Desk cleaning

[JaiDee]

I've been to that place, back in 1998..... loved the way the commie tour guides chat up the ''glorious revolution" LOL

Saigon is a great city for renting a moto and driving around, dealing with 5 million other bikers and very few stop lights is always a challenge

[Guest]

Not to get into a whole debate over Viet Nam or as they rightly call it the American war, but they kind of have the right to call it a glorious revolution. After fighting for 30 years, and their country ravaged by chemicals, and airstrikes. America created created the false flag (Gulf of Tonkin) to stop the spread of communism in Asia. They used the SVN push their agenda while Russia and China used used the NVN.

The result the peasant army was willing to fight to their last man as they handed mighty America their 1st defeat in War. Viet Nam was left scarred for generations which birth defects still plague the countryside.

You were there in 1998, I think thats the year U.S. finally reconcilled with VN, and Bill Clinton became the 1st U.S. president to visit after the war.

One would think the U.S. would have learned a lesson by this, but went into Iraq under another false flag (Weapons of Mass destruction)

you hear about all this torture the NVN did to prisoners of war, but at least most of them came home, wheras the SVN torture practices were by far more cruel and lethal, and don't get fooled thinking U.S. didn't know what the side they were supporting was doing.

Ho che Min Musuem Saigon

Sai Gon Post Office, and inside post office

[Guest]

Notre Dame Cathedral

[Guest]

The Bread guy, the banana guy and the Cabbage guy.

The Cabbage guy may look a little distant, he just had a siezue in the middle of the road. I watched as I late breakfast. I thought he was protesting or something. Two Police/security types carried him from the road to the sidewalk so he wouldn't block traffic, but left him to shake and curl up into a ball. finally a woman drink vendor came to his aid and he came out of it, and she gave him a cold drink. he got to his feet and gave her a cabbage, and then pushed his cart accross the street right in front of us, like nothing ever happened. I have this on a short movie, but took the photo after.

[Guest]

Toilet guy must have a dozen heads on that bike, and the 2nd guy is pushing his bike/taxi up the hill. The snoozing kid in the cart

[pacman]

For anyone interested in why the US bombed Hanoi to the complete surprise of the North Vietnamese & teamed up with South Vietnam to go into this disastrous war, watch the documentary "The Fog of War".

You will see an 85yo Robert McNamara detail how the whole thing was a mistake, that the US had no business in ever being there in the first place.

He was the Secretary of Defense appointed by Kennedy. When Johnson took over, he describes how the 5 star Generals who ran the Pentagon bullied him into bombing Hanoi because "nobody threatens the United States & gets away with it".

However their actions were based on faulty intelligence.

To think 160,000 US troops had to die plus 4,000 Australians & others, all to appease the ego of these cigar chomping, 6 gun toting morons still dreaming of military glory makes this the most powerful of all documentaries.

Recommended viewing.

[Guest]

Great call on that "Fog of War" recommendation Pacman. A lot of people want to beleave it was a just war, or think U.s. had good intentions to protect the people of SVN, however don't realise there was money to made, and the military arms arms trade now has a pround history of making billions while exploiting the poorer countries.

Robert McNamera also mentions how the U.S. command would have been tried as War criminals for the firebombing of Tokyo in WWII for bombing non-military targets had the U.S. not won that war. the spoils go to the victors.  

U.s. policy makes me sick, and I'm an american by birth and hold dual passports, but very ashamed of the U.S. foriegn policy.

I have to applaud my adopted Country of Australia for being one of the first countries to reconcile with Viet Nam after the war.

City Hall
The Opera house

[Guest]

Here is the Opera house and a couple other sites near bui vien area.

[Guest]

Sai Gon from the plane. Still refferred to as Sai gon by locals over the renamed Ho che Min city.

VN Pergoda

[Guest]

War time motor bike in unification palace.

A funeral procession. A van pulled up then people got out and pulled this gold casket out and the walked up the street with it, throwing fake money everywhere.

The bui vien area has several of these painting places where artist paint whatever you want them to for a reasonable price. I saw them doing some paintings from tourists photos that looked great and they copy all the masterpeices. I bought a Monalisa that looked fantastic. they did it special for me, I picked the size and the artist and it was about $25 USD with frame that I also picked.

[Guest]

Only traditional dressed people I saw at some lunch function. you will find thai food but its not as good and way more expensive.

Row of guesthouses

The Beer guy

[Guest]

Shell fish that sits out all day basically. Wouldn't touch this although looked good.

The little bar under under Fuji film sign that sold jugs of beer for cheap.

Some red fruit cart.

[Guest]

One of many galleries.

staye din Sai Gon for about 2 weeks, wish i would have taken the bus to Hanoi, but 30 hours is a long way, and my ticket back to Australia was out of Sai Gon and my lb was Sai Gon to Bangkok. The bus cost about 30 USD but you can get off at many different points along the way, stay a few days then resume up the coast.

We took a 4 day trip to Mui Ne' which is about 4 or 5 hours north of Sai Gon.

[Guest]

We got off the bus, at a travel agent shp who tried to sell us accomadation, but i walked accross the street to an Oceanside resort who was trying to fill his last room. He asked $33 and I offered $30 and he took it for a great room with a view of the Ocean. We could only stay one night, and moved to a guest house down the road of the small beachside community. It was right across from a big resort but only paid $7 USD a night.

We rented a motor bike for $8 a day and went to the North to the Sand dunes, Red Canyan, and fishing villages. the travel agents try to sell you all these trips, but you can do them all at your own leisure with a motorbike. This is a sand gravesite that we came across on our way to the sand dunes.

[Guest]

These are the red dunes. VN kids will rent you pieces of plastic to slide down if you like.