Saigon, Vietnam/Ho Chi Minh City

Morning commute in Saigon.

If its over eight million residents still refer to it as Saigon, then so shall I. Certainly it is the country's economic center and therefore has all the fine things one might want in a city: fine dining, designer everything, luxury vehicles, five star hotels, you name it. Our ship's "Currents" compared it to Singapore and Bangkok in that respect. Not yet having been to Bangkok, I cannot say, but it certainly has more people, more traffic, more construction-in- progress and sadly, more litter in the streets than Singapore. Perhaps they would do well to enact Singapore's laws against littering. Although I was taken outside the city each day on my chosen excursions, I still have no idea where the city limits might be. If the suburbs have names, I did not learn them. Were I to try to describe Saigon with a single phrase it would be "The City That Never Stops!" Even when forced to stop for a traffic light on their scooters, their bodies are in constant motion. I was captivated by the overwhelming number of bikes and the amazing number of people on those bikes. Our guide told us two was the legal limit. My highest count was a family of five: Dad, two toddlers and Mom with an infant in her arms. Obviously that law is not enforced! Happy, prosperous, friendly young people everywhere. This is the Saigon I hope to remember. Young ladies hugging their date/husband with one arm and smiling and waving wildly at me with the other as I stared in awe out my bus window.

On the first day my excursion of choice was "Good Morning, Viet Nam!" Our guide felt compelled to point out the hotel in which Robin Williams stayed while filming that movie. Five star, no doubt. From there we drove by the home of General Westmoreland during the war, noting that it was due to be razed within a year or so to make room for yet another skyscraper of one elk or another. We also passed by some kind of park with rows and rows of trees planted in perfect alignment. Soon we arrived at the War Remnants Museum. Forgive me for omitting the full name of this museum, but my keyboard simply does not have most of the characters necessary for accuracy, or if it does I don't know how to use them. In the courtyard of this museum were a couple of tanks, a helicopter or two and I think a Cessna. While I did wander through these relics before entering the museum, I uncharacteristically did not snap any pictures of the display. The images I encountered inside obliterated any memories of the courtyard. I feel I must stress that the museum is like none other that I have ever visited. I have spent insufficient time in the World War II Museum in New Orleans. It was moving. Terribly moving. This museum housed the most horrific war photographs and accounts of incidents that I have ever seen in my entire life. I pray NOTHING of this degree of depravity ever again occurs on the face of the earth. The old adage "War is Hell" is so hopelessly inadequate. The section devoted to "War Crimes" (and so named) was heart-wrenching enough but I was able to contain my emotions so that I could view all the exhibits. Then I moved on to the section revealing the effects of agent orange. This display was my undoing. Though I have heard much regarding the cancer and other problems it caused to our soldiers, I was totally unprepared for the extent of disfigurement I saw in those photographs. Beyond horrible!

Final airlift out of Saigon from atop a CIA apartment house. You may recall this photo from the news. We were also shown the area where a plane loaded with 167 war orphans crashed on takeoff. Other "Baby Lift" efforts were successful. We were encouraged to google it but I have not yet had an opportunity to do so. If I remember correctly hundreds of war babies were saved in later such flights.

About an hours drive into the countryside, we were served a delicious traditional Vietnamese lunch outdoors surrounded by gardens and waterways. Though at times I was unsure of what I was eating, it was very tasty and enjoyable. From this stop we only traveled a short distance to the Vietcong tunnels. Another chilling experience. During our travels, our guide shared his perspective of the war and overall state of today's Vietnam.

This differed greatly from the picture painted in the north. Is the current Vietnam indeed reunified? No. Do they hate each other? Again, no. There are differences, therefore people generally tend to socialize with and surround themselves with like kind. In his estimation it will take at least two more generations removed from the war to achieve true reunification. I wish him luck on that one. Do the South Vietnamese (though he never referred to them thusly) resent the US involvement in their war? No! The removal of ground troops? Yes. The pulling out of air support? Most definitely! He seems to credit the post war successes to a number of factors: the realization of its leaders that communism in its purest form does not work in today's world economy; the US lifting of embargos; the death of Ho Chi Minh; the programs implemented by his successor whose name escapes me at this writing; and last but not least, the passage of time. He was asked if the number of children was now limited. His immediate response was "No", but then he waffled. He, since he is not employed by the government, could have as many children as he wanted. (Prudence does seem to dictate that two is all one can afford, however.) His wife who is employed by the government as a teacher, would lose her job if she were to have more than two children. At one time, the preference was for sons. Now it is for one of each. The reason in the change in thinking, he explained, was that daughters are more helpful to their parents while sons are only interested in their own life and well being. His words, merely repeated by me.

Entrance to the tunnels. Note size relative to the camera. We could chose to drop down into the tunnel and crawl some twelve feet to another enlarged opening. I did not do so after seeing a guy smaller than I around the middle get stuck. No thank you.

Our guide's captivating remarks were cut short by our arrival at the tunnels. Those we visited represent only a small piece of the network of tunnels existing during the war. The nearby army base has restored this section to its original condition except for the necessary addition of some safety features for the sake of the tourist. Above ground, walking paths through the jungle have been provided for the comfort of said tourist. Thank you, Sirs, Mockups of the sneaky little death traps have been constructed and scattered along the pathway to give one the full effect. Not sure that it was purposely planned or not, but the constant sound of heavy arms fire in the adjacent military base added more than a little drama to the tunnels.

Just one of the many luxury hotels we passed on way back to the pier.

Today Is Someday! Appreciate Life!