Today still reeling from the history lessons of the tunnels and war crimes museum, I decided to explore more the role of women in the war...research prompted a hunt for the southern Vietnamese women’s museum , which has been open since 1985 but so rarely visited my tame motorbike taxi had no idea where it was.
Luckily we’d agreed the price before setting off as we went round in circles, literally, as he had one hand on the handlebar and the other gesticulating to other drivers to find the place-very unnerving whilst we were still negotiating the city traffic
When we finally arrived at a college structure in the suburbs, I was amazed to find three floors full of fascinating and richly detailed material tracing the history of women here in the south from the traditional customs, religion, and the struggle for equal employment rights, the war years, and the present day.
There was no charge, I was welcomed warmly by a young woman who ran on ahead putting on lights and air-conditioning for me, and in the two hours I was absorbed there, admiring everything from diaries to sculptures and paintings, I saw not another soul.
An interesting reflection on the past –and to me still the present-situation here.
A respite for lunch in a rare sight here-a vegetarian snack bar! Hence the picture of my rice spring rolls, filled with tofu and mushroom and with soy and sesame paste, yummy! with a glass of ice tea. 30,000 Vietnamese dong, or about 80p.
The history of Saigon is complex beyond worth explaining, but every building seems to represent events in time. The Independence Palace (see below) or Reunification Palace, now a communist landmark and a site of special historical merit, is surprisingly moving too, despite its austere design. Preserved as it was during the time of the republic of Vietnam, it fell to the liberation army in 1975, marking the victory of the revolution.
The communist flags fly proudly now over and around the building, the guards ever present everywhere, guide you with a smile around the ornate palaces of the now defunct old regime. The musicians outside play traditional instruments which seem at odds with the harsh notes of army tanks and marching guards.
And then another Vietnamese tradition which has survived into the present day-The Water Puppet Show.
I don’t know what I expected, it’s an advertised highlight, but expensive if booked as a tourist ’tour’ but I’m a cheapskate.
I simply turned up at the theatre and was sold a local half price ticket, hehe, and it was great fun! Simple but amazingly effective, the seats look down onto a pond and the marionettes perform intricate fascinating ‘acts’ telling ancient stories. Colourful, accompanied by live music again on traditional instruments, funny and spectacular-fireworks flash from the dragon’s mouth-I was completely absorbed, pinto for adults and children alike.
Luckily we’d agreed the price before setting off as we went round in circles, literally, as he had one hand on the handlebar and the other gesticulating to other drivers to find the place-very unnerving whilst we were still negotiating the city traffic
When we finally arrived at a college structure in the suburbs, I was amazed to find three floors full of fascinating and richly detailed material tracing the history of women here in the south from the traditional customs, religion, and the struggle for equal employment rights, the war years, and the present day.
There was no charge, I was welcomed warmly by a young woman who ran on ahead putting on lights and air-conditioning for me, and in the two hours I was absorbed there, admiring everything from diaries to sculptures and paintings, I saw not another soul.
An interesting reflection on the past –and to me still the present-situation here.
A respite for lunch in a rare sight here-a vegetarian snack bar! Hence the picture of my rice spring rolls, filled with tofu and mushroom and with soy and sesame paste, yummy! with a glass of ice tea. 30,000 Vietnamese dong, or about 80p.
The history of Saigon is complex beyond worth explaining, but every building seems to represent events in time. The Independence Palace (see below) or Reunification Palace, now a communist landmark and a site of special historical merit, is surprisingly moving too, despite its austere design. Preserved as it was during the time of the republic of Vietnam, it fell to the liberation army in 1975, marking the victory of the revolution.
The communist flags fly proudly now over and around the building, the guards ever present everywhere, guide you with a smile around the ornate palaces of the now defunct old regime. The musicians outside play traditional instruments which seem at odds with the harsh notes of army tanks and marching guards.
And then another Vietnamese tradition which has survived into the present day-The Water Puppet Show.
I don’t know what I expected, it’s an advertised highlight, but expensive if booked as a tourist ’tour’ but I’m a cheapskate.
I simply turned up at the theatre and was sold a local half price ticket, hehe, and it was great fun! Simple but amazingly effective, the seats look down onto a pond and the marionettes perform intricate fascinating ‘acts’ telling ancient stories. Colourful, accompanied by live music again on traditional instruments, funny and spectacular-fireworks flash from the dragon’s mouth-I was completely absorbed, pinto for adults and children alike.
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