Ho Chi Minh City : A Phoenix Rising from the Ashes.

Our year end family holiday this year had to be a short one as the boys had just started working. Being a busy period, they could not apply for long leave. So we decided upon a nearby country that they have not been to, Vietnam. The city of choice is Ho Chi Minh and it is here we spend our year end holiday from 22.12.17 to 25.12.17.

Having a feel of Saigon. 

Our flight landed at 4.00 pm local time, and it took almost an hour to clear the immigration and getting our luggage from the carousal. Outside the taxi stand, there were some coloured taxis coming in and going off with passengers. I only trained my sight on Vinasun taxi which is white in colour or Mai Linh which is green. These two companies have professionally trained drivers with good reputation, they go by the meter and do not try and fleece you. I  got the Vinasun's attendant to hail a cab for me which she promptly does. Since there are five of us, getting a seven seater is not an issue as 40% of taxis here are Innovas. 

 Our arrival time ran right smack into  rush hour. A 30 minutes ride turn into an hour and by the time we reach District 4, it was passed 5.00 pm. The fare cost VND 190,000 ( RM 35.00 ) as per the meter.

Our apartment, Icon 56 is located on the quieter side across the tributary of Saigon River. It is a a convenient 15 to 20 minutes walk across the river to the Central Business District where all the action is.

 The entire apartment is solely for rent. Ours is a 3 bedroom apartment.

The apartment is quite bare, but the rooms are tidy and clean. The Christmas tree

 is the only decor at the lobby. Being dinner time already, we decided to take a cab to have our first taste of local fare.

This is our dinner venue, Cha Ca La Vong.

 It started in Hanoi, but because of it's popularity, it now have 4 outlets in Saigon.

 The menu is only one fish, seared on a pan and mixed with fresh vegetables. 

 It taste good, but because it being a one fish menu, some like it, some do not. 

 After dinner, we took a walk towards Ben Thanh Market and passed by a large Christmas tree decoration at Saigon Center.

Sherman had a quick picture taken before moving on.

 The Ben Thanh market had closed, but the night market next to it is bustling with tourist. Sherman wanted to check out the shoes here, but they are all quite pricey for imitations.

 We decided to take a walk back as the evening air is cool and not humid. The view over the bridge is splendid and Yvonne could not resist taking her picture here.

 On the way, we dropped by a coffee outlet for some Vietnamese coffee. The boys prefer their icy drinks.

 On the main wall adorned a nice piece of printed painting. Valen is glad to have his picture taken here.

 On the right is Icon 56, our apartment, and on the left is the Central Business District.

This is the entrance to our apartment. 

We had a satisfying day and as usual, retire to bed soundly after a long and tiring day.

The Ben Duoc Tunnels at Cu Chi.

Cu Chi village is one of the many villages where a system of tunnels exist to counter the Americans in a guerilla warfare. It was used as supply route, hiding and meeting place, a place to treat the wounded soldiers, and where they launch their attacks. These tunnels  were used effectively for the Tet Offensive and was a key factor that led to the US withdrawal in 1975, after 17 years of war ! 

A visit to this village is a must if you wish to see for yourself one of the actual site of war. The whole area is an open air museum with some left over weapons and ammunitions of an atrocious war.

Bomb shells among the 14.3 million tons that was dropped over Vietnam during the 17 year old war.

These were collected, cut and reused by the Vietcongs in the guerilla warfare.

Bin Duoc tunnel is the less crowded of the two tunnel system open up for display but is more extensive. The  other is at Bin Dinh which is nearer to the city.

Yvonne among the model of Vietcong soldiers.

The trees have grown back. They were completely wiped out when US sprayed agent orange that left the entire village looking like a porkmarked moonscape.

You would not notice anything unusual if you walk pass this area.

But when the leaves were removed, you could begin to see there's some covering on the ground.

Okay, so it's a hole on the ground.

It's just like any manhole cover.

Sherman being the bigger size of the small group was invited to try and see if he could fit in the hole.

 And yes, he could slip in the hole,

and reappear 5 meters away from another hole.

