Day 12 & 13 of 22

So we arrive just before dusk to Ho Chi Min (Saigon) to our hotel in the city - the Metropole Hotel.  The ride from the airport in our taxi was amazing, seriously I have been all over Europe and have never seen so many motorbikes.  Motorbikes with 2 people, 3 people, 2 adults and a child, 2 adults and 2 children…?  My goodness.  At least in Vietnam, as opposed to Thailand, the adults weat helmets.  It must be a law here.  The children do not.  It’s quite frightening, especially because of the traffic.  Additionally there are some traffic lights but not very many, traffic just flows and people turn, go straight, and pedestrians cross right through heavy scotter traffic.  I have a few shots of the traffic and an impressive video if I may say so myself. Notably they wear masks due to the massive amount of bikes and smog on the street from exhaust.

Tour of the City - 35th Anniversary of Vietnam’s Independence and the end of the Vietnam War

We intended to go out and see some things today but today is the 30th of April, and on 30 April 1975 was the day the Vietnam War ended and Saigon was overtaken.  Tonight we saw fireworks and celebration. Our driver picked us up this morning and took us to the War Memorial Museum, the Saigon Post Office, Independence Palace, a Chinese Pagoda, a Vietnamese Temple, and the Market.  Here are some pics of our day: