Saigon Culture

We start off the day with almost disastrous consequences!  I get up, still tired from the travel and food tour the day before, and make coffee.  As I'm brushing my teeth, waiting for my cup to cool enough to drink, I remember we're not supposed to drink the tap water (similar to other south Asia countries).  I yell out to Steve to warn him, and catch him just in time.  Crisis averted.  I remake the coffee with bottled water, and we're good for today's adventures!

The small front side - inside was much more spacious.

Our focus is exploring Saigon's main tourist destinations.  Autumn, our guide, takes us to Chinatown and we stop in at the oldest pagoda in Vietnam, Thien Hau Pagoda.  (I wonder why they don't call them temples? It's not tiered.)  Just outside the entrance someone is selling tiny birds.  You're to purchase them and allow them to fly away.  Setting them free indicates a value of life and gives a person merit, but no one is buying when we're there.

I always think of Snow White when I see a lot of little birds together.

Inside there's lots of intricate carvings and several different tile floors.  I love them - so many quilting ideas.  The tile designs even resemble quilt blocks.  Hmmm...

A carving hanging from the ceiling

I swear this is a quilting pattern...

The floors look just like a quilt center and its borders!

The slips of paper at the top are the prayers.

Steve is tempted to buy a spiral incense and write his prayer on it, but I think it's just because he likes to see (and smell) the incense burn.  They hang from the ceiling and seem to take awhile to burn away. 










While driving to our next location, I'm relieved to see that people don't text and drive here.  This guy is pulled over to the side of the road.  Drive safe!  It's also interesting to see what the women are wearing as they ride around.  It's about 95 degrees, humid, and sunny, but they primarily are wearing stretchy, tight jeans.  The stretch "threads" don't breath at all, so it must be very hot.  I'm glad I have on my loose cotton pants - it helps with the heat.  

One of the exhibit boards

The War Remnants Museum (formerly called The Museum of American War Crimes) is our next stop.  I think the old name is more accurate on how the exhibits are portrayed.  It's interesting to see how the opposing country portrays the war.  It's definitely highly biased in favor of Vietnam and shows exclusively what the US did in the country leading up to and during the war (there is one small section talking about the bad things the French did when they had control of Vietnam).  I don't mind that they portray the United States like Darth Vader and the Empire in Star Wars.  But they make it appear that North Vietnam was innocent of doing any type of violence, did not torture anyone, and had prisons where people were well taken care of....and there's no mention that Vietnamese were fighting Vietnamese.  In other words, it's one narrow viewpoint.  The language on the exhibits is very inflammatory and prejudiced.

The pictures are also very graphic.  But I think it's the appropriate place to view them, and they should be seen so the consequences of war are known. 

The children's museum

They also have a children's museum located inside the facility.  I'm assuming they toned down the violent pictures, though probably not the rhetoric. 

It's not always alcohol - fruit drink selfie!

We need a break after this, and it's time for lunch.  We finally eat phở!  We're at a restaurant that Bill Clinton visited when he was here, so I guess it has a good reputation.  We like it!  We also find out there are some very spicy peppers in Vietnam. 

Because of the food tour we already
know which greens to add to our soup.

Enjoying lunch

The tanks are on the far left side.

Our next stop is the Reunification Palace (formerly the President's Palace). I had thought the iconic picture of the tank rolling through the gates was at the US Embassy, but it was actually here. The two tanks are on display on the grounds.  The official rooms are preserved from the 1970s, but I think the heilpad and bunker are the most interesting parts.


 
There's still a few more places to see!  We stop by the Notre Dame cathedral, and manage to see a couple taking wedding photos out front. 

I thought kissing in public wasn't allowed here!

Steve's favorite pose!

Then there's the Central Post Office....and more beautiful tile floors!

The post office does not look like this in Japan.

Our shoe colors coordinate with the floor.  We planned it!

 Autumn brings us to her favorite street.  One side is all coffee shops, the other side is all bookstores.  I think this is my favorite street, too!  I see some current bestsellers on display with English titles, but I don't check to see if that's the book language.  English is required in schools here, so it's possible they haven't been translated to Vietnamese.

My favorite street!

Steve can't stop himself from making bunny ears.

Before we finish driving around for the day I stop at the coffee shop our guides recommended.  The coffee beans are roasted with butter and it's sweetened with condensed milk instead of sugar.  It is incredibly good!  And who can resist the cute carrying handle they create?










Just like in the US and other countries, the department stores do big displays for Christmas.  From the French influence, about 20% of the population is Catholic, so it is celebrated here.  Again, it's strange to see "snow" when it's 95 degrees out...but it's nice to see reoccurring themes!  The Nutcracker, poinsettias, wreaths, lights...just like in the US!



















Our food tour guides have done so well with recommendations, we decide to go to one of their picks for dinner.  Besides, who can turn down a name like The Secret Garden?  When Autumn asks where we're going, she mentions it's on the fourth floor.  We're glad she said that, because otherwise we never would have found it.  We enter what looks to be an apartment building, and then we just keep climbing up and up and up.  We realize they number floors like in France, and to us it would be the fifth floor.  The restaurant is appropriately named!  We try some new things, including morning glory (we never find out exactly what it is) and braised bacon (breaded, then fried - as usual, bacon tastes good however it's prepared).  It's a nice way to finish the day.

part of the secret garden