Ho Chi Minh City day 2

We had a “highlights of Saigon” tour booked for our second day in Ho Chi Minh City. With Insignia scheduled for a 2:00 departure time we were on our way early. Our first stop was at the current city hall, the old South Vietnam capital building, where we were able to get out and negotiate the very wide French-style boulevards to get pictures. The central median was basically a park and provided a great place to walk. There was a statue of Ho Chi Minh (or “Uncle Ho”) in the median. As we admired it I realized I don’t really know anything about him. I should rectify that.

Our next stop was the main post office, which was designed by Gustave Eiffel, of Tower fame. While it still operates as a post office, it’s been partially converted to shops. From out in front we had a view of the building that the CIA used as their headquarters in 1975. This is the building where the famous photo of people trying to load onto a helicopter to get out of the country was taken.

From the post office we headed to the presidential palace, site of another famous 1975 photograph. Communist tanks entered the complex on April 30, 1975, effectively ending the Vietnam War. Now known as the Reunification Palace, the interior has been kept largely the same as it appeared in 1975. With the 50-year anniversary of North-South reunification coming, we saw preparations being made for a large-scale commemoration.

After the palace we toured the oldest pagoda in Vietnam (no tour is complete without a temple!). Despite having seen many temples, I will say that Buddhist temples exhibit a lot of variety. This one had a lot of space devoted to remembrances of those who have passed on. There were also numerous Buddha statues, of course. And Thomas got to meet some cute Shar Pei puppies.

Our final stop was at the big market, which is actually known as “The Big Market.” It’s an enormous place selling all manner of things. We didn’t buy anything, but we did get a lesson in Vietnamese street crossing from Tam, our guide. Just keep moving at a steady pace and keep a predictable course and the motorcycles will flow around you.

From the market it was back to Insignia where we watched our cruise out along the Saigon River to the South China Sea. We really enjoyed our time in Ho Chi Minh City. It is definitely bustling, but it was clean and very energetic. The wide French boulevards and parks give it an open feeling despite a population of around 10 million. We wish we could have had another day here.Read more