Saigon (aka Ho Chi Minh City)

On 13 October we caught a flight from Da Nang to Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) where we spent four days.

"Uncle Ho" has the city re-named in his honor, but most of the locals still refer to it as Saigon.

Saigon is an impressively modern and beautiful city.

Thanks to my old roommate, Greg, we had a voucher for two nights in a 5-star hotel in Saigon.  This was a significant upgrade from the backpacker specials we've been staying in for the past two months.

We took a tour of the Cu Chi tunnels used by the Viet Cong during the Vietnam war.  It is about an hour and a half from Saigon.  They built an extensive tunnel network that extended in excess of 75 miles.

I crawled through about 100 meters of tunnels on my hands and knees with only intermittent light.  That was enough for me!  The Vietcong lived for years in the tunnels!

They are pretty proud of their booby traps that were a nightmare for American Soldiers during the Vietnam War.

We arranged to have a walking tour led by a student (Huy) who is a member of a group called "Hot Pots".  These tours are "donation only" with the main purpose being to improve their English speaking skills.  It was excellent.

This is the Presidential Palace that was built after the original one was bombed in the early 60's.  It was used by the South Vietnam president until Saigon fell on April 30, 1975.  Now it is primarily used as a tourist attraction.

One of the two North Vietnamese tanks that crashed through the gate to the Presidential Palace, proudly on display.

We also visited the "War Remnants Museum".  It was previously named the "Museum of Chinese and American War Crimes", but in the spirit of improved relations between the US and Vietnam, they renamed it.  Nevertheless, it is a no-holds-barred expose of graphic photos from the Vietnam War with a few pieces of US military hardware.  

The Post Office used to be a big deal way back when.  It was the only place you could make a phone call overseas.

Notre Dame Cathedral built by the French in 1880.  It is interesting to see Catholic churches every so often throughout Vietnam.  This includes Hanoi. Even with the atheist communist government in power, there are religious symbols of Buddhism are everywhere.  Kind of like abandoning the collective farms that nearly starved the entire population to death, the communist government has made some concessions when it comes to religion, as well.