The flight to HCMC from Danong took only an hour. As always, the bus was at the airport waiting for us and we had time to see the Post Office Building and the Notre Dame Cathedral before checking into our hotel (Hong Sen). Lunch was at Pho 2000, a modest little place with great Vietnamese food where there was a larger than life picture of Bill Clinton shaking hands with the owner. My veggie curry was excellent. We visited two sites in the afternoon:
- War Remnants Museum, which portrayed all too graphically the impact of the Vietnam War on the country and the people. There was an excellent exhibit of photographs taken by journalists and photographers who lost their life doing the War;
- Reunification (Independence) Museum, originally built when the French controlled Vietnam, beginning in 1865. It was partially destroyed by two Vietnamese pilots in 1962, and then rebuilt. It was the site of the end of the Vietnam War, on April 30, 1975.
The evening of January 2 Tur, our guide, arranged for us to have supper and a short cruise on the Saigon River, just a short walk from the hotel. There was even a small group of entertainers in traditional dress treating us to some local music. On the way home we went up to the 52nd floor of the Bitexco Building for a drink, and view of the city. Incredible!
Post Office Biilding
Photographs at War Remnants Museum
Reunification Museum
Boat where we had supper
Entertainers on the boat
View from 52nd floor
Bitexco Building (68 floors)
The morning of January 3 was spent at the Cu Chi tunnels, a two hour ride on our bus from the hotel. The tunnels were home to some of the Vietcong during the Vietnam War, and used in the fight against against the American troops. Conditions in the tunnels would have been abysmal.
The afternoon was free for us to roam so I did a walkabout to the big Market in the area and continued on to the river. Our last night in HCMC, Tur took us to the Vietnamese Water Puppet Show (great fun) and then supper at a restaurant on the way back to our hotel, where we could sample more local dishes.
We leave HCMC tomorrow morning for our homestay. Just 2 nights left in Vietnam!
Booby trap at Cu Chi tunnels
Water puppet theatre
