Saigon (Vietnam)

After a 17 hour train ride south of Hoi An, we arrived in Ho Chi Minh City (formerly known as Saigon). We spent a few days in Saigon and then went to the Mekong Delta for a couple of days before returning to Saigon again. This time we were all able to get seats in first class on the train. The scenery was fantastic but the facilities were not exactly "Western". Check it out.


The most impressive and saddening experience in Saigon was visiting the War Remnants Museum. There were 8 halls of exhibits inside the museum documenting the Vietnam war, complete with tanks and empty artillery outside of the museum. The devastation to the people and the country is unforgettable and made us all very grateful that we have not had to experience the direct effect of war so far in our lives. Most grotesque is the continuing effect that Agent Orange is playing in the population due to debilitating birth defects. Many of the American Soldiers received compensation for their exposure to this chemical. The Vietnamese people have been appealing to the US government for years to also receive compensation, particularly as infants continue to be born with defects as a result of their parents exposure to the chemical and the very contaminated soil. The next few pictures are all from the War Remnants Museum. Some of them are quite graphic and disturbing.

These two pictures are a couple of many similar pictures lining the walls of the museum. I think they speak for themselves.







Here is a picture of a Blu - 82 Seismic Bomb. This bomb was dropped containing 5,700 kgs of explosives. It destroyed an area within a 100 meter radius and caused severe damage within 3.2 kms. These bombs were used in Vietnam from 1970 onwards. Their size is staggering.


Lastly, here is a picture of Wade and I in front of a beast I would never want to see rolling down city streets. Imagine the terror.





Apart from the War Remnants Museum, we spent a lot of time just wandering around the streets of Saigon. They are an experience in themselves. Here is a picture of what the roadways are like. Crossing the street is always a frightening adventure.


We also visited another market (because of course we needed to do more shopping!), called the Ben Thanh Market. It was our most “intense” market experience to date. It was a massive indoor market with stalls and isles hardly wide enough to walk though single file in places. Of course, all of this was without A/C. Best was that you dare not make eye contact or look at any item without women grabbing your arm and literally dragging you into their stall. “ No Thank You” (no matter how loud or forcefully you say it) does not register here and it gets to the point where you have to be rude. Naturally we did succumb to some of the high pressure sales tactics. That being said, we were pretty careful in what we purchased given that red flags went up when you see Chanel sunglasses, Rolex watches, Gucci handbags, etc. in the same market where they are selling dried fish and flowers! Perhaps it is not authentic…..

Lastly, we had to say goodbye to the Travelling Dossers on April 10, 2006. We had a fabulous time with our English/Irish friends for the last 6 weeks and we were very sorry to see them leave. Wade and I are now officially on our own and hopefully we can stay out of trouble. Dossers, look out, one day we’ll be showing up on your doorstep in Dublin. Cheers guys! By the way Eamon…how do you think your Irish friends would feel if they knew you couldn’t remember the words to Molly Malone? You didn’t think we’d forget that did you?