As my final city in Vietnam – and of my entire trip – I am in Ho Chi Minh City, formerly known as Saigon. When the communist North overtook the South at the end of the Vietnam War, they changed the city’s name to reflect their president and founder of Vietnam’s Communist Party. Many people still refer to it as Saigon, though. (Relatedly, why does every city in Vietnam begin with H?)

HCMC (as we like to call it) is a major city, full of traffic, massive pollution, high-end department stores and brands, and motorbikes like I’ve never seen in this country.

Ho Chi Minh City has a very nice skyline. Way off in the distance you can see the Bitexco Financial Tower, the tallest building in the city whose design was apparently inspired by the lotus flower; I only see it as a tall CD rack.

Cu Chi Tunnels

A few hours outside of Ho Chi Minh City is an area known as Cu Chi, which played a significant role in the Vietnam War. Nothing you see here reveals any of the vicious fighting, bloodshed, and destruction that occurred…

…but that’s because you need to go underground:

The Cu Chi tunnels were a vast underground network of tunnels created by the Viet Cong (communist North) that spanned 250 km, went several stories deep, and included living areas, kitchens, weapon factories, and hospitals. To camouflage these tunnels and make them difficult to detect, they were often booby-trapped with crude yet brutal devices. This legendary area was where some of the most significant bombing, gassing, and destruction occurred, as the United States tried to eradicate these difficult-to-reach tunnels.

There was a 100m section that’s been left in place for tourists to crawl through and experience what life was like. Here I am in front of that entrance:

If you squat, like the person behind me, you can get through this dark, cramped, and hot tunnel. I was too claustrophobic to go through, as were all the guys in our group!  Also, the original tunnels were much smaller – approximately 50cm (20 inches) in diameter – and so to accommodate more normal sized people, they’ve had to be expanded twice over the years.

Pretty impressive, the creativity and resourcefulness of people in times of war.

Firing Range

Oh and I may have fired a gun for the first time. Actually, a machine gun. As staunchly anti-gun as I am, I couldn’t resist the opportunity here at Cu Chi to visit their firing range. For a small fortune, visitors are allowed to fire one of several different weapons. Initially I’d hoped for a AK-47 but because they only had Chinese (and not Russian) bullets, there was a chance that sometimes – but not always! – it would malfunction and send back debris into the shooter’s eyes. I don’t like “sometimes” and I do like my vision, so I ended up choosing what they called the M30 (it had the biggest ammunition), even though researching it later I realized it is technically a Browning M1919. In any case, wow. Not only did it obliterate the targets in front of it, but it threw me back as well — all 250 pounds of me. Police and military always say they shouldn’t point their weapon at anything they’re not willing to destroy…I believe it now.

I must say, I look pretty bad ass.

War Remnants Museum

Formerly known as the Museum of Chinese and American War Crimes, the War Remnants Museum pays tribute to the victims of the Vietnam War. Rarely do we as Americans get to hear the victims tell their side of the story, and so it was a fascinating if not disturbing experience.

As expected perhaps, this museum provided an extremely one-sided account. The anti-American language and propaganda were not subtle:

Or other captions, such as:

“With their merciless bombs they wanted to destroy the peaceful cities of Vietnam.” 

“For her actions, she was awarded an American-killer hero award.”

“Like a batch of crazy devils they fired at women and children, schools, Buddha statues, and pots and pans.”

Room after room showed many graphic depictions of the atrocities of the war. Without a doubt the most disturbing collection was dedicated to the aftermath of Agent Orange, the chemical used for deforestation that unfortunately had terrible effects on people exposed to it as well as their children. Trust me when I say this photo (of a girl born to parents exposed to Agent Orange) was the mildest of the birth defect photos I saw. A quick search online will reveal more horrifying ones.

One room portrayed the international protests held against US involvement in Vietnam around the 1960s. I found this protest in Cuba somewhat interesting given my recent visit there.

The only thing that should be taken away from a visit to this museum is that war is a horrendous thing for all sides involved.

Final Foods

Ho Chi Minh City is actually a great food city, so on my final day — as I always do — I hit all my favorite food and drink stands (AKA, the day of 5 meals). A few highlights: banh mi (a French-influenced baguette sandwich stuffed with pork, cucumbers, daikon-and-carrot pickles, cilantro, and spicy sauce), big bowl of pho, vermicelli bowl with everything, and the uniquely tasty Vietnamese iced coffee that has condensed milk in it.

Vietnam’s food scene did not let me down.

Not All Fun and Games…

This trip hasn’t been all leisurely activities. Believe it or not, between many of these activities I’ve been busy editing manuscripts, writing grants, or preparing lectures.

…But Still a Great Trip

Overall it was a phenomenal experience visiting these three very different cultures, and I look forward to visiting all three again – Cuba, once our diplomatic ties are soon fully re-established; Italy, to visit its many other unique cities; and Vietnam, to explore more cities and fill in many of the knowledge gaps I now have about this country.

Adios, arrivederci, and…um…bye.