Published in the June 17-18, 2005 issue of BusinessWorld
Travel
HO CHI MINH CITY -- Three decades after the last battle was fought on its shores, Saigon vividly remembers its war-torn past.
Scattered all over the former capital of then South Vietnam, standing beside quaint European buildings and picturesque churches, are reminders of the war with the United States in what is now Ho Chi Minh City. Museums, old embassies and tunnels have become tourist spots for war memorabilia.
Perhaps older than these landmarks at the heart of this city is a building that had been a silent witness to significant political events that shaped Saigon, from the French occupation to its reunification with the north.
The building goes by several names -- Norodom Palace when it was built and occupied by the French, Independence Palace when it became the headquarters of South Vietnam and Reunification Palace after Saigon fell and Hanoi was declared the reunification of the north with the then US-based south. Today, the palace symbolizes the victory of North Vietnam over South Vietnam.
Arriving a day early for Intel Corp.’s Solutions Summit 2005 for Asia Pacific, it was a good time to explore the city for the free schedule.
The palace is within walking distance from Sheraton Hotel, where the media group covering the event was booked.
For a minimal fee at the side entrance, we hired an English-speaking Vietnamese guide, who first told of the different functions of levels within the edifice -- the ground level was for meetings, the second for receiving guests and the third and fourth levels for entertainment events.
The second level has a room with maps that delineated the territories of North and South Vietnam.
Beside this was the President’s office, which has a stuffed leopard and a secret passage leading to the basement. It is also on the same floor that the President’s international and national receiving areas, as well as the First Lady’s and the Vice-President’s reception rooms.
The most thought-provoking room in the entire palace -- the credentials presentation room -- was also on the same level. The entire room -- from the walls to the furniture -- was made of lacquer, giving it a shiny, gold hue. The room had torches, but the guide said that they were no longer functional.
On the third level was where the first first family lived. It has quarters, two of which are on display, an outdoor garden and a library that has 2,500 books in several languages.
Also on the same level are rooms that showed the fine life of the then South Vietnamese president: a 40-seat private theater and a huge game room with a card table, mah-jong table, darts and others.
From the corridor windows, one could see a tank parked on the grounds, which crashed through the gates of the palace in April 1975 when the Saigon government was defeated.
What was noticeable are the gifts that were presented by heads of state to the Republic of Vietnam head. On display were three elephant feet and antlers and horns. There was also a stuffed leopard in the president’s office.
After the third level tour, the group was treated to a mini-concert by in-house musicians using indigenous instruments -- a one stringed guitar and a set of bamboos played through clapping air into bamboo holes.
The fourth level had a covered rooftop that overlooked the helipad, which was bombed by North Vietnam spies shortly before Saigon’s fall. The bomb destroyed not only the helipad but also the staircase under it.
An elevator took the group to the basement, or the war room, where the president directed operations. The basement had two levels, the first of which could withstand a 500-kilogram bomb, while the second one could withstand a two-ton bomb, the tour guide said.
A room had on display a secret monitor sheet that listed the allies of the republic and the number of troops it allocated for the Vietnam War. (The Philippines sent 1,825 troops to aid South Vietnam).
Also in the basement were the radio room, telecommunications devices, including old radios and the president’s wartime office.
The final leg was on the third level, which houses a museum. It had on display ammunition used during the war and pictures of atrocities committed by American soldiers. Few pictures depicted murders committed by the Viet Congs, the nickname given by the Americans for the Vietnamist-Communist.
Except for a picture that showed one of the presidents of the republic killed, there was no other picture that put Communist Vietnam in a bad light.
The tour ended with a 45-minute film presentation on Communist Vietnam’s version of the history of Saigon.
It was a tour packed with information, and one which also raised questions. How much of what we saw and heard was true and how much was propaganda? Why were the reminders of war preserved, even showcased? How does Saigon feel about the take-over by Communist Vietnam?
We had not walked too far from the palace when the political questions were set aside. The tour was over and so was Saigon’s bloody past.
Today, the city continues its path to progress... to be enchanted by European-influenced old buildings, the audai-clad women, and motorcycles that sped past cars on highways.