This is a view of another tunnel which is bigger and easier to move just by bending.

This tunnel was used to transport the wounded VCs for medical treatment and thus the tunnel had to be bigger.

Yvonne looking into the dugout where wounded soldiers are treated.

The boys were born way after the war, but it's important that they see the harsh reality in a war zone.

How the wounded was transported.

There are many tunnel openings and different tunnels are used for different purposes.

This tunnel is used for strategic meetings by the commander of Cu Chi tunnels.

Sherman exiting from a narrow 30 feet tunnel where he literally had to crawl. In the process, he sprained his leg muscle and could not bend his knee for a couple of days thereafter.

A model of the tunnel system. It can have three levels and go down as deep as 10 meters.

Some system have outlets into the rivers where the VCs and appear and dissappear from the river.

It's an amazing way to fight off an enemy that have the most powerful weapons at their dispossable.

Everything function as normal in the tunnel during the war years. Here, a women soldier does sewing for her comrades in arms. A rifle is hung at the wall for an attack could come within split seconds.

There are many booby traps being deployed during the war, and these are aimed at injuring the soldiers in a terrifying way.

Outside the tunnel display area are some war machines left behind by the Americans when they withdrew hastily. Helicopters such as this was heavily used as they could transport soldiers, food, arms and and provide cover for GIs during an operation.

The tank is a standard machine used on any ground war for advancing onto enemies territory.

You could see how helicopters are being used during the war in the old TV series " Tour of Duty" which is a series on Vietnam War.

Ben Thanh Market.

 Ben Thanh was originally a wet market as early as the 17th century.

 Today, it is a flea market that sells everything from apparels, leather goods and everything Vietnamese, including Vietnamese coffee. There is a section that hawks all local Vietnamese street food, from summer rolls to Phos.

It's a popular stop for all tourist that wish to buy a little bit of Vietnam to bring back home to.

 If you are the type that love to bargain, most of the stalls are ready for you.

 Frankly, I prefer fixed price and stalls like this state clearly with handwritten signage that says price is fixed.
The market open as early as 6.00 am and closes at 6.00 pm everyday.

Nguyen Hue Walking Street.

This boulevard has a broad pedestrain walking street in the middle of a modern commercial center juxtaposed with some colonial French design buildings.

 The Christmas decor is evident in all shops and malls ready to greet the year end festivity.

 It is a place where locals come and socialise, sing, dance, walk and ride hoverboards.

 We too came here to walk around and dine in one of the Restaurant here.

 At the back is a high rise call The Apartment. Every unit is a retail outlet, be it food, coffee of fashion.

 Off the mid section, the crowd is much less.

The two roads flanking it are closed to traffic on weekends which makes the boulevard even wider.

 It's also a place where tourist come to people watch after dinner.

At the lobby of one the the food outlet is a collection of old sewing machines decorated on a wall.

 This place is our choice for dinner as it has multiple choice of local street food available in clean hygienic environment.

 On Christmas Eve we came back to the boulevard to check out the action.

 The crowd was lasrger, but they were simply out here looking for action where there was none.

The vibrancy was not there as there was no organised street party with Christmas songs or any music to hype up the atmosphere. Our highlight was taking our picture at the statue of Uncle Ho.

The Independence Palace.
This structure was build over the site of former Norodom Palace. It is the home and workplace of the President of South Vietnam during the Vietnam War. It is sometimes called the Reunification Palace and is the site that saw the end of Vietnam War when North Vietnamese Army rolled its tanks through the gates in 1975.

 This building is the most significant landmark in the Vietnam war history. When the Americans began withdrawal in a haste, the advancing North Vietnamese Army had march right into the heart of Saigon with tanks and took control of this building.

General Van Minh who had been President for only a day surrender to the NVA and go on radio asking the South Vietnamese soldiers to lay down their arms.

 The palace have two upper levels. This view is from level one towards the front entrance.

 There is a helipad at the second level.

 Credit goes to the authority for preserving this historic building the way it was.

