We’ve been anxious to explore Asia, and took full advantage of spring break during the last week of March. Asia is the world’s largest continent (more than four times the size of Europe) and home to 60% of the world’s population.
We went in search of an efficient method to experience as many different cultures as possible. We were fortunate to find a cruise ship making its seasonal repositioning from the southern to northern hemisphere for the summer months. Our journey started just north of the equator in Singapore.
Singapore’s is known for unique architecture.
The Marina Bay Sands Hotel has 1,500 rooms through its 3 towers, which is topped with a “ship.”
Here’s an Internet photo of the hotel at dusk to get a good sense of the design.
From the top, the “traditional” skyline is visible…
…as is the port, the busiest in the world.
Here’s the infinity pool which spans all three towers.
It’s a cliché, but so what. We enjoyed a Singapore Sling in Singapore.
It was extremely hot and humid, so we were ready to get started.
Formerly ruled by the British, Singapore is a city-state made up of 63 islands which received independence from Malaysia in 1965. Home to 5+ million people, it is the second most densely populated country in the world.
Our next stop was Vietnam and Ho Chi Minh City (known as Saigon during my youth). Pulling into the port, this was our first impression. I thought we were in Newark (New Jersey residents will understand this reference).
I was surprised to see American vehicles on the road, including Fords and Chevys.
Colonel Sanders has penetrated the market.
American references were everywhere…
… even amongst the common man.
The city is very modern…
…and full of life.
Vietnam became a French colony in 1858, which lasted nearly 100 years. After WW II, the French were targeted in a war for independence and finally pulled out in 1954. The country was divided with the communist North siding with Russia, while the South installed a dictator who was propped up by the US. He was later executed in a 1963 coup d’état.
The US began sending advisors, then troops to counteract North Vietnam’s attempt at unification. By 1965, our military personnel swelled to 500,000 and we were mired in the Vietnam War (it’s known as the American War there). This is the Presidential Palace.
Remnants of the war are on display in the palace basement. As a young teen-ager I remember seeing the newspaper which listed the draft by random order of birthdays, and I worried about the day I would turn 18 and be drafted.
The war was extremely unpopular in the US and fought on the cold-war principle of ‘communism is bad, democracy is good.’ I remember studying the ‘Domino Theory’ in school. This Eisenhower-coined phrase created fear that if South Vietnam fell to communism, so would all of southeast Asia.
After the loss of 58,000 American lives, the US finally pulled out in 1973 and left the South Vietnamese to fend for themselves and the war continued without us. In 1974, President Richard Nixon resigned under pressure from the Watergate scandal and in 1975, North Vietnam launched a full scale invasion. They anticipated a two year campaign, but the Southern army quickly crumbled. Within a month, troops were pressing into Saigon.
I remember President Gerald Ford making a half-hearted attempt to garner support, but no one in the US had any stomach to re-engage. The focus was evacuation. I remember this image…
… and this image of a northern tank crashing through the Presidential Palace gates on April 30, 1975. The war was over. “Liberation” is the word used in Vietnam.
Here are the Presidential Palace gates today.
During this trip, I read two books on the war, and I highly recommend this one, “The Girl in the Picture.”
Who can forget this 1972 image? Kim Phuc survived her burns from a misplaced napalm bomb. She is now married with two children living in Canada.
Here’s Vietnam 4 decades later. I was absolutely stunned by what I saw.
I kept saying to myself, I can’t believe I’m in Vietnam.
We saw plenty of luxury cars including BMW, Audi, Lexus and Mercedes. Here’s a Bentley parked in front of a Porsche.
I never would have expected this.
Introduced by the French during colonial times, Christianity is still practiced today.
We took a rickshaw ride through the streets…
… and saw plenty of tributes to Ho Chi Minh (after the war, Saigon was renamed Ho Chi Minh City to honor the northern architect for reunification).
Growing up during the continual violence of the Vietnam War, the weekly reports of enemy killed vs. our own, the Tet Offensive, escalation into Cambodia, the relentless bombing, anti-war protests, Kent State and the subsequent reunification under communism, I never in my life imagined I’d visit Vietnam. This was an unforgettable trip to see the American War from the Vietnamese perspective. Today, they enjoy Americans (more specifically, American dollars). Ho Chi Minh City is very modern and progressive. We’d like to return some day. Look for part 2 of our journey next week. ts
Ukrainian Tom 