Saigon attractions

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To start off the day, we head to the Reunification Palace, the presidential palace that was the scene of the victory of the North over the South, as tanks ploughed through the gates and thus ending the Vietnam War. Replicas of the two tanks that first broke through the gates back in 1975 now adorn the lawns of the palace. The place was built in the 60s, which remains evident in the distinctive architectural style and décor of the place, which is almost a comedy combination of luxurious extravagance and 60’s kitsch. The basement offers a maze of preserved offices, war & comms rooms and bunkers, and our telecommunications expert (RD) appeared to be struggling to leave his work behind him – taking photo after photo of old phones and comms equipment!

RD: My new tank

RP: One careful owner, you say?

After taking the obligatory snapshots of us with the tanks (and a plane), we headed off to Ga Sài Gòn, to book transport to our next destination (we’re heading to the beaches at Nha Trang on Monday), then we make our way to the War Museum.

The sheer number of photographs made for a graphic and gruesome account of the war, which is shall we say, very much from one side’s point of view. Whilst the chemical warfare attributed by the US was appalling, (the effects of Agent Orange and other chemicals are still felt today) if this was your only reference point you had of the War, you could believe that all wrongdoing was on the part of the US. Still, it made for an interesting afternoon that whilst understandably unpleasant in nature, the experience was nowhere near as traumatic as visiting the Killing Fields and Tuol Sleng (S21) in Phnom Penh last year.

In the evening and for a complete change of mood, we went to Thi Café, a café/bar that stands apart from the majority in that it maintains a chilled, relaxing vibe. Knowing that we were expecting live music, and because the place is dangerously near the wrong side of being too pretentious (there were far too many white blokes with dreadlocks for it to be even vaguely ironic), I was initially expecting some feminist rubbish or Coldplay wannabe, but was pleased to see a female fronted trio that performed covers of quality songs that gave the place just a little bit of attitude. All in all it was an enjoyable night, and well worth a visit – if only for a reprieve from the rest of District 1 for a few hours.

Looking forward to going to the tunnels at Cu Chi tomorrow, although not sure about their offer of “you can use the gun here”!

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