Vietnam: Ho Chi Minh City, a world of motorbikes, interesting food, and war history

Allie and Nelson at the Reunification Palace    
 




Ho Chi Minh City (formerly known as Saigon) was an interesting place and very unique to other cities we had visited. We wanted to visit the North of Vietnam but just didn't have time in our schedule. Many travelers have said that we did not get a feel for the true Vietnam by only staying in the city of Ho Chi Minh. Nevertheless, we enjoyed our brief stay in Ho Chi Minh and would describe it as very eye-opening, unique, and quite interesting. We visited the Reunification Palace, the War Remnants Museum, and traveled just outside the city to see the Cu Chi tunnels used by the Vietcong during the war. Enjoy our pictures!
The insane motorbike traffic from our hotel room.

Our interesting appetizer. We really didn't know what many of the ingredients were and we still aren't quite sure how to eat this but it involved a lot of assembly!
Night market
The Reunification Palace, this was the site of the fall of Saigon at the end of the Vietnam War. This was the South Vietnam President's home and headquarters during the war.
A meeting room in the Reunification Palace used by the President during the war.
A view from the palace balcony
Allie with the view
Yet another grand room in the Palace
American tanks on display in front of the palace
A map of Vietnam down underground in the bunker of the palace
Our tour guide explaining the chart with the numbers of soliders from their respective countries. Hoa Ky is the US.
Original equipment used during the war
GE in Vietnam
The General's room
Nelson with an American tank outside of the War Remnants Museum. The museum was very graphic and extremely biased towards the communist party of Vietnam. The anti-American rhetoric and graphic displays were something we were not accustomed to heqring or seeing. It was very eye-opening but at the same very one sided. If you do go to this museum, take it all in but with a large grain of salt.
Nelson with an US Air Force jet
More weaponry
Yet again, one of the many joys of travel: making friends! We met Camilla in Australia through our friends Tim and Nic. Then we met up with Camilla in Thailand at the full moon party and we were introduced to her brother, Andreas. After failing to get in touch with them due to limited means of communication, the traveling siblings from Colombia, happened to be in line in front of us at the Reunification Palace. We truly had a great time in Ho Chi Minh City with them!
Nelson trying frog! Ribbit!
No, no, no. In Vietnam we don't watch for pedestrians. Pedestrians need to watch for cars!
Trap door at the Cu Chi tunnels used to harm the enemy. The bamboo sticks were sharpened and coated with poison.
The impressive tunnels of Cu Chi.
Nelson checking out one of the tunnels! More like the size of a drainage pipe!
The Viet Cong wore shoes that appeared to be backwards. The opposition would follow the shoeprints in the wrong direction and would be trapped!
Crater left by a B52 bomb.
Allie entering the "western" tunnels that we can actually fit into.
Allie in the tunnel
A lone Vietnamese woman eating lunch.

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  1. Anna MariaApril 20, 2012 at 8:15 AM

    A very interesting country to say the least. Growing up Vietnam was a war, some far away country your Uncle was sent off to fight in. A place where no one ever thought to visit, or wanted to. It is with mixed emotions I view the photos of American military machinery and the viet cong tunnels and traps.
    Other than the most slanted bias, I'm sure it was a history lesson better seen, than read as a chapter in a high school world history class. I've seen video of North Vietnam and it looked quite beautiful. Glad you are no longer THERE.

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