South-East Asia - Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, April 2010

The port of Phu My  was  our gateway to Ho Chi Minh City (previously, Saigon), the largest city in Vietnam. The name was officially changed in 1975 at the close of 30 years of warfare (when North Vietnam defeated South Vietnam).

The city's history goes back to the mid-1600s, when it was a fishing village under Cambodian Khmer control. Its strategic location on the Mekong River Delta quickly made the city an important trading centre. The French occupied Saigon in 1859, hoping to exploit commercial opportunities all the way to the Mekong’s headwaters. The city has now two sections, the downtown (Saigon) and Chinatown (Cholon – “Great Market”). The heart of Ho Chi Minh City is considered Saigon. As Vietnam’s most cosmopolitan city, Saigon has a racially mixed population and a myriad of national monuments  including many colonial structures such as the Notre Dame Cathedral completed in 1876,





the French Colonial Post Office,






and the Rex Hotel where a lot of the international war correspondents stayed during the Vietnam War. Also the hotel was the site of the U.S. military’s weekly updates on progress in the war in Vietnam: the infamous “Friday Night Follies.”




Reunification Palace,  the former Presidential Palace of the Republic of South Vietnam,  is now a museum and exhibition centre – still used for state visits. The Vietnam war ended with the fall of the palace in April 1975.








We visited a colourful Chinatown Temple, Thien Hau (the 18^th century temple dedicated to the goddess of the sea, protector of sailors),






















and the National History Museum  founded in 1929 – its collection ranging from Stone and Bronze Age artifacts to Cham and Khmer art, ceramics and costumes. Amongst other things, we saw the Mummy of Mrs Tran Thi Hieu who died in 1869 and a Water Puppet Show that E enjoyed a lot.





















 At the end of our excursion I walked around a little by myself taking pics and trying to catch a glimpse of "normal" Saigon life...





... I got lost almost immediately, though and was not interested in taking pics. At one point I came across the American Consulate and with relief asked for directions to my meeting spot. I was seriously panicked when it turned out I was unable to communicate with the guard at the entrance... I ended up retracing my steps and finding my way back to the tour bus before it left.
It was the first time (many more to come) that I realized I was at loss in Asia – not familiar with the languages or cultures I felt crippled... East and West are certainly two different worlds.