War Remnants Museum

NileGuide Expert tip:

Whatever you do, don't miss the Requiem photo exhibition.

Description:

• Saigon lacks conventional tourist attractions, so it's no surprise that this compelling museum is swamped with visitors every day. Formerly the Museum of American War Crimes, the museum goes by a less pointed moniker these days.  The name may have been toned down, but the content of the museum remains a riveting (if predictably skewed in favor of the victors) examination of war and its myriad horrors. The outside yard is crammed with old American hardware including tanks, planes and giant Chinook Huey.  There's also a recreation of the Tiger Cages used by the puppet South Vietnamese government to house political prisoners and other undesirables on Con Dao Island.  It gets even more interesting inside. An exhibition on the effects of the defoliant Agent Orange is particularly harrowing, while the 'Requiem' exhibition of photojournalism from Vietnam's wars against the French and the Americans – curated by famed snapper Tim Page – is a vivid visual document of conflict.
• © NileGuide2013

Awards:

Frommer's

•  Highly Recommended 2010