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    Best of Saigon

    / Last updated 09 Mar 2012

    Introduction

    Take a look at our gallery of the best things to see and do on a visit to Ho Chi Minh City, aka. Saigon
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Chou Chou Lam
    • ©Photo: Chou Chou Lam
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer

    • Uncle Ho - Ho Chi Minh, takes his place at the central square of the city renamed in his honour at the end of the Vietnam War. Behind is the centre of local government - the People's Committee building. It was the French era, Hotel de Ville. The locals still stick with calling their city Saigon.

    • While the city is erasing its heritage with undue haste, some of the most prominent buildings look likely to survive. The Continental Hotel, war time journalist and spook hang-out and former residence of Graham Greene looks set to survive the onslaught.

    • The old site of the Continental Shelf bar. Looking across the Opera House - the former National Assembly of the South Vietnamese Government - to the fully renovated Caravelle Hotel.

    • Notre Dame Cathedral, looks pretty safe too.
    • Notre Dame Cathedral - remembrance plaques.
    • Gustav Eiffel's Post Office in downtown Saigon

    • Central Post Office, Saigon. Colonial era maps on the wall to the right with Uncle Ho looking on from the back.

    • War Remnants Museum is a must see. It's graphic, propagandist and disturbing. Its account of the war gives a perspective that westerners are rarely exposed to.
    • War Remnants Museum - formerly known as US War Crimes Museum
    • The Requiem exhibit at the War Remnants Museum is a dramatic collection of images shot by photographers from both sides of the conflict that were killed in action. It was curated by iconic war photographers Horst Fass and Tim Page.
    • The gates at the Reunification Palace, Saigon. Images of these gates being casually smashed by North Vietnamese tanks came to symbolise the end of America's failed Vietnam campaign.
    • The former Presidential Palace - now known as the Reunification Palace.
    • The room where 30 years of war came to an end when Vietnam's last President, Duong Van Minh, in office only days, handed power to the communist forces. The communist commander reportedly replied 'You cannot hand over what is not yours". Minh had been a leader in the coup that ousted and murdered President Ngo Dinh Diem in 1963.
    • Reunification Palace, Saigon - 1970s state of the art communications equipment.
    • Saigon's Chinatown - Cholon. Home to the city's best pagodas.
    • Thien Hau Pagoda, Cholon
    • Cha Tam Church. Cholon. It was here that the Catholic President Ngo Dinh Diem hid from coup leaders. He and his reviled brother were executed soon after they were located here. The dynamics of the US role in the Vietnam conflict were irreversibly changed.
    • Shophouses, Cholon
    • Cholon - Chinatown

    • Eating will be a highlight of a visit to Saigon. There are some very nice upscale venues.

    • And the streetside sandwich stalls - banh mi stalls - are also delicious.
    • Pho Hoa Pasteur
    • Streaming pho - noodle soup.
    • Ngon Restaurant, Saigon. Chao Tom (shrimp on sugar cane) and banh xeo (Vietnamese pancake).
    • Interaction with the upbeat and energetic Saigonese wlll be a highlight of a visit.
    • A rare female "xe om" motorcycle taxi driver in Saigon.
    • Mr Tho - newspapers, old maps and books on Dong Khoi St.
    • Saigon
    • A friendly smile, Saigon
    • A few tunes in a park - Saigon
    • Cyclo drivers - not quite extinct yet in the new Saigon.
    • Che chuoi - banana, tapioca and coconut dessert - very refreshing
    • And when you need a break from the mayhem - try one of the city's mellow cafes -Hideaway Cafe.
    • Or L'Usine - cafe, gallery and boutique.
    • Ben Thanh Market, is Saigon's central market with a huge array of things for shoppers.
    • Ben Thanh Market is also a great place to grab a cheap snack.
    • A bowl of Bun Bo in Ben Thanh Market, Saigon
    • Saigon is also home to some very cool homeware stores and fashion boutiques.
    • Le Cong Kieu St, Saigon's "Antique St" is also worth a look.
    • Oustide of town, few travellers miss a visit to the Viet Cong tunnel complex at Cu Chi. The complex Ben Duoc is more authentic and less crowded.
    • US bombs at Cu Chi
    • B52 bomb crater, Cu Chi
    • Those with more time may also be interested in a visit to the bizarre Cao Dai holy shrine at Cao Dai.
    • A visit to the Cao Dai Temple can be easily added to the Cu Chi trip.
    • Many travellers also use Saigon as a base for a day trip to the Mekong Delta. This is Ben Tre - the centre of coconut production.
    • Ben Tre, Mekong Delta
    • Boat trip, Ben Tre
    • Long Thanh Island as the sun goes down, Ben Tre
    • Mekong River canals, My Tho
    Quicklink - Introduction - Ho Chi Minh City