Ho Chi Minh City (Siagon)

We made it to the city named after Uncle Ho, and when we left the plane, we got to hear a rendition of the Ballad of Uncle Ho!  

Yes, as we arrived at the airport, this started playing over the sound system, and kids started singing. Gotta love Uncle Ho. Well, back to our regular programming.

We didn't realize where we were staying, but the Rex Hotel is a famous hotel because it was the headquarters for news and spies during the Vietnam War. Every day at 5:00 p.m., military leaders held meetings there (5 o'clock follies) to tell reporters what was happening, which became world-famous. It’s a place where history’s biggest secrets were traded over drinks at the rooftop bar. 

Our travel day evening walk.

The Time Square Building entrance. Those are all peacock feathers. 

This is the Opera House

The War Remnant Museum

This is the only picture I took. It was a very difficult museum to see, and it stopped us from going to the Cu Chi Tunnels, especially after the Iran War started on the day we visited. 

Independence Palace 

The Independence Palace is where the Vietnam War officially ended. In 1975, a big North Vietnamese tank crashed right through the front gates, which signaled that the war was over and the two sides were becoming one country again. 

Everything is frozen in the 1970s, including secret underground bunkers and old-school war rooms with giant maps.

And it even has a helicopter on the roof. 

Our hotel from and observation deck 

Ahhh.....Mexico