Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

Really great fortune occasionally strikes when you’re arriving in a new town, and this time we hit the jackpot as we slunk into Saigon late in the day – and our bus deposited us right next to the road our hostel was situated in. Which, for a city this big, was a fantastic result! Two minutes later (one minute of which was spent lifting our heaving rucksacks – we really are travelling with mega-rucksacks it seems compared to other people) we were checked in. The only slight downfall of this hostel was the five floors we had to climb before we reached our room – but it was great exercise (so we tell ourselves), and the room was lovely (plus there was a nice city view from the rooftop to reward us for the climb). We shoved our bags onto the bed and went hunting for some food. 

Our Hostel Street

It probably wasn’t so much good fortune as inevitable that we ended up so near our hostel, as we’d booked ourselves into the equivalent of the Khao San Road in Bangkok. This meant that food was plentiful, and we easily found some yummy Pho to enjoy. We would return more than once for dinner here – the chicken noodle soup was amazing, with wide thick noodles and a huge plate of greenery to embellish your bowl with.

Notre Dame cathedral

We had three days in Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon – it was renamed after the North Vietnamese leader, Ho Chi Minh, following the fall of Saigon in 1975 that marked the end of the war) and we’d be working through one of these, so we started with the biggest attraction, the War Remnants Museum. Before we reached the museum, we took in the grand sight of the Notre Dame cathedral, the decadent Post Office building, and the Reunification Palace (scene of the Fall of Saigon). 

This was closed for lunch so we moved on the museum… where we remained for the rest of the afternoon.

Within moments of walking through the gates, you are assaulted with the sight of planes, tanks, guns and machinery spread around the courtyard, plus heaped in one corner some (defused) unexploded ordnance from the war as a telling reminder of the problems suffered since the air assaults across SE Asia during the war (in Laos in particular). 

The name of the museum has evolved over time, originally a slap in the face to the US (named the ‘Exhibition House of US and Puppet Crimes’), and even more so since they housed the museum in an American Information Agency building, but over time it has been renamed as diplomatic tension between the US and Vietnam has eased (working its way through ‘Exhibition House for Crimes of War and Aggression’ to the less inflammatory ‘War Remnants Museum’). This surface attitude change may not have translated to the exhibits, however, as some of the descriptions are very one-sided and you find yourself sifting through what you think you know about the war to let the exhibits slot into place in your mind. However, even if some of the exhibits are one-sided, and littered with propaganda, the museum remains a fascinating and horrifying source of war artefacts and stories. 

The frighteningly realistic re-enactment of the conditions in which Viet Cong prisoners were kept by the South Vietnamese forces cannot help but instil a swooping fear in visitors – barbed ‘tiger cages’ are on display (human-sized cages in which prisoners were shackled, often on the ground as a form of torture) and several weapons and accounts of torture line the walls of the prison area.

'Tiger Cages'

Inside the museum, there are three levels, the first being a more upfront form of propaganda (war posters) and then moving upstairs to a display on the aftermath of using Agent Orange as a defoliant, plus a final floor of War Photography. 

The Devastating Effects of Agent Orange

These two floors were the most interesting, and felt more legitimate and balanced in many ways – it is well documented that Agent Orange was the architect of more than just a forest clearance during this war, and there are harrowing accounts of families afflicted by the aftermath as the Vietnamese have watched their children born deformed, seen family members die young due to cancer and other illnesses perpetrated by the chemicals in Agent Orange, suffered miscarriages, and been unable to grow food to feed their families that had not been grown on contaminated land. There are myriad photographs distilling the impact of the war into individual experience as the victims, their children and wider family adapt to their disabilities and the enormous loss of life. Over 5 million acres of forest, plus several million more acres of farmland, were destroyed and contaminated during the war, and it is estimated by the Red Cross that around 3 million people have been affected either directly (killed or maimed) or due to indirect effects (children born with birth effects, or future generations suffering the consequences from family members eating food from contaminated land or animals). The ecological legacy is also difficult to comprehend – Agent Orange contains a dioxin, a persistent chemical compound that is deeply polluting and destructive, and this is still present in Vietnamese soil (which persists and accumulates in food chains, leading to poisoning of top carnivores, and inevitably to further poisoning of the human population…). 

It was also interesting, and surprising given the tone of some of the other exhibits, to see some accounts of US war veterans affected by Agent Orange dissemination. Compensation for the effects of Agent Orange, for both US veterans and the Vietnamese people, has been incredibly slow to initiate, but justice has gained momentum in recent years and now the US and Vietnam are working more closely to repair the damage, to the environment at least, that was inflicted upon the country. Whether this will translate to longer term compensation for all the victims as well as the Vietnamese environment… who knows?

