Vietnam Index.

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..... Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) ....

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My arrival was on April 30th, 2000: Victoryday!

The entire city was full of flags, big slogans across the streets, hammer and sickle everywhere. Today is Victoryday in Vietnam. Exactly 25 years ago Vietnam won the American war with conquering Saigon by storm.

At six o' clock in the morning when I arrived at the hotel coming from Nha Trang by night train, the party had started already with a parade which was finished at nine already. Saigon is hot at daytime! I saw in the parade funny little cars, marching troups, sportsgroups, dancing groups, one of them was performing aerobic exercises with hammering sounds of disco music. Also the old men on the stage, the government, looked very interested.

Saigon looks rather modern and out of breath compared to Hanoi, it is hot, lots of traffic, good galleries and museums, fantastic (expensive) Chinese restaurants, shopping centers, boutiques, antique, jewels, so enjoy it.

In the evening we joined the street party in front of the Operahouse. There was street orchestra, opera, tribal groups, firework, dancing. Hundreds of thousands of Saigon people were in the streets, always pouring confetti over me. That is real fun, after all to pour it over a "Longnose". They loved it.