This morning, we are joining a private tour to Saigon arranged by Cliff Cunningham (c-to-sea). The day started with a 2 hour drive from the port of Phu My to Saigon.
The tour includes the Jade Emperor Pagoda, the Independence Palace, a water puppet show, Notre Dame Cathedral, the Central Post Office, driving by the central city where the Rex Hotel, city hall and the Opera House are located. Lunch will be at Pho 2000 ( Bill Clinton's favorite ). Then time for shopping at the Ben Thanh market and then the drive back to Phu My to return to the ship.
The day started with a VERY LONG drive in to Ho Chi Minh City. it ws amazing to see all the people riding scooters. Our guide said that there are 10 million people in Ho Chi Minh City and 5 million scooters!!! I believe it!!!!
Our first stop was at the Jade Emperor Pagoda. I'm not exactly sure of the significance of the Pagoda as our guide wasn't too informative and was difficult to understand.
Next stop was the Independence Palace. This was the home and command center of General Nguyen Van Thieu, the head of a military junta who came to power after the first President of South Vietnam was assassinated in 1963. This was the site of the dramatic finish to the Vietnam War as tanks crashed through the main gate on the morning of April 30, 1975. In 1975, the palace was renamed the "Reunification Palace"
Russian tanks that crashed through the gates on April 30, 1975
Operation "Frequent Wind"....USUH-1 helicopter on the top of the 4th floor. Was used as a helipad for evacuating staff just before the palace was overrun.
Next stop was the Water Puppet show....this was probably the highlight of the day! These puppets are controlled on sticks from behind the curtain.
The puppeteers...still wish we could have seen how it was done.
Notre Dame Cathedral
We stopped for lunch at Pho 2000..a noodle shop that was made famous because Bill Clinton had lunch there in 2000. Food was good but place was packed. After that, we had a few minutes to shop at the local market.......think flea market on steroids!!!!!!
Long drive back to the ship...good but not great. Think I was spoiled after our wonderful day in Bangkok.
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