Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam>, Oct 18, 2009
In Hanoi we were about to get crazy of all the motorcyclists. And then we arrived in Ho Chi Minh City…
HCMC is the biggest city and the econmic center of Vietnam and that reflects on the roads! We had just a day to explore former Saigon. Luckily we had the right location for our hotel, so walking it was. Strolling along Dong Khoi the first striking building was Nha Hat Thanh Pho, a theatre in colonial style.
From the roof garden of the Rex hotel you’ve got a good view over Nguyen Hue and the square with the French town hall (nicely aluminated at night). Further down Dong Khoi you’ll see the Notre Dame and the postoffice designed by Gustave Eiffel, yes the same person who made that tower in Paris.
Not really impresssive but historical because of one the most famous pictures made in Vietnam (a North Vietnamese tank driving through the gate) is the Reunification Palace. THere are still some tanks in the garden. If you want to see more of the Vietnamese war, there’s an abundance of musea. Among others Bao Tang Lich Su (museum for Vietnamese history) and the War Remnants museum.
Of the many temples and pagodas we visited Xa Loi. This is the place where in 1960 3 monks lighted themselves. The main building is rather empty, but the big bronze Buddha statue behind the altare makes it a great place.