The communist party renamed Saigon after their most famous leader, Ho Chi Minh. Many Vietnamese refer to Ho Chi Minh as Uncle Ho. He helped push the Americans out of Vietnam during the Vietnam War and reunited the country.
The city comes alive at 6 am. The traffic is crazy. As I jogged my early morning run, several cars and motorcycles almost hit me. As I crossed the road, motorcyclists came from every direction. I put my life in jeopardy every time I just crossed the road. Motorcyclists drive on the wrong side of the road, take shortcuts, drive on sidewalks, etc.
The food is excellent and differs significantly from Thai and Cambodian food. Everyone enjoys a bowl of soup or pho. Restaurants place greens, shredded cabbage, mint leaves, and bean sprouts to the side. Then, people add fresh greens to the soup, so the soup warms them but does not cook them.
Vietnamese are prolific coffee drinkers. I drank several ice coffees from the street, where the salespeople needed a license to sell the coffee as a drug. As a prolific coffee drinker, I became buzzed and light-headed while I drank Vietnamese coffee.
Vietnam
- The country's area spans 128,565 square miles, making Vietnam the 65th largest country in the world.
- The currency is the Vietnamese dong.
- The capital is Hanoi.
- About 8 million inhabitants live in Ho Chi Minh, the largest city. Saigon was the former name.
- Ho Chi Minh contributes about 20% to Vietnam's economy.
- In 2014, the population was estimated at 90.6 million.
- Although the Communist Party still controls Vietnam, the government allows a market economy to flourish.
- Economists believe Vietnam will become one of the fastest-growing economies in the world.
The Americans controlled the skies and the ground during the Vietnam War. Thus, the Vietnamese, or Viet Cong, went underground and constructed a labyrinth of tunnels. One network of tunnels, Cu Chi tunnels, is located outside of Ho Chi Minh, formerly known as Saigon. Vietnamese used guerrilla tactics and were resourceful. They recycled everything left over from the American war machine. They recycled old, unexploded bombs and made new weapons—they used old tyres to make flip-flops for the soldiers.
Although the Vietnamese were outmatched and possessed inferior weapons, they persevered and forced the Americans to withdraw, thus winning the war.
