Ho Chi Minh City - Vietnam's 'Paris'!

Formerly known as Saigon, prior to Reunification in 1975, the home of many residents who can say they were born in Saigon but live in Ho Chi Minh City. A population of 12 million people owns approximately 3 million motorcycles which create a special atmosphere in this bustling, noisy, industrious city in the South of the country.

Ho Chi Minh City is divided into sixteen districts but most of the shops, restaurants, tourist sights and services are centrally located in Districts 1, 2 and 3, all within walking distance of the Pham Ngu Lau area where most hotels and booking agencies are located and where travelers tend to congregate.

The major tourist sights in Ho Chi Minh City include Reunification Palace, the Parliament building of the former South Vietnamese Government which has been maintained as it was when the Government fell to the victorious Liberation Army in 1975. This year, 2005, Vietnam is celebrating th 30th Anniversary of Liberation. Serious visitors should not miss the War Museum at 27 Vo Van Tan Street which is a sobering, even distressing, reminder of the horrors of the American War.

On a much lighter note, in the heart of HCMC, don't miss a visit to the General Post Office on Cong Xa Pari Street. Even if you don't want to post a letter or postcard, take time to sit in the fan-cooled grand hall and soak up the atmosphere.

Just across the square is Notre Dame Cathedral, an exact copy of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, which was built by the French in 1877-1880 using stained glass windows imported from Chartres and bricks from Marseilles. You can visit at anytime and attend mass if you desire. Masses are held in Vietnamese and English. However, many places close for lunch, so try to go either in the morning or afternoon and avoid midday.

The Opera House (sometimes called the Municipal Theatre) is an elegant, colonial building where performances by world renowned and local artists are regular and very inexpensive. You can go to the ballet for as little as US$6-12, the latter being for the best seats in the house.

The centre of HCMC is amazingly tranquil compared to the bustling outer suburbs and the sophisticated shops, restaurants and hotels, combined with the delightfully wide, tree-lined streets and colonial architecture, make HCMC one of the most beautiful in South East Asia and one of the easiest to find your way around.

Shopping in HCMC is a highlight for many tourists, particularly along Le Loi, Dong Khoi and Nguyen Hue Streets and the centrally located Ben Thanh Market, where you will find a variety of opportunities to suit all budgets. Beautifully embroidered silk fabrics are made into elegant clothes, bags and shoes which are displayed in shop windows which would not be out of place in the most elegant shopping streets of Paris. Another specialty of the city's shops is beautiful laquerware which can be purchased inexpensively and the stores will arrange air freight to anywhere in the world although, if you have time, air mail from the Post Office in Hai Ba Trung St (behind the GPO) is very efficient and much expensive.

HCMC is an ideal base for Mekong Delta Tours (ranging from 1 to 3 days in duration) and a must see are the world-famous Cu Chi Tunnels!

Further References:

• The Official Ho Chi Minh City website

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