Jordan and Skyler’s Top 5 Saigon Experiences
Saigon is not a city with world class museums, historical ruins, or other “must-dos.” Rather, it’s a city you visit to experience and feel. It’s not for everyone, but Skyler and I have found ourselves liking these big, crazy, hectic Asian cities. To fully immerse yourself in them, one must do as the locals do. So, when in Saigon…
Eat (and eat and eat) the street food
It’s everywhere, at all times, and incredibly inexpensive. You’re doing your taste buds and your wallet a disservice by visiting a proper restaurant.
Drink cold beer on hot asphalt
The sidewalk street stalls slowly spill onto the street as the night goes on. Plop yourself down in a little plastic stool, order a beer for 7000 VND (about 33 cents), dodge the ladies trying to sell you cigarettes and pirated DVD’s and books, and watch the madness of Saigon pass you by. Speaking of madness…
Moto madness! (Say your prayers and cross the street)
Saigon has 10 million people and 5 million motorbikes. Our strategy was to avoid the big trucks/buses (which won’t stop), and just keep moving at a steady pace through the sea of motorbikes. Not for the faint of heart!
Take an extended coffee break
Every afternoon we saw groups of guys sitting down to coffee, having a chat, and playing cards. A social afternoon coffee break seems to be a thing here, so we did as the locals did. Sip on a Ca Phe Da (Iced Coffee). Wash it down with complimentary Tra Da (iced tea). Delicious.
See the American (Vietnam) War through the eyes of the Vietnamese
If you do want to do some sightseeing…
The War Remnants museum was really fascinating. It used to be called the Museum of American War Crimes, so as you can imagine the exhibits and descriptions are blatantly one-sided. Nonetheless, the images are a graphic, powerful reminder of the atrocities of war. The exhibition of photos taken by wartime journalists on both sides was especially good.
The Reunification Palace – you know it from the pictures of the North Vietnamese tank crashing in the gates in April 1975, marking the end of the war. It’s still a venue for state functions, and is a grand example of 1960’s architecture. It reminded me of a spiffed-up Reitz Union, our student union at the University of Florida.
Frankly, Skyler and I realized when we got to Vietnam just how little we know about this part of U.S. history. Neither of our high school history teachers covered it in any detail. So when we visited the Cu Chi tunnels, a large network of underground tunnels near Saigon where the Viet Cong lived, cooked, fought, and moved about, we were astounded. As difficult as it was to know they were using this advantage against American GI’s , you have to admire their ingenuity against a military with far superior firepower.
