8 February - Saigon, Vietnam

So went on a tour… that was for ‘old people’… you know the kind where you go from ‘photo spot’ to ‘phot spot’…. And not everyone gets off the bus for the photos…. Because it is just TOO much work…. So the good news is I got the lay of the land, so that when Nancy and I get back… I know what to do :). 

So here are the places we visited:

• Independence Palace
• Notre Dame Saigon
• The Old Post Office

So Independence Palace, also known as the Reunification Convention Hall, was designed in the 1960s by architect Ngô Viết Thụ and was the home and workplace of the president of the Republic of Vietnam. It was the site of the Fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975 that ended the Vietnam War, when a North Vietnamese Army tank crashed through its gates.

Next stop was the cathedral which was constructed between 1863 and 1880, from materials imported from France… The outside wall of the cathedral was built with bricks from Toulouse.  

And right across the street was the old post office… The building was constructed when Vietnam was part of French Indochina between 1886 and 1891.  I didn’t go in because I was fascinated by everyone taking photos in traditional Vietnamese dress called an ao dai, a silk tunic with pants worn by women and men.  So apparently this photo taking in front of ‘landmarks’ in Saigon for the Lunar New Year is a thing… here are some photos I took of other folks taking photos