film from 1966.
The visit was an informative education about the nature of the Vietnam war, obviously more from the point of view of the Vietnamese. The majority of the Viet Cong had little concept of the political ideology that they were being forced to fight for, not dissimilar to the Americans. Unlike the great world wars in Europe where you wanted and were proud to fight for your country, no one on either side had the same sentiments in the Vietnam war. The actual soldiers were only fighting because they were forced to by their governments. The repercussions of the chemical agents – such as agent orange, as still being felt almost 50 years on.

It was interesting to see some of the other tour groups take on this, they were seemingly treating the killing fields as a photo op and amusement park, without any understanding or concept of the impact and devastation it had on the America and Vietnamese veterans and their families. Hmm

Sad part over. Onto ‘lunch included’ part of tour.

Brief stop and info on the Jade Emperor temple/pagoda.  Here some of the Buddhists combine the teachings of Taoism and Confucianism.
Also stopped at the mini Notre Dame – constructed by the French during their 100 years of domination and also the post office Originally a train station and open every day – the only post office in the world open daily!
Also could see the roof top where the helicopter came on the last day of the war as Saigon fell.

Dinner was at a local restaurant recommended by our guide, local street food but safe to eat for our sanitized American bellies! Delicious and so cheap. Less than $20 for both of us for several dishes, desert and a beer for John!

Impressions of Saigon:
Young, vibrant, friendly, hot and humid, traders everywhere, an insane abundance of scooters and all manner of things on 2 wheels, carrying mum and dad and the kid(s)all together, bundles of produce, Building materials, you name it, it’s on the scooter – and they are texting and smoking at the same time, while going in all different directions simultaneously!
Still a largely agricultural workforce, mostly small family farms, huge selection of local fruits and veggies, some of which we’d never seen!

Instructions to cross the road- walk, don’t run, don’t stop, don’t turn around and the vehicle ( be it bike, moped, car, bus etc) will go around you! Yup -it works!