Ho Chi Minh City

On the surface Ho Chi Minh City (formerly the city known as Saigon!) is just another big busy bustling SE Asia city. However it is very much a Vietnamese city, with the same mass of motorbikes and over-the-top flower decorations..

and the same local dish..pho ga (chicken noodle soup).

It still has a stunning legacy of French architecture, with its Notre Dame Cathedral...

and the Post Office.


But evidence of the Vietnamese peoples' terrible recent history is still there to see. We went to visit what is now called the Reunification Palace, formerly the Presidential Palace. Here in 1975 the tanks of the North Vietnamese came down the road and broke through the gates to end the Vietnam War and ostensibly to unite the country. What followed was 20 years of hardship for everyone, due to sanctions applied by the west. Since 1995 the country has been "open for business" and the situation for eveyone has been steadily improving

The palace itself is the very worst of 60's architecture, all concrete and flat roof, and it is now retained purely as a museum of that time.

Here's a view of the Then - when the tanks invaded, and the Now - when all that remains are display tanks, an old helicopter on the roof and a nice peaceful lawn.


The Chu Chi Tunnels has also been opened up to the public. Only 60 kilomentres or so from Saigon this is where the Vietcong lived and fought their guerrilla war against the Amercians.

Now you see them...

Now you don't...

There was much to see, some horrifc, some very interesting. The man-traps that the Vietcong set were pretty terrible, so no photos. But the still for making rice wine, the rice paper making and the tyre shoe maker was all very interesting.


They put some terrible stuff in their rice wine...this bottle had a cocktail of snakes.

An old American tank left in the jungle..

along with some ammunition. The Vietcong re-used the metal from the US bombs to make their own.

Tang, our guide, spent 3 years living in the jungle with his mother, disabled father and 3 siblings. His father had fought for the South Vietnamese but had lost both his legs in a landmine explosion. When the North finally overran the South his family hid in the jungle in order to evade the retribution that followed. They lived in a palm covered shelter. When it rained they got wet. They lived almost entirely on tapioca root. We were served some (see photo) on our visit to the Tunnels, along with a cup of tea. It was extremely nice - just like potato, but I wouldn't like to live on it for 3 years.

Tang's family finally returned to the city safely when they realised the authorities would leave them alone - they posed no further threat because of their father's disability. Others in Tangs extended family were not so lucky, and died in the camps. However, despite his experiences, he amd all the others we met in Vietnam look to the future and not the past. They love their united country and were proud to show it to us.