SIMPLY (t)RAVELLING

Reunification Palace & War Remnants Museum

 

On the morning of April 30th, 1975 the tanks of North Vietnamese Army bulldozed through the front gate of the South Vietnam Presidential Palace, ending the almost 20 years of Vietnam civil war. With the fall of Saigon to the northern army, Vietnam was finally reunified. Following the victory, the city was renamed in honour of the North Vietnam de facto leader, Uncle Ho and the palace is now known as the Reunification Palace. We felt that it was unjust to visit Saigon (bear me, I’ve certain inclination towards the old name) without visiting this  eventful place, which is the birthmark of the modern city itself. So there we were, on the last day of our trip to Saigon.

Time seems to stop on the day itself, with everything very much left exactly 35 years ago. Built on the foundation of the demolished Norodom Palace – the French Headquaters, the whole complex exhibits the typical architectural design of its era.

 By the way, entrance fee is VND15,000 and the palace, now museum closes its door during midday.

The Cabinet Hall. The 4-storey complex comprises of lavishly decorated state rooms to cater for the President’s various functions and official resident. From the majestic Presidential Office and the plush Chinese-decorated reception chamber, to the luxurios chandeliers and comfy meeting rooms; the palace is at its full grandeur and ready for the Chief needs. Not to mention the gambling room, for the President to unwind after a day crashing his brain deciding the fate of the nation.

The Banquet chamber in the Independance Hall.

 

The whole building screams of the late 1960′s and early 1970′s decor and technology, such as these vintage rotary dial-up telephones.

We walked from one room to another admiring the old-school furnishing, and finally arrived at the second floor. The balcony is facing the front gate and yields the view of the green lawn, where the tanks of the Northern Army crashed through that fateful day. Now everything is calm and quiet. I saw a man taking photo of the palace, and I him. Heehe.

But outside the gate, life moves at a much greater speed. It was like viewing the world from a parallel dimension of those Twillight Zone tv series.

 The indoor theater.

A copy of the U.S. Army Bell Huey which used to fly the President on his offical tour around the country resting on the helipad at the roof-top,  as seen from the ballroom at forth floor. It also witnessed the bombing by the mole inside the South Vietnamese Air Force, which course turned out futile.

From the rooftop we took the stairs which led us to the underground fortified bunker, via the gloomy corridors.

One metre below the surface is the War Room, the subterranean nerve center where war commands and strategic planning took place. Built of 60 inches thick of steel and concrete, the bunker could withstand massive bombings and outside attacks. Just ignore the wannabe Chief in command.

Next to it is the communication room, where the 60′s state-of-the-art military radios and bulky telecommunication boxes could be found.

Equipments by General Electrics. Getting  the full backup from the Uncle Sam, the technology down here was very much US.

The indoor shooting range.

Leaving the bunker we were back at the photo room at ground floor, with collections depicting the palace historical events and war casualities.

 The view of the complex from the back as we exit the compound.

It was already half past twelve when we left the palace and since most museums in Saigon close at noon, we decided to hang out by one of the sidewalk coffee stalls and kept this man company.

It is a few minutes walk to the War Remnants Museum from the Reunification Palace, where we arrived just in time for the afternoon visitation.

Boeing CH47 Chinook Helicopter, is one of the air craft on display.

Tanks, fighter jets and artilleries used during the Vietnam War littered the compound of the museum, where we have our pre-packed lunch at one of the bench there.

The cross section of a rocket pod, which reminds me the onion cells I saw in Biology class many years ago.

At the far left of the complex  is a mock setup of  the detention center in Con Dao island that housed the North Vietnam P.O.W, and its ill-famed “tiger cages” – a tiny, barbed wired cage used to held up to 6 prisoners at a time, which most of the time had to lie on their backs.

Entering the museum was like entering an art gallery, as the inside is filled with vast display of  war images, although they are not your typical kind of photos.

My favourite is the Requiem Hall, where exhibits are photos taken by the journalists that perished during the combat. To me they successfully captured the essance of war – some makes you laugh, others are inspiring but most of them are depressing.

Among the photos that caught my attention. I always believe that a good photo is not all about technical perfection and over superb post-processing techniques but rather a soulful and capable of stirring someone’s emotion. Most of the photos here were captured using a point-and-shoot, despite the fact that the brand today costs more than the standard prosumer DSLR. Yup, it’s one of my wishlist although I’m not sure when it will materialize. There’s no harm in dreaming, right?

One of the photo taken during the infamous My Lai massacre. The expression of the man – begging for mercy, while his life lies at the tip of the rifle. I found it powerful.

Gallery with photos of the chemical defoliant and agent orange after-effect, which victims were mostly children. I didn’t spend much time in there. Couldn’t.

 

It was raining outside by the time we returned to the lower ground, so we took the time lingering around the hall which exhibit the 1960′s to 1970′s press and propaganda denouncing the  U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War.

From the War Remnant Museum we continued our stroll around the city, and arrived at the reddish-brown building of Saigon Notre-Dame, a relic of the French Colonization of Vietnam.

The front facade of the Saigon Notre-Dame Basillica.

 Next to it is the city post office, another edifice constructed circa French colonization.

Intricate decorations that adorns the entrance significant with the European styles, in contrast with the romanized Vietnamese name of the building. East meet west.

 The interior of the post office, with huge arch-ceiling and Uncle Ho giant portrait at the far end.

The visit to the post office ended our short trip to Saigon, as we rushed our way to the airport for the flight back to KL. The night before I managed to drop by the night market next to Ben Thanh for a quick shopping, and unsurprisingly most of the patrons were Malaysians. Feels like strolling the night market at Tunku Abdul Rahman street in KL!

Ben Thanh Market at night, bathed in light.