If you have one day in Saigon (aka Ho Chi Minh City) I would highly recommend a cyclo tour. Although not the cheapest way to see the sights it definitely affords great views of the city and is more atmospheric than jumping in a taxi. As we wove through the traffic, my elderly cyclo driver huffing and puffing, wiping the sweat from his brow and frequently having near misses with all manner of other vehicles on the road, my eyes were drawn to many sights that would have been impossible to see from the window of a cab.
Our tour involved a visit to the palace - a building left exactly as it was found when the northern tanks rolled in in 1975. It was mostly like walking around a hotel until we reached the basement where the war operations rooms were concealed, with maps and information on troop numbers still pinned to the walls. A place left as a time capsule of a time pre-communism.
The next stop was the war remnants museum. After studying the fascinating array of propaganda posters and countless images of anti-war protests from across the globe, I was then faced with room after room filled with photos and information about the far reaching and atrocious consequences of what the Vietnamese call 'the American war'. Although there is an anti-american propaganda feel to some of the exhibits, the truth of the lasting affects the use of agent orange and the dangers of unexploded ordnance have is undeniable. You cannot help but leave feeling humbled by the resilience of the Vietnamese people.
After the war museum we drove past Saigon's Notre Dam cathedral before weaving through the traffic back to our hotel. I ended the day having loved seeing the city but with a feeling of melancholy for all the country has been through.
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