Leg two of my Asia Trip: Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
Ho Chi Minh is a place unlike any I’ve seen before. As a developing country, it’s a totally different world than the U.S. or Japan—think of crumbling buildings and sidewalks paired with brand new communist posters on the streets and chaotic traffic flows, all under a blistering hot sun, and you’ll have an idea of what the city is like. I thought that most of Ho Chi Minh was charming and pleasant to walk through, though some of the living conditions I observed in the poorer parts of town were unimaginable and truly eye-opening. Go to Singapore if you’d like to see incredibly beautiful things and explore several different cultures, but go to Vietnam if you feel you need to gain some perspective on the past and present. Here’s what I'd recommend in HCMC:
- War Remnants Museum – This museum, telling the story of the Vietnam War and its victims, was informative and deeply moving, far more so than even the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. At the entrance you’ll find an open-air display of colossal war machines before you proceed into enclosed areas that lay bare the terrible realities of the war, from life in prison to the effects of Agent Orange. A must-see for anyone, but especially for young people today who hold a certain distance from this war and who may not have learned about it at all in school.
- Independence Palace – As the former home and workplace of the president of South Vietnam during the war, the Independence Palace is a time capsule from the 1970s that is open to visitors as a museum, but is still used for certain government meetings as well. After looking at the beautiful rooms on the ground floor and above, make your way down to the basement to see what was once the heart of the Republic’s wartime operations.
- Café Apartments – A famous landmark of Ho Chi Minh City that is actually worth visiting, the Café Apartment Building, fairly lightly converted from private residences into a commercial space, holds a large number of cafés and shops on its many different floors. Keep climbing and visit your favorites!
- Museum of Fine Arts – This museum offers a wonderful collection of Vietnamese art, traditional and contemporary, in multiple mediums. Go see for yourself!
Also, don’t miss the OHQUAO Concept Store for some unique souvenirs (local-made prints, pottery, stationery, etc.), Book Street for used books and traditional Viet paper crafts, Bui Vien Walking Street for some colorful nightlife, and Pho 2000 for a great bowl of pho stamped with the approval of a former U.S. president. If you’re feeling especially adventurous, explore the Saigon Train Village, but definitely skip Ben Thanh Market (unless you’re okay with getting scammed). I walked through Ben Thanh just to see what everybody’s raving about on the internet and all I saw was bad quality, overpriced tourist junk and fake designer wear.
On to Bangkok!
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Daxton Mironoff
My name is Daxton and I'm from NYC. I'm a senior studying the social sciences, entrepreneurship and film. Outside of class, I enjoy doing film photography, traveling, conducting interdisciplinary research, and DJing at my campus radio station!
