Our second day of no supervision! This morning at Mai’s recommendation we went to the Independence Palace which is across the street from our hotel. On this site the French built a building on the site in 1868 to serve as the seat of the French Colonial government. After the French left it was the home and workplace of the president of the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam). It was the site of the Fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975 that ended the Vietnam War, when a North Vietnamese Army tank crashed through its gates. After the reunification of Vietnam, the building continued to serve as a government and presidential office until 1976 when the capital of South Vietnam was officially moved to Hanoi, and the government’s functions were relocated. The palace is now preserved as a museum, open to the public, and is a popular tourist attraction in Ho Chi Minh City.
The building has nice terrace and the inside shows the working and living quarters of the Republic of Vietnam’s president and vice president. There was a good exhibit called “From Norodom Palace to Independence Palace 1868-1966” which reviewed Vietnamese History and gave clear explanation of the Ngo Dinh Diem leadership and assassination.
There were lots and lots of young people there dressed in their finest, taking pictures.
After the our Independence Palace visit we came back to the room and ate our leftover Indian food from last night. Then we ventured to the market where we made a couple of purchases. The vendors were pretty agressive