Markets, Tunnels, and a Palace

The last few days in Ho Chi Minh City have been fantastic.  This place has so much character and grit without being completely overwhelming.  Our second day started with breakfast at a french-inspired bakery where we feasted on delicious pastries and pizzas.  Then we headed out to the Cholon Markets, which are the wholesale, Chinese-style markets on the edge of town.  We were two of very few non-Vietnamese people there and unlike the Bến Thành Market, people pretty much didn't approach us or try to sell us things.  Cholon Markets sell everything you can imagine from food, to clothes, to furniture, to art, to pharmacy products.  The goods are piled from the floor to the ceiling and around every corner produces a new series of seemingly never-ending stalls.  Adam bought a hat.

Goods at the Cholon Market

Food at the Cholon Market 

View from the Second Floor 

Fruits at the Market

After Cholon we went to the Reunification Palace which is basically the former Republic of Vietnam's White House, and was inhabited by president Ngô Đình Diệm.  It is eerie because the whole place is preserved in it's state from the 60's and so going there feels like walking through a time warp.  Our guide was very informative, talking about the various purposes of different rooms, the history of the building, and the some history regarding the "American War."  She also recommended that we check out another market for clothes, where Adam and I were able to find some much needed vestments.

 Reunification Palace

 Presidential Receiving Room

Map Showing the Pre-War Vietnam Regions 

 "State-of-the-Art" Communication Radios

Steal Enforced Basement

That evening we ate at a fantastic restaurant.  Apparently Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie ate there last time they were in Vietnam.  It was pricey by Vietnamese standards, but still cheaper than most meals in the US, and it was absolutely fantastic gourmet Vietnamese food.  So yummy.

Dinner at Temple Club

The next day we visited the tunnels of Củ Chi which are part of an immense network of connecting underground tunnels.  Củ Chi was the Viet Cong's base of operations for the Tết Offensive.  The tour was pretty intense and fascinating.  Our guide spent a long time talking about the war, the aftermath, and the general feelings the Vietnamese have towards westerners from countries on the other side of the conflict.  I somehow didn't realize that 3 million Vietnamese were killed during the war.  He said that in general the Vietnamese have no ill feelings towards Americans.  The Vietnamese know that American's strongly opposed the war, and also didn't really understand why we were there in the first place.  Now the Vietnamese are grateful that westerners want to visit their country, and have no ill feelings toward us.  

However, at Củ Chi we were shown a video that was basically a Viet Cong propaganda movie, showcasing various villagers/farmers who were guerrilla soldiers during the conflict.  Our guide showed us many of the hand-made weapons used in to fight the Americans, and described the military tactics of the Viet Cong with a strange sort of pride.  On the way to the tunnels we stopped at a factory that made ornamental woodwork, and most of the workers were severely disabled, the aftermath of agent orange and other dioxins. So obviously it is not black or white. 

 Woodwork Factory

Secret Tunnel Entrance

Bamboo Trap

Inside the tunnels