We wandered one day around district 1, or central Saigon, taking in its charming streets, local markets & fancy skyscrapers. It’s quite an alluring city. We also spent a day touring the key tourist sites memorializing the “American War,” as the Vietnamese refer to our Vietnam War. This includes the Reunification Palace, formerly the base of the South Vietnamese government & where the North Vietnamese tanks memorably stormed the gates & raised their flag, thus ending the war. This also includes the War Remnants Museum which is a fascinating look at the war & it’s atrocities through the eyes of the Vietnamese including the “aggressive US war”, the devastating impact left by Agent Orange, & “aggressive war crimes”. One day hardly seemed like enough as my family has some personal family history with the war, so I’ll likely be back & further dig in to the history a bit more.
Georgeous Carlos Zapata designed building is the tallest in Saigon. We had drinks at the rooftop bar to take in the views. The part that juts out is the helipad next to the bar.
Large local market. Hot as hell inside but quite a happening place.
Locals hanging at the market. I am fascinated by the dress of Vietnamese women… so many wear floral patterns, oftentimes conflicting, on top & bottom. I call it the “pajama look”.
Puppies for sale on the back of a motorbike parked on the street. No big deal.
Government guards on rollerblades
Local food market that sells wholesale to restaurants
Fish are still alive as air is pumped in
Believe it or not, this lady posed for my picture
The gate to the Reunification Palace that was plowed through by North Vietnamese tanks
60’s architecture alive & well as it’s remained unaltered since the fall of Saigon
The city looks gorgeous. Love the ‘green’. But I do have some questions- you know me. In the pajama-look picture, the man in the blue pajamas had a mask on. Was that a common sight? I would think with the heat, keeping the fish alive would help keep their ‘product’ fresher longer. On the other hand, the posed lady (she should take up modeling- ha) seems to have meat? without any refrigeration. What was that intestine-looking meat?
Answers
1 – Masks are everywhere. We used to make fun of them. I can understand in heavy traffic w the exhaust & dusty roads. But people take it way too far (so we still poke a bit of fun). People wear them on the beach. They can’t be afraid of getting sick w the moving sea breeze. It’s a bit ridiculous.
2 – Oxygen keeps fish good longer for sure. Meat is out room temperature a lot of the time. Not sure if they think cooking it then kills all bacteria.
3 – It’s intestines. There’s also brains & hearts.
Did you happen to look through any of the comments in the ‘sign in’ book at War Remnants Museum? I read there were a lot of comments about their one-sided propaganda displays. The My Lai pictures must have been horrible.
amusemusings 
The city looks gorgeous. Love the ‘green’. But I do have some questions- you know me. In the pajama-look picture, the man in the blue pajamas had a mask on. Was that a common sight? I would think with the heat, keeping the fish alive would help keep their ‘product’ fresher longer. On the other hand, the posed lady (she should take up modeling- ha) seems to have meat? without any refrigeration. What was that intestine-looking meat?
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Answers
1 – Masks are everywhere. We used to make fun of them. I can understand in heavy traffic w the exhaust & dusty roads. But people take it way too far (so we still poke a bit of fun). People wear them on the beach. They can’t be afraid of getting sick w the moving sea breeze. It’s a bit ridiculous.
2 – Oxygen keeps fish good longer for sure. Meat is out room temperature a lot of the time. Not sure if they think cooking it then kills all bacteria.
3 – It’s intestines. There’s also brains & hearts.
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You have a picture of a palace looking building. It doesn’t look like the Reunification Palace but maybe it’s just a different point of view?
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Not a palace. Peoples Council.
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Did you two go visit the Viet Cong Cu Chi tunnels?
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No. I’m going to do that on my return trip to Saigon. That & Mekong Delta, south of Saigon.
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Did you happen to look through any of the comments in the ‘sign in’ book at War Remnants Museum? I read there were a lot of comments about their one-sided propaganda displays. The My Lai pictures must have been horrible.
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Yes
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I want to go to Saigon! So interesting.
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I’ll be back in the next couple months…
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