Buhr blog: Vietnam - Ho Chi Minh City

We started our Vietnam portion of our vacation by taking a bus from Phnom Penh in Cambodia to Ho Chi Minh City. In Cambodia we had spent most of our time working by teaching English at an orphanage and other places but in Vietnam it was to be more like a vacation. In Ho Chi Minh City we went to the War Remnants Museum which showed the Vietnamese perspective of the Vietnam War. In Vietnam they call that war The American War of Agression. We really, really liked this museum, and spent many hours here. There was one floor of large framed photos showing pictures of the war with explanations, before and after pictures of Vietnam, pictures of how people in other parts of the world supported the Vietnamese people, and what people looked like who had been affected by Agent Orange and Napalm (chemicals used as warfare to destroy crops and foliage allowing American soldiers to see where to attack the Vietnamese. (I - Eileen - finally had to stop looking because there were so many pictures and they were all so sad.) Agent Orange caused many deformities in children - both born and unborn - even to the third or more generation. The museum had fighter planes, a children's peace room with activities and dress up clothes, and various other artifacts like bombs, destroyed objects from the war, and even a cement well where Vietnamese children had hidden from American soldiers (who did find them and kill some of them). Seeing and reading about these things was very sobering, eye-opening, and horrific in parts. In the evening we went to a cultural show - Hon Viet: The Soul of Vietnam - at the Saigon Opera House.We really liked the show (read our review on Tripadvisor).The show was like a cross section of some of the traditional stories, songs, and dances of Vietnam. There were also a few small Vietnamese appetizers to eat before the show.

Garth trying to make some extra money selling coconut juice on the way to the War Remnants Museum. The box has ice in it to keep some of the coconuts cold. The coconuts on the right have had the brown skins taken off already. There is not much juice inside but it is refreshing on a hot day and we tried to scrape out as much coconut from the inside that we could

Hannah posing in front of an American helicopter from the Vietnam War / American War of Agression

The girls standing beside the print of Napalm girl (Phan Thi Kim Phuc running naked on the road being severely burned from Napalm) - a very famous and award winning photograph known throughout the world.

The girls standing in front of different bombs that were used in the war

Kate posing with some ushers from the Hon Viet show

Elizabeth with one of the ushers

Garth standing with one of the ushers

Saigon Opera House

The next day we took a day trip to Cu Chi tunnels. The underground tunnels were built by the Viet Cong during the Vietnam war to defend themselves against the Americans. It was quite an extensive tunnel system that even had cooking facilities underground. There were 3 different levels of underground tunnels we were told although we actually only saw one level. It was interesting to see B52 bomb craters in the area. Garth tried to fit in an original tunnel that was built, but he was too big (must be eating too much food on vacation) and got stuck trying to get out again. We all laughed a lot about this but Garth took it well. They have other tunnels that have been widened so everyone can go down them; the Vietnamese people are definitely a small people - both petite and short - compared to Western people and even other Asians. The Vietnamese people in this area lived in these tunnels for 17 years, carrying on with their lives but also counteracting the Americans by building really vicious traps against them, creating weapons and other things to sabotage the Americans.

B52 Bomb crater at Cui Chi tunnels (it is hard to see the big depression in the soil in this picture but it was quite steep to look down)

Vietnamese person demonstrating how they got into the tunnels. He is holding the camoflauged cover of the hole over his head

Garth is not able to fit in one of the original tunnels

Aimee coming out of one of the tunnels that was widened for the tourists. Everyone else except me (Eileen) went through the 50 foot underground demonstration tunnels. I just could not do it even though I am usually the first to try adventurous things; it was so stuffy and narrow and I had to bend over - the closest I have gotten to feeling claustrophobic in my life

The last day in Ho Chi Minh we went to Ben Thanh market and the Reunification Palace. At Ben Thanh Market Garth bought some Kopi Luwak. Kopi Luwak is the most expensive coffee in the world. Read the link below to see how it is made (it is nasty!). At the Ben Thanh Market it cost approximately $35 a kilogram (Canadian $) so I bought only 200 grams.

Luwak coffee at Ben Thanh market. Garth paid 70 000 Dong ($3.50) for 100 grams. Knowing how Kopi Luwak was made, we can only guess what the Squirrel coffee was made from???

See link to see more information about Kopi Luwak

The Reunification Palace where the South Vietnamese president lived was kept in the same condition as when the Viet Cong captured the building in April, 1975. It was originally called the Independence Palace but after it was captured by the Viet Cong it was changed to Reunification Palace. On the roof of the palace it showed where two bombs had hit the palace, dropped by a pilot who was supposed to be on the South Vietnamese side but turned traitor. There was even a secret staircase for the president to go from his office in an upper floor to go down to the bunker in the basement.