Ho Chi Minh City, formerly Saigon, is the largest city in Vietnam. Previously a French colony, Saigon became Ho Chi Minh City in 1976, named after the former president and prime minister Ho Chi Minh. Its population has reached over nine million and is projected to cover 30,000 square kilometers and obtain over 20 million inhabitants by 2020. There are a plethora of attractions that tourists can visit here, but the three I would like to visit are the Tunnels of Cu Chi, Saigon Notre Dame Basilica, and the Reunification Palace.
The Tunnels of Cu Chi are located in the Cu Chi district of Ho Chi Minh City. The Cu Chi Tunnels were a network of tunnels that the Viet Cong used in the Vietnam War. These tunnels were used as hiding spots, storage space, communication and supply routes, and living space for Viet Cong guerillas. No more than two or three feet tall, life in the tunnels was difficult. Soldiers were sometimes forced to stay in the tunnels for days at a time, thus causing diseases to spread rapidly. The American troops were baffled by the Cu Chi Tunnels – they couldn’t seem to find them. On a rare occasion that they did find an entrance, they just sealed it off with grenades or gas. However, they underestimated the tunnels and their design, so this technique was rendered useless. The Viet Cong used the tunnels to their advantage in the Tet Offensive, and eventually caused an American withdrawal.
The Saigon Notre Dame Basilica was established by French colonists and built between 1863 and 1880 in replace of a Vietnamese pagoda which was abandoned during the war. The Roman Catholic Church established this church for French colonialists for a religious community and for the colonists to attend church services. The bell towers were added in 1895 and are 190 feet tall. The cathedral’s foundation is built to support ten times the weight of the actual building. In 2005, the statue of the Virgin Mary in front of the cathedral was reported to have shed a...