Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) – Impressions

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) – Impressions
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam


Today, we sailed into Saigon. Of course, its current official name is Ho Chi Minh City so city signs and big red billboards showing smiling people working hard refer to it that way, but the locals and everyone else still call it Saigon. So, I’m going to refer to it as Saigon too.

The first thing our local guide said to us was this: “Vietnam is a country, not a war.” The people here don’t call it the Vietnam War; they talk about the French War and the American War. Many, if not most, in this part of the world refer to it as the American War. These were a couple strange days for me; I was in college during this war and it was surreal to be in Vietnam at all – to sail up the river through the Mekong Delta and imagine what it must have been like then, to drive around Saigon and have the guide point out sites of interest like “That was CIA headquarters.” “That was where General Westmoreland lived.” “This was the Presidential Palace and this is the spiked iron gate that the tanks smashed through as the last evacuation helicopter lifted off and right over there is permanently parked a Russian tank just like the actual one.” Time distortion takes hold. There is so much to say here – I’m going to split this into several posts so it doesn’t get too unwieldy.

First, a bit about the city. The streets are packed with all models of cars, new and old, and thousands of motorbikes, which is the main form of transportation here. There are basically no traffic lights (even at 5 and 6-way intersections – please see video attached) and the rule for pedestrians and motorized vehicles alike is “keep moving slowly forward” so that all the others can see you and navigate around you. Don’t stop and NEVER run! Word is that a small Hong Kong motorbike costs about $1,600, while a nicer Italian Vespa costs about $5,000. According to our guide, cars cost about 3 times as much here as in the US. A Camry that costs $25,000 at home would top $75,000 here. Why? Because there are HUGE taxes.

More about money: Income tax is 10% to 35%. Consequently, many people get smaller salaries, but very large bonuses (which are not taxed, surprisingly!) These bonuses are paid at New Year’s (now) and at other holidays, of which there are many throughout the year. Historical note: New Year’s in Vietnam is called “Tet”; many will remember the Tet Offensive in 1968 during which North Vietnam demonstrated that it was NOT about to fold after all and that the war might not be going nearly as well as Washington claimed.

Education here is compulsory for children from age 6 to 18, but it’s not free. Parents can choose where to send their kids.

– Government school costs $55/month – ½ day. One set of teachers and students goes to school for 4-5 hours in the morning; another set of teachers and students uses the school in the afternoon. (So a government teacher is only paid for working half-time and usually has to get a second job.)
· Private school costs $300-400/month – but students and teachers go all day
· International school $24,000-25,000/year – also all day

But let’s talk benefits: If you don’t work for the government, there is no pension and no health care. That’s why some would take the lower salary of a government teacher – to get the pension. But what happens if you are truly poor and can’t afford anything? You can get a ‘Certificate of Poverty’ and get many goods and services for free – bus rides, school fees, health care, etc. But this is NOT something people would WANT to do, because it involves a loss of face! So, they go for multiple jobs! You should see all the business activity – the entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well in Saigon!

Vietnam is a communist country, but, according to our local guide, they have freedom of speech “under the supervision of the communist party”. And surprise, only 5% of Vietnamese are communist party members – I had imagined it would be much higher. Here in Saigon, the concept of “free market economy” is in full flower with lots of hustle and bustle on the streets. Within the span of a few blocks, you can see both tiny shops and cafes fronted with plastic chairs to mega-glossy shopping complexes featuring Versace and Louis Vuitton. New car dealerships abound, with Rolls Royce being a particular favorite – lots places for rich people to spend their money. Saigon is one of the TOP shopping destinations in all of Asia.

Our city tour took us to several buildings constructed during the French colonial period. First to Notre Dame, the Catholic Cathedral (built in the mid-1800’s) in the center of town and to the massive Central Post Office (Gustave Eiffel was the designer) across the street. It’s a glaring goldenrod color right now, but the powers that be admit it was a mistake and it’s being repainted in the more subtle, paler yellow of many other vintage buildings. Inside is a soaring ceiling with a large portrait of Ho Chi Minh at the far end; even with its colonial furnishings, it still offers post office functions like package pickup and stamp selling, although the central area is now given over to vendors selling trinkets. Several girls in traditional “ao dai” were walking across the street and posing for pictures – they look so willowy!

We also got a quick pass in front of the opera house (also French colonial influence here) and to experience a local market which was much like traversing the Fez marketplace in Morocco. Before and after we entered the market, we marveled at the rush hour traffic whizzing past – an amazing tangle of people, cars, motorbikes, and bicycles – all moving relatively quickly. There is so much vibrant energy here! The streets were decorated for New Year’s – lots of red banners and yellow flowers – “Happy New Year” written in English – lots of signs in English actually. And other banners that appeared of the more permanent variety with pictures of smiling people and slogans in Vietnamese like “Let’s work hard to make Ho Chi Minh City the most successful in the country!”

And I could go on. But before the marketplace, we had split into two groups: the other group headed for the Fine Arts Museum; our group went to the War Remnants Museum – and that’s going to be a separate post.