Our first mornings activities were quite interesting and intense. We had too many pictures and too much to say so have split our day one into two separate blogs. This is the second half of the day, which is also quite busy.
Our first stop of our afternoon is the Post Office, but this building is visible from where we disembarked our car. This building in Ho Chi Min City is where an American helicopter landed on its roof to evacuate US personnel and South Vietnamese civilians as they fled the city after the fall of Saigon. The building housed many Americans and CIA operatives. It is NOT the American Embassy.This iconic photo provided by our guide was taken April 29 1975 showing a CIA official helping the evacuees up a ladder to board an America Bell 204/205 helicopter. This was the last helicopter out of Saigon one day before South Vietnam fell to North Vietnam on April 30 1975.Here is the Post Office of Ho Chi Min City which is built in the French Colonial style.Like many Post Offices around the world they do not utilize all of the space so there are a lot of souvenir shops here and guess who went shopping?😛A picture of Ho Chi Minh dominates one end of the space. “Uncle Ho” (1890-1969) was a Vietnamese revolutionary and politician who served as founder and first president of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam from 1945 until his death in 1969, and its first prime minister from 1945 to 1955. Ideologically a Marxist, he founded the Communist Party of Vietnam in 1951, serving as the chairman until he died.Across the street from the Post office is Notre Dame Cathedral which has been undergoing extensive renovations by the French. The interior of the church just re-opened recently and is only open for services, no tourism.First day in Vietnam and we get to experience their iconic Pho which is a Vietnamese noodle soup consisting of rice noodles, a rich broth, meat (usually beef), and fresh herbs. It is often served with bean sprouts, Thai basil, lime, and various sauces for customization. This is supposedly one of the best places and was a favorite of Anthony Bourdain when he visited here.Very informal and friendly. We sat at a family style table and the Vietnamese lady on the end was complimenting us on our use of chopsticks. We shared one bowl and were unable to finish it. It is quite tasty but we could not eat it every day.Next stop is a nondescript typical Vietnamese home that is now a museum. Viet Cong supporters lived here and had a stash of weapons in a hidden basement room. That is Sandy disappearing under the floor. OMG the things we do on this quest to learn about our world and events that shaped different cultures. Let me tell you getting out of that secret basement was not an easy feat.And Jim following her down.Some of the weapons that were hidden in this secret basement room.These are called Cyclos and they used to be a popular taxi vehicle but they have been banned from most areas of Saigon due to traffic congestion. They are only allowed now for tours around the popular tourist sites, city center and China Town. We are booked on a half hour cyclo tour which Sandy was initially a bit leery of but she ended up really enjoying it.
Jim’s first selfie video, trying to show the driver.
A video of a meet up on our Cyclo tour aka do you feel lucky to survive tour.There you can see Jim’s driver. The older guy opted to take Sandy.The older guy looked like he was working quite hard in this heat and Sandy could feel and hear his distress wishing she was at least twenty pounds lighter.
Here is a video of an obviously relaxed Sandy in spite of all of the city traffic around her.Jim taking a selfie of Sandy taking a picture of Jim. This was another senior/senile adventure.And here is the result of Sandy’s picture. Not so cool “Senile Seniors” maybe should refrain from Selfies.We ended our Cyclo tour in Chinatown and immediately went into another Chinese Temple.
Video of us offeing up prayers for family and friends and attaching the prayer tag to a large incense spiral which is being hooked to the ceiling.Enough Temples thank you.Our seventh and final activity of the day is a tour of a different part of the city in a reconditioned US army jeep from The Vietnam War. The owner has at least nine of them.Ready to roll.France 2017 we took another ride, this time in a WW II jeep. Strange how our life memories sometimes have a way of repeating themselves even eight years later. The much needed ice cold local beers.
A video of motoring down a narrow street in the old town.We left the narrow crowded streets of the old town and crossed the river to a completely different city. It was an amazing contrast of old and new.Dropping us off at The Park Hyatt at the end of a very long day.
This second half of day one in Saigon was much less intense. We are in constant amazement of how each of our days unfolds during this incredible tour of Southeast Asia and we highly recommend it to those brave souls we know who are not afraid of moving out of your comfort zone. Life is too short so to you we say “Carpe Diem”.
WOW! What can you say that does your experience justice? So a few random comments. Saigon in 1975 was a bucolic leafy French colonial city. I rode many a cyclo/pedicab when I was there . Very few cars were on the streets. Rather they were crowded with motor scooters, often with entire families on a single bike, and many pedicabs. I remember the Presidential palace. I don’t remember the sky scrapers. 🙂
Bill
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