The traffic in the cities in Vietnam is even worse than in Thailand (and that’s saying something!) Our city tour started with us boarding cyclos (pedi-cabs) that would take us through the traffic of Saigon in the morning. It was a riot! Cars, other bikes, and scooters weaved around us, in front of us, and behind us as we slowly experienced the city. Since we’ve been to Saigon before, I was familiar with the sites that we saw along the way, but it was a very fun way to experience it.

We were dropped off in Chinatown which is not really much like other Chinatowns that we have visited. There wasn’t much evidence of traditional Chinese architecture or décor other than a few shops that were selling New Year’s decorations in the traditional colors of yellow and red. Red represents happiness and yellow, prosperity. New Year’s is followed by the lunar new year (known as Tet in Vietnam), so these decorations stay up for a couple of months.

Our first stop was a Chinese temple, Thien Hau Pagoda, which was dedicated to the sea goddess. The décor was quite beautiful. There is a guardian at the gate of the temple.

Within the temple, incense, candles, and oil lamps are lit to connect to the spiritual world. The hanging incense coils can stay lit for as long as a week!

There was an area where a man was burning paper (effigies). This is a traditional Vietnamese way of sending goods to the dearly departed. For example, money is burned. Not real money, of course! The bills look like US dollars but are issued from the Bank of Hell! People burn effigies of mansions, food, and other goods. Apparently, in 2007 when the government declared helmets compulsory for motorbike riders, paper effigies were available the very next day. You don’t want your ancestors to get a head injury in the afterlife, right?

After a stop at the Vietnamese version of Starbucks (Phuc Long) for a cup of coffee, we were dropped off in front of one of the largest wholesale markets in HCMC. We were quickly marched through the market; there was no time to peruse the goods. The billionaire that built the complex wanted to be buried there, so his tomb is in the center. It is guarded by dragons. Unlike dragons that we are familiar with that are hatched from eggs, these dragons come from carp.

We loaded up the bus to head back to the hotel for a quick lunch break before touring more of the city. Most people still call the city Saigon. Russian communists renamed it Ho Chi Minh City in 1976 but the name never really caught on.

The afternoon tour consisted of familiar sites: the post office, Notre Dame cathedral (we have been coming here since 2016 and it is still under construction so cannot be viewed), city hall, Reunification Palace, the opera house, some famous hotels, and the bar at the Rex Hotel where we ended the tour. The bar at the Rex Hotel is commonly known as the 5 O’Clock Bar, because that is when war correspondents met to discuss the day’s events during the war. The drinks are quite pricey there – you are obviously paying extra because it is a popular spot for tourists.

We ended the day with a group meeting to discuss what would happen for the rest of the tour and then were fed a magnificent feast to end the day.