24 Mar 2010 Ho Chi Minh City - Sai Gon

The history of Saigon reaches back to 2nd Century, when Vietnam was part of the Funan Kingdom. Then the Chenla Kingdom took over around the 7th Century.

1200 AD it was part of the powerful Angkor Kingdom. Kublai Khan invaded in 1284. Chinese armies did the same repeatedly in the 19th Century. 1861 the French appeared.

Saigon flourished, mostly benefitting French Expats. But in the 1960ies it was crawling with contractors, western businessmen, fashion designers, military personnel, journalists and a host of spies. The city gained a reputation for seaminess and 'anything goes', day or night.

Then followed what the Vietnamese call the 'American War', and total collapse after 1975. Only at the end of the 20th century, Vietnam had started to recover, and now Saigon holds about 9 million inhabitants, a lot with cell phones, briefcases, and palm pilots.

I took a bus transfer to the City, about two hours along a crowded highway, lined with the odd rice paddy, glimpses of water buffalo herds, dozens of storage yards for earth moving equipment, graders, forklifts, dozens of road side eating and drinking establishments with palapas outfitted with hammocks beside the tables, hundreds of delapidated shacks and sadly deteriorated concrete buildings, shops and curious statue sellers, where figures of Catholic Saints stood side by side with seated Buddhas and Hindu Deities made of white plaster.

On the highway, a moving mass of container carriers, mopeds, cars, trucks, buses and everything else in between. Construction in progress the entire 70 miles distance.

We left the bus at the luxurious Rex Hotel downtown Saigon, just beside the French inspired ornate candy-cane Hotel de Ville or City Hall. A wide avenue with hisbiscus, frangipani, palms, fountains and  a prominent statue of Ho Chi Minh led to the main shopping street, the Dong Khoi St. I took a left turn, which led to Notre Dam Cathedral, another somewhat Gothic inspired church with colourful stained glass windows - very European - , and the Central Post Office, which looked like an elegant railway station designed by Monsieur Eiffel.

Then I doubled back I wandered down Dong Khoi to the neo classic Opera House, then onto the Old Market. Here, Asia showed itself again at its most authentic with more stalls crammed into the huge building than one can imagine. Some passages are so narrow, that only one person at a time could pass through, and that only sideways. A few oddities, like pickled shrimp or seahorse, or cobras inside bottles filled and sold with some alcoholic libation, strange creatures of the sea, and medicines against any and every ailment known to Asian man. Of course the heat was almost intolerable.

Soaked and gasping, I managed to buy some Chinese artists brushes from street side vendors. They are much more reasonably priced here than in Canada - and the choice is endless!

However, only four sweaty hours at my disposal to 'explore' a minimalistic version of the huge city. Just enough time left to enter a deligthful small bistro called 'Lemongrass' and enjoy a truly incredible Asian lunch together with two truly enjoyable cold beers. The taste of authentic Vietnamese cuisine is subtle and light, very flavourful - I truly savoured it. 

I did not have an opportunity to visit many of the attractions Saigon has to offer, such  as the magnificient gardens and parks, museums and galleries, or the infamous Cu CHi Tunnels, extensive underground passages, with living quarters, storage areas, trapdoors and dead ends which the Viet Cong used during their war on Saigon. Nor did I see any of the many Temples, Pagodas and Buddhist Shrines which can be found all throughout the City, and specifically Cholon,  nor the War Museum where the Vietnam War is depicted from the opposite side and a different perspective than our North American version.

An informative introduction to Vietnam, and to Saigon, a city busting at the seams...