Saigon (Ho Chih Minh City) and Mekong Delta, Vietnam
Saigon (a.k.a. Ho Chih Min City) --- 16 & 17 February
We visited the Reunification Palace (the former South Vietnamese Presidential
Palace), the Museum of HoChiMinh City (formerly called the Revolutionary Museum),
and the War Remnants Museum (formerly called the Chinese & American War
Crimes Museum). Like the museums we had visited in Hanoi, these museums
featured the Vietnamese struggle for independence and unification, focusing on the
suffering of the Vietnamese people during the French War for independence and
the American War for reunification. During these two wars Vietnam lost an
estimated (mostly civilian) three million killed, four million wounded, three hundred
thousand MIA’s, in addition to other extensive damage caused by decades of
intensive bombings, shelling, agent orange, mines and other military mayhem.
Our Asian Hotel is on Dong Khoi Street, Saigon’s upscale “Fifth Avenue”. Most
buildings on this street were built in French Colonial times, giving the street the
look of a European city, with fancy shops, restaurants and hotels. The heavy traffic
looks very Vietnamese, consisting mainly of motorbikes and bicycles. Near our hotel
we visited Saigon’s ornate Post Office and Notre Dame Cathedral, both French
legacies, as are many of the other large public buildings in the city.
We visited the Reunification Palace (the former South Vietnamese Presidential
Palace), the Museum of HoChiMinh City (formerly called the Revolutionary Museum),
and the War Remnants Museum (formerly called the Chinese & American War
Crimes Museum). Like the museums we had visited in Hanoi, these museums
featured the Vietnamese struggle for independence and unification, focusing on the
suffering of the Vietnamese people during the French War for independence and
the American War for reunification. During these two wars Vietnam lost an
estimated (mostly civilian) three million killed, four million wounded, three hundred
thousand MIA’s, in addition to other extensive damage caused by decades of
intensive bombings, shelling, agent orange, mines and other military mayhem.
Our Asian Hotel is on Dong Khoi Street, Saigon’s upscale “Fifth Avenue”. Most
buildings on this street were built in French Colonial times, giving the street the
look of a European city, with fancy shops, restaurants and hotels. The heavy traffic
looks very Vietnamese, consisting mainly of motorbikes and bicycles. Near our hotel
we visited Saigon’s ornate Post Office and Notre Dame Cathedral, both French
legacies, as are many of the other large public buildings in the city.
Cambodia and Return to U.S.A.
Click here to return to "Indochina Trip Menu"
Click here to return to "Our Travel Journals Main Menu"
Click here to return to "Indochina Trip Menu"
Click here to return to "Our Travel Journals Main Menu"
HoiAn to Saigon (a.k.a. Ho Chih Minh City), Vietnam --- 13 February
From HoiAn we took a taxi ($5) to Danang Airport for a 10:15am flight to Saigon,
with an unexpected stop in Pleiku. From the Saigon Airport we took a taxi to the
historic Continental Hotel which we found fully booked, so we checked into the Asian
Hotel located on the same block. We took a taxi to the Sinh Café in the backpacker
area of Saigon and bought two $15 all-inclusive tickets for their two-day Mekong
Delta excursion.
Mekong Delta Excursion, Vietnam --- 14 & 15 February
We got to the Sinh Café early for the scheduled 8:30 departure and found a
madhouse scene of hundreds of travelers in the café and sidewalk milling about,
looking to take a Singh Café bus for different tours or destinations. Our bus finally
left about an hour late and in about three hours took us to MyHiep, from where for
about a hour by motorboat we went to RungTram Forest and by canoe visited
VietCong’s former XeoQuyt base. Then we went on a four-hour boat trip on canals
and rivers to CanTho, where we stayed overnight in a hotel.
The following morning we went on a boat trip to the CaiRang Floating Market, but
there was not much there because most of the sellers were off because of the Tet
holidays. Because of Tet we were unable to go on scheduled visits of a vermicelli
factory and rice husking mill. After lunch we left by bus for Saigon, where we
arrived about 7pm after a stop to buy fruit in the market in VinLong.
From HoiAn we took a taxi ($5) to Danang Airport for a 10:15am flight to Saigon,
with an unexpected stop in Pleiku. From the Saigon Airport we took a taxi to the
historic Continental Hotel which we found fully booked, so we checked into the Asian
Hotel located on the same block. We took a taxi to the Sinh Café in the backpacker
area of Saigon and bought two $15 all-inclusive tickets for their two-day Mekong
Delta excursion.
Mekong Delta Excursion, Vietnam --- 14 & 15 February
We got to the Sinh Café early for the scheduled 8:30 departure and found a
madhouse scene of hundreds of travelers in the café and sidewalk milling about,
looking to take a Singh Café bus for different tours or destinations. Our bus finally
left about an hour late and in about three hours took us to MyHiep, from where for
about a hour by motorboat we went to RungTram Forest and by canoe visited
VietCong’s former XeoQuyt base. Then we went on a four-hour boat trip on canals
and rivers to CanTho, where we stayed overnight in a hotel.
The following morning we went on a boat trip to the CaiRang Floating Market, but
there was not much there because most of the sellers were off because of the Tet
holidays. Because of Tet we were unable to go on scheduled visits of a vermicelli
factory and rice husking mill. After lunch we left by bus for Saigon, where we
arrived about 7pm after a stop to buy fruit in the market in VinLong.
A boat landing in the Mekong Delta
A Mekong Delta passenger and cargo boat.
Mekong Delta small boats at former VietCong military base.
Bridge over a Mekong Delta canal.
Ho Chi Minh statue, Saigon, Vietnam.
Saigon model boat builder at his sidewalk sales stand.