We spent 3 1/2 days in Ho Chi Minh City, commonly called Saigon. Saigon is Vietnam’s largest city and still has its blended historical history with its modern skyscrapers and neon lights. It seems as if it is a city that never sleeps and definitely has more motor scooters of any place we have ever visited. The traffic is so congested that a normal drive from port to city center would be 30 minutes but takes over an hour most days of the week. French influence from the late 1800s-early 1900s is very visible. The Old Post Office was designed by Gustave Eiffel, the Opera House is fashioned after the Petit Palais, and the Notre Dame Cathedral is a smaller version of Paris’s Notre Dame. All the building materials for the cathedral are said to have been shipped from France. We ate several meals in the city and the food was very good. Yet, the people are still poor and their wages are low. Prices therefore are low and American dollars, preferably newer, were eagerly accepted. Communist corruption is an issue according to several sources.
All in all, we had a wonderful time- We did the included city tour, a night tour which included dinner, a water puppet show, and night tour, and then the pedal car (rickshaw) tour of the city were all very nice. Yes, we did visit several places multiple times, but we still had a nice time and the people were all so friendly.
We passed our sister ship, Viking Sky, on their way out of Vietnam. We honked and waved to each other.
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