Saigon
- leboughton
- Feb 17
- 2 min read
We had a short but really great stay in Ho Chi Minh City, aka Saigon. Our arrival from DaNang was delayed a few hours, but our CEO (Chief Experience Officer/guide extraordinaire named “Happy”) was able to rearrange most of our activities.
After check in to the Continental Saigon, which is a heritage hotel, operating since 1890, we went for a sunset cruise along the Saigon River. I was sort of unimpressed for the first few minutes, but shortly after we got underway the sun began to set and the city lit up beautifully. It turned into a real treat.
After we docked, we met up with a team of cyclo drivers. These are basically rickshaws powered by bikes. We drove in traffic and there were many times I just couldn’t watch because the roads are crazy, full of scooters and busses and bikes and cars. An absolute madhouse. But a great way to see the city at night.
Along the way, we stopped at the memorial to the Buddhist Monk who self Immolated in June of 1963…the month before I was born. He set himself on fire after walking from the north to protest the South Vietnamese president’s outlawing the practice of Buddhism and demanding all convert to Catholicism. He meditated and did not make a sound while he burned. I had seen the photos of his act but being there at the site really touched me.
We also saw the Notre Dame church, built by the French colonists an in renovation now. They have covered the scaffolding with lights and the effect was magical.
The next morning, after breakfast in this gorgeous garden, we left for a 15K bike ride to the Cu Chi tunnels.
I don’t have any still photos of the ride, but here is a quick video.
We passed rubber tree farms, lots of cows, flowers and rice fields. Such a beautiful ride.
We ended up at the cu chi tunnels complex. This is just north of Saigon and was a key area of contention during the war, with VC coming down the Ho Chi Minh trail and local farmers, disillusioned with the US backed South Vietnamese government joining the resistance. The area had been heavily bombed, and the VC dug an extensive network of tunnels - 250 km worth - that allowed them to hide. They also rigged the area with various kinds of booby traps, examples of which were on display. It was so interesting and horrifying to see.
This was one hidden entry our guide demonstrated. It was tiny, yet had actually been expanded to accommodate more modern physiques.
And here are some of the traps…
On our way back to Saigon, we stopped by an organic farm to table restaurant, but I am going to save this for another food focused post - so many good meals to remember!
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