Scenes from Saigon, 2018

This is an abbreviated version of my photo essay published in Vietnam magazine's February 2019 issue. All images are copyrighted.

During the Tet Lunar New Year, Nguyen Hue Boulevard lived up to its reputation as the street of flowers. Stretching nearly a half mile from the Saigon River into the heart of downtown, the boulevard is now a broad pedestrian mall. Hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese and tourists strolled through ingenious “Year of the Dog” floral displays and interactive water fountains. 

One building that most represents the Communist government is the People’s Committee Building, originally Hotel de Ville. The exquisite French design dates back to 1901, and is today probably the most photographed building in Ho Chi Minh City. The landmark is extravagantly adorned, from the clock tower and decorative statues to the arched windows, doors and hallways. Americans stationed in Saigon during the war years knew it simply as “City Hall.”

Fifty years after the Tet Offensive, a modest U.S. Consulate (right) occupies the same land where the U.S. Embassy once stood, and where the Viet Cong launched their shocking assault in 1968. The haunting edifice (below) was left abandoned for years after the 1975 evacuation and then demolished in 1998. Perhaps the last American Army general to visit the iconic helipad was Norman Schwarzkopf, a Vietnam War veteran who commanded U.S. forces during the Gulf War. As a CBS News analyst in 1993, he stood on the rooftop with anchorman Dan Rather while filming a TV documentary.

Of the remaining BEQs (Bachelor Enlisted Quarters), the Plaza Hotel (right) is one of the most peculiar. Boldly towering over Tran Hung Dao Street, the exterior is a botanical painting with ferns and leafy vines smothering all nine stories. During the war, a typical room was occupied by three or four men, except for the third floor, which was women-only. The top level was a popular night club with rows of busy slot machines. 

My room in 1969.

The Plaza had several lucky escapes: a rocket glanced off the roof, flooding a number of rooms; a terrorist bomb was defused on Thanksgiving Day in 1969; and security guards fought off a VC sapper attack in 1968. Today, the building is a dormitory for the University of Economics and houses more than 1,000 students. 

A colorful past, plus a romantic roof garden, make the Rex Hotel a legendary landmark in contemporary Ho Chi Minh City. Previously an auto dealership, the Rex provided housing for American officers, although some of the first guests were U.S. enlisted men who arrived with an Army helicopter company in December 1961. According to Jack Van Ommen, a supply clerk, “We had our delayed Thanksgiving turkey dinner served from our field kitchen on the Rex roof top terrace.” The Rex was also home to the original armed forces radio studios, as well as daily military briefings that cynical reporters nicknamed the “Five o’clock Follies.”  Today, the Follies is a specialty rum and vodka cocktail served at the garden bar for more than $12.

Saigon during the Tet holiday is a photographer’s paradise and French colonial buildings are among the most rewarding subjects. At the Saigon Post Office (above), which shares an intersection with Notre Dame Basilica, tourists easily outnumber postal customers. A large painting of Ho Chi Minh peers down on visitors and two rows of classic telephone booths. During the war, GIs placed long-distance calls to comfort worried loved ones back in the States. Today, tourists pose for selfies in front of the antique booths. 

The Continental today.

Saigon’s most distinguished hotel looks strikingly similar to it original appearance after construction in 1880. The Hotel Continental Saigon, with its high ceilings, tiled roof and spacious courtyard, has a colorful, and sometimes seedy, reputation that spans two wars. Known as the Continental Palace during the American conflict, the hotel’s sidewalk café was a favorite gathering place for diplomats, military personnel, journalists, and, as legend goes, spies. Notable guests include author Graham Greene, who featured the hotel in his novel The Quite American. Nearly 140 years after opening, the Continental still welcomes guests but must compete with many newer luxury hotels. 

The Continental in 1969. This is the cover photo for my blog.

Tu Do Street, renamed Dong Khoi after the war, is no longer a place where you can find "Saigon Tea," typically a diluted tea that GIs were obligated to buy for a bar girl's companionship, but the commercial thoroughfare is still a trendy downtown destination. One of the last surviving GI bars was operating in 1988 as the Lan Thanh coffee shop (right), where customers could also order Vietnamese-made "33 Beer." The site is now a gift shop and travel agency, seen below in 2018.

Writer's footnote: In preparing for my photo assignment, I returned to Vietnam with the same 35mm film camera I have carried for nearly 50 years, an Asahi Pentax. I purchased it at the Cholon Post Exchange in Saigon for $120. I also had my Apple iPhone7, and used the phone camera for two of the photos published in this article.

* Vietnam magazine is typically available at Barnes and Noble.