Saigon on my mind & in my heart
The mention of Saigon makes me think of Miss Saigon, of which I have seen two versions. The scenes that keep flashing on my mind are those of the original version starring Lea Salonga at the West End in 1989.
What haunts me are the scenes with helicopters whirring while the Vietnamese try to board them. The beautiful songs keep replaying in my ears, and the poignant story still stirs my consciousness.
And so last Holy Week when I took my third trip to Saigon (yes, I love Vietnam that much, it takes only 2 hours and 45 minutes to Saigon via Cebu Pacific Air) I kept imagining Lea walking down the streets as I saw slim, young women looking beautiful in their ao dai. I tried to fathom the faces of the people, as if trying to see how the Vietnam War has left their souls wounded.
Perhaps the physical scars left by Agent Orange herbicide warfare used by the Americans are no longer easily apparent, but what about the mental hurt? It seems the country has really been moving on. Vietnam now even makes its own electric and gas-powered cars, the Vinfast.
In 1969, Ho Chi Minh promised that defeating the Americans would allow his people “to rebuild our land ten times more beautiful.” Yes, Saigon has become far more beautiful and progressive than the first time I visited.
Coincidentally, Saigon (now called Ho Chi Minh) was deep in preparations last Holy Week for the 50th anniversary of their Liberation Day on April 30, 2025. In 1973, US president Richard Nixon, then already beleaguered by the Watergate scandal, ordered the pull-out of American troops from Vietnam, but the war was officially over in 1975 when the last of the soldiers left, and the next year the Reunification of North and South Vietnam was sealed.
There were rehearsals daily during Holy Week, with many people already waving the Vietnamese flag and wearing red T-shirts with the yellow star.
I remember how street protestors during the Vietnam War chanted “Hey, hey, LBJ, how many kids did you kill today” against president Lyndon Johnson. There were more than a million casualties, but today, thoughts of freedom and liberation fill the patriotic air.
To feel the soul of a place and its people, I usually visit the markets. But this time around, my husband and I decided to take a whiff of the countryside. So we took two tours: the whole-day Mekong Delta Tour (US$59 per person) and the Saigon River Cruise (US$50).
The Mekong Delta Tour covered the islands of Dragon, Unicorn, Turtle and Phoenix. We visited a bee farm where we were treated to honey tea, and saw coconut candy workshops with free candies. Riding on electric cars, our group toured the countryside road lined with orchards of tropical fruits and sampled them while listening to Southern traditional music. Lunch served had delicious local treats. For me, the highlight of the tour was a paddled boat ride down a narrow river, a la Venice. The Vietnamese are quite creative with the natural resources they have.
We had moments of meditation and prayer before Buddha images when we passed by the Vin Trang Pagoda which has a mix of Vietnamese, Khmer and Chinese culture.
The Saigon River Cruise was a touristic boat ride with musical performers, puppet shows and dancers on board, highlighted by huge buffet tables for dinner. Both tours we took had proficient English-speaking guides. We were fetched and brought back to our hotel in comfortable vans.
A trip to Saigon is never complete without culinary adventures and shopping. A fave stopover was Takashimaya Department Store for its Oriental restaurants at the basement and uppermost floors, though we enjoyed other eating discoveries as well. One favorite was Vo Roof, a resto-bar with choices for both meat eaters, pescatarians and vegetarians. It obviously is a favorite of tourists even while it is located in a not-so-glam side of Saigon. Saigon has several Michelin-starred restos which we discovered upon the reco of Sharon Wong to Ben Chan during a previous trip. It was during this trip when we watched Kirk Bondad represent the Philippines in the Mr. World competition. We also saw the former family home of Agnes Huibonhoa built by her industrialist parents and grandparents in a complex of four buildings, now a national museum and art gallery.
This is not a building. You may call it a Love Boat for tourists.
Buffet tables aplenty at the Love Boat
Loving prawns in sugar cane, only P225 at Saigon Broken Rice
Our favorite Vo Roof resto- bar , where a huge meal can cost only P500 per person.
The comfy boat that brought us around the Mekong Delta
Local songs by their own Miss Saigon
Hats off to Vietnamese creativity
Beautiful clothes using textiles woven from bamboo
A colorful, cocky view from the boat
No, not our service cars
La Viet coffee kept us awake.
Author Millet Mananquil and hubby Robert try to create Titanic moments on the Saigon River cruise.
Our tour group composed of French, German, Australian, Russian, Indian and Filipino travelers.
This is not a building. You may call it a Love Boat for tourists.
Buffet tables aplenty at the Love Boat
Loving prawns in sugar cane, only P225 at Saigon Broken Rice
Our favorite Vo Roof resto- bar , where a huge meal can cost only P500 per person.
The comfy boat that brought us around the Mekong Delta
Local songs by their own Miss Saigon
Hats off to Vietnamese creativity
Beautiful clothes using textiles woven from bamboo
A colorful, cocky view from the boat
No, not our service cars
La Viet coffee kept us awake.
Author Millet Mananquil and hubby Robert try to create Titanic moments on the Saigon River cruise.
Our tour group composed of French, German, Australian, Russian, Indian and Filipino travelers.
CLOSE
Just across Takashimaya is Saigon Square, our go-to for affordable clothes, bags and shoes that you can haggle for. But my favorite shop near our hotel is LAM Boutique with its flowing dresses with unique touches of Vietnamese creativity.
That’s Saigon for me: a place with the history of resilient people wounded by the Vietnam War, but fast rising with its electric cars, exquisite food and fashion, art and culture.
The heat is on in Saigon.
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Cebu Pacific flies 11 times weekly from Manila to Saigon, and three times weekly from Cebu. Book through www.cebupacificair.com, mobile app or authorized travel agents.
