Vietnam

We had a busy but fun time in Australia. After preparing the boat to be sold we toured around Southeast Australia, visited with friends, and decided to take a trip we would otherwise never be able to take. We decided on Vietnam.

Click on the pictures for full screen view.

Really nice Vietnam tourism website!

Public transportation in Australia is fantastic so we took the train to the Sydney Airport:

…been here before:

Sydney to Hong Kong to Ho Chi Minh City:

We had a wonderful flight with Qantas (best airline ever), and arrived safely in Vietnam. After completing formalities we exited the terminal into a SEA of human beings. We pre-arranged an airport transfer but I was pretty sure that was going to be a bust when I saw this ocean of humans outside the terminal. We took about five steps and saw a man holding a sign with our names. The man spoke no English but he was great. He helped with our luggage, led us to the car, and off we went in air conditioned comfort to our hotel. Very nice man:

Light mid-morning traffic:

Dien Bien Phu Street…

Battle of Dien Bien Phu

We made it safely to the hotel, settled in, had massages, ate and later in the evening we ventured out to explore. Evening rush hour traffic:

Depending on what you read or who you speak with, there are roughly ten million people and four million scooters in Saigon.

We went to a water puppet show which was very entertaining even though it was all in Vietnamese:

Unless you are with a tour group they put you in the nose bleed section, still not bad at all:

The puppet show was great. Walking back to the hotel we passed a large sports complex with lots of shops along the street selling unlicensed clothes etc.

Of course we found a nice brew pub. Great beer and the food was good too:

East West Brewing Co.

They were setting up for Halloween and a corporate party that was to be held that evening:

We visited the War Remnants Museum:

War Remnants Museum Wiki

Official War Remnants Museum Website

Prison exhibit:

…with a guillotine which was used up until 1960:

…all of this exactly as you would imagine, horror, torture:

Long list of the more prominent victims:

Back outside to the left over military hardware and more:

Then inside the main museum building, it’s quite large and very well done. There is too much to present here, I tried to take some pics of the narratives that explain some of the exhibits. You may be able to read the boards if you click on the picture. I think it would take a few days to really go through the entire museum and absorb the whole experience.

The museum was great but as you can imagine by the sign at the entrance it’s a very depressing topic, so I didn’t take many pictures.

The Agent Orange exhibit.

Agent Orange Wiki

Operation Ranch Hand

Operation Ranch Hand Wiki

Our trip to Vietnam was very compressed so we had to move on. One of the things I look at in each country we visit is the accepted infrastructure design. I love looking at the electrical grid and wonder if this is to “code”?

Light mid day traffic:

The government calls it Ho Chi Minh City, the local population calls it Saigon. Saigon is really nice and kept up well:

Huge tree in one of the many parks:

Just like comparing differences in infrastructure, I compare things like driving regulations. You have to click on this picture and look closely. This is a family of four on their scooter buzzing through Saigon. At least the parents have helmets…:

BAM, 2.2 MILLION Dong! We’re rich!!! …not really:

We took an evening street food tour which was more than just a food tour, it was history and culture as well. The tour is by scooter and is conducted by university students and takes you to places you would never see otherwise, it was fantastic! Our first stop was a Vietnamese pancake shop and this is two of our three tour guides:

Back Alley Tours

The girl on the right was our third guide.

They took us into the kitchen, everything was fresh:

It’s more of an omelet with fresh ingredients. Delicious:

Back on the scooters:

Our next stop was sticky rice and bananas with coconut sauce, sooo delicious. I could have just stayed there the rest of the night…

Back on the scooters. Our next stop was a massive apartment complex, 10 or 11 buildings if I remember. These apartments were built by the US during the war to house US and South Vietnamese soldiers. They took us through an entire building explaining what it was and how people live now. The tour was interesting:

Love that electrical grid:

Back on the scooters to a huge flower market, open 24 hours:

Learning how to fold lotus flowers:

After the flower market we took a quick walk to Cambodia Market for some more food. The community is Cambodian (great guess), the street is over a kilometer long filled shops and street food. We tasted a bbq pork dish and “pizza”, both were fantastic! I loved the “pizza”:

Back on the scooters. On the way to our next stop I saw a girl wearing a Winn Dixie t-shirt…in Saigon…I just thought it was funny to see a Winn Dixie shirt in Saigon…

We made several stops on our tour but there are 258 pics here so I have to finish up. Our last stop was dessert of flan in coconut milk, it was delicious also!

The tour was wonderful! Scooter ride back to our hotel:

Our next tour was of the Cu Chi tunnels and the Mekong Delta. The tunnel complex was used by North Vietnamese soldiers to infiltrate the South. We were picked up at our hotel in the morning and had a scenic two hour drive to our first stop. Morning traffic:

Cu Chi Tunnels

Another strange site in Vietnam, a Schneider truck?

Schneider Trucking

We made a quick stop at a place where people effected by agent orange make and sell art.

We finally arrived at the tunnel complex. Our tour guide:

Cu Chi Tunnels

A quick walk through left over military hardware before moving on to the tunnels:

…and on to the tunnels:

…about a second after I took this picture a lizard fell out of a tree and landed on Tanya’s head. It was one of those perfect moments:

Back to the tunnels which were to the north and west of Saigon:

Booby trap:

Some of the original tunnels are still intact along with old military hardware:

There is a shooting range as well:

Some of the tunnels have been enlarged to accommodate larger tourists:

After the tunnels we had a great lunch:

…and then onto the Mekong Delta tour:

Mekong Delta Wiki

Mekong Delta Culture Trip

…we made several stops along the way, this one was a coconut candy maker…with some kind of snake wine also. The candy was great but you will have to ask Tanya how the wine tasted…

Back on the boat:

Our next stop was a small touristy island with a few small shops, and a stop for some fruit and a music presentation:

Then a short walk to a village for a boat ride:

…and back to the mainland for our long ride back to the hotel. The tour was really nice.

Our hotel was in a perfect location in District 1, within walking distance to lots of attractions. The next day we walked to the Independence Palace:

Independence Palace Official Link

Independence Palace Wiki

These North Vietnamese tanks knocked down the gate and entered the palace grounds in April 1975, pretty much finalizing the end of the Vietnam conflict.

F5 airplane:

The palace and grounds are beautifully maintained:

Entrance to the Palace. The Palace was the equivalent of our White House:

As we walked around the palace/museum we were cornered by high school students tasked with practicing their English. Tanya being interviewed:

Back to the palace tour:

Tanya was interviewed several times, twice for me:

Back to the tour:

Another random shot, Moo Beef Steak…Mooooo:

Our hotel was a few yards from this awesome street food market. We ate there more than once!

The last thing we did before heading back to Australia was locate this building in the picture below. I was roughly nine when the Vietnam war ended but this image taken during Operation Frequent Wind has stuck with me my entire life and I wanted to see the place for myself.

The Fall of South Vietnam and Operation Frequent Wind

22 Gia Long Street Saigon

Ly Tu Trong

CIA Fall of Saigon

Many people think this was the US Embassy in Saigon, it’s not. This was the Pittman Apartments on 22 Gia Long St, now 22 Ly Tu Trong Street, which housed the Deputy CIA Station Chief. Now it’s just an office building but if you pay the security guard a few bucks he will let you ride the elevator to the roof.

…it’s just a crazy feeling standing here knowing what had transpired years ago.

We had a wonderful time in Saigon. The people were wonderful and all of our experiences were great! Before leaving for Vietnam we put Dea Latis up for sale and while gone we received an acceptable offer! With our Vietnam adventure over we headed back to Australia to finalize the sale of our boat…