Yikes... My carry on isn't carry on any more....

Things have gotten a little pickier here in Vietnam.  My carry on doesn't measure up to their strict standards of carry on here, and I wonder if I will have to change my blog post title to keep myself honest?  My back pack expands and so I have been delegated to carry the trinkets and tapestry and clothes found along the way.....
Siggghhhhhh..... I am now check in girl!
No more bragging rights!
Brad, of course, still proudly states he is carry on, but then slowly became  quiet  as he listed the myriad of items belonging to him that were in my back pack!
But I shouldn't complain because we are flying instead of overnight buses and 20 hour train rides and have safely arrived in Saigon, or Ho Chi Minh city if you are any type of official or politically correct citizen.

Welcome to the city. As this was not even rush hour or the main city roundabouts, we would often jump into a taxi for hops from main sites to our hotel.

Saigon.... What does the name evoke?  This city comes with many more preconceived ideas and thoughts than north Vietnam did for me.  I think also for my history buff husband.  The interest of Vietnam history centres  around the American/Vietnam war which they definitely do not down play here. As well, the author Graham Greene (well read by my husband) and mentioned frequently amongst travellers for his book "The Quiet American" makes for some great stops of interest and the French Colonial occupation is seen in the architecture, the lovely wide side walks, and a larger than expected number of cathedrals.
Saigon is a progressive bustling large city center that carries  with it a different energy and chaos than Hanoi.  One that is more energizing than immobilizing.  Not staying in the tourist center ourselves, we see both realities.  A cosmopolitan center and the more traditional outlying areas where life is carried out on the busy streets.

We decided to pay outrageous prices for drinks to go up a feature skyscraper in the financial district for some amazing views of the city. 

Heli Bar 52 at the Bitexco Financial

There are sleek skyscrapers, commerce, culture, markets, ramshackle buildings  and an endless energy here in Saigon.  It is difficult to keep up and so we don't even try knowing that our tolerance for humidity and heat and endless noise is not that of the locals.  Finding a park, green space is a must and even better when we found one with the ever decadent Häagen Dazs ice cream right beside.  Not a Vietnam copy and so full price required! But oh so worh it!

An easy way to make Anna smile!

Our goal was to do a private walking tour with a university student or the Back Streets of Saigon tour but both were unavailable.  But in the end we found the best guide ever.
Amazing English, great insight, well read on the history, fun facts, perfect pace, all entrance fees and lunch included.  Guide let us stop and browse, shop, go into galleries... Best to date!
Hard to book, but he made an opening just for us.  To book, contact Backroads With Brad.

Stops on tour:
Reunification Palace, built 1966 as the presidential Palace and site where the communist tanks crashed through the gates April 30, 1975 and Saigon surrendered to the north.

Map and strategy room with these phones giving direct access to the White House.

Cathedral Notre Dame, built 1877-1883 and one of many churches to reflect the French Colonial occupation.

Post Office built 1935 and reminded Anna and I a bit of grand central station in New York.

French security building, a prison for Vietnamese nationalists.
Old CIA building where the last of the Americans were evacuated throughout the elevator shaft at the top of the building.

People's Committee Hall for the communist party.  Previously the city hall during French colonial times.

Liked the night time view of this very ornate  and beautiful building with its 19th century Parisian architecture.

Continental Hotel, setting for the novel, "The Quiet American" by Graham Greene.

Opera House
Mosque built 1935 by the South Indian Muslims.
Majestic Hotel where Graham Greene deemed worthy to stay while in Saigon.  It is still stunning with a starting cost of $300.00 a night and drinks a bit too high for our budget.  Especially  when we
are used to $0.25 a beer.

The classy Majestic. Old world charm kept up in style.

Beer may be cheap but fun drinks are not, so only an occasional happy hour stop after sightseeing.

Barbecue Saigon... A fun, happening chain restaurant in Saigon where you grill your own meat and the smells are so so good!

Our final main stop aside from parks, restaurants  and markets was the war reminent museum.  An extremely disturbing museum that highlights with horrific photos the reality of war and the huge affect that the chemical warfare used by the states (called Agent Orange) had on Vietnam.  Again, the museum and history is very one sided without all the facts, but in the end, the reality is that war has no winners and the devastation goes way beyond what gets rationalized among the powers that be.

I refused and just couldn't take photos of the massive display of the after  affects of chemical warfare.

The dedication to the journalists and their photos covered from their different points of view was very moving as well.