Nearly 50 years have passed since the Vietnam War, but its effects still echo in the modern day. Most the marks of the darkest time of the country are gone, yet some of them still exist in the War Remnants Museum. This will be a free ticket to the past when visiting the museum during your travel to Vietnam. Take a look at this post and know more about this magnificent place.
A 48-year-old Museum in Vietnam
After North Vietnam archived victory and gained control of Southern Vietnam in 1975, the museum, called “The Gallery of American Crime – Wei”, was built and opened for public. The main purpose was to expose the war crimes from the US and French at that time and promote the heroic time of Vietnamese people.
Later on, it was changed to “Exhibition House for Crimes of War and Aggression” and finally become “War Remnants Museum” in 1995. Nowadays, about half a million tourists pour into the museum every year to find out a glimpse of the cruel war.
Things to see in War Remnants Museum
Perhaps nowhere in the Southern Vietnam has more details information and exhibition than War Remnants Museum. Although the exterior makes the building seem like a normal and modern location, there are actually hundreds of artifacts, machines of wars, and military equipment in the museum.
In the beginning, you would want to venture inside to find numerous old pictures showing the act of US army. Many of them including the scene of an officer dragging a farmer, Vietnamese prisoners and so on. The most popular ones may be the impacts of Agent Orange, the napalm bombs, etc… Those pictures will certainly show you the horrifying experience during the war.
If the photograph is not enough to show you the past, there is a lot of room recreating the prisons or the special building based on the “tiger cages”. It was a unique prison by the French used on Con Dao Island in 1940. Here, the prisoners were tortured harshly and their health was poorly managed, which led to many deaths inside the prison.
Tourist should also wander outside of the museum in order to view the aircraft and tank collection. Contemplate these machines of war up-close to know more about what soldiers were facing in the previous war. At the corner of the yard, visitors also can see pieces of ordnance without charges and fuses.
Finally, the last “shocking” display is a guillotine designed by the French to execute prisoners, a concrete culvert where three kids were hiding until a US soldier murdered them, and so on. Those pieces of evidence will make you completely stunned at the fact that the war has just over for only several decades.
Tips for Visiting War Remnants Museum
The ticket is 15.000 VND (nearly 1$) per person, children under 6 are free.
Although the museum opens everyday (even on holiday), bear in mind that you may spend up to 3 hours to see everything as the museum closed at 6.00 pm.
If you travel by bus, feel free to catch bus number 14 and 28 which will drop you at Vo Van Tan Street.
Most adult enjoy their short visiting in War Remnants Museum, but if you travel with kids, consider carefully before bringing them there.
- If you want to explore more famous attractions, check out our Vietnam Excursions
