Exploring present Saigon - Ho Chi Minh

We just came from Choeng Euk and headed back to our hotel. We had our lunch to a nearby restaurant and prepared to pack up our things for our next destination - Vietnam.

Vietnam's bustling largest city sets the cultural and economic pace for the country. The former Saigon boasts charming French colonial architecture and wide boulevards, usually thronged and choked with traffic. Taxis are an option for seeing the sprawling city.

 

This will be our first time to travel cross countries by land and were very excited what was it gonna be like.

We bought our tickets from a ticketing office in pnom penh and based on our research and various suggestions from the web, we opted to ride Mekong Bus due to its reputation and service for tourists and business travelers.

American airplanes lining up in War Remnant Museum.

The first stop in our tour is The War Remnant Museum. Here, your guide  will tell the story of the city's darkest and most tragic hours during the Vietnam War. The museum contains displays of military craft, weaponry and many photographs - some that are quite graphic in nature and I notice pictures are somewhat anti american. I wonder what american tourists would feel seeing it though. Lol

Tanks were used to roam Saigon during Vietnam War

We then drove into a shop that sells coffee and other vietnamese product. We had a free taste there and I think  it tasty.

Souvenir shop in Ho Chi Minh

Next, we headed to to city's chinatown and Thien Hau Pagoda which is desicated to the Goddess of the Sea. With intricate friezes, carved tableaus and impressive incense coils make for some great photos.

At Thien Hau Pagoda

After a short 30 minutes, our tour guide then took us to a cyclo ride through narrow streets to Binh Tay market that sells everything  from hats to dried squid.

We also got a chance to visit a  souvenir shops that sells from ornaments, jewelries, and assorted items.

Attention to details, just awesome.

Vietnamese lunch was included in the tour with their signature dish Bai pho soup.

In the afternoon, we then visited the Reunification Palace, once a symbol of the South Vietnamese government. It was here on 30 April 1975, that the war ended when  a North Vietnamese Army tank crashed through its gates. See the war room, the banquet hall and the presidential office with the unusual gifts which have been received.

The Reunificationa Palace

We explored two iconic architectural landmarks the Notre Dame Cathedral and the Central Post Office built between 1877 and 1883 by renowned designer Gustav Eiffel. The cathedral still remains an active church with services each day and is favoured backdrop for Vietnamese wedding photographs.

Notre Dame Church

The famed Saigon Central Post Office.

The last stop in our tour was the City Hall. For a few minutes, we went out and took some pictures with Ho Chi Minh monument and in the background, the french inspired building of city hall.

Ho Chi Minh himself insert and City Hall as the backdrop.

That concluded our tour and participants were dropped to its respective hitels but we made a special request to drop us into a market to buy souvenir items. We enjoyed Vietnam even for a day and we were very impressed how it progresses and now is catching us up in terms of economy despite the financial burden of the war gave.

We flew back to Manila in the evening and ended our Indochina (CAMBODIA-VIETNAM) trip! 😀