Hi Chi Minh City [Saigon], (May 28-29)

Ho Chi Minh City, formerly known as Saigon and still referred to as Saigon by many locals, is a bustling megalopolis of almost 12 million, and is the economic and cultural capital of Vietnam (although Hanoi, slightly smaller, is the political capital). Even on Sunday when we were there, traffic buzzes, especially scooters which are ubiquitous, transporting business men and women, entire families with pets, and even tourists 😝. Our expectations of Saigon were locked in  1970s war footage, and we were surprised to see how developed it has become: nothing like communist capitalism!

Our private taxi tour included the infamous rural Cu Chi tunnels laced with booby traps and secret entrances where as many as 1,300 Vietnamese lived underground during the war. Back in the city we saw Independence Palace, the Jade Buddha temple, Norte Dame church (under repair), the old post office designed by Gustav Eiffel, several other old buildings built by French, beautiful parks, the huge Bihn Tay market, and the US Embassy building where the helicopter landed to evacuate people at the end of the war.