Although I’ve travelled extensivevly thoughout Asia, this is the first trip to Vietnam. We have a friend who came out as a refugee in the 1970’s and now has finally gone back and is living in Ho Chi Minh city with his beautiful wife. We visited them on this trip and travelled throughout the south of the country.
We flew to Bangkok as we got some cheap flights and then took the short flight from Bangkok to Ho Chi Minh.
Hồ Chí Minh led the Việt Minh independence movement from 1941 onward, establishing the Communist-ruled Democratic Republic of Vietnam in 1945 and defeating the French Union in 1954 at the battle of Điện Biên Phủ. He officially stepped down from power in 1965 due to health problems. After the war, Saigon, the former capital of the Republic of Vietnam, was renamed Hồ Chí Minh City.
One thing I learnt, the south don’t like the name Ho Chi Minh, they still refer it as Siagon.
