Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) (May 30)

Today, we saw various aspects of Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon).  We piled onto the bus at 8:00 and our first stop was the Presidential Palace, more commonly known as Independence Palace or Reunification Palace.  It was more modern than the other presidential palaces (built in 1962) which we have seen in the other countries, and there was no gold and glitz in this one.  However, the architectural design by Viet Nam architect Ngo Viet Thu was excellent.  It was only in use from 1965 until 1975.  It is now open for tourists.

It was the home and workplace of the President of South Vietnam during the Vietnam War and was also the site of the end of the Vietnam War during the fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975 when North Vietnamese Army tanks crashed through its gates.  The tanks are still visible on the grounds.

The place had specially-designed bullet-proof glass in the windows and doors, and the bamboo-design facade on the front, along with slanted bullet-proof windows, made it somewhat impossible inside to shoot with any accuracy.

Also of interest was the degree to which they went to assure the safety of their leaders.  There were multiple bomb-proof bunkers on two levels under the building.  These bunkers included multiple rooms with communication and broadcasting equipment as well as offices, phones, a bedroom for the president, meeting rooms, and secret passageways.

Lots of dragons in the design (supposedly built on the top of a dragon's head), as well as lots of the Vietnamese script character for "longevity and happiness."  I bought a silver handmade pendant with this script character on it for Ella.  The interior was very "presidential" looking, and once upon a time, Nixon was here.

the character in the middle is the one for longevity and happiness 

note the "longevity and happiness" character in the rug.  It's al in the wood design on the chairs.

Note center of rug.  Also note the dragon: remember the palace is built on top of a dragon's head. 

the elephant is awarded longevity and happiness too.

Our guide's "longevity and happiness" pendant, just like the one I bought for Ella.

Our next stop was to see how the "normal" people in Saigon lived.  We went to a housing complex where middle-class (perhaps lower middle class) people lived in a rather large housing compound. We meandered through the long interior narrow courtyards and were fortunate enough to see a photographer taking pictures of a bride and a groom.  Then we were also fortunate to be allowed entry into someone's home.  In this two-floor home of 450 square feet, 26 people from 6 related families lived -- I kid you not.  Four bedrooms, one bathroom, one small kitchen with 6 tiny oil burners, one for each family.  We talked with the patriarch of the family, and he showed us pictures of his parents on the wall (now deceased).  We learned that the 26 people was soon going to be increased to 28 because of a marriage.  Each family cooked separately, although on certain celebrations, everyone would share cooking and eat together.  They would eat together in the "living room" which barely held the 13 of us.  The second floor had 3 of the 4 bedrooms (not sure where the other two families slept), but we didn't go upstairs, nor did we see the bedroom that was in the hallway.  There was some sort of air conditioning for the upstairs.  We all realized how fortunate we are. . . .

the ground-level of the alley where the homes were located

the upper level of homes

wedding pictures in progress

the living room. All 13 of us sat in here and talked with the patriarch.  The room was still decorated because a family member got married a couple of weeks ago.  This is where the family eats when they have family dinners.  Not sure how there is room for 26 (soon to be 28) people.

the kitchen area

6 burners for the 6 families.  Each cooked meals separately unless it was a family dinner.

lots of soot on the walls above the burners 

deceased parents, original owners of house

 

       one toilet.  directly across from the toilet was the shower

our guide asking our questions to the patriarch.  He was very happy to show us his home.

We had lunch, dropped some people off at the market, and headed back to the hotel for some R & R.  We also washed some clothes, cleaned up, and went to the lounge to chat with our fellow Happy Hour attendees.  There is a great group of people on this tour.

travel to Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam (May 29)

The last segment of our trip is about to begin.  We had a lazy morning packing, eating, getting caught up on the blog, and resting.

Then we headed to the airport, two people short.  Yesterday, for the second time on this trip, Hal from CA became extremely ill.  He went back to the hotel from Angkor Wat, but worsened and the manager of the hotel took him to the hospital.  He has a parasite, and he and his wife will join us tomorrow (maybe) in Vietnam.  It's what we buy travel insurance for!

The day was normal and uneventful for a travel day.  We all headed to the airport, boarded the plane, flew for 1.5 hours to get from Siem Reap to Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City), went through customs (we're getting really good at this!), got our luggage which was then loaded on the bus, and then we did a brief orientation tour of one section of the city before we were taken out for dinner.  We ate, then headed back to the hotel to check into our rooms.  Nice hotel, but people here smoke. . . .  Fortunately, the rooms were okay (meaning no smoke smell).

