"To travel is to live" -HC Andersen: Vietnam: HO CHI MINH CITY (part 5)

If I'm honest, I didn't like Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) at first. It is big and loud and in your face. It reminded me of all those metropolitan mega cities like NYC or London, but with a distinctive Asian flavor. But then HCMC grew on me. Little by little she wooed me and eventually persuaded me that I really did appreciated her modernity which is mixed with a bit of history, Euro-influence and a lot of enthusiasm.

Streets of Saigon

Until I reached HCMC I had been purposefully avoiding the American War (as the Vietnam War is known in Vietnam). I wanted to experience the country as a country, not as a war. But I knew in HCMC there was one museum that I needed to see: The War Remnants Museum. It is often said that the winners write the history, and this museum is a reminder of that. The exhibitions are certainly biased, however this did not detract from the reality of the horror of war for all peoples. There is an excellent Photojournalism component of the museum where the pictures speak for themselves. At the end of the photo exhibit there are about 20 follow-up stories about US soldiers and Vietnamese civilians whose photos were captured during the war. It was a sobering two hours and left with me with a deep desire to learn more about this period in Vietnam's history, and the history of my own homeland.

Notre Dame Cathedral

A good place to start to learn history is in a book, and as I wrote in my blog post Bookworm: Vietnam Graham Greene's The Quiet American was on my list of Must Reads. Because I was avoiding The War, I actually read it when I returned from my trip, but I did research into the places where the book is set and had my own little Graham Greene tour in order to fully appreciate the book later. Key sites are: The Opera, The Continental Hotel, Notre Dame Cathedral and the Main Post Office. The Lonely Planet guidebook does a great job of leading you through these site with a walking map explaining a bit about each site.

There is so much to do and to see in a city this size that it is hard to hone in on a favorite. However, I did find my favorite place in all of HCMC. It is the Fine Arts Museum. It is a bright colonial era building with colorful tiles lining the floors. It brings a welcome coolness from the Vietnamese heat. There are two floors of art works, mainly modern pieces but a few rooms are dedicated to historical art piece also. What always strikes me about art is how we humans have a fundamental desire and drive to create. Even when our societies seem to be at their most destructive, someone somewhere is creating something of beauty. The Fine arts Museum was a welcome balance to the void left in me after the War Remnants Museum.

Other HCMC memories include a day trip to the Mekong Delta, late nights of drinking local Vietnamese beer called "bia" on the street, afternoon treats of fresh fruit smoothies, pagodas and temples, people watching, warm smiles, markets and bargaining, large green parks and pressing heat. And then our time in Vietnam was over. The adventure had left me with a deep respect for this people, whose culture spanned thousands of years. Even as I sat on the plane taxing away from Vietnam, I knew someday I will return....because "once in a lifetime" is never enough.