a typical evening out in front of The Rex Hotel in District 1 which is still called Sai Gon.

Vibrancy is everywhere and everyone is busy going somewhere or doing something. This is a city that does not sleep.  The heart of District 1 is where most visitors will be based. The Rex Hotel, famous for its rooftop bar is a great place to watch life below. The hotel itself has gone very upscale these days.  I actually miss the old ambience even when some things did not work well.   But coming out of The Rex, turn up towards the Opera House– yes, another beautiful replica.  The French did leave nice architecture as well as croissants!  Just opposite the Opera House is The Continental Hotel, the hangout of The Quiet American, and the story written by Graham Greene, later made into a movie- set in Saigon during the 1950’s.
Walk down from The Continental down Dong Khoi Street, known as the Champs Elysees of Saigon- taking you down to the waterfront and The Majestic Hotel.

A short walk in the other direction from The Continental on Dong Khoi Street will bring you to Notre Dame Cathedral and the Saigon Central Post Office built by the French in the late 1800s.  Step inside the gothic and renaissance style building and see the two huge painted maps, one showing Southern Vietnam and Cambodge, and the other showing Saigon City in 1892. A large portrait of Ho Chi Minh looms over the booths selling stamps.

Reunification Palace and The Saigon Central Post Office

Reunification Palace
a short walk from Notre Dame Cathedral and the Post Office.
When a North Vietnamese tank crashed though the main gates on 30 April, 1975, Saigon fell to the North marking the end of the war. A visit into this Time Bubble is a must for any first-time visitor to Ho Chi Minh City.
See Travelfish report: Click Here.

My own first arrival into Ho Chi Minh City
Back in 1991 while working on board the Society Explorer, we sailed on our first cruise to Vietnam. Cruising up the Saigon River, we were very excited to see this country which was slowly opening up to the outside world again. Wanting to make a good impression, we were set to welcome the local authorities to clear us into the port. Traditionally ships fly their flag of ship’s registry and cruise ships also hoist the flag of the host country they are sailing into. The US still did not have full diplomatic relations and our US office sent us a box with a flag labelled Vietnam. The ship’s crew member took the box to hoist the flag, not realizing the office had actually sent the former flag of South Vietnam before 1975!
This of course created great embarrassment with local officials seeing this flag- not the first impression we wanted to make. We were immediatley fined by immigration and customs officials, but fortunately our land agent helped smooth things out. They were also very excited to welcome us to their country. It was quite a first trip experience, with people coming together as new friends, and may it stay that way.
Vietnam has come such a long way from those earlier years of economic hardship and post war pains.
My heart goes out to the resilience of the hard-working Vietnamese people who just wish to move forward.

Museum of Vietnamese History
also worthwhile to visit- set within the Botanical Gardens offering an introduction to early history and the Vietnamese dynasties.

Cu Chi Tunnels
A little over 40 km drive northwest of Ho Chi Minh City brings you to this historic underground network of tunnels used by the Viet Cong as their strategic base during the American War.
First built in the 1940s against the French, the network expanded to over 200 km during the American war, connecting villages and serving as an underground city allowing the Viet Cong soldiers to survive bombings, to move undetected in hidden living quarters of kitchens, hospitals and command centers.
Today, visitors can explore reconstructed tunnels (larger for comfort), see examples of traps, learn about wartime life, and even fire weapons at shooting ranges.
Although there is an element of present-day visitors coming to “have fun” playing soldier, which can really disturb me, it is important these tunnels stand as a testament to the ingenuity and perseverance of the Vietnamese people during their long struggle for independence.

Laos and Cambodia were drawn into the American-Vietnam war as well,with secret bombing campaigns of what was called the Ho Chi Minh Trail along eastern Laos and Cambodia where North Vietnamese transported supplies to the Viet Cong in the South. Sadly far too many civilians were also killed or injured during theseb bombings, with parts of Laos still challenged by unexploded UXO ordnance.

Read Bombs and More Bombs: How many more Limbs need to be Lost:
https://alamasia.net/bombs-and-bombs-how-many-more-limbs-need-to-be-lost/

Hotels in Saigon

The Continental for nostalgia opposite the Opera House:
https://continentalsaigon.com/

The Majestic-   overlooking the Saigon River:
http://majesticsaigon.com/

Loads of other small, comfy, reasonably priced hotels in Saigon District 1 – see online hotel sites.

Getting to and from Ho Chi Minh City

Ho Chi Minh’s Tan Son Nhat Airport  (SGN)  is located 6 km from the city center and is ever expanding handling domestic and international flights.
A huge new Long Thanh International Airport (LTI) is under construction, approxx 50km further out of the city. There is talk of international flights starting up from LTI sometime in 2026 and it seems domestic flights and some international flights will continue to operate out of SGN.
Hopefully a new Expressway or possibly a train service can be completed out to the new LTI airport in future.

Train Travel in Vietnam:  https://www.seat61.com/Vietnam.ht

Cambodia:
Phnom Penh and Siem Reap are short hops by plane and it is also possible to travel overland by bus,
6 hours to Phnom Penh and another 5- 6 hours on to Siem Reap.

Laos:
Flights to Vientiane in Laos connect to Luang Prabang on Vietnam Airlines or Lao Airlines.
To explore southern Laos, check into a possible direct flight to Pakse on:
http://www.laoairlines.com/

Indochine Film and Miss Saigon

Indochine  – a stunning Film
Another flavour of what Vietnam was like under the French, watch this film starring Catherine Deneuve. Set during the 1930’s-50s, the film tells the story of a French plantation owner and of her adopted Vietnamese daughter during the nationalist uprising.
Click for the Trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xJQPuY3G7k

A Heart Touching Musical

I have to include this link to one of my favorite musicals which originally opened in 1989 with Lea Salonga. This Cameron Mackintosh production was revived again in London and went on to Broadway after 25 years with Eva Nobelzada as the new Kim and has continued on world tours.  It is the tragic love story of Kim, orphaned after her village is bombed, and who falls in love with an American GI hoping for a better life, but gets left behind after the Fall of Saigon. It’s a story of the cruelty of war which tears mankind apart, scattering families, children abandoned and the sacrifice made by women. A story of many other real Kim’s and victims of all sides in the tragedy of war.

The beautiful music by Claude-Michel Schönberg & Alain Boublil sets the tone for this iconic production.

Travel Onward:

The Mekong Delta:   CLICK HERE

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