Recently I went to the Museum of Ho Chi Minh City for the first time. The building was called Gia Long Palace pre 1975 and was where NgoDinh Diem moved to after the independence palace was bombed. I couldn't find the underground tunnels.
The exhibits themselves were as expected...displays of old machinery and wooden boxes used by heroic comrades during the war. "This wooden box was used by xxxx to store revolutionary pamphlets". One exhibit showed an anchor, the placard read: "An anchor". Another actually had a large color picture of a Citimart supermarket. Like finding a picture of Sainsbury's in the British Museum.
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| A museum exhibit covered in biro |
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A room of displays
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Stamps. Hooray for the stamps.
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It's a sad indictment of a supposed museum about this fine city that most of the displays are old bric-a-brac used by the party. It wouldn't surprise me if sister models of some of the ancient printers and cameras on display are still being used in government offices somewhere in the provinces.
Two rooms have murals depicting two of the most important historical events in the 20th century (for Vietnam)
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The August Revolution 1945 - "Independence or Death"
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Fall of Saigon - 1975
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Outside, military vehicles captured by Vietnamese forces and then used in the war against the Americans.
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| Spoils of war |
