Ho Chi Minh City - a city of war relics and baguettes


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Asia » Vietnam » Southeast » Ho Chi Minh City
May 16th 2006
Published: January 13th 2007
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View of the Vietnamese checkpoint from the Vietnam-Cambodia border
14th May (Sun) - We took a bus from Phnom Penh to the Cambodia-Vietnam border. The tiny bus was packed with passengers and the road was damn bumpy. At the Vietnam border, we queued for a long time because the immigration officers were paid by travel agencies to settle the passports of the people in the tour groups... Since we were not in any tour groups, we couly only helplessly watch the tour operators pushing piles and piles of passports to the immigration officers. After sometime, my mum and some fellow passengers in our bus were fed up and they complained loudly in front of the tour operators and the immigration officials... The tour operators, being scared by our loud voices, finally let us go through the immigration first... After another 2 hours, we finally reached Ho Chi Minh City (also known as Saigon). We put down our luggage in the hotel, and then we took a walk around downtown Saigon. Famous sights include the Ben Thanh Market, Reunification Palace, and Notre Dame cathedral.

15th May (Mon) - We joined a tour group and visited the Cao Dai temple (a very unique religion with influences from Buddhism, Taoism, Christianity, Islam,
Ben Thanh MarketBen Thanh MarketBen Thanh Market

It's probably the largest market in the city and it's best summarised by the Lonely Planet's travel guide to Vietnam: "If we don't have it, you don't need it."
etc) and the Cu Chi tunnel (a series of tunnels dug by the Vietnamese to avoid detection by the Americans during the Vietnam War). At night we walked around the city and did some shopping at Ben Thanh Market. (I bought 2 pairs of shoes and 5 T-shirts... very cheap!)

16th May (Tue) - We booked a taxi and went to Cholon, the "Chinatown" of Ho Chi Minh City. We visited the Quan Am (Guanyin) temple and the Thien Hau (Tianhou) temple. To our delight, most of the people there can speak cantonese! We also visited several temples outside Cholon, and we even witnessed a funeral ritual in one of the temples... To our surprise, the monks played electric organ and electric guitar, together with traditional chinese music instruments! In the afternoon, we went to the airport to take the plane back to Singapore.


Additional photos below
Photos: 42, Displayed: 23


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City HallCity Hall
City Hall

Originally called the Hôtel de Ville and now formally re-branded the People's Committee Hall, it's a striking cream and yellow French colonial building. Unfortunately the interior is out of bound to the public.
Funny advertismentFunny advertisment
Funny advertisment

A car is placed vertically on the wall!
Notre Dame CathedralNotre Dame Cathedral
Notre Dame Cathedral

Notre Dame Cathedral, built between 1877 and 1883, stands regally in the heart of the government quarter. Its red-brick, neo-Romanesque form and two 40m-high square towers tipped with iron spires dominate the skyline.
Notre Dame Cathedral 2Notre Dame Cathedral 2
Notre Dame Cathedral 2

View of the cathedral among the trees
General Post Office 2General Post Office 2
General Post Office 2

Interior of the post office
Statue of another war heroStatue of another war hero
Statue of another war hero

What is he pointing at?
Night Market besides Ben Thanh MarketNight Market besides Ben Thanh Market
Night Market besides Ben Thanh Market

This is where I bought Ralph Lauren polo shirts for US$4 and Geox shoes for US$11...
Cultural ParkCultural Park
Cultural Park

Located in the centre of HCMC, this park is where the locals come for morning jogs, badminton games and Tai Chi. Greeting me at the entrance is this corny green dragon.
Cultural Park 2Cultural Park 2
Cultural Park 2

Cactus display
Cultural Park 3Cultural Park 3
Cultural Park 3

Modern sculptures and tall trees stand side by side in this graceful park. (Can someone tell me why the bottom part of the tree is painted white?)
Peak hour trafficPeak hour traffic
Peak hour traffic

Motorbikes are the main mode of transportation in HCMC. According to a tour guide, HCMC has a population of 6 million people and it has 2 million motorbikes!
Cao Dai TempleCao Dai Temple
Cao Dai Temple

The Cao Dai religion was founded in Vietnam in 1926 by Ngo Van Chieu, a government official who had a vision that heralded the Third Age of spirituality. It has influences from Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Christianity and Islam. This is the main Cao Dai temple, located in Tay Ninh (a town north of HCMC).


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