Four Hours in Saigon

Due to a last minute change of plans we ended up with four hours to tour Ho Chi Minh City, formerly known as Saigon.  So we tried to take in as much of Saigon as possible.

We started our day at the hotel with a classic breakfast of pho (Vietnamese noodle soup) and ca phe.  Our centrally located hotel allowed us to take a walking tour in the south Vietnam heat and humidity, which was a contrast from the colder north.

First stop was the War Remnants Museum which documents the American war from the Vietnamese victims' perspective.  Due to the inconsistent operating hours we had to run through some exhibits but spent some time in the Agent Orange exhibit and an exhibit featuring photography from war photographers who were casualties of the war.  We had time to run by the American armored vehicles and aircraft before being pushed out the gates.



We walked past the gates of the Reunification Palace (closed for lunch) to take a peek at the site where communist tanks plowed through the iron gates of the symbol of the South Vietnamese government.  Now it's a museum.

We cut through a nice park where we spotted a man selling ice cream from the back of his bicycle.  Perfect for the hot day, though the nut things sprinkled on top definitely had a funky taste and the cones on the side were a twist.

We swung past the Notre Dame Cathedral

on the way to the French-style post office. 

Our last stop was Ben Thanh Market where we picked up snacks for the plane and A bargained for a t-shirt.

On the way to the airport we got a final classic Vietnamese site, parents waiting to pick up their kids from school in a sea of mopeds.

A great Saigon sampler.  We got to feel the heat, taste some food, see the sights, and compare and contrast it to Hanoi and other regions in the country.