19.02 Day 35 Saigon
Day 35 - Monday 19th February - Saigon
Yesterday for breakfast I’d found some Banh Mi rolls nearby ($1.50) and the kids had enjoyed a crushed meatball version. This morning the roads are noticeably busier for the start of the working week and walking a lap of the block I see various bikes pulling over at a set of traffic lights to order Banh Mi. This stand only does one sort - roast pork and the sound of the crunch as the mother slices and dices the hunks of meat is good enough for me, so I order a couple. Plus a couple of plain rolls as back-up which causes confusion - who wants plain bread? Young children and sick wives, that’s who.
I also revisit yesterday’s stand for 1 meatball roll, getting some disappointed glances at my bulging bag of Banh Mi’s bought just before betraying my lack of loyalty. These pork rolls are excellent (20k vnd, $1.30).
Leaving Kate to continue her recuperation I take the kids to the Independence Palace (40k vnd, 10k for kids, $2.60, 65c) which, as I learn on the fly and then relay to the kids was built in the 1960’s - so we talk about what their palace would look like and whilst the large front lawn and fountain might make it into their design, the imploring straight-edged rectangular design would not.
Built in the 1960’s for the president after two rogue pilots bombed the French designed and built palace from the late 1800’s. It is spartan inside with formal meeting rooms on the ground floor with just a handful of bedrooms. Tucked upstairs with the cinema, the large Leica projector sits unused for years. On view is the First Ladies Dining Room, kept away from the real men and decision makers…
On the rooftop - which contains not a single curved line - was the architect's vision of a meditation room, which instead ended up being used as a dancefloor. An old helicopter sits on the roof from where the last dignitaries escaped.
Out the front are also two tanks, replicas of the pair that crashed through the gate as soon as the US had pulled out of the country. Underground is a rabbit warren of rooms used in wartime with various maps still on the walls. The kids can’t understand why there are so many landline phones down here.
There's also a distinct lack of aircon everywhere, though the concave pillars over the windows block much of the sun's glare. There’s little enough here to distract me which means we maintain a pace that maintains Sienna and Seb’s attention. The walk back is rewarded with another trip to Circle K for slushies and iced coffee.
Back at Anan Homestay Kate is willing to try the 10 minute walk to the Bitexco Financial Tower (240k / 160k VND, $16/$14) to catch a lift to the 49th floor for sweeping views over the city. It’s always interesting looking down onto a city, even when you don’t know the landmarks and the interactive screens and binoculars made it easy to identify what’s what. Whilst there are multiple high rises, there were still swathes of white washed small house ripe for development, and, like most cities, I’m sure it won’t be the same skyline in 5/10/20 years' time.
Downstairs we split up, Kate, Sienna and Seb go back to Anam Homestay while I walk, hugging the shade, 25 minutes back past the Independence Palace to the War Remnants Museum (40k vnd, $2.60). When reading up on what to do in Saigon with a family, it called out to be cautious of bringing children here. I can now totally agree.
After a courtyard of planes, tanks and artillery. I perhaps mistakenly first entered the Imprisonment System room. There’s plenty of text to accompany the highly graphic photos divulging a lot of detail. After a minute or two I have to walk out. Wars are not great, no one really covers themselves in glory but this is something else. In larger font here and throughout the rest of the museum are excerpts from the Geneva Convention. It’s a wonder Vietnam allows Americans to visit their country (I know other countries were also involved to a lesser extent).
The three storey main building starts with ‘Historical Truths’, followed by a room on Agent Orange and its immediate and lingering horrible effects. A room called War Crimes is as bad as it sounds though does serve to highlight the brave and important work of journalists and photographers. Some troops and battalions are named and shamed, though there also recorded acts of good where individuals tried to intervene where brutalities occurred. They’re possibly ostracised at the time, but recognised years later. The last exhibit displays how people around the world protested against the war either officially at government level down to localised protests. Time has not reflected well on this episode. But I am glad to have learnt a little more. If indication of the intensity of the content is required, I don't have any photos from within the museum.
On the walk back I stopped off at a recommended pizza place, our friends saying it was the best pizza they’ve had. Pizza 4Ps is booked out online, but they offer me a table when I show up in person so I message Kate and the kids to come and join. They are indeed very good pizzas, especially after 5 weeks of travelling. It’s also three times the price of our usual meals ($30) but feels worth it.
