Friday, April 30, 2010

April 30, 1975.

Today is a national holiday in Vietnam: Liberation/Reunification Day celebrates the fall of Saigon and the end of the American War.

The image of this Soviet-built tank breaking through the gate
of the Presidential Palace in Saigon is iconic here.

Because the following day is May Day, also a national holiday,
the streets are decorated with banners. This is a major getaway weekend
for the locals. We didn't realize that we had a four-day weekend
until last week, at which point it was too late to book anything.

So this morning, we walked down to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum to
see what there was to see.

Not much going on, but there were a lot of people milling around,
including many be-medaled veterans.
We'll go back tomorrow the see if the May Day festivities are bigger.

P.

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