After a 15 hour flight, with a stopover in Hong Kong, I landed at Ho Chi Minh City’s Tan Son Nhat International Airport. The name Saigon no longer exists, since the communists renamed the city after winning the American-Vietnam war in the 1970’s. However, it is still used by many people.

Riding to town by taxi (not for the faint of heart!), I was awestruck by the wide elegant boulevards and the many historic French colonial buildings. All along the streets you could see bits and pieces of architecture that reflected the town’s time as a French colony. Considered one of the crown jewels of all the buildings is the Hotel Majestic, one of the oldest lodgings in town. My folks made sure I had reservations there, so that’s where I settled in for my stay.

My first day was spent travelling to my parent’s original hometown, Ben Suc, about an hour’s drive to the north of the city. I visited my Dad’s cousins and met several old classmates of my parents, when they were kids. The village is famous for the tunnel networks of the Cu Chi District, used by revolutionaries during wars. There are over 200 kilometres of tunnels in the district alone!

The tunnels were used against the French early in the 20th centuryt, and then again during the American War. They could hold up to 16,000 soldiers at a time, providing protection, ventilation and storage for weapons and food. My dad used to talk about them when I was a kid, and I couldn’t believe it when I actually got to go into them myself!

Dad was a soldier for the South Vietnamese army, which fought on the American side. After the war was lost, he spent time in a re-education camp, then applied for asylum to the US. He started a new life in America with my mom, opening a landscaping business, and eventually put me through school. Ironically, the university I attended, University of California, Berkeley, was the center of anti-Vietnam War protests. An ironic twist, don’t you think?

The next few days were spent tooling around Ho Chi Minh City on motorbike, hopping on buses, and checking out places in the countryside by train. Highlights in town were definitely the Reunification Hall, where the South Vietnam generals and politicians formally surrendered their country in 1975, and Bao Tang Lich Su (Historical Museum), which has artifacts and displays describing the history of Vietnam going back 4,000 years.

Out of town, I found the trek up the Mekong Delta, visiting rural Vietnamese living simply, working their rice paddies, tending their water buffalo herds, just as their ancestors did generations ago, was the best. All along the river you could stop off at any floating market and go away not only completely fed, but stocked up with all touristy trinkets you would ever want for a return trip home.

My fun continued all week, with visits to Cho Lon (Big Market), otherwise known as Chinatown, due to the large number of ethnic Chinese that live there. I checked out Vinh Nghiem Pagoda, built in the 1960’s by two Buddhist monks who came down from North Vietnam. It’s an impressive 7-storey building, honoring Buddhism and containing many shrines and artifacts that the devout can visit and worship.

My favorite place to visit, though, was Vung Tau Beach on the coast, about an hour away. For the last leg of my visit, I booked a seat on a hydrofoil boat that regularly heads down to the seaside resort town. Checking into the Palace Hotel, I set about enjoying relaxing times during the day, lounging on the beach and enjoying fun in the sun. There were all kinds of beachside activities, ranging from water-biking to paragliding - I think I tried all of them.

I spent the evenings enjoying meals from some fantastic restaurants, like Quan 95 and Ba Hai’s. My favourites were the prawns and the springrolls - I just couldn't get enough. Come nighttime, I would hang out in bars along the beach or hit one of the thumping discos in town. Vung Tau was certainly the perfect way to finish up my trip!

Needless to say, I had many stories to tell the folks when I returned home. While I certainly enjoyed the sentimental trips back to the world they left and knew well, I definitely know I came away having seen a Vietnam they can’t begin to imagine!