• Digital Nomad Resources
  • Train Travel
  • Urban Rail Transit
  • Where To Stay

Nomadic Notes

Travel blog and weekly travel newsletter

  • Blog
  • Travel Newsletter

Cafe Saigon 1975 – a war memorabilia cafe in Ho Chi Minh City

August 17, 2017 By James Clark 5 Comments

Cafe Saigon 1975 - a war memorabilia cafe in Ho Chi Minh City

[Edit: This cafe has since closed.]

In my quest to visit different cafes in Saigon, I’m always looking out for new places in my wanders. One day I found a sign pointing down an alley that stopped me in my tracks. It was for Cafe Saigon 1975.

There are some years in history that are indelibly linked to a city; 1066 Hastings, 1453 Constantinople, and 1945, well take your pick between Berlin and Hiroshima/Nagasaki. And 1975 is forever linked with Saigon.

Modern-day Saigon is relatively light on war memorialisation (apart from the city being renamed after Ho Chi Minh), so seeing a cafe named after that time in history stood out as unusual.

Upon arrival at the cafe, you are left with no doubt that this is a liberation-themed cafe, with the flag of the National Liberation Front (NLF) used by the Viet Cong, emblazoned across the front entrance. You never see this flag anywhere, except for war commemoration events.

Cafe Saigon 1975

Another sign of the nationalistic agenda is this notice on the front window for Chinese tourists. The sign is regarding the disputed Paracel and Spratly Islands in the South China Sea.

I have seen similar anti-Japanese signs in China, and anti-Israeli signs in Thailand, but this is the first time I’ve seen such a sign in Vietnam. I guess Americans, Australians, and other war-time belligerents are welcome.

We reserve the right NOT to serve Chinese tourists

There is a bar in the entrance which is decorated as a tank. I was beginning to worry I had stumbled into a secret commie den and I wouldn’t be welcome. I was then greeted by two friendly waiters who suggested I go upstairs to the lounge.

Bar

On the first floor there is a karaoke and live music space which has some old photos on the walls.

Viet Cong band

The action is on the second floor, which is a lounge area with all sorts of trinkets and memorabilia.

There is a calendar that is frozen in time on 30 April 1975 – Liberation Day, or Black April, depending on your side. (For more photos of this day check out the Fall of Saigon gallery).

30 April, 1975

This photo of a mother and son was featured on propaganda posters around the city during the 40th-anniversary celebrations. This is one of the most moving photos of the war. I don’t know the background of it, but to me, it represents peace, with the exhausted mother having lived every moment of a ten thousand day war.

Mother Son

Some old books on the shelf include works by Vo Nguyen Giap, and a book on the famous victory in Dien Bien Phu.

Old books

On the wall, there is a fascinating collection of old banknotes. The Dong is the world’s highest denominated currency, and here you can see the progression of inflation with older notes being lowly denominated one dong notes.

Dong collection

The first Hornbill I’ve seen in Vietnam…

Hornbill head

And I found my weakness – old maps! There are some great maps of old Saigon here (behind glass so it was hard to get a picture). There are currently 24 districts in Saigon and I’ve always wondered about the naming system. For example, the arrondissements of Paris form a clockwise spiral, yet the numbers here are all over the shop. It turns out that the first 12 districts that are numbered did follow some order.

As the city grew, the districts were amalgamated and new areas were assigned low numbers. So district 2, which is now a new area on the other side of the river, was once next to district 1 on the main side of the river.

When the city expanded beyond the 12 districts, the new districts use names. On the map, these districts are farms and swampland. Interesting to note that the airport was in an open space, and now it’s surrounded by the city.

Old Saigon map

When I first came to Saigon in 2005 I was kind of expecting more war paraphernalia on sale. I recall a friend asking me to get an American Zippo lighter for him as if they just lying around as debris on the street. I have heard if you were a traveller in Vietnam in the 1990s that you could buy such things. As you would expect, those days are long gone. Most of the trinkets you see now in shops are knockoff stuff. I was thinking of this as I looked into this cabinet of old lighters, wondering if any of them are war-era.

Old lighters

A portrait of an album by Che Linh.

War portrait

I’m old enough to remember typewriters as a writing instrument. My 5-finger pecking-style typing is derived from the early use of typewriters.

Voss typewriter

And these, kiddies, are rotary dial telephones. When I was a boy we had to put our fingers in the corresponding numbered holes and dial each number. After all that was done, you were not guaranteed that the person on the other end was near their phone.

