Ho Chi Minh City - The Long Journey to Peace
Vietnam

Ho Chi Minh City - The Long Journey to Peace

Soon after the announcement from the cockpit to get ready for landing, the enjoyable one-hour inaugural flight from Bangkok to Ho Chi Minh City operated by Bangkok Airways successfully touched down at Tam Son Nhat International Airport.

As all the passengers and I were disembarking, we were welcomed by Vietnamese ladies in Ao Dai, (the national costume) who said, “Xin Chao,” which means hello. The Vietnamese language is part of the Austroasiatic family with many words that were borrowed from Chinese but written with the Latin alphabet.

Previously known as “Saigon,” the city located in the south of Vietnam was later renamed “Ho Chi Minh City” to commemorate the nation’s revolutionary hero, Ho Chi Minh, the communist leader who led Vietnam to independence. The patriotic Ho Chi Minh found it unbearable to see Vietnamese people being treated unfairly by the French all the time when Vietnam was under the control of the French. The tension from being ruled by a Western power led him to the idea to drive out the French from his beloved land. He decided to travel abroad to gather experience and forge alliances for the independence movement. Thirty years later in 1941, Ho Chi Minh returned to Vietnam, established the communist-governed Democratic Republic of Vietnam in 1945 and defeated the French Empire in 1954.

Due to the influence of the French colonization, and because many original Vietnamese houses were destroyed during several wars, today most remaining old buildings in Ho Chi Minh City are in elegant European style.

For first-time visitors, the streets of Ho Chi Minh City and other large cities of Vietnam seem completely chaotic due to the huge flocks of motorbikes, the most popular transportation in town. However, most of them are not ridden so fast. There is a trick to walking across the street. Just keep walking ahead! Do not step back or you will be bumped by a motocycle. After a few days, you will get used to it.

My first meal in Ho Chi Minh was authentic Vietnamese cuisine at Song Ngu Restaurant and it was also made more enjoyable by the accompaniment of Vietnamese folk performances comprising three musical instruments – dulcimer, Guzheng (Chinese Zither) and Tuong (Vietnamese single-string lute). Although Vietnamese folk music sounds similar to Chinese, the rhythms and lyrics are mainly about lamenting and grieving over being apart from beloved ones because of wars.

Cu Chi Tunnel is one of the first attractions to visit when you arrive at Ho Chi Minh City. It was a notorious and harsh battlefield between Vietnam and the U.S. The Vietnam War occurred from 1959 to April 30, 1975 due to the political conflicts between communists in North Vietnam and capitalists in South Vietnam supported by the U.S. In order to unify Vietnam, the communist government of North Vietnam sent the National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam (known as the Viet Cong for short) to the south. The action led to bloodshed between the Viet Cong and the US. A large number of U.S. troops were deployed in South Vietnam but the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam) eventually emerged victorious. More than 58,000 U.S. soldiers were claimed dead but the war took the lives of even more Vietnamese, estimated between 2-5.7 million, most of whom were civilians. It is believed about 100,000 U.S. soldiers killed themselves to escape the brutal slaughter.

The Cu Chi Tunnel was built in the early 1940s during the war against the French but became famous for being used as a hideout for surprise attacks against the Americans and their allied troops in the later Vietnam War. The tunnels in the system have a combined length of 250 kilometers. They are 60-70 cm wide and 80-90 cm high. The tunnel complex, dubbed the “Underground Village” was divided up for multi-purpose functions, including a meeting room, kitchen, first aid room, and secret ways leading to the river in case of enemy attacks. The tunnels, which were dug with only rudimentary hand tools such as hoes and shovels but with the great effort of men, later became an underground residential complex with facilities and enemy traps. Most tourists visiting to Cu Chi Tunnel will duck into the underground passage to experience the feeling of fear when trying to escape from the suffering of war. It is one of the not-to-be-missed activities in Ho Chi Minh City.

Now let’s leave the painful mournful story of war behind and turn to the many other interesting things you can see in Vietnam at present. First, let’s go shopping! The biggest marketplace in town, Benh Tanh Market, has everything you need for everyday life, from fresh and dried food to clothes and souvenirs. The most popular products among tourists are Vietnamese hats and wooden dolls. The Vietnamese currency is the Dong but the U.S. Dollar is also widely accepted (1 Dollar for 15,000 Dong at the time I visited). In general, you can buy things at Benh Tanh Market at a low price, but bargaining skill is needed to get the lowest price. Shopping in Vietnam is such an adventure!

During the evening outside Benh Tanh market, there are lots of stalls selling fresh seafood. Nearby is a public park where residents of Saigon come to relax and exercise. The park is shaded by a large number of huge trees that are over 30 years old. Each one has been painted and marked with a registration number. The local government has taken good care of most of the old trees in Ho Chi Minh City, and the cityscape is beautified by several public parks. In the evening, public parks are the places for teen couples to meet. In the morning adults and families go to the parks for exercise. After the fitness activities, most of them normally stop by the small roadside coffeeshops to have a cup of coffee. Vietnamese ground coffee is really famous for its aroma and has become the country’s second most exported product.

Ho Chi Minh City is a city with outstanding architecture and Notre Dame, the French-built Catholic cathedral on Han Tuyen Road, is one of the most elegant buildings in town. Its 40-meter twin towers always call the attention of tourists. In front of the cathedral is a statue of Mary, Mother of Jesus, which is highly respected by Vietnamese Christians. It could be considered a miracle that the image of Mary survived the many wars in Vietnam until today. Nowadays, the building of Notre Dame Cathedral has become a popular backdrop for wedding photos in Saigon. Next to the cathedral is the Central Post Office, the biggest in Vietnam, built in French colonial style with elaborate stained glass decorations.

To recall history, the War Remnant Museum shouldn’t be missed in your sightseeing program. The museum contains displays relating to the Vietnam War (which is called the American War by the Vietnamese). Before you get into the building, within a walled yard you can see an outdoor exhibition of period military equipment including a UH-1 “Huey” helicopter, an F-5A fighter, a BLU-82 “Daisy Cutter” bomb, an M48 Patton tank, and an A-1 attack bomber. The main building of the museum houses a large number of gruesome photographs captured during the Vietnam war revealing to the world the cruelty and the great effects after the warfare.

Beside the main exhibition building is the so-called “Tiger Cages,” where the South Vietnamese government kept political prisoners. Some photos of them hung on the wall reveal children and women who were tortured while imprisoned in this place. Next to the prison are two rooms exhibiting more photos exposing severe scenes of the war, most taken by foreigners. Although the USA finally withdrew its troops from Vietnam as a loser, yet the photos can prove that, in fact, there is no actual winner for the war and great losses for all sides.

Located near the main exhibition building is the president’s house, the residence of the former president of South Vietnam. The most spectacular part of the house is its underground complex, including a bedroom with radio transmission equipment, a kitchen, and a large meeting room, which is the most significant in Vietnam history because the agreement of reunification of both halves of Vietnam took place in this room. At present, Vietnam’s national flag is waving in the wind on the top of this building above the sky of Ho Chi Minh City. The yellow star on the red background on the flag proudly indicates the independence of the nation.

In the evening while we were enjoying the dusk scene on the top floor of the former president’s house, our Vietnamese guide had some words of farewell, “Although we don’t want to retain bad memories about the savage war, the new generation of Vietnamese have to keep those memories in mind to warn themselves to keep the union of the nation strong and not to kill each other like what happened in the past.”

Story & Photos:by Piyanuch Deenonode . Tropical All Rights Reserved.
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ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF) 2009 @ Hanoi Vietnam