On the Town

Our last full day in Vietnam and in Ho Chi Minh City, we elected not to accompany the group but to spend the day on the town by ourselves.

The group went to the Cu Chi tunnels, an exhibit of a part of the extensive tunnel network that Vietnamese resistance fighters used to fight the Japanese and the French, and which were continually expanded by the Viet Cong in the American War. It's fascinating, but we had seen it three years ago.

After breakfast, we set out from the hotel. Immediately we noted that traffic was much more calm on a Sunday morning. We'd only gone a couple blocks when we happened upon a free concert being given with traditional instruments on the front steps of the Opera. We were almost the only tourists, it was primarily locals in the audience. We stayed only a short time.

Communist propaganda posters can still be seen occasionally around the city, but they are no longer common.

It was a very pleasant morning for a walk -- not yet hot and not as humid as the day before (however, given the weather back home, we are resolved not to complain in the least about the heat). Walking also helped us realize how compact the city center actually is. Riding on a bus that is crawling through traffic distorts one's sense of distance.

Our destination was the "Independence Palace." According to the literature provided, this structure occupies the site of the French colonial governor's mansion, which had been built in 1868. When the French left in 1954, it became the presidential mansion and was renamed as Independence Palace.

The beautiful French structure was bombed in 1962, and then-president Diem ordered the damaged building torn down and replaced. Diem was assassinated in 1963, which delayed construction, but his successor, President Thieu finally had the project completed in 1967.

The result is the present building, which has a definite '60s look. It was the center for much of the decision-making in the final years of the Republic. Photos of visitors include Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger, among others.

As we entered, we noted a bus with the OAT logo in the window, and realized that one of the several other OAT groups must be here. The "Ancient Kingdoms" trip we took three years ago now has an adjusted itinerary with an extra day in Saigon.

 We happened to run into the OAT group inside, along with Mr. Vu, the OAT office manager for Saigon. Vu has been hanging around our hotel and tagged along with our group one day in Dalat, observing the guides and generally keeping tabs on things. When he spotted us, he went out of his way speak and to give us some helpful pointers on what to see.

The lower floors are primarily large meeting rooms for receptions and banquets. The second floor contained formal reception rooms, offices, and rooms for smaller meetings, as well as the private apartments for the presidential family. The third floor featured a theater, game room, and a reception room for the first lady.

A fourth floor had been designed as an expansive meditation room for the president, with a great deal of glass. However, President Thieu apparently had little use for meditation, and turned it into a party room with a bar and dance floor. There's also a helipad with a Huey helicopter parked on it.

Perhaps the most fascinating part of the mansion was the Bunker. This is essentially the basement, but it was a concrete-reinforced command center, including a presidential office and bedroom, war room, security, and communication center.

I was probably the only tourist nerdy enough to take photos of the communication center, but some of the old radio gear was familiar from my earliest years as an amateur radio operator.

I owned a "cousin" to this shortwave radio receiver when I was in high school!

From the Independence Palace it was a very short walk to the Ben Thanh Market. This crowded building contains hundreds of stalls selling almost anything imaginable, if one is not terribly particular about quality. We are not great bargainers, and frankly don't enjoy shopping very much, but we made a few purchases and probably didn't pay too much more than we should have.

A longer walk took us from the Market to the financial district, where our guide had suggested we might find some places to eat. We were not interested in a large meal, however, and most places were expensive. We finally landed at a "biergarten" (though no Germans were in sight) where the beer was reasonable but the soup was horribly overpriced.

Everywhere we went, the preparations for the Tet new year celebration were in full swing. The year of the rooster begins in a few days, and every business is decked out.

We had pretty much done everything we'd planned for the day by noon, so we had some down time at the hotel to pack and get ready for our homeward journey tomorrow.

In the evening, we reunited with the group for our "farewell banquet." Most of the group is going on to Cambodia to see Ankgor Wat. However, since I am the only member of this group still gainfully employed, and since we visited that site three years ago, we will not be joining them.

The banquet meal was held at a restaurant whose clientele consisted entirely of Western tourist groups. It did involve some foods we hadn't encountered before, and was very good. However the room was noisy and it was difficult to converse. Our guide reviewed the entire trip and went around the table, asking each person for their reflections. I could have done without that.

We were back early to pack, and hoping for a good night's sleep before beginning the long flights home tomorrow.