We returned from our trip to Indochina having gained so much from the experience. Unfortunately, a terrible stomach bug accompanied me home, and I’ve been recovering from it since landing in Dallas. I’m finally feeling well enough to begin journaling our incredible trip.
Since beginning this travel blog back in 2012, I’ve always written my posts while on the actual trip, never delaying until I return home. However, it proved to be the right decision for this trip; we had neither the energy at the end of each day nor reliable enough connectivity to write and post in real-time. However, the test now will be to recall and capture all of the emotions, experiences, and details that were at the forefront of our minds each evening as we relived the day’s events.
After 30+ hours of travel that included a 16-hour flight from DFW to Doha, Qatar, a short layover in a beautiful airport lounge (complete with made-to-order sushi and private showers), and an eight-hour flight from Doha to Ho Chi Minh City, we landed on Friday afternoon, Oct. 11, and made our way to the Park Hyatt Saigon.
Once we checked into our beautiful hotel and with our tour host (we’re members of Inspirato, and this was one of their Experiences trips), I promptly broke the international travel rule. Two flights with limited sleep caught up with me, so I took a two-hour nap. Mark and our friends traveling with us, the Colloms, joined the welcome cocktail reception and then ventured out into the evening streets for a Saigon by Night Vespa and food tour! Of course, as soon as I saw their videos, I had immediate FOMO (which I often do).
Each had a local driver who navigated narrow, congested streets and through markets and alleyways – all while on the back of a Vespa! The bonus was several short restaurant stops for bites of local flavors, including a noodle pancake, seafood soups, and papaya salad. While they were equally exhausted from our long flight, they each confirmed they were so glad they didn’t miss this. Enter my regret for electing to miss this!
Saturday included a short tour of Vietnam’s largest city, including the Central Post Office, the Reunification Palace, and classic “old Saigon.” In reality, the city is not that old. It was founded in the late 1600s after centuries of existing as part of the kingdom of Cambodia. French traders and missionaries settled in Saigon in the 18th century, and by the middle of the 1800s, the city was captured by the French.
The Central Post Office is a building of pride for the Vietnamese. Built in the 1880s, it’s Vietnam’s oldest colonial structure with French Renaissance influences. It’s still a working post office today.
Interestingly, the post office sits just a few yards away from the Pittman Apartments – the building made famous by a Dutch photographer who captured the image of Americans being evacuated via helicopter in late April 1975 at the end of the Vietnam War. The building, often mistaken for the U.S. Embassy, was actually the home to the CIA during the war. It looks hauntingly similar to how it did nearly 50 years ago.
With a few extra minutes to look around, we found a side street full of bookshops and snagged a Vietnamese edition of Harry Potter & The Sorcerer's Stone for Hannah (something that's become a tradition for us when traveling to different countries).
After a short stop here, we made our way to the Reunification Palace, also known as the Independence Palace.
Built in the 1960s on the original site of the Norodom Palace (from the French colonial era), the palace was initially home to President Ngo Dinh Diem. He was so unpopular that his own Air Force bombed the palace soon after it was built in an attempt to assassinate him. He had it rebuilt, with a massive bomb shelter in the basement, and it became home to the next President, Nguyen Van Thieu, who remained until the fall of the city to the Communists in 1975. The basement was used as a war room during the Vietnam War.
One of the craft trades of Saigon is lacquerware. Made from the resin of the lacquer tree, known as cây sơn in Vietnam, lacquerware is a centuries-old craft historically used to preserve wood furniture from the humid tropic climate. Today, the craft is used mainly for art and decor pieces. We toured the Phuong Nam Art workshop, where three forms of lacquer art were demonstrated: painting directly on wood, incorporating mother-of-pearl shell pieces, and working with tiny pieces of crushed eggshells. It was fascinating to watch these artisans create such intricate pieces using all three applications.
Our tour ended with a drive by the famous Ben Thanh Market, the largest market in Saigon with more than 2,000 vendors selling everything from clothes and jewelry to accessories, decorations, toys, and souvenirs.
After returning to the hotel, Mark and Bryan enjoyed a Vietnamese cooking class, in which Bryan’s spring rolls were deemed “best in class,” while Karen and I decided an afternoon poolside was the perfect way to spend our first day. We rested, swam, read, and relaxed, and didn’t regret our decision for a minute!
A short walk from our hotel, Saturday night was capped with a delicious meal at Michelin-recognized Xu Restaurant, including a ginger chicken salad, sea bass spring roll, and grilled duck breast. It also gave us the opportunity to meet others in our Inspirato tour group.
A couple of observations about Saigon. First, the city’s name officially changed from Saigon to Ho Chi Minh City upon the capture of Saigon in 1975 by North Vietnam and the establishment of the Socialist Republic, a communist party. The name honors Hồ Chí Minh, the first leader of North Vietnam. To this day, people seem to use the two names interchangeably.
Secondly, its communist influence is evident in this city; there is significant poverty and lack of infrastructure, embodying the definition of a third-world, developing country. There are millions of people and a seemingly equal number of motorbikes on the streets. It was hot, humid, loud, and the start of a trip full of sensory overload!
After a very full first 30 hours, we welcomed bedtime. The plan for Sunday included a trip to Củ Chi Tunnels. Until then, chúc ngủ ngon!
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