Vintage phones

Now this one is before my time (I was a cassette tape kid), though apparently, hipsters are making reel-to-reel tape cool again.

Sony reel-to-reel

There are some old photos on the wall of everyday Saigon in the 60’s and 70s.

Old Saigon photo

There is not much in the way of American war trophies here, though I did find this actual trophy.

In appreciation United States Army

And there is an American flag hanging on the wall. It is the American War after all.

US Flag

And lets not forget that it’s a cafe, so here is my generously-sized ca phe sua da. As with every other cafe in Vietnam, it comes with free wifi and free iced tea on the side.

Ca phe sua da

The cafe was opened by Le Quoc Nam, who is a veteran of the war with Cambodia in 1979. Read an interview about the cafe here.

It’s an interesting place and worth going to see the memorabilia alone. I’m not sure I would make a regular place though, as I prefer to have my coffee while not thinking about the sorrow of war. In the interview, he said he wants to open more branches. I think it would good to just keep finding more historical items and adding them to one place.

Viet Cong front

Location: 12/10 Truong Dinh Street, Ward 6, District 3

If you are looking for more war-era sites in Saigon, check out my guide on visiting war photo locations.

Filed Under: Travel Blog Tagged With: cafe, ho chi minh city, vietnam, war

Comments

  1. Sam says

    August 19, 2017 at 3:09 am

    Great find! Thanks for sharing. I’ve been in Saigon for over 2 years now thanks in part to your awesome blog 🙂

    Reply
    • James Clark says

      August 21, 2017 at 2:04 am

      Hi Sam, good to know – thanks!

      Reply
  2. trevor says

    September 1, 2017 at 5:06 am

    I need to get back to Saigion one of these days…. Guess its change massively since 2001… awesome cafe and post as is the one listing all the cafes there. incredible.. regards

    Reply
  3. HẢI TRIỀU says

    November 3, 2017 at 8:27 am

    Thank you for sharing <3

    Reply
  4. coral waight says

    November 12, 2020 at 7:18 am

    Fascinating and also a bit disturbing. I agree, I don’t think I’d be too relaxed having a drink at a bar in the form of a tank, considering how horrible the war was.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Weekly Travel Newsletter

Sign up for the weekly travel newsletter for the latest posts, and a roundup of best travel reads from around the web.
Subscribe For Free Here [No spam, unsubscribe anytime.]

About Nomadic Notes

James Clark from Nomadic Notes

Hi, I’m James Clark, and I've been travelling the world since 2003 while running a location independent travel business. Nomadic Notes is a travel blog featuring travel guides and notes from my travels.

More about me and Nomadic Notes.

Follow Nomadic Notes

Recent Posts

  • Don Muang Airport Train: Getting the train from DMK to Central Bangkok
  • Bangkok to Pattaya by train
  • Notes on Udon Thani
  • Where to stay in Singapore: The best areas and notable hotels (2023)
  • Ornamental street signs of Thailand
  • Where to stay in Georgetown, Penang – The best area to stay and the pick of the hotels (2023)
  • Notes on Nakhon Phanom: Down by the river, and hanging out at Uncle Ho’s House
  • Where to stay in Da Nang – the best areas and most notable hotels (2023)
  • Where to stay in Hanoi: The best areas for first-time visitors
  • Where to stay in Dubai: The best areas and most iconic hotels

European Rail Travel

Eurail Pass Travel Guide

Europe Rail News – The new newsletter for train travel in Europe

Southeast Asia Rail Travel

Southeast Asia current and proposed railways

A complete guide to train travel in Southeast Asia

Featured Posts

Top 200 Travel Books
How to find cheap flights
Best new banks for travellers, expats, and nomads

About Nomadic Notes

About
Advertise
Contact
Contribute
Press/Media Mentions
Where I've Been

Search Nomadic Notes

Travel Notes

Travel Notes

Travel Resources

Long-term Travel
Travel Blog Directory
Travel Gear
Travel Insurance
Travel Sites

Where To Stay In…

Bangkok
Chiang Mai
Da Nang
Ho Chi Minh City
Hong Kong
Jakarta
Kuala Lumpur
Macau
Penang
Singapore

Travel Newsletter

Sign up for the weekly travel newsletter for the latest posts and a roundup of best travel reads from around the web.

Copyright © 2023 Nomadic Notes · Site Map | Privacy · Log in