My 1995 Journey to Vietnam for the 20th Anniversary of the Fall of Saigon

Otherwise known as the Reunification of Vietnam after the American War

DUBLIN, IRELAND (May 3, 2025) — On Thursday while reading posts on X about the April 30, 2025, parade in Ho Chi Minh City commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War’s end and Vietnam’s reunification, I was struck by images of a modern, vibrant Saigon. The news coverage contrasted sharply with my memories of the city during its celebration of the 20th anniversary in 1995, 30 years earlier, when I visited as one of the few Americans present.

In 1995, Saigon stood at a crossroads, with the U.S. trade embargo lifted in 1994 and diplomatic relations nearing (established July 1995). The 2025 reports in the news yesterday inspired me to share my experience 30 years ago—a firsthand account of a city poised between its war-scarred past and a global future.

As an American, traveling to Saigon in 1995 was both uncommon and risky. The absence of U.S.-Vietnam diplomatic relations left no consular support for emergencies. I secured a visa using my Irish EU passport, but Vietnamese security likely flagged me as American—possibly even before I boarded my flight from Bangkok, and certainly given my accent and background. Constant surveillance, including tapped phone calls and minders, underscored the government’s caution during the anniversary.

My three-day itinerary began on April 28 with a quick flight from Bangkok, Thailand to Saigon, Vietnam. I know that officially the name is Ho Chi Minh City but I didn’t find anybody there who called it that, everybody called it Saigon. I went straight from the airport to the Floating Hotel, which was docked on the Saigon River then had dinner at what is today a Michelin-rated restaurant on the most fashionable street in Saigon and after, exploring the city, and observed the parade rehearsals; my tour continued on Saturday, April 29, visiting landmarks, museums, a large “hidden” shopping market and going to Catholic Mass, and concluded on April 30, attempting to view the restricted parade but thwarted at gunpoint before returning to Bangkok.

This story chronicles that rare journey, capturing Saigon’s pivotal moment through my perspective, now vividly restored with the help of Grok AI — more on that in the epilogue.

By the way, you may notice the timestamps on the photographs, indicate a different day, that’s because my camera was set for New York time. I never reset it when I moved to Bangkok so the photos indicate a timestamp that’s often one day earlier than the photo was actually taken In 1995, during my trip both Bangkok and Saigon were in the Indochina Time Zone (ICT) at UTC+7:00. New York, located in the Eastern Time Zone, was on Eastern Daylight Savings Time (EDT) at UTC-4:00. With an 11-hour time difference, a photo taken at, say, 8:00 AM on April 28 in Saigon (UTC+7:00) would correspond to 9:00 PM on April 27 in New York (UTC-4:00), explaining the date discrepancy due to the time zone shift crossing the day boundary.

Saigon 1995 Part I: Arrival in Saigon and a Distinctive Dinner – Friday, April 28, 1995

Saigon 1995 Part II: Immersion in Saigon’s History and Culture – Saturday, April 29, 1995

Saigon 1995 Part III: 20th Anniversary Parade and My Departure – Sunday, April 30, 1995

Saigon 1995 Part IV: Reflections on my Visit to Saigon

Saigon 1995 Part V: Saigon Postcards & Old News Videos

Saigon 1995 Epilogue: Rediscovering Saigon Through an AI 30-Year Flashback