Ho Chi Minh City, better known as Saigon, is one of the most populated areas in Vietnam, with 10 million people. It was also the capital of French Indochina from 1887 to 1902, and again from 1945 until its cessation in 1954. After France recognized Vietnam's independence and unity, it was the capital of Vietnam from 1949 to 1955. Following the 1954 partition, it became the capital of South Vietnam until it was captured by North Vietnam, who created a unified communist state in 1976 and renamed the city after their former leader Hồ Chí Minh, though the former name is still widely used in informal contexts. The people of Vietnam love Bill Clinton because he opened trade with Vietnam in 1996. It changed everything for the people of Vietnam, who were living in horrible poverty under the crushing communist party rule of the country. After the United States began trade with Vietnam, they were able to expand into manufacturing and selling around the world.
I highly recommend staying at the Caravelle hotel downtown next to the opera house. It was right in the middle of everywhere that you want to be. The Caravelle is where all of the press stayed during the Vietnam war, as well as many of the high ranking officials from the US. The rooftop bar is still about the same as it was in the 70s and is kind of a cool place to have a drink and look out over the whole city. The old Opera House was built by the French when they ruled over this area up until 1955. We took a short tour of the Opera House and saw a show. I would definitely recommend checking it out. It is also a very popular place for young, married couples to have their photos taken.
The final three images above are from the place where the renowned photographs of the last helicopter departing Saigon at the conclusion of the Vietnam War as the Americans were withdrawing. There is now a small bar and restaurant on the top of the building called The Landing Zone. While in Saigon, we also met up with our friends from Germany that we met on our boat in Ha long bay. Hartmutt and Lars were traveling throughout Southeast Asia and it was so much fun to meet up again in Saigon.
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