The were many official rooms in this palace and each were large and opulent and meetings and functions continued to be held here in lavish style throughout the war years.State banquets with as many as 100 guests were held in this room. One of the notable events held here was the  inauguration of President Nguyen Van Thieu and his VP Nguyen Cao Ky. The latter subsequently spent his final years in exile and died in Malaysia in 2011.

 This Cabinet Room included sittings of the President and his ministers.  The South Vietnamese government then consist of Prime Minister, 19 Cabinet Ministers and 7 deputy ministers.

 This Conference Hall was where President Nguyen Van Thieu delivered his resignation speech 9 days before the fall of Vietnam. His successor, VP Tran Van Huong  pledged to fight to the bitter end, but resigned just a week later. General Duong Van Minh then took over and was President for a day when he had to surrender to the NVA when they storm into this very palace.

 I am standing at the very gate where the NVA tanks roll in on 30th April, 1975.

 Flashback 30th April, 1975 @ 10.45 am.
The iconic image of the NVA tank rolling past the palace gate that effectively ended the 17 years war.

 This is the Avenue where the NVA tanks came from.

 Flashback 30.4.1975 : The people rush out to greet and welcome the NVA at that Avenue.
The Independence Palace as it stands today.

Flashback 1975 : The Revolutionary Provisional Government ( RPG ) stood guard over the palace. Nothing had changed and the building remain as it was till this day.

 I had to frame this iconic building for my e Christmas Greeting Card to all my friends.

And yes, a picture of the whole family frame up as well. Merry Christmas from Saigon.

The War Remnant Museum.

Vietnam's recent history is tragic as a nation. For a hundred years, they were colonised by France. It was then briefly occupied by Japan during the WW2, but following the surrender of Japan, the French returned to rule. However, the Vietnamese wanted self rule. The Americans were supportive, but when Mao came into power in China, the balance of power began to tip towards Communism. Russia under Lenin had brought together countries on the Eastern Europe and formed the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic (USSR), a vast communist bloc. Long story short, Ho Chi Min's strive for country's liberation was opposed by US simply to check the spread of Communism. And so the notion of Domino theory was created by Dwight Eisenhower, in that if  Vietnam falls, Thailand, Burma, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and India will eventually fall to the Communist. After the promised election never came about, Ho Chi Minh began insurgency movements in the South. The US at first sent only troops to trained and provide weapons to the South Vietnamese government, but this eventually escalated into direct full scale conflict that lasted 17 years. The resilience of the people lead by Ho Chi Minh eventually triumph when the US withdrew in 1975. Although he died before capturing South Vietnam, Saigon was renamed after him as a fitting tribute.

The war in Vietnam that was never declared is the most devastating of all wars in the history of mankind. The sheer volume of bombs and chemicals being used, the cost to the environment and most of all, fatalities and injuries to human life, including civilians far exceed that of even WW1 and WW2 combined !  

 Outside the War Remnants Museum.

There are three levels in the building and each having rooms that display mostly photos.

These are actual photos taken during the war by journalist and it portray stark images of a horrifying war. Just the photographs alone is enough to evoke a lot of emotions. It does not matter which side of the fence you are on, but as a human being, you feel sad and angry that this disaster is man made.

Hawkish leader with no sense of morality. Being a Commander of the most powerful nation, you can talk and bull your way around. 

 This picture taken from the museum shows the devastating effect of Agent Orange. What was once a rich forest is completely stripped bare by chemicals to take away the forest cover and food crops. It doesn't matter that there are civilian living in villages. Vietnam's peasantry population is large and the vast majority lives here as their livelihood depended on it. 3.1 million hectares of forest were destroyed, that's about 18% of Vietnam's total forest. 

This iconic picture is the most emotionally moving image on the horror of Vietnam War. The little naked girl is running away from the napalm being dropped by the US at the background. She was helped taken for treatment by this photographer and thankfully, she survived the ordeal after countless operations. Phan Thi Kim Phuc is now living in Canada and still suffers from pereneial pain from the burnt tissues.

 Picture of one of the three million people exposed to Agent Orange.

 Another one million people are born with defect.

The US dispute the numbers. The reality is the high level of dioxin chemicals have contaminated the soil and entered the food chain. Crops, poultry and fishes becomes carriers of the poison resulting in a wide variety of birth deformity and illness.

 Another heart rending picture is that of a mother herding her very young children across the river in a bid to escape the bombings in their vicinity.

 The model of a jail used by the South Vietnamese government. Inside are horrifying tools of tortures and even a guillotine.

 This is a tiger cage. The captured Vietcongs are kept within this very narrow cage of barbed wire. There is hardly any room for you to move or bend your legs or body. Human beings are worst than animals.

 Statistics of the war as illustrated in the museum. During WW2, a total of 5 million tons of bombs were dropped by the allied countries over various enemy countries. In the this undeclared war, the US dropped 14.3 million tons of bombs in Vietnam alone!

 Outside the compound, some of the war machines left behind by the US are in full display.

 Callum and Sherman having a first hand knowledge of the war.

 The choppers were a very integral part of the war. Depending on their specifics, they are used to ferry personnel back and forth to the operation site. In addition, they carry food, provisions and arms and carry the wounded back to base. They are also used to provide cover when attacking or retreating.

One of the captured SVNAF planes on display.

 Many of these war machines are being featured in the old TV series " Tour of Duty", a popular series of the Vietnam War that was screening weekly on TV in the late 80s.

 The boys were born way after the war, and we hope that their generations understood how destructive war can be.

The War Museum is a must visit. It wakes our conscience and see the folly of wars.
 No war is justified!

We also see how hawkish leaders of a country can fooled their own citizens to support a war that should not have been allowed. The domino theory is a ruse. It is a justification to go into war. Vietnam is now a Communist State but Thailand, Myanmar, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and India did not fell to the Communist after that. Just like in Iraq, the justification to attack the country was the "irrefutable evidence of weapons of mass destruction". After invading Iraq and allowing it's internal opposition to kill their leader, the irrefutable evidence was nowhere to be found. It is nothing more than a smoke screen. Iraq is thereafter left in ruins with a broken down system of government. Today, that same government is rattling the same rhetoric against North Korea and China. And again, the people are led to believe that both these countries are out to destroy the world and must be stopped. We will all not survived a third World War, no matter who is right and who is wrong. As peaceful citizens of the world, we must not be fooled into allowing another war to take place.

Ben Thanh Seafood Stalls.
There are too many nice restaurants with mouth watering dishes in Vietnam. In our very short stay here, we could only go for those really local and popular. One of those was a stall outside Ben Thanh market. We notice that it had nice seafood spread and busy with patrons.

 We had to come here and try it out ourselves.

 So we decided on the eve of our departure to have our dinner here.

 What had attracted our attention was the large meat crab and huge prawns.

In addition, we ordered other local dishes.

 This lady came and peel the shell of the prawns for us. She also cracked the shell of the crabs so that we need not have to do it ourselves. You never have this kind of service in any fancy restaurant.

Sherman is already salivating over this big one.

Chomp, yum, yum. Delicious and fulfilling, we ate to our hearts content. For a street food with makeshift tent, the bill came up to VND 2.9 M. That is around RM 550.00. But believe me, it is worth every bit for what we ordered. 

Our trip was short and sweet. This being my third time here, I can see the progress made from the very first time when I came here more than 10 years ago. At the and of the War in 1975, the population then was close to 50 million people. Today, Vietnam has a population of 92 million. That means 42 million Vietnamese were born after the war and the oldest among them is 40 years old. This group do not suffer from the war and have no enmity towards America.But being the resilient kind of people, they have brought much progress to their country. You can say through them, Vietnam did not look behind at their unfortunate past but strive to have a better live for themselves. They are not a country that expect handouts nor fight for justice but is cruising ahead at a rapid pace of development.
Their economic growth has been an impressive 5.9 % the last few years after growing over 8% for the past two decades. Truly, the industrious hard working people did not allow the war to destroy them. They are truly a Phoenix that rise from the ashes.
If you visit Vietnam, you will see most of the people in business activity are 40 years and below. The older ones who went through the war are not so visible. Most would not be so active to be out in the streets but would be confine more indoors or at the rural outback.