Scattered all over the former capital of then South Vietnam, standing beside quaint European buildings and picturesque churches, are reminders of the war with the United States in what is now Ho Chi Minh City. Museums, old embassies and tunnels have become tourist spots for war memorabilia.
Perhaps older than these landmarks at the heart of this city is a building that had been a silent witness to significant political events that shaped Saigon, from the French occupation to its reunification with the north.
The building goes by several names -- Norodom Palace when it was built and occupied by the French, Independence Palace when it became the headquarters of South Vietnam and Reunification Palace after Saigon fell and Hanoi was declared the reunification of the north with the then US-based south. Today, the palace symbolizes the victory of North Vietnam over South Vietnam.
Arriving a day early for Intel Corp.’s Solutions Summit 2005 for Asia Pacific, it was a good time to explore the city for the free schedule.
The palace is within walking distance from Sheraton Hotel, where the media group covering the event was booked.
For a minimal fee at the side entrance, we hired an English-speaking Vietnamese guide, who first told of the different functions of levels within the edifice -- the ground level was for meetings, the second for receiving guests and the third and fourth levels for entertainment events.
The second level has a room with maps that delineated the territories of North and South Vietnam.
Beside this was the President’s office, which has a stuffed leopard and a secret passage leading to the basement. It is also on the same floor that the President’s international and national receiving areas, as well as the First Lady’s and the Vice-President’s reception rooms.
The most thought-provoking room in the entire palace -- the credentials presentation room -- was also on the same level. The entire room -- from the walls to the furniture -- was made of lacquer, giving it a shiny, gold hue. The room had torches, but the guide said that they were no longer functional.
On the third level was where the first first family lived. It has quarters, two of which are on display, an outdoor garden and a library that has 2,500 books in several languages.
Musicians use indigenous instruments
|
Also on the same level are rooms that showed the fine life of the then South Vietnamese president: a 40-seat private theater and a huge game room with a card table, mah-jong table, darts and others.
From the corridor windows, one could see a tank parked on the grounds, which crashed through the gates of the palace in April 1975 when the Saigon government was defeated.
What was noticeable are the gifts that were presented by heads of state to the Republic of Vietnam head. On display were three elephant feet and antlers and horns. There was also a stuffed leopard in the president’s office.
After the third level tour, the group was treated to a mini-concert by in-house musicians using indigenous instruments -- a one stringed guitar and a set of bamboos played through clapping air into bamboo holes.
The fourth level had a covered rooftop that overlooked the helipad, which was bombed by North Vietnam spies shortly before Saigon’s fall. The bomb destroyed not only the helipad but also the staircase under it.
An elevator took the group to the basement, or the war room, where the president directed operations. The basement had two levels, the first of which could withstand a 500-kilogram bomb, while the second one could withstand a two-ton bomb, the tour guide said.
A room had on display a secret monitor sheet that listed the allies of the republic and the number of troops it allocated for the Vietnam War. (The Philippines sent 1,825 troops to aid South Vietnam).
Also in the basement were the radio room, telecommunications devices, including old radios and the president’s wartime office.
The final leg was on the third level, which houses a museum. It had on display ammunition used during the war and pictures of atrocities committed by American soldiers. Few pictures depicted murders committed by the Viet Congs, the nickname given by the Americans for the Vietnamist-Communist.
Except for a picture that showed one of the presidents of the republic killed, there was no other picture that put Communist Vietnam in a bad light.
The credentials presentation room
|
The tour ended with a 45-minute film presentation on Communist Vietnam’s version of the history of Saigon.
It was a tour packed with information, and one which also raised questions. How much of what we saw and heard was true and how much was propaganda? Why were the reminders of war preserved, even showcased? How does Saigon feel about the take-over by Communist Vietnam?
We had not walked too far from the palace when the political questions were set aside. The tour was over and so was Saigon’s bloody past.
Today, the city continues its path to progress... to be enchanted by European-influenced old buildings, the audai-clad women, and motorcycles that sped past cars on highways.
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