Thursday, March 28th
This was our tour for today. We departed the dock at 9am for about a 45 minute drive to downtown area. Our first stop was at what is now called Reunification Palace. It used to be where the President of the Republic of Vietnam lived and ran the country and war. We got to go inside it. There were two lower levels that were bomb proof and was where the commanders had maps and communications equipment. There was also a bedroom for the President if needed.
Reunification Palace
Room that surrender was signed
Tanks that broke through gates of palace in 1975
The US involvement in the war ended in January 1973 but there was still two more years of civil war in Vietnam. The fighting finally ended in April 1975 when the two tanks pictured here broke through the gates of the palace. There had been several Presidents of South Vietnam. The last one, Minh, had only been in office for two days when he signed the surrender papers and now the communists controlled all of Vietnam. You may recall the press photos and newsreels of US helicopters landing on the roof of the US Embassy to evacuate South Vietnamese officials and their families. Our guide said probably a million South Vietnamese were imprisoned and sent to be "re-educated". Many were killed by the North Vietnamese. The US tore down the old Embassy which was not far from the palace and have built a new one farther away.
After that we stopped to see the Rex Hotel. This hotel was used by the press during the war and was also headquarters of MACV (Military Assistance Command Vietnam). The press was briefed daily here on the war. Our next stop was a photo stop at Notre Dame, a Catholic cathedral built by the French. Then we continued on to a History Museum. We stayed on the air conditioned bus here. After about 40 minutes we continued on to see a lacquer ware factory. This was the token "sale stuff to the tourists" stop. Next we stopped at the Sea Goddess Temple. As we were running behind schedule, we drove past China town area instead of stopping there. We arrived back at the ship at 1:45pm in time to have a bite of lunch. After lunch we went out to see the shops set up on the dock next to our ship. I bought 5 Ralph Lauren Polo shirts at $7 each and Rebecca bought 3 Burberry polo shirts for same price. She wanted $10 each as starting price. Three years ago we paid $5. Yes, they are fakes but still very good quality.
Notre Dame Cathedral in Siagon
Rex Hotel
City Hall in background with statue of Ho Chi Minh (they call him "Uncle Ho")
Temple
Intricate carvings
We slowly sailed up the Siagon River for about 3 hours this morning to dock in a marine industrial dock a few miles from the city. Just as in 2010, the dock was already lined with souvenir stands awaiting our arrival. At 7am it is already 84 degrees with 90% humidity. We had a little excitement this morning. I had opened our balcony door to go out to get some photos of the various boats plying the river. I had to go in and out several times as my camera lens fogged over due to the very high humidity. The humidity got in our suite and set off the heat/smoke detector. Got a call to close the door right away followed a few minutes later with guy sent from the bridge to investigate and make sure we did not have any problems. He radioed the bridge who then reset the detector. Never had that happen before.
Saigon was the capital of the French colony of Cochin-China and later the independent republic of South Vietnam from 1955 to 1975. Siagon fell to the communist North Vietnam on April 30, 1975, thus ending the Vietnam War with a communist victory. Today the population of Saigon is over 7 million and growing rapidly. It is the largest city and economic center of Vietnam.
Park across from entrance
The US involvement in the war ended in January 1973 but there was still two more years of civil war in Vietnam. The fighting finally ended in April 1975 when the two tanks pictured here broke through the gates of the palace. There had been several Presidents of South Vietnam. The last one, Minh, had only been in office for two days when he signed the surrender papers and now the communists controlled all of Vietnam. You may recall the press photos and newsreels of US helicopters landing on the roof of the US Embassy to evacuate South Vietnamese officials and their families. Our guide said probably a million South Vietnamese were imprisoned and sent to be "re-educated". Many were killed by the North Vietnamese. The US tore down the old Embassy which was not far from the palace and have built a new one farther away.
After that we stopped to see the Rex Hotel. This hotel was used by the press during the war and was also headquarters of MACV (Military Assistance Command Vietnam). The press was briefed daily here on the war. Our next stop was a photo stop at Notre Dame, a Catholic cathedral built by the French. Then we continued on to a History Museum. We stayed on the air conditioned bus here. After about 40 minutes we continued on to see a lacquer ware factory. This was the token "sale stuff to the tourists" stop. Next we stopped at the Sea Goddess Temple. As we were running behind schedule, we drove past China town area instead of stopping there. We arrived back at the ship at 1:45pm in time to have a bite of lunch. After lunch we went out to see the shops set up on the dock next to our ship. I bought 5 Ralph Lauren Polo shirts at $7 each and Rebecca bought 3 Burberry polo shirts for same price. She wanted $10 each as starting price. Three years ago we paid $5. Yes, they are fakes but still very good quality.
Burning incense and praying
Shop in China Town
I have many more photos from today to put on blog but it is sooooo slow this evening. Will try it tomorrow when every on goes on tours and we have ship to ourselves. We have reservations tonight at Prime 7 Steakhouse. We really enjoyed our dinner last night with Goren, the Food and Beverage Manager. The veal Parmesan was prepared perfectly and we had a fantastic time. We have no tours tomorrow but plan on taking the shuttle to downtown for more shopping. Prices here are probably best of whole cruise.
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