Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

This morning we left the RV AmaDara and traveled by bus to the last stop on our AmaWaterways Vietnam, Cambodia & The Riches of the Mekong tour, Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) is by far the largest city in Vietnam with a metropolitan area population of over 9 million. The city was once the capital of South Vietnam prior to unification in 1975. The city center, officially District 1, is still called Saigon by most locals. Compared with Hanoi, HCMC appears more prosperous and modern, showing the effect of more foreign investment and western influence. Preparations for Tet, the Lunar New Year’s celebration, was clearly visible. Many Vietnamese take the entire week prior to 28 January as a holiday to enjoy visiting with family and prolonging the festivities.

Prior to checking into our hotel, we were given a quick walking tour of the city center. Here we saw the major landmarks built by the French in the late Nineteenth Century. We were shown the building that was once the headquarters of the CIA. The US Embassy building, where evacuations by helicopter took place, was demolished in 1998.

To read the captions, click on the first picture and use the arrow keys to navigate the gallery.

In the afternoon we toured the Reunification Palace (formerly the Presidential Palace), the War Remnants Museum, and the Ben Thanh Market.

Our final day in Saigon we were left to explore on our own. As we walked the streets, we saw Vietnamese families enjoying the Tet holiday season. The day provided the opportunity to shop for gifts and have a wonderful Vietnamese meal on our last night before saying goodbye to Vietnam.

We have one more stop before we fly home: Bangkok, Thailand, where we will spend 3 nights.