Saigon photo essay: April 30 2013

30 April each year marks the day in 1975 that North Vietnamese tanks crashed through the gates of the then Presidential Palace bringing to an end 30 years of war. The war claimed as many as 4 million Vietnamese lives as well as 58,000 American and around 75,000 French (many of the French casualties were from the colonies). More than 500 Australians also died.



This year, the April 30 holiday fell on a Tuesday. As May 1 is also a holiday here, a good many Saigonese took the opportunity to take a full week off work. I'd love to know what percentage of the city left town.

Some went back to their native provinces to visit family and friends. Others partook en masse in an industry that's less than a decade old for most Vietnamese - tourism. And they filled the beach resorts in places like Hoi An, Danang, Phu Quoc, Nha Trang and Con Dao as well as flights to nearby international destinations like Singapore and Bangkok.




Saigon rapidly went from being the densely packed chaotic city we know and love, to something more provincial. It felt more like the city of the early 1990s.

One of the nicest things about this happy April 30 evacuation is that Saigon for a few days, and by complete accident, becomes a walk-friendly city. I decided not to miss the opportunity. On 30 April and 1 May, I grabbed the camera and hit the streets for aimless afternoon strolls.

On 30 April, we went across the Saigon River to Thu Thiem church directly opposite the Majestic Hotel. Thu Thiem parish is the oldest in Saigon and there's still a large convent there and two churches. The serenity of the place is remarkable - just five minutes from downtown.

Like much of Saigon's heritage, the wonderful old Thu Thiem convent has been under threat in recent years. As far as I can tell though, it seems to have won a reprieve.




Not the rest of the Thu Thiem area though. The rest of it has been demolished. There are big plans to build something like Shanghai's Pudong here. So I decided to wander through the demolished homes and green space to Thu Thiem bridge a few kilometres away.

On May Day, I wandered around Saigon's District One area. There is no better way to bond with a city than to spend a few hours walking in it. That Saigon is normally such a hostile city for walkers is a real problem for its appeal both to visitors and to those who call the city home. Over two days of walking, I was charmed again.

Here's a little video from a previous boat trip across to Thu Thiem parish convent.