Exploring – and missing – Saigon

David Lozada

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Move.PH's David Lozada tells us about a solo backpacking adventure in Vietnam

GRADUATION GIFT. After college, David Lozada treated himself to a solo trip in Vietnam. All photos from David Lozada

MANILA, Philippines – After my college graduation, I embarked on a backpack adventure by myself. The country I chose was Vietnam since, one: I read that it was a great place for backpacking, and two: I had friends there who could accommodate me.

I landed in Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City at around 1am. Since I was on a budget, I waited until 6am for the airport bus that took me to District 1. I wasn’t able to sleep while waiting since the arrival lounge was not as comfortable as the other airports I have slept in: Changi in Singapore and Incheon International in South Korea.

FROM THE AIRPORT. Backpackers can ride Bus 152 from Tan Son Nhat International Airport to go to District 1. Buses operate from 6am to 6pm only.

The bus left the airport at exactly 6am. I got down at Ben Thanh Market where I took a motorbike to 96 Guesthouse. I paid US$10 for one night in the city.

District 1 in one day

The good thing about Ho Chi Minh City was that most of the tourist destinations were located in District 1. Since I was by myself, I just walked around the different places that were in my itinerary.

After resting for a few hours in the guest house, I went to my first destination: the War Remnants Museum.

This museum showed the different effects and consequences of the Vietnam War. For an entrance fee of 15,000 Vitenamese Dong (US$1 = 20,000 VND), tourists saw the story of the Vietnam War: how the country was devastated by war, and how it was able to stand up again as a stronger nation.

VIETNAM WAR. The War Remnants Museum houses some of the war machines used by America against Vietnam

The museum had some of the weapons that the Americans used during the war. This offered great photo opportunities for tourists and Vietnamese alike.

After seeing the museum, I had lunch in Ben Thanh Market where I ate a dish similar to Pad Thai and Pancit Canton for 50,000 VND.

After lunch, I went to my next destination: Reunification Palace. The entrance fee to the palace was 30,000 VND. It used to be the seat of power of democratic South Vietnam. After the communists won the war, the Vietnamese officials used this palace as the meeting place to unite the North and South, hence the name.

REMNANT OF A REPUBLIC. Prior to the victory of the Northern communists, this palace was the seat of power of the democratic South

Ho Chi Minh is considered a father figure to modern-day Vietnam, since he was the one who led the Viet Minh independence movement and established the communist-led Democratic Republic of Vietnam in the north.

So, after the war, Saigon changed its name to Ho Chi Minh.

There was a movie studio inside Reunification Palace where tourists learned about the history of the war. It was available in English, Chinese, Vietnamese, French or Thai.

UNCLE HO. Ho Chi Minh is considered the father of modern Vietnam. Statues and posters of him are found all over the city.

I decided to take a stroll in the park in front of the palace afterwards. There were many parks in Ho Chi Minh where people can buy a fresh coconut juice, sit down and just chill.

Near the park was Notre Dame Cathedral, a remnant of the once-French-colonized Vietnam.

FORMER FRENCH COLONY. The Notre Dame Cathedral is a remnant of the French heritage of Vietnam

My last stop for Day one was the Ho Chi Minh City Museum. It was very much like Siam Museum in Bangkok since this museum showed the story of how Saigon started even before the French colonization.

For 15,000 VND, tourists went around and saw how the ancient Vietnamese lived: their traditions, clothes and ways of living.

SAIGON HISTORY. The story of the city's origin, growth and expansion can be found in this museum

I ended my first day in Ho Chi Minh with a can of Saigon beer in front of the guesthouse I stayed in. Bui Vien Street turned into a beer garden at night, where many tourists went to have a good time and buy cheap beer.

Back from Cambodia and Da Lat

I spent 4 days in Cambodia and two days in Da Lat after my first day in Ho Chi Minh. When I got back to the Vietnam capital, I spent two more days there before I went back to Manila.

Arriving from Da Lat, I stayed at my friend’s house in another district in Ho Chi Minh. I decided to go to the Bitexco Financial Skydeck, the highest building in Vietnam.

This skyscraper is number 5 in CNN’s list of 20 Most Iconic Skyscrapers, not just because of its height but because of what it stands for. The building imitates a blossoming Lotus flower which is symbolic of Vietnam’s economic rise.

SAIGON FROM ABOVE. The view of Ho Chi Minh City from the 49th floor of the Bitexco Skydeck

Tourists paid 200,000 VND (US$10) to enter the skydeck. The expensive fee was worth it with the view I got at the top.

Afterwards, I decided to go souvenir shopping in Ben Thanh Market. Shopping could be quite expensive in Ben Thanh since Vietnamese charge double the price for tourists. The key is to haggle starting at half the price that the vendor gives. Be prepared to be pulled by salesladies; I experienced this a couple of times.

I spent the evening with my friend whom I met in Malaysia. She toured me around District 3. Street vendors and shops are very common in Vietnam, so we just parked our motorbike beside the road and drank fresh iced tea in one of the streets.

I ended my day by visiting a pagoda in District 3. I bought some incense for 5,000 VND and offered it to Buddha statues since I am a fan of Buddhist philosophy.

PAGODA AT NIGHT. The Buddhist temples in District 3 are beautifully lit at night

The Cu Chi Tunnels

On my last day in Ho Chi Minh, I took a tour of the Cu Chi Tunnels via the Sinh Cafe. I paid 140,000 VND for the bus and tour guide, excluding the entrance fee to the tunnels. The tunnels were found some kilometers away from the city center. It took around two hours to get there.

The entrance fee was 90,000 VND. Before actually entering parts of the tunnels, the guide showed us the different strategies used by the Vietnamese to counter the American forces stationed in Saigon.

BOOBY TRAPS. Guides in the Cu Chi Tunnels park show tourists the different sabotage weapons used by the Vietnamese in their guerrilla warfare against the US forces

Aside from booby traps, the Vietnamese also used guerilla warfare to sabotage and ambush the American troops and steal their weapons. The old tunnel entrances were really small and camouflaged — a Vietnamese soldier could have easily vanished from sight if seen by an American soldier.

The tunnels were really small, about one meter high. They also had different levels – 3 meters, 6 meters and 10 meters. Part of the tour was for tourists to walk the tunnel through to the other side. I did not miss the opportunity.

ASIAN SIZE. The original entrances to the tunnels were only two-thirds of this ground hole

The tunnels were really eerie. It was quite dark inside even with the presence of artificial lights for tourists. I imagined how people lived there during the war with only candles to light their way.

Given the tunnels’ small size, Caucasians really couldn’t fit inside. Some of my tour mates had to back out since the only way to cross the tunnel was for them to crawl. In the end, only a few of us young Asians crossed the entire tunnel.

THREE METERS UNDER. This is inside a 500-meter tunnel for tourists in the Cu Chi tunnel complex. According to the tour guide, this has already been adjusted to fit tourists.

The Cu Chi tunnels were a good way to end my Vietnam experience. They made me realize why the Americans, with their more advanced technology then, did not and could never have won the war.

Goodbye, Vietnam!

Looking back at my trip, I was really thankful to have seen the beauty of Ho Chi Minh and Da Lat (that’s another travel story). I learned about the other side of the Vietnam War and I was able to appreciate the culture and character of the Vietnamese.

Vietnam is a beautiful country. It really deserves to be explored. Cảm ơn, Viet Nam! Rappler.com

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