Saigon

Our morning tour today is called ‘Retracing the Past’, a visit to key sites in Saigon from the Vietnam (‘American’) War.

Our first stop was at the Reunification Palace, previously known the Presidential Palace. It’s a huge complex with residential zones, rooms for managing the government and war time activities, and secret escape tunnels. On the grounds were tank ‘843’ which famously crashed through the gates of the presidential palace and the helicopter used by a traitorous South Vietnamese pilot in a failed attempt to assassinate the President.

During the war the Rex Hotel rooftop bar was host to the ‘5 O’clock Follies’ where daily military briefings were conducted each day. The hotel is now rated as a 5-star property. We had a drink on the rooftop and enjoyed the great views of the city.

In the neighborhood near the hotel is the Saigon Central Post Office, a French colonial era landmark designed by Gustave Eiffel’s firm. The architecture is beautiful with vaulted ceilings and hand painted maps. Also nearby is another French era building, Ho Chi Minh City Hall (formally known as the ‘Ho Chi Minh City People’s Council and People’s Committee Head Office’). A statue of Ho Chi Minh looks out from the structure.

The ‘Henry Cabot Lodge Residence’ in Saigon is another interesting tourist stop. Lodge was the Ambassador to South Vietnam during the period of the coup against President Diem and the later war. The building has retained décor from that time period along with artwork and photographs of Lodge’s life. Around the corner from Lodge’s residence and down a narrow residential street is a building housing a secret weapons chamber hidden in the basement. It was interesting to see how resourceful the resistance folks were – hidden entrances, multiple escape tunnels, etc.

A highlight of the afternoon was our lunch at the Propaganda Café. ‘Commie street art’ was about as close as we could get to a decorating scheme. Good food, beer, & wine – perfect. .