Sightseeing in Downtown Saigon

Other than a trip to the War Remnants Museum, we didn't make any special sightseeing trips in Saigon. It turns out we didn't really have to, as there's plenty of interesting things to see as we walked around downtown.

The photo above is of the People's Committee Building. It was originally the Hôtel de Ville, or City Hall, in the colonial days. Can you tell that it was built by the French?

In front of the building is a little park with a statue of Ho Chi Minh, depicted as the benevolent father figure he is to many Vietnamese. It is very impolite to speak badly of Uncle Ho, although it's not a crime.

A large portrait of Uncle Ho beams down on visitors to the grand old Central Post Office, which was also built by the French. Along with postal services, it offers lots of little gifts and souvenirs.

Across the street from the Post Office is the Notre Dame Basilica. A few years ago, the statue of the Virgin Mary supposedly shed tears.

On the day we walked past Notre Dame, several brides were seated nearby in their wedding finery, queueing up to get their photos taken in and around the cathedral. Each bride was surrounded by hair and makeup artists who struggled heroically to keep each girl looking fresh in the wilting heat.

A lot of journalistic and literary history took place in Saigon's old downtown hotels. Here's the Rex Hotel, which was used as the U.S. Information Service headquarters during the war.

The following shot was taken from the rooftop bar of the Caravelle Hotel, where a lot of the war correspondents did their reporting -- sometimes still perched on their barstools. It has a clear view of the Saigon River on one side and the city on the other, making it ideal for photographers.

I have a special reverence for the next hotel, the Hotel Continental. It was here that Graham Greene wrote one of my favorite novels, The Quiet American. The hotel also served as the headquarters for many international news bureaus during World War II.

The Continental stands on a street called Dong Khoi, but the French called it Rue Catinat. This street and the general neighborhood were featured in Greene's novel, and became notorious during the Vietnam War as an area filled with sleazy bars catering to military personnel.

All of these buildings are European in character. Most of the historic Asian architecture -- the temples, pagodas, and the Chinatown area -- seem to be located a bit farther away from the city center. Unfortunately, as it often happens with my trips, there simply wasn't enough time to get out and see everything. I'll be sure to include it on my next trip.