The War Photography exhibit showed the work of several famous photographers, many of whom were killed in combat areas, and it was perhaps the most interesting (and sobering) part of the museum because you could witness the reality of active combat and its immediate aftermath (and often pre-combat moments too). It was also interesting to see some of the articles published in the US press using many of these photographs, which helped contribute to the changing perception of the war in America. Photographs direct from the frontline were very powerful, and famous photos, such as that of Kim Phuc (the famous image of a young girl running from a napalm bomb, covered in burns) had such an impact that the tide of public opinion began to turn away from the war and towards withdrawal of troops. The famous story of Kim Phuc can be understood by reading The Girl in the Picture (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Girl-Picture-Remarkable-Vietnams-Casualty/dp/0743207033), a book you can buy on every street corner here (usually photocopied!) and which provides a popular example of the power of war photography to influence public opinion, and arguably, to present civilian populations with a more realistic idea of the impact of war. The ability of photos to arouse emotion can also be manipulated, which makes an exhibition like this in a propagandist museum even more interesting… and you could spend days discussing the power of museums to influence opinion too, but that might make your head hurt…

Despite the sense that the representation of some of the museum exhibits was one-sided, with careful wording used to misdirect and re-educate, it was so interesting and a worthwhile way to spend an afternoon.

It had been an intense few hours, and by the time the museum was closing (a bell rang to alert us to this fact!) we found we had to rush around the last few photos to see everything. We took a slow walk back to Pham Ngu Lau (HCMCs Khao San Rd) to consider everything we’d seen. On the way, we realised that the traffic was starting to mirror Hanoi – well almost – as the motorbikes were broken out for the evening rush hour! Here’s a quick video to give you an idea of how mental it gets out here (check out the biker at the end driving across the pavement to jump into the fray - this was very common!)):

When we got back we decided to go for a few ‘recovery beers’ at the Bookworm café, which we enjoyed while playing a contemplative game of chess that involved a near-complete removal of all pieces and a virtual stalemate, followed by a trip back to the noodle restaurant for more great Pho to absorb all the beer.

Speaking of beer, we were browsing in a second hand book shop the next morning, trying to find original books (rather than the endless photocopies lining the shelves in every bookshop I’ve seen so far) when who should we bump into but our German friends from Cat Ba Island! Considering we’d now bumped into them in Hué and (though none of us quite realised it at the time) had also passed each other in Mui Ne (we must have just been too relaxed to notice, but apparently they were convinced they’d caught a glimpse of us in Lam Tong’s!), it felt fated that we should actually get together for a drink before they flew home the next day. When we’d originally met, we’d been vigilant about not drinking on our malaria tablets, but that fell by the wayside in Hoi An (with all the fresh beer!) so this time we were ready to actually have a proper drink. Making plans to rendezvous at the Bookworm café that evening, we headed off to explore some more.

'CD Rack Building'

It’s a bit hard to top the intense museum experience of the previous day, but we tried our best with a visit to the Ho Chi Minh City Museum. This was actually a little underwhelming, regardless of comparisons, though the building and the views from the balcony were pretty spectacular (this had previously been used by President Diem before and during the war). However, we did get to see yet another Vietnamese wedding being photographed (you can see these in any picturesque area of Vietnam – the lake in Hanoi had a few too!). 

Ho Chi Minh City Museum

We took a break for lunch in a cute park near the Reunification Palace (which we couldn’t quite face going into, though it looked impressive from the outside), before walking outside the main part of town to see the Jade Emperor Pagoda, which was fairly small and therefore very claustrophobic as it got busy, and so hot inside!! It was hot everywhere, but the heat pummelled you inside so you found your way back to the entrance almost gasping for air. 

Reunification Palace

'I Like Turtles'

The courtyard was nice though, and a great place to recover from delving inside, as there was a shaded, leafy area surrounding a half-drained pool, with another healthier looking pool of well-fed turtles alongside the main building. You did have to watch out for the pigeons though!

Before the sun set, we took a long walk to the river, found an ice cream to cool us down, and wandered back to our hotel via the market (knock off Dr Dre beats headphones, anyone? You can get a pair for a tenner…). As it was such a hot day we recovered with a splash of aircon before we went to the Bookworm café for a drink with Steffi, Markus and Bjorn. Bargain beers, great company, and books and games all around us - what better way to spend an evening!

I decided to start work early the next morning, so I had a headstart on the UK day. The hotel seemed to feel sorry for us being stuck indoors while all their other guests were out sightseeing, so every now and again they would bring us over a free cup of tea or coffee, or some bread and bananas to keep us going! All in all, it was a pleasant way to work – with a fan directed at us to keep us cool, and a plentiful supply of snacks and drinks. 

As we’d started so early, we knocked off early too, and treated ourselves to a bottle of Dalat wine for our last night in Vietnam. In a day of earliness, we also got an early night as the bus the next day would be gruelling (and early too).  Time for another border crossing, this time to Cambodia!

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