* Day 2 was a walking tour of the
city
* Visited the Jade Emperor Pagoda
* Visited the Reunification Palace, which was the home of the South Vietnamese President until the fall of Saigon in 1975; it is left virtually untouched from what it was back then and is decidedly 70s in every way!
* Visited the Jade Emperor Pagoda
* Visited the Reunification Palace, which was the home of the South Vietnamese President until the fall of Saigon in 1975; it is left virtually untouched from what it was back then and is decidedly 70s in every way!
The Good:
* The Reunification Palace is beautiful; your admission gets you a free tour guide which is super helpful and informative
* The food in Vietnam is delicious – it will come as no surprise but they knock their Pho out of the park
* The people are all very friendly
* Saigon has a lot of parks that are used by the people at all hours of the day – they make for a very pleasant walking experience
* The Reunification Palace is beautiful; your admission gets you a free tour guide which is super helpful and informative
* The food in Vietnam is delicious – it will come as no surprise but they knock their Pho out of the park
* The people are all very friendly
* Saigon has a lot of parks that are used by the people at all hours of the day – they make for a very pleasant walking experience
The Bad:
* The streets are packed with
motorbikes (“motos”) that rarely follow the traffic laws (think not stopping at
red lights, coming up onto the sidewalk, using the wrong side of the road) – it
can be a bit harrowing trying to cross the street and you end up constantly
thankful that you weren’t just hit by a car or moto
Today was spent walking around the city, first to the “old” part of the city used a lot by reporters and other ex-pats during the war (before the city fell in April 1975). Three hotels (the Caravelle, the Rex, and the Hotel Continental), all across the street from each other, were the main spots to be especially for American journalists:
Today was spent walking around the city, first to the “old” part of the city used a lot by reporters and other ex-pats during the war (before the city fell in April 1975). Three hotels (the Caravelle, the Rex, and the Hotel Continental), all across the street from each other, were the main spots to be especially for American journalists:
And the post office, complete
(now) with Ho Chi Minh’s smiling face as soon as you walk in…
Then we trekked up to the Jade
Emperor Pagoda, which was recommended to us as one of the most powerful and
beautiful pagodas in Saigon. After a 30
minute walk there (it’s a tad out of the way), and the customary getting lost
as the directions and map we were given bear no resemblance to reality, we
finally came upon this:
Yeah, it’s a dump. The grand pagoda took less than five minutes
to walk through (and we took our time!), and looks like it hasn’t been repaired
since the day it went up.
But at least we saw it, and it
did enable us to witness a fairly hilarious shouting match between two
Vietnamese women, arguing over territorial peddling rights in the courtyard of
the pagoda. No idea what they said, but
their intonation and arm gestures will keep me going for a while.
After that, we went to what is
now known as the Reunification Palace, which is the new (North Vietnamese) name
for the Presidential Palace of the old President of South Vietnam. Once a French palace, it was largely
destroyed in the 50s due to war and eventually rebuilt, in full 60s/70s
architectural grandeur. Here it is:
And here is a replica of the
North Vietnamese tank that stormed the gates in April 1975 to capture the
palace and signify the fall of South Vietnam.
Next to finally (and completely unrelated), here is a quick picture of all the traffic you will undoubtedly hear me complain about at some point....
Finally, Dad, this is for you. We tracked down Maxims, still alive and kicking after all these years. We didn’t have time to eat there, but they did let us in to take a picture before the lunch crowd arrived…
Finally, Dad, this is for you. We tracked down Maxims, still alive and kicking after all these years. We didn’t have time to eat there, but they did let us in to take a picture before the lunch crowd arrived…
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