Ho Chi Minh City Day 2 胡志明市第二天

2024年4月24日，星期三，新加坡越南之旅第五天

Wednesday, April 24, 2024, the fifth day of the Singapore-Vietnam trip

今天早晨在酒店享用了包含在住宿费中的自助早餐后，我们便前往了位于酒店旁边的独立宫参观。门票价格为每人65,000越南盾，另外音频讲解需支付90,000越南盾。看到了很多外国游客和越南本地人。这座宫殿最初在法国殖民时期被称为诺罗敦宫，建于1868年至1871年间，曾是法属印度支那总督的官邸。其建筑展示了典型的法国殖民风格，融合了欧洲文艺复兴时期的设计元素，显著体现了当时法国对该地区政治和文化的深远影响。

After enjoying the complimentary buffet breakfast at the hotel this morning, we went to visit the Independence Palace located directly across from our hotel. The ticket price was 65,000 Vietnamese Dong per person, and the audio guide cost an additional 90,000 Vietnamese Dong. We saw many foreign tourists and local Vietnamese people.

The original palace was called the Norodom Palace during the French colonial period and was built between 1868 and 1871. It served as the official residence of the Governor-General of French Indochina. The architecture showcases the typical French colonial style, incorporating design elements from the European Renaissance period, significantly reflecting the profound influence of France on the region’s politics and culture at that time.

到了1954年，随着法国在印度支那的撤退，这座宫殿转交给了南越政府，作为总统府，改名为独立宫。在1962年,独立宫被越南士兵轰炸后，南越总统吴廷琰下令重建，成为今天的这个宫殿。重建后的宫殿风格现代，与诺罗敦宫的原有风格有较大区别，更加体现了当时的现代建筑趋势。它见证了越南战争中的许多重大事件，象征着越南战争的结束和南北越的统一。

In 1954, with the French withdrawal from Indochina, this palace was handed over to the South Vietnamese government, serving as the Presidential Palace and renamed the Independence Palace. In 1962, it was bombed by Republic of Vietnam bombers attempting to assassinate President Ngô Đình Diệm. After the bombing, President Diem ordered to rebuild the Palace, becoming the Palace we see today. The style of the rebuilt palace is modern and significantly different from the original style of the Norodom Palace, reflecting the modern architectural trends of the time. It witnessed many major events during the Vietnam War and symbolizes the end of the Vietnam War and the unification of North and South Vietnam.

宫殿的设计独特，融合了现代建筑风格与传统越南元素，宽敞的会议厅、宴会厅、总统办公室及居室等都保存得相当完好，作为博物馆对外开放。

The palace’s design is unique, blending modern architectural styles with traditional Vietnamese elements. The spacious conference halls, banquet halls, presidential offices, and living quarters are all well-preserved and open to the public as a museum.

中午我们在Mama Pho尝试了第一碗越南河粉，味道与美国的类似，略感失望。午餐后，我们顺道快速参观了旁边著名的槟城市场，那里琳琅满目，摆满了各种商品和小吃。由于我们没有购物计划，便迅速离开了这个巨大的温室感觉的市场。

For lunch, we tried our first bowl of Vietnamese pho at Mama Pho, but the taste was similar to what we had in the US, which was slightly disappointing. After lunch, we quickly visited the famous nearby Ben Thanh Market, which was dazzling with a wide variety of goods and snacks. Since we had no plans to shop, we quickly left this huge market that felt like a greenhouse.

离开大市场后，我们步行前往下一个重要的目的地—西贡沦陷的一个标志性地点。就是下面这张照片，应该是越南最著名的照片之一。

这张照片拍摄于1975年4月29日，越南人在西贡（现胡志明市）的沦陷前夕，试图登上一架正在撤离的直升飞机。这架直升飞机停在位于西贡的美国中央情报局(CIA)住宅楼顶，而这栋楼位于22号吉亚隆街。照片中的人们在绝望中争相上机，希望逃离越南，成为南越政权垮台和越南战争结束的象征性一幕。

