Ho Chi Minh City, VietnamMar 15, 2012
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| The ship is docked in the port of Phu My (pronounced Foo May). Phu My is the deepest river port in Vietnam and is able to handle passenger vessels. Ho Chi Minh City is a 2 hour bus ride through countryside dotted with rice fields and rubber plantations and roadside stores and markets. The main “highway” is packed with motorbikes, bicycles, trucks, and heavily laden buses. Our tour is designed to introduce the major highlights of bustling Ho Chi Minh City, still commonly referred to as Saigon. Our first stop is the History Museum. Built in 1929, this facility houses a collection of artifacts illustrating the evolution of the cultures of Vietnam from the Bronze Age Dong Son civilization to Cham, Khmer and modern-day Vietnam. We see a short performance of a traditional water puppetry, a unique art form that was once staged as entertainment for kings and emperors. Deb has wanted to see this for nearly 15 years, ever since her son, Andrew, gave a presentation on Vietnam in the 4th grade. As part of the presentation, he showed a library video of the water puppet show. Next we stop at the Ming Phuong lacquer ware workshop. We see how the wood is treated and decorated with artwork made from paint, egg shell or sea shell. We later stop to view the Notre Dame Cathedral, a neo-classical structure dating back to the 19th century. French colonists proudly paid homage to the motherland with the construction of the Roman-Gothic style church whose construction materials hailed entirely from France. We walk across the street to check out the architecture of the Central Post Office building and the craftsmanship of its interior. We enjoy a buffet of Asian dishes at the Hotel Majestic, one of the Ho Chi Minh City’s most luxurious hotels. Its interior was also very beautiful. After lunch we visit the former Presidential Palace now known as Independence Palace. This historic building was made famous when a North Vietnamese tank crashed through its front gates in 1975, signaling the end of the Vietnam War. It has changed little since that time and is now retained as a museum. Deb and Courtney choose to walk the grounds instead of touring the building. We check out the various topiary trees and decorative pots. The 2-hour bus trip back to the port was in a Vietnamese rain storm. |
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