Saigon is big and hot and filled with all sorts of things. Like the central market. Do not stop in the central market if you do not wish to make a purchase.
But the central part of the city is quite walkable, and past the Revolutionary Palace...
...is the War Remnants Museum.
The artifacts on the lawn--a couple of tanks, two planes, a huey and a good deal of artillery--have become a gathering place for both visitors and Vietnamese affected by the war or its fallout. I talked with one man who'd lost both his arms and one of his legs sitting on a landmine in 1977--two years after the war was over. He seemed to have gotten a job with the division of the tourism ministry responsible for selling books and war postcards, of which I now own several.
Inside, the museum features the usual uniforms and light weapons, but it's the pictures that really tell the story. I don't know how they got ahold of such a vast collection, but it covers everything from My Lai to Agent Orange birth defects to waterboarding prisoners (shown below). On the second floor there's a memorial to all the photographers killed making sure we don't forget about these things.
Back out in the sun, and after lunch, we headed for Notre Dame...
...where the pre-wedding photography session was taking place. Many couples in these parts get all dolled up months before the wedding for portrait day, ensuring all their guests receive their photos on the big day itself (rather than waiting around for three months after the fact).
Traffic is, of course, the same as everywhere else.
Then there's the museum of I-don't-know-what. Ancient stone carvings, naval instrumentation, a weddings-by-ethnicity pavilion, and less-than-stunning taxidermy.
Opera house...
Central square...
Off-limits palace...
And Xmas! In Saigon! Where it's 80 degrees outside!
The sidewalks all contain displays like these. Reminiscent of the kinds of decor you find in American malls, there's always something that tips you off to the fact that you're not in Kansas anymore. And it's not even the giant mushrooms. Check out Snow White in the background.
As usual, nights are best spent on a rooftop bar, watching traffic, drinking Long Ireland Iced Teas and photographing the more-or-less amusing menus.
But the central part of the city is quite walkable, and past the Revolutionary Palace...
...is the War Remnants Museum.
The artifacts on the lawn--a couple of tanks, two planes, a huey and a good deal of artillery--have become a gathering place for both visitors and Vietnamese affected by the war or its fallout. I talked with one man who'd lost both his arms and one of his legs sitting on a landmine in 1977--two years after the war was over. He seemed to have gotten a job with the division of the tourism ministry responsible for selling books and war postcards, of which I now own several.
Inside, the museum features the usual uniforms and light weapons, but it's the pictures that really tell the story. I don't know how they got ahold of such a vast collection, but it covers everything from My Lai to Agent Orange birth defects to waterboarding prisoners (shown below). On the second floor there's a memorial to all the photographers killed making sure we don't forget about these things.
Back out in the sun, and after lunch, we headed for Notre Dame...
...where the pre-wedding photography session was taking place. Many couples in these parts get all dolled up months before the wedding for portrait day, ensuring all their guests receive their photos on the big day itself (rather than waiting around for three months after the fact).
Traffic is, of course, the same as everywhere else.
Then there's the museum of I-don't-know-what. Ancient stone carvings, naval instrumentation, a weddings-by-ethnicity pavilion, and less-than-stunning taxidermy.
Opera house...
Central square...
Off-limits palace...
And Xmas! In Saigon! Where it's 80 degrees outside!
The sidewalks all contain displays like these. Reminiscent of the kinds of decor you find in American malls, there's always something that tips you off to the fact that you're not in Kansas anymore. And it's not even the giant mushrooms. Check out Snow White in the background.
As usual, nights are best spent on a rooftop bar, watching traffic, drinking Long Ireland Iced Teas and photographing the more-or-less amusing menus.
2 comments:
Long Ireland Ice Tea [sic] ????
Dad
Nope. We encountered that more than once. Kind of a running joke in menus.
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