After Australia having its fair share of public holidays during April (and me having to work relentlessly through them), it was time for Vietnam to have a few days off. April 30th is Reunification Day, and May 1st is Labour Day. People are back to work on Friday, but many sane people are taking that day off and having a lovely 5-day weekend. The normal peak hour traffic here in HCMC is pretty quiet since many of the locals have headed for the hills (or the beach), although plenty of people from rural communities visit HCMC as their holiday so it still feels very busy, especially around the major landmarks.
Anyway, I’m by myself for most of this week (Jo has gone on a mini-adventure, you’ll find out more about that later) so I thought I’d do some research into what happens on Reunification Day. It’s a day of pride for many Vietnamese, since it’s the anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War (here it’s called the American War). Apart from a few photoboards set up in District 1, there didn’t seem to be many other official events going on apart from a 9PM fireworks show, launched from the Thủ Thiêm tunnel in District 2. The main waterfront in District 1 gets a perfect view of these, and many of the big skyscrapers (like the iconic Bitexco Financial Tower) hold special/exclusive events for those looking for a different vantage point.
I arrived at the riverfront with about an hour to spare, so I checked out all the main cruise ships which do a 3-4 hour dinner cruise. Here are a few snaps:
These all departed between 8 and 8:30PM, and they all follow the same process: a few courses for dinner, punctuated by some entertainment throughout. They aren’t too expensive and we’ll probably end up going on one in the next few months.
Away from the cruise ships, the whole area was littered with people hanging around for the fireworks. There were heaps of families and groups of teenagers. In true Vietnamese fashion, dozens of street vendors were hawking their stuff. Plenty of small eskis were filled with ice and cold drinks, and motorbikes had mini-kitchens on the back serving fried meat on a stick. You’ll find the odd papaya salesman, and people with a massive straw bowl full of peanuts. There were even clowns making balloon animals for the kids (these guys actually attracted quite a crowd). After 8:15PM or so it was clear that the surrounding roads were closed off, and people were making their way to a nearby bridge for a clear view:
Looking down Hàm Nghi from the riverfront. Normally this is swarmed in bikes and taxis.
The bridge between D1 and D4.
I must have seen about 5 tourists/expats in the entire sea of people waiting for the fireworks. Here are two of them.
Another look at the D1/D4 bridge.
The atmosphere leading up to the main event was fairly intense, actually. Thousands of people all coming to celebrate the unification of North and South Vietnam, 39 years ago. The 40th anniversary next year should be pretty cool!
Anyway, without further ado here are a bunch of photos from the fireworks display:
Saigon Salmons 
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