The 30th of April is the Vietnamese Day of the Liberation of the South and National Reunification (Ngày giải phóng miền Nam, thống nhất đất nước).
This year marked 50 years since the Fall of Saigon, so there was big celebrations, and honestly it was pretty cool to be here for it.
An iconic pic
The scenes from the Fall of Saigon are just one of hundreds of references I’ve seen in The Simpsons over the years.
Ho Chi Minh City
Most of the main festivities occurred in Saigon, which was renamed Ho Chi Minh City a year after the reunification. There was some grand marches happening and a spectacular drone show too.
Da Nang
As Da Nang is situated in the middle of Vietnam, it was one of the earlier cities liberated, and the main celebrations here take place on the 29th of March.
The Vietnamese flag flying proudly by the beach
That being said, there was still a good buzz about the place and things happening. It’s a national holiday so the beach was thronged, and I’m not sure I’ve ever seen so many scooters in one place before.
A Saigon of Scooters
On my evening run I passed by the Da Nang Museum where there was a cool projector showing the the story of Da Nang onto the side of the building. A big crowd was there to witness some very impressive visuals. They didn’t shy away from the tragic parts either with some intense footage of bombs being dropped. Some more (better) pics can be seen in this article.
The Story of Da Nang – a 3D mapping experience
It was great to be here for the anniversary – a pleasant surprise as I didn’t plan on it at all.
The one thought that really struck me though is how, 50 years on, Vietnam is a much more appealing country to visit than the US ☭.
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