由荷兰摄影师休伯特·范·埃斯（Hubert van Es）拍摄，经常被误认为是从美国大使馆的屋顶拍摄的。然而实际上，它是在距离大使馆几个街区远的地方拍摄的。这张照片成为越南战争和西贡沦陷最令人记忆犹新的图像之一，广泛传播于世界各地，象征着战争的混乱和绝望。

After leaving the big market, we walked to our next important destination – an iconic location of the fall of Saigon. It’s the photo below, which could be one of the most famous photo of Vietnam in the world. This photo was taken on April 29, 1975, on the eve of the fall of Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City), as Vietnamese people tried to board US evacuating helicopters. The helicopter was parked on the roof of a U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) residential building in Saigon, located at 22 Gia Long Street. The people in the photo were desperately trying to get on board, hoping to escape Vietnam, becoming a symbolic scene of the collapse of the South Vietnamese regime and the end of the Vietnam War.

Taken by Dutch photographer Hubert van Es, it is often mistakenly thought to have been taken from the roof of the U.S. Embassy. However, it was actually taken several blocks away from the embassy. This photo became one of the most memorable images of the Vietnam War and the fall of Saigon, widely circulated around the world, symbolizing the chaos and despair of war.

PJG在网上看到一个人说，在那栋建筑的顶部开设了一家咖啡馆，任何人都可以上去参观。我们兴致勃勃地找到了那个地点，但怎么也看不到咖啡馆的标志。正当我们感到困惑时，一楼的保安走出来，向我们示意问是否想要去楼上。我们表达了想去咖啡馆的愿望，保安告诉我们咖啡馆已经关闭了，但如果给他一些钱，他可以让我们上去。经过一番讨价还价，我们给了他100,000越南盾，终于顺利地来到了9楼。那里，我们看到了一个被废弃的咖啡馆和照片上的那间小屋子。

PJG saw online that someone said a coffee shop had opened on the top of that building and anyone could go up to visit. We excitedly found the location but couldn’t see any signs of a coffee shop. Just as we were feeling confused, a security guard on the first floor came out and gestured to ask if we wanted to go upstairs. With various hand signals, we expressed our desire to go to the coffee shop, and the security guard indicated that the coffee shop had closed, but if we gave him some money, he could let us go up. After some bargaining, we gave him 100,000 Vietnamese Dong (4 bucks) and finally made it to the 9th floor. There, we saw an abandoned coffee shop and the small platform from the photo.

我们试图前往对面的大楼，希望在那里模仿拍摄那张著名的照片。可惜，尝试失败，因为对面的办公大楼并未对公众开放。无奈之下，我们只能在较远的地方拍了几张远景照片。

We tried to go to the building across the street, hoping to imitate that famous photo from there. Unfortunately, the attempt failed because the office building opposite was not open to the public. Left with no choice, we could only take a few long-distance shots from further away.

西贡圣母圣殿主教座堂，昵称红教堂，和西贡中心邮政局就在附近，我俩便顺便游览了一下，可惜红教堂正在维修之中，完全对公众关闭。

The Saigon Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica, nicknamed the Red Church, and the Saigon Central Post Office were nearby, so we took the opportunity to visit them as well. Unfortunately, the Red Church was under renovation and completely closed to the public.

下午回到酒店休息充电之后，我们再次前往碧文街步行街，去做我们最喜欢的事之一：喝啤酒，看人流。等到了晚上，这里真的变成了一个疯狂的地方。狂躁的音乐、酒吧门口的舞者、争抢客人的酒吧服务员，络绎不绝的行人，游客和摩托车、乞讨者，卖各种小物件的商贩，带着小孩的商贩、擦鞋者，嘴里喷汽油喷火表演的乞讨者，这个场景是一种很歇斯底里的疯狂的感觉，每个人都为了生存而疯狂着。

After returning to the hotel in the afternoon to rest and recharge, we headed back to Bui Vien Walking Street to do one of our favorite things: have a beer and people-watch. By the time evening arrived, this place had truly turned into a mad house. Frenzied music, dancers at the entrances of bars, bar staff competing for customers, an endless stream of pedestrians, tourists and motorcycles, beggars, vendors selling various small items, vendors with young children, shoe shiners, and beggars performing fire-breathing shows by spraying gasoline from their mouths – this scene felt hysterically crazy, with everyone looking for a way to survive.