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 Quang Duc's self-immolation in 1963 To the locals it is still Saigon. There is a great respect toward the namesake of Ho Cho Minh, but people seem to find the title self-indulgent, and in the words of one of our guides, “Ho Chi Minh was a great man, but Saigon is a reminder of what Vietnam was before a century of occupation.” It is difficult to ascertain the true feelings of people in Vietnam. Anti-American propaganda is rampant, but the people seem to have a great admiration and respect for American people and its culture, this is a city that is as capitalist as NYC. Perhaps they recognise it was not the American people who ravaged their country for more than a decade, but rather a hegemonic Cold War government playing the most tragic game of ideological chess ever played? Perhaps, officially, old wounds die hard? And fair enough. The American government of the day laid waste to this country in what is known here as “The American War”. Going through the War Remnants Museum, meeting victims of Agent Orange, and reading up on this country’s history brought my American History Class from my uni days back into sharper focus than I thought possible. I had forgotten just how devastating this war had been. “Operation Rolling Thunder” was a horrific exercise, that in part saw more than three times the amount of ordnance dropped on Vietnam than by the Allies during the entirety of WWII in all of its theatres. Worse still, 106 000 civilians have been killed or wounded since the end of the war in 1975 due to unexploded bombs and landmines. There are some pretty disturbing photos of this here too.(read more about this here) I had forgotten altogether about the effects of Agent Orange, which are tragically still felt today. Through the museum there is a chilling display of photos of children born with horrific deformities even through 1996! By seeing the Củ Chi tunnels, I now have an awed understanding of the resilience of the Vietnamese people to live underground for more than twenty years resisting first the French, and later American occupiers. All the while, in the words of Gen. Curtis Lemay, being “bombed back into the Stone Age.” Vietnam was a disgusting war, and War criminals have not been brought to justice case in point Senator Kerrey, who you can read about here.  Time marches on: the same location now But enough of the controversial politics of the Vietnam War I could fill a book with what I have learned and what I already knew about that. This is a travel blog. I will turn my attention to our adventures in this crazy city. It is important though, I should add, to know about the places you are going and the history that has shaped them, especially such recent history with such visible scars. Arrival in Vietnam is not for the poorly researched. Guilty. I knew a visa was required, and payable upon entry. But was not aware of the form that needed downloading, the passport photos required, nor the letter of acceptance, and had forgotten entirely about the need for US dollars to cover the visa cost upon entry. Luckily I had at least looked into it on our last night in Malaysia, and paid through the nose for 12 hour express visa acceptance. Upon arrival though, I of course did not have any US$ (Stephanie did but our communication was lacking) nor did I have any Vietnamese Dong (VND), though this was not my fault as it is generally hard to come by outside of bordering countries. So, off to the smiley chaps at passport/visa control and you get a sense that Vietnam is perhaps a little more communist than you initially thought, perhaps Stalinist even. No ATM to cover Visa cost pre security so I am permitted out to the cash machine to secure the 5 million VND to cover our costs. I have of course been relieved of my passport, but am able to sweet talk the lady at the gates to let me out to get money. Money in hand I return to re-enter when I am not so lucky with the gruff doorman, whose only English seems to be PASSPORT!! I frantically gesture to the wads of cash in my hand and point at pass control in a vain attempt to return. I finally succeed, but when I return to the lanes by Visa control I am again thwarted by another guard who also only knows PASSPORT!! Luckily the guard who let me out in the first place shows up, and I finally get back in. All seemingly in order we head for a taxi, but we now don’t have enough for it, and the SIM card we opt to buy so I must go and get more money. I foolishly go without my passport thinking I can easily duck back in now that we have cleared customs. Upon trying to re-enter the terminal, I am accosted one final time, by who I am sure is the same guard as last time. Luckily Stephanie is within eyesight by now and is able to get me my passport, and he allows me back in even offers a curt head bow and smile in an effort to show that his bark is worse than his bite? From here things pick up. Hotel-fine. Taxi-fine. Traffic...mental! Did you know that 87million people live in area only 60000km2 larger than New Zealand? At 9 450 people/km2 it is the 20th most densely populated city on earth. I will post a video to Youtube at some-point to show the craziness of crossing a street with a family in tow here. Sidewalks, unlike Penang, are meant for traffic as well as pedestrians, even the markets have scooters ripping through them. Crosswalks are just a suggested place to cross, and mean little more than decorative street art. Ditto green man crossings. They key to crossing the street, and it really is a sport, is to keep your head on a swivel, and proceed with confidence that the streets and sidewalks belong to all means of transport, and all will be respected. But do not run, nor deviate from your course, or you will surely die. This was daunting at first, but after some casual observation while being driven, we discovered that despite their gruff resting angry faces, and demeanours, Vietnamese people rarely were victim to road rage, despite the constant gridlock, and they really were hyper aware of all that was going on around them. As far as sights go, we did a city tour, The Central Post Office, Notre Dame Cathedral, and Reunification Palace being highlights, but just being in the city is the experience. It is not something I would want to do for long, but I am glad that I did. The river dinner enjoyed up and down the Saigon River, gave us a glimpse of a modern Saigon, which has shown remarkable growth since the end of the Vietnam War 40 short years ago. It is vibrant and full of trade, commerce and entertainment. The aforementioned Củ Chi tunnels, and War Remnants Museum are not to be missed as they are important reminders of how the past has shaped the future of this city.
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