Archive for the ‘Vietnam’ Category
Ho Chi Minh City, a.k.a. Saigon
By Chase A. Wolf
The universal greeting
Chase’s Log 2.16.2010. After several nail-biting flights – well-chronicled in my earlier posts – I think I’ve finally figured out a way to appease the Gods of Air Travel – for now. Whether I made the right supplications to the monk in Honk Kong or he was just well-connected, by the time our plane taxied down the runway, the perpetual Hong Kong haze had dissipated, I’d settled into my upgraded to First Class seat in good cheer, and nary a cumulous cloud ruffled the flight to Ho Chi Minh City, a.k.a. “Saigon.”
Naturally, Home Office cautioned me against hubris – they think I may have just taken my luck at the front end of the trip, rather than the back end. I make a vow to appease the Travel Gods of Intestinal Fortitude, you know, just in case Home Office has a point and I bite into something that later bites back – if you get my drift.
The family scooter
The taxi got me to the right hotel this time. I’m staying at the Asiana Saigon, part of the Intercontinental Hotel chain – gorgeous as always. Even my room was upgraded to one with great views of the city (good luck still holding firm).
Eager to explore the city, I drop my bags off and changed some money at the front desk – with my $100 USD right now being worth about 1.9 million Dong, the official currency here – and set out.
Museum of different times
To many, the name “Saigon” conjures uncomfortable recollections of a time – not terribly long ago – that the U.S. and the Vietnamese shed many lives in this part of the world in a war many questioned – and many supported. Evidence of the war lives on, but the Ho Chi Minh City of today is not the Saigon of yesterday. If you don’t believe me, come visit for yourself – you won’t regret it. Far from just a political slogan, there really is a feeling of hope – and change – in the air here. Read the rest of this entry »