Main mode of transportation in Saigon is motorcycles (sort of an understatement).  The right two lanes of most every large street were reserved for motorcycles, and the major highways had two large motorcycle lanes separated from the car lanes by a bern.  Sometimes -- 4-5 people on one motorcycle, and people wearing green jackets were motorcycles "Uber" drivers.  You could flag one down, negotiate a price, hop on with a provided helmet, and the driver would take you where you wanted to go.

a motorcycle parking lot

motorcycle parking in front of stores 

lots of masks (most people), and it was rare to see a biker without a helmet

large packages!

yes, this is a motorcycle.

We unpacked.  Washed clothes for probably the last time, caught up on email, and went to sleep.

Angkor Wat -- the day we've been waiting for (May 28)

We awoke early today to be on the road to Angkor Wat by 7:00 am to beat the heat and the crowds.  We succeeded in both, but mostly at beating the crowds.

We stopped first right outside of Siem Reap so that the rest of the group could get their passes for the Angkor Wat complex (some of us had done that the day before when we went to Banteray Srey).  These magic cards included a picture and were punched or viewed at every location in the huge complex of Khmer structures.

Harold's ticket, front and back

This temple is the largest religious monument in the world, and the entire complex is 402 acres.  Angkor Wat is the largest, but there are several smaller temples in the 402 acres, including Banteray Srei which we visited yesterday.

We got to Angkor Wat and our guide, Rath, started the walk through with us, and he explained every aspect of the site thoroughly.  We must have spent 2-3 hours there, and as we were leaving masses of people were lining up ready to enter.  Whew!

The site was built in the 12th century and was originally constructed as a Hindu temple to the god Vishnu.  It was designed to represent Mt. Meru, the home of the Hindu gods.  Towards the end of the 12th century, it gradually transformed into a Buddhist temple, but the Hindu Ramayana and Mahabharata wall carvings remain.

Laterite was used as the strong structural base and was then covered with sandstone which was  carved in bas-relief EVERYWHERE.  The building was done by the people of Khmer who would come (voluntarily it was said) for two-week week (more or less) stints and work on the structure and then would go back home.  The entire complex was completed in 37 years -- amazing!  It was "rediscovered" in the mid-1900s by Europeans and became a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1992.

Here are some of the pictorial highlights:

These were the stairs to ascend WAY UP HIGH to see the entire grounds.

This stone is a softer version than the pinkish stone at Banteay Srei, but nonetheless, the carvings were still intricate and in good condition.

a view from the top

visiting monks were very happy to be photographed

several Buddhas in nooks and crannies so that people could worship

Julie was almost convinced she ought to stay and become a member of the dance troupe.

Remi, one of our group members, stepped aside to get a private blessing from a monk

The ceiling was probably covered with this kind of engraved wood. 

Lots of elephants roaming around to give rides to people

After we left Angkor Wat, we went to Angkor Thom, fun for Harold and me because this temple consists of MANY four-sided heads of Brahma or the Buddha or the rule, Jayavarman VII, and yesterday we bought a mask depicting the four-headed figure.  Lots of scholarly interpretation about whether or not J VII used his own face as the model for the divine figure (rulers were considered divine).

Julie going head-to-head or rather nose-to-nose with Brahma

"our" Brahma now up on our wall

We then had lunch, rested a bit, and then went back to another temple -- the jungle temple of Ta Prohm.  The archeologists found, once they started their work, that many of the huge trees were embedded in the structural elements of the building so that they could not remove all of the trees/branches/roots.  The result, combined with the loud din of thousands (or so it seemed) birds created an eerie effect that made the temple fun to visit, despite the fact that we were all hot and drained.  It was worth the visit, especially since (or maybe in spite of the fact) that  the site has been made more famous because it was where Angelina Jolie filmed the movie "Tomb Raiders," which I guess we will now have to watch.

The archeology of this location was being done by a group from India

lots of left-over pieces lying around waiting to be placed 

Then we stopped on the far side of the moat at Angkor Wat (beautiful view) and had a "good-by" party.  Our wonderful guide Rath brought local red wine, local red whiskey, cobra jerky, water buffalo jerky, roasted frog legs, and stuff roasted frogs.  Yes, we ate them all!

the view of Angkor Wat from our place along the wall of the moat/river

cobra jerky, water buffalo jerky (top), roasted frog legs (right)

stuffed roasted frog, in case you couldn't guess

Last stop -- Elyse and I went to the night market.  I bought a new travel suitcase and a couple more t-shirts for Quinn and Julian, and then it was back to the hotel for a drink and a good night's sleep.