Ho Chi Minh City—still widely known as Saigon: airport codes, business names, our guide’s casual references—has become a major international city, population 8 million, full of gleaming high rises and such modern amenities as McDonald’s (the first ones in Vietnam) and 7Eleven. English and French are on many signs, instead of or in addition to Vietnamese. Walking around HCMC is not that dissimilar to walking around London.

We arrived mid-day and went straight to the Reunification Palace, formerly the home of the South Vietnamese government and the location where the country was reunified following the war. The building is maintained as something of a shrine with intact war rooms, communications centers, and meeting rooms. Designed by one of Vietnam’s most prominent architects, it is reminiscent of many buildings from the 1950s except with most rooms opening onto large open porticos to catch the breezes. Following our tour there, we had a fantastic lunch at an amazing French café followed by a brief walk around the city center.

While most of our group visited the Cu Chi Tunnels the following morning, we decided to explore HCMC on our own a bit. We took a short walk to the Norte Dame Cathedral (closed for much needed renovations) and the central post office, designed by Gustavo Eiffel (of tower fame). Then, we hailed a taxi for the Fine Arts Museum, a 15 minute ride though heavy traffic that cost us nearly 30,000 Dong (about $1.35). The museum is spread through three French mansions and includes an array of modern Vietnamese art, much of it focused on war experiences. After another fabulous lunch, this one on the banks of the Saigon River, we spent some time exploring the China Town area.