Global Wanderer

28/1/23 – 31/1/23

I finally found my accommodation for my time in Saigon – 60 Inn, located down an alley not far from Tao Dan Park. This accommodation was really well situated and came equipped with a small kitchen – not that I intended to do any cooking! – and the owner, Sonny, was still up waiting to greet me. Being so exhausted meant that I lay down on the bed, and promptly fell fast asleep. Great start to my time in Saigon!

The next morning, I woke up, showered and dressed, and then realised that it was somehow already 10am. I guess my previous 2 days of travel had taken their toll! After a sleep on a proper bed, I felt very much refreshed, and headed to Banh Mi Hoayn Hoa for one of their famously-stuffed banh mi. The banh mi certainly did not disappoint! I took it over the road and sat in Tao Dan Park whilst I ate it, people watching for a good half an hour. Honestly, Tao Dan is fascinating – there are people playing something that looks like badminton but using their feet, groups doing yoga and meditation, some sort of mini-football game – you name it, Tao Dan was where they went to do it.

Morning banh mi!

Once I had finished my banh mi, I began the walk north towards the Reunification/Independence Palace. This building is probably most famous for its role in the Fall of Saigon – it was where North Vietnamese tanks broke through the Palace gates, and where the South Vietnamese president surrendered to the North, hence the ‘new’ name of Reunification Palace. The building itself is now a museum, and allows you to see some of the machinations of the former South Vietnamese state, from the presidential quarters, left as they were found in 1975, to the bunkers underneath the palace where secure radio transmissions were broadcast, and war planning took place.

Saigon, once the capital of French Indochina, has some stunning examples of French colonial architecture, including its very own Notre Dame cathedral, and a beautiful Central Post Office. Unfortunately, Notre Dame was closed for repairs, but both buildings were still incredible to look at – and almost feel confusingly out of place in the middle of the bustling, motorcycle-filled Saigon streets.

After a busy afternoon wandering through Saigon, I decided to treat myself with an awfully-fancy cocktail at rooftop bar, overlooking the Saigon River. There are some pretty colonial-era hotel buildings along the riverside, which along with the streets below them, are packed with people during the evening – making the rooftop bar a great place for people-watching!

Sugarcane juice – quite literally the water pressed out of a sugarcane as it is squeezed between metal rollers – is sold everywhere throughout South-East Asia, and here in Saigon it was no different. It’s refreshing, pretty sweet (unsurprising, really), and dirt cheap – so I picked myself up a cup on my way to the Saigon War Remnants Museum.

The War Remnants Museum, commemorating the American War, as it is known in Vietnam, is home to a large number of captured military vehicles, including helicopters, planes, tanks, armoured trucks, and artillery, left behind by the Americans as they evacuated the country. The museum also has some large exhibit halls showing, through harrowing photographs, the effects of Agent Orange – not only on the Vietnamese population, but also on the children on U.S. servicemen who were exposed to the chemical.

Some of the equipment on display at the War Remnants Museum

As the sun began to set, I headed out towards Bui Vien Walking Street, a nearly-1km strip of road noted as a tourist and backpacker hotspot, and emblematic of the huge increase in tourism that Vietnam has seen recently. On the way, I spied a beautiful Catholic church that could have been pulled straight from a western European city centre, and stopped for a glass of bia hoi – fresh beer.

My final few hours in Vietnam the following morning involved checking out, and acquiring my last banh mi, this time at Banh Mi Hong Hoa, before heading to the bus station – next stop, Cambodia!

Goodbye Vietnam!