Today we heard a lecture from the noted author and Saigon historian, Tim Doling. He showed us a slide presentation on the history of Saigon and also of Vietnam. Ho Chi Minh city most recently known as Saigon was occupied by the Khmer people for hundreds of years before refugees fleeing from the Vietnamese civil war In the north began settling there. As more and more Vietnamese settlers came the Kingdom of Cambodia was no longer able to control the area. Cambodia's army had been weakened by their war with Thailand. It's location on the Saigon river giving it access to the East sea made Saigon a very important commercial trading port. Saigon was conquered by France in 1859 which resulted in much western styled architecture through out the city. Saigon gained independence from France in 1955. Saigon became the capital of South Vietnam. South Vietnam was a capitalist state and fought against the communist government of North Vietnam. The Vietnam war ended in April of 1975 and in 1976 Saigon was re-named Ho Chi Minh city. The country became known as the unified Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Following this fascinating talk by Tim Doling he led us on a walking tour around the Theater square known as the heart of Saigon city. A short walk from our hotel we came upon the Notre Dame Cathedral. It was under renovation so we were not able to go in to it. The Notre Dame Cathedral in Ho Chi Minh city Across the street from the Cathedral is the Central Post Office. It resembled a train station but it really reminded me of the Orsay museum in Paris which once was a train station. Inside the Post Office were 2 large historical maps of Saigon and also what resembled a central corridor of a train station. The Central Post Office One of the historical maps in the Post Office The main corridor of the Post Office We continued our walking tour as Tim was pointing out some of the historical buildings that remain. He told us that keeping and maintaining the historic buildings is not important to the government. Many have been demolished and replaced with new ones which is resulting in the cities architecture slowly changing. The city was very busy and of course the traffic was heavy as the Tet holiday celebration is coming soon. Of course parking is a premium, anywhere you can squeeze in Tim would hold up a historical picture of the building as we came upon it on our walking tour. This was the one of the buildings where frantic evacuation occurred as Saigon was falling This is the Saigon Opera House A street vendor selling traditional fish traps near the Opera House About mid way through our walk we arrived at the Rex Hotel for a drink break on the roof top bar. During the Vietnam war the hotel was occupied by the American military commanders. On the famous 5th floor roof top bar the military brass would hold its daily press briefings which the media nicknamed the 5 o'clock follies. The Rex Hotel Saigon We had a nice break at the hotels rooftop bar. Although its only 5 floors up the view from the bar was quite good. View from the Rex Hotels rooftop bar Ah the happy couple enjoying their Vietnamese Coffee's Our walked continued and actually was longer than originally planned due to traffic conditions and several road closures due to on going construction of the metro. We eventually made it to the Ben Than Market which was a large market with many vendors throughout located in central Ho Chi Minh city. We decided to skip it and go back to the hotel as the rest of the day was ours. Back at the hotel we went back to the Italian restaurant and shared a pizza. YUM, really YUM! After finishing lunch we decided to go and visit the former Presidential Palace also called the Reunification Palace and the International Palace. We began walking to the Palace. On the way we saw groups of people dressed in formal Vietnamese attire having pictures taken in front of buildings decorated for Tet and of course lots and lots of traffic. No shortage of traffic A family of 4 on a single scooter We saw several groups like this having pictures taken Before we got to the Palace we passed by a memorial to Vietnamese soldiers. Vietnamese war memorial We finally made it to the Palace but had 1 more very busy street to cross with no crossing light to help. After waiting and then weaving our way across we made it across a simple street. The Presidential Palace We bought our tickets and were on our way. Walking up to the entrance we could really see just how big this building really was. It was the home of the President of South Vietnam during the Vietnam war. On April 30, 1975 after North Vietnamese Tanks broke through the gates it was where the war came to an end. Soviet made North Vietnamese Army Tanks that captured the Presidential Palace The Palace and its complex occupy over 25 acres. The Palace can accommodate more than 800 people and contains huge gardens with many trees and a large lawn. We went through many rooms on the 6 floors and also saw an American Huey helicopter that is a permanent part of the roof. This American Huey helicopter got left behind The rooms were all very spacious and remained decorated as they were at the end of the Vietnam war. One of the many rooms for entertaining heads of state One of the many bedrooms in the Palace The television in the Entertainment room, how different from today Some of the most interesting rooms we saw were in the basement of the Palace. The teletype room where messages were received These huge machines were in the communication room The main telephone switchboard A photograph of the pilot that dropped 2 bombs on the palace on April 8, 1975 A ceremony during the National Reunification conference in November of 1975 During the conference in November of 1975 the Palace was renamed the Reunification Palace. It is also known as the Palace of Independence. The happy couple visiting the Presidential Palace Walking back to our hotel was a little dicey at times due to the heavy traffic but we made it back in one piece. After resting a bit we met our group in the lobby to go to dinner. The Restaurant we ate our final dinner in Ho Chi Minh city Outside the Restaurant The Amuse Bouche, YUM BBQ Pork Rib prepared Ly Club style, YUM Dinner was excellent and our dessert was a Sugar soup with water chestnuts and lotus seeds that our local guide spoke about several times. It was a perfect ending to our stay in Ho Chi Minh city.
Next time we have an Early flight to Siem Reap Cambodia and visit the 9th Century Banteay Srei Temple
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