Sightseeing around Saigon Day 101
Once again a sluggish start to the day!
We headed out on foot at 11am to check out the sites of this city. We hadn’t had brekkie so we stopped in at the Ben Than Market and sat at one of the food stalls and had some local dishes. We saw City Hall, The Opera House (nothing like ours!!) then we walked around the downtown area and checked out the shops. Just across the road from The Opera House was a patisserie, so we stopped in and had some treats – strawberry tart and chocolate eclairs! After the indulgence we check out Notre Dame Cathedral and The Post Office all quite big landmarks in HCMC.
The Reunification Palace was next on the list and it was built in 1966 as Sth Vietnams Presidential Palace, we were able to get a free English speaking guide for this tour so that made things a little more interesting. The first communist tanks crashed through the gates on 30 April 1975. The palace has been left as it was on this day (they have fixed up the gates!!) and is still being used today for government meetings in the south. The top floor was a dancing hall and stage, the floor below was an entertainment floor for the president and his family with a cinema, gambling room, library and dinning area. From his office on another there was a a secret door to a staircase that led down to the bunker in times of bomb threats. Down in the basement/bunker where all the war rooms with maps of the enemies position, radio equipment, phones etc. it was very interesting.
Next on the sightseeing list was the War Remnants Museum – not for the faint hearted!!! It had graphic photos of the victims of the war – those who suffered torture as well as those affected by the US uses of chemicals (agent orange) which is still affecting people/children today!! When we left the museum we came across a little supermarket and found some cheese and biscuits to put in our fridge….a little treat for later.
We took a taxi back to the hotel as we were both buggered from walking for like 6 hours!! We freshened up and put our feet up for a while and ate our bickies and cheese. Once we had had enough of a rest we went for a walk to try and find somewhere to eat. We went on the opposite side of the park and found a great place…….they had OYSTER BAY SAVIOUGN BLANC on the menu!!!! We of course had to have a bottle. The meal was good …….the wine was fantastic!!!!
WHAT AN INDULGENT DAY!!!