Quận 1 Trip Overview
My name is Guido and I have been living in Saigon for 2,5 years. Over the years I have learnt to speak Vietnamese and I have immersed in local culture. I hope to give you a glimpse of why I love Vietnam so much, and other people tell me that I am able to bring my love for Vietnam over to others.
During this historical tour, I will lead you past 5 iconic Vietnam War pictures, that have turned out to be pivotal moments in the history of Saigon.
The pictures we are going to review are:
– The Burning Monk (1963)
– Assassination of A Viet Cong (1968)
– Napalm Girl (1972)
– The Fall of Saigon (1975) 2 pictures and 2 sites, one picture is of a Viet Cong Tank that bulldozers through the main gate of the Independence Palace, and the other is of the Helicopter on the Roof of the American Embassy (or was it another building? We will find out.)
Additional Info
Duration: 3 hours 30 minutes
Starts: Quận 1, Vietnam
Trip Category: Cultural & Theme Tours >> Cultural Tours
Explore Quận 1 Promoted Experiences
What to Expect When Visiting Quận 1, Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam
My name is Guido and I have been living in Saigon for 2,5 years. Over the years I have learnt to speak Vietnamese and I have immersed in local culture. I hope to give you a glimpse of why I love Vietnam so much, and other people tell me that I am able to bring my love for Vietnam over to others.
During this historical tour, I will lead you past 5 iconic Vietnam War pictures, that have turned out to be pivotal moments in the history of Saigon.
The pictures we are going to review are:
– The Burning Monk (1963)
– Assassination of A Viet Cong (1968)
– Napalm Girl (1972)
– The Fall of Saigon (1975) 2 pictures and 2 sites, one picture is of a Viet Cong Tank that bulldozers through the main gate of the Independence Palace, and the other is of the Helicopter on the Roof of the American Embassy (or was it another building? We will find out.)
Itinerary
This is a typical itinerary for this product
Stop At: Rex Hotel Rooftop Bar, 141 Nguyen Hue Blvd District 1, Ho Chi Minh City 70000 Vietnam
You will meet me here. We will go to the fourth floor, to the rooftop bar. There we will have a drink, you can choose whatever non-alcoholic drink you like! Drinks are included in your ticket price. I think it is better to wait with alcohol since we have a long day ahead of us. We will come back to this bar at the end of the tour, and if you take the mid-day tour, it will be happy hour time by then!
During our visit here, I will tell you more about what we are going to see and can answer any initial questions that you may have.
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: The Venerable Thich Quang Duc Monument, Corner of Cach Mang Thang Tam & Nguyen Dinh Chieu Street, Ho Chi Minh City 70000 Vietnam
This impressive monument tells one of the most gripping and intense stories of the war. The Buddhist monk Thich Quang Duc, 73 years old, stepped out of his car and his fellows poured a flammable liquid over him. Duc then set himself on fire. I will tell you more about why he did this, why he remained to sit still despite the flames, and why this the first time it became apparent that America was going to lose the war.
Duration: 20 minutes
Stop At: 113A Đặng Dung, Tân Định, Quận 1, Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam
This is now a nice little restaurant where we can have some refreshements and eat Vietnamese local kitchen, but it also beholds a secret from the war time, during the Tet Offensive.
The basement of this restaurant contains a “double bottom”, where the Viet Cong hid weapons that they used to surprise the South Vietnamese Army during the Tet Holiday Period.
If we are hungry and looking for a soldier’s meal we can stop here for rice, chicken and coffee.
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: Nguyễn Thiện Thuật, Quận 3, Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam
We go to this local apartment complex, that is very popular amongst the poorer class of Vietnamese people. In the 90’s this was a neighborhood with high criminality rates. That is now totally under control, crime has gone down to a minimum. The apartments make for a good place to live, because of their favourable rent prices and their central location.
All these houses were completely destroyed during the 1968 Tet Offensive.
We will sit down here, for an orange juice or some fruit, and we will discuss the picture “Assassination of a Viet Cong”, that showed the relentlessness on which the South Vietnamese Army took back power after the Tet Offensive.
We will stop by the place where the picture was taken along the way.
Duration: 25 minutes
Stop At: The Independence Palace, 106 Nguyen Du District 1, Ho Chi Minh City 700000 Vietnam
We take you to the museum and you can choose if you want to go inside. Tickets to the museum are complimentary.
Duration: 1 hour
Stop At: 52 Lý Tự Trọng, Bến Nghé, Quận 1, Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam
It is about a 15-20 minute drive to the building where the next stop is. This is not an official tourist site, meaning that some haggling will be required. I will there speak and negotiate with the guard in Vietnamese. Most of the guards want some money, and sometimes they will only let a group smaller than four people in. I will always try to get everyone to the rooftop at the same time, but we have to accept the decision of the guard in the end. It has occurred that I wasn’t allowed on the rooftop, not even for 100 $! But usually we are going to be fine. I will do some haggling and although I am wholeheartedly against corruption, I will pay around 1-2$ per person to go up as a bribe.
When you are at the rooftop, you can enjoy the scenery and explore the place a bit further. We will look at the picture “The Fall of Saigon” and guess from where the picture was taken.
Duration: 20 minutes
Stop At: Rex Hotel Rooftop Bar, 141 Nguyen Hue Blvd District 1, Ho Chi Minh City 70000 Vietnam
For our last stop we will go back to the Rex Hotel & Rooftop Bar. Usually they have their “Five O Clock Follies” Happy Hour from 5 PM to 7 PM.
This is where we will order a last drink (on your own bill, but 50% is off the price) and where I will give you a small gift to remember you of this historic day.
Duration: 30 minutes
