City Tour: May 26th @ 10:00pm. Saigon Vietnam

This post is going to be very picture heavy. Most of the day today was spent touring the sights of Saigon/ Ho Chi Minh city. On our tour we went to the following places:

The Palace of Reunification (The Presidential Palace),
The Vietnam War Remnants Museum,
The Jade Emperor Pagoda,
The Ho Chi Minh Cathedral,
City Hall of Ho Chi Minh.

The day was not only a good chance to see some tourist areas, but to get a better insight into Vietnamese daily life. The bus rides from place to place were roughly 10-15 minutes, so we got a chance to soak in everything happening on the roads around us.

Here are the pictures of the day. I’ll keep the stories fairly short (believe me I could write a novel on each place alone!)

The Reunification Palace (Presidential Palace)

This is the Presidential Palace, best described as The “White House” of South Vietnam. It was renamed to the Reunification Palace after the Vietnam War to symbolize the unity between North and South Vietnam. There is still some government function, but mostly it’s purpose is historic preservation.

Here are some of the rooms/ artifacts from the Reunification Palace.

TOP LEFT: One of the Russian tanks that knocked down the gate and stormed the Palace in 1975.
TOP RIGHT: Ambassador’s receiving room. There were pictures of President Nixon and other US officials meeting with Vietnamese in this room.
BOTTOM LEFT: Presidential dining room.
BOTTOM RIGHT: Vietnamese helicopter on the roof of the palace.

One really cool story about the Reunification Palace is that there is some major symbolism in the layout of the Palace and surrounding area. The Palace is meant to symbolize the head of a dragon, and the streets are laid out like the body. At the base of the tail there is a pond with a giant turtle statue to symbolize that the dragon (Vietnam) cannot escape and become too powerful.

The Vietnam War Remnants Museum.

Our next stop was the the Vietnam War Remnants Museum. This was one of the most eye-opening experiences I’ve ever had. Being an American going to the War Remnants Museum is very tough because the majority of artifacts and pictures portray the American GI’s as the real enemy. Below are some of the photos and stories I found disturbing and fascinating at the same time:

Some people claim that the Remnants Museum is just Vietnamese government propaganda. While it is true that the government has some influence over people’s perceptions, what I saw was other than propaganda. I saw a dark mark of U.S history that until now I have only seen one side of. I’m glad I got to learn about this from both perspectives.

Jade Emperor Pagoda

This Buddhist place of worship is one of dozens of pagodas in Ho Chi Minh. These places are incredibly ornate and never cease to amaze everyone who comes in.

Notre Dame Cathedral in Ho Chi Minh

This cathedral was built be the French. It was really cool to see that even in a primarily Buddhist country, other religions are represented.

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City Hall

What a great way to spend our first full day in Vietnam. There is an energy here that makes you want to explore and see everything. Even the short time I have been there, I can tell Siagonese people take great pride in their city and I’m glad to be a part of the action even for a few more days.

-Aaron