It was once known at ‘the Paris of the Orient’ and was the capital of South Vietnam. Its official name is Ho Chi Minh City (HCMH) but everyone still calls it Saigon. During the 400 km seven hour bus ride from Dalat we watched the scenery change from coffee covered hills to enormous rubber plantations.
Entering Saigon by road rivals even Mexico City; the sprawl begins about two hours befor yu reach the city center. Our bus took such a crazy route through the city that if it had been a taxi we would have been sure we were being ripped off. We are staying at the Giant Dragon amid dozens of other budget hotels. We think we overcame the language barrier and booked a trip through the Mekong Delta and up to Phnom Penh, Cambodia arriving just before our visas expire.
I met my first (and I hope last) American veterans. They were three balding, fat guys who return to Vietnam for a month each year. The main attraction seems to be the cute young Vietnamese women who were with them. Now I’m not saying they are hookers but….
We braved the crazy traffic and walked to Cong Vien Van Hoa Park to see some birds and seek some quiet. The noise of Saigon never goes away but in the park it was reduced to a dull roar. Inside we found not only serenity but a glimpse of daily life in Saigon. There were mothers with young children, groups of school kids singing, older women doing tai chi and some people practicing some kind of martial art using fans. One couple practiced dance steps without music while two girls played netless badminton nearby. We became the focus of an English class when students asked us questions while others photographed the interview. And we found some new birds.
In the afternoon we visited the Reunification Palace, originally built by the French in the mid 18th Century. Prior to the surrender of the Thieu regime to communist forces in 1975 it was the presidential palace. Nothing has been changed since that day from the ceremonial reception rooms to the basement communication center and maps in the situation rooms. We can only guess the palace remains as a symbol of the decadence of the ‘puppet regime.’
A friend who follows our journeys gave us a copy of 1000 Places to See Before You Die and we are doing our best to comply. We can’t afford to stay at the pricey hotels and resorts but we try to stop in and see what we are missing so we had to visit the rooftop bar at the Rex Hotel in the most upscale part of Saigon. Two Cokes cost more than our lunch at Pho Hoa, according to 1000 Places, the best pho in Vietnam. Pho, one of my favorite dishes, is rice noodle soup with various veggies and your choice of beef, shrimp and even tripe. We chose chicken, pho ga. We are not experienced enough to say it’s the best but the 100 other diners make me think it might be.
