Saigon, Vietnam

Ho Chi Minh City
Ho Chi Minh City is the largest city (7 million people) in Vietnam and is located near the Mekong Delta. This city was once the main port of Cambodia, before being annexed by the Vietnamese in the 17th century. Under the name Saigon, it was the capitol of the French colony of Cochinchina. Saigon was also the capitol of the independent state of South Vietnam. In 1975, after the “civil” war, Saigon was seized by the new government and renamed Ho chi Minh City.
Interestingly,there is a saying in Vietnam…”Vietnam is a country not a war”. During our visit we had only four hours to explore and experience the renamed city. We saw a French Cathedral named Notre Dame de Saigon, built by the French and looked hugely out of place given its European design in an Asian city. We then went to the war museum with its anticipated one sided story bringing back sad memories and the reminder that war is an atrocity and all sides share in the tragedy. We walked the bustling, noisy, busy shop lined streets in weather too hot and too humid to be enjoyable. After a few hours of sightseeing on foot, we retreated to the American built Rex Hotel. We were told the Rex was the meeting sight of many journalists, government, business leaders and armed forces personnel during the war. We went to the roof top garden restaurant, relaxed with a beer and watched the activity on the street below.
Half way through our lunch we noticed a developing crowd and the police response on the street below. It appeared to be an expression of civil unrest, perhaps a protest of some sort. The police response was swift, forceful, and included military personnel supported by the police. The protesters were quickly outnumbered and after a few were pulled from the crowd, roughly handled by the military, arrested, thrown into a pick-up truck and driven away, the crowd dispersed. Within minutes, the city was back to business as usual…motor bikes whizzing along, shop keepers sweeping the sidewalks, if you had not been looking on five minutes before, you would not have known anything had happened. We remained at the rooftop garden restaurant until it was time for our bus to take us back to the ship. Next stop, Thailand.