Ho Chi Minh City Things to Do Tips by Unknownsu

Imagine yourself crawling through a tunnel a tad larger than yourself, breathing in hot humid air knowing there are snipers and soldiers wanting to end your life on the ground above you. Those were the feelings of Vietnamese guerillas manning the 200 Kms of underground tunnel network during the Vietnam war in the small town of Cu Chi....

Join a tour to see the Cu Chi tunnels and experience what the Viet Cong experienced. Shoot a rifle, crawl the tunnels, and view the great number of hand made traps forged by the VC.

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Address: Sinh Cafe on De Tham Street
Directions: 30 Kms NW of Ho Chi Minh City

Take a day off your busy agenda to see true Vietnamese countryside on one of the many tours offered by Sinh Cafe by visiting cities in the Mekong such as My Tho or Can Tho. Stroll down a narrow river filled with crocodiles (or so the tour guide says) on a man powered boat. Visit a coconut farm or a candy producing factory while viewing the orchids of exotic fruits around. End your day off by sipping tea tipped with real bee-made honey while listening to a Vietnamese folk singer touch your heart with heart-felt music......

Just don't lose your sunglasses like I did...

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Not exactly the same kind you find in the West but something more interesting and unique that will leave you in awe. I'm talking about Suoi Tien, a theme park honouring the 4 sacred animals. The Dragon, Unicorn, Tortoise and Phoenix which is supposed to bring safety, happiness and good luck to you and your family. Suoi Tien has become one of the most attractive parks in the country and is on the way to join the rank of international - standard cultural parks in the world.

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Phone: (84-8) 835 0420
Address: Tan Phu Ward, Distict 9
Directions: Head East on Duong Dien Bien Phu for roughly 30 Minutes

Cholon was formerly a separate city from Saigon. Today, it constitutes the 5th district of it. Cholon means "large market" and represents the great trading centre of the capital of the South with a population of a half-million Vietnameses from Chinese origin, the Hoa.

Here you will find a great variety of huge indoor markets such as An Dong or Binh Tay. During the wee morning hours, these markets are where the Chinese-Vietnamese do their business and bargains are struck. Cholon also has an array of fantastic pagodas and temples.

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The War Remnants Museum was established in September 1975 in Ho Chi Minh City. It contains countless artifacts, photographs and pictures documenting some of the less heroic activities carried out by the US army in Vietnam. Displays illustrate the killing of civilians, the spreading of toxic defoliant, the torturing of prisoners and the effects of the war in the north. Planes, tanks, bombs and helicopters are also on display.

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Notre Dame Cathedral is situated in the heart of Ho Chi Minh City. A French priest set down the first brick for construction on October 1877 and the last one in April 1880. The cathedral was built in accordance with specific designs and drawings. Arrangements made with France required that the construction work be managed by a French engineer named Baurad. The total cost of the construction was 2.5 million francs.

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The Ho Chi Minh City Fine Arts Museum was set up as the result of a decision made by the City’s People's Committee in September 1987, but it was not officially opened until 1991.On the first and second floors, there are exhibits of works by Vietnamese and foreign artists. On the third floor are rooms with displays of works from between the 7th and early 20th century, including Vietnamese antiques (ceramics, red-lacquered and gilded products, mother-of-pearl inlaid wood, etc.), traditional handicrafts of the Vietnamese ethnic groups and Western art.

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Dam Sen Park belongs to district 11 in Ho Chi Minh City, at the corner of Lac Long Quan and Hoa Binh streets.The park’s infrastructure is divided into 30 parts and features several activities, restaurants, and shows, including a smaller reproduction of the Giac Vien Pagoda, the Thuy Ta floating restaurant, a lake similar to West Lake in Hanoi where one can fish, a puppet show, a bird garden, a water park, a sports center, and the Nam Tu Royal Garden.

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The building now called the Reunification Palace was once the presidential palace for the republic of South Vietnam. This is where the South's fall to the North finally happened on 30 April 1975.
The modern concrete structure was completed in 1966. Its construction was required when planes from South Vietnam's own air force bombed the old palace built by the French in an attempt to assasinate the then president. The buildng has been preserved more or less as it was back in 1975, so you can visit the President's office, cabinet room, banquet halls and other rooms belonging to both the public and private areas of the building. In the basement there are also bomb shelters, tunnels and war rooms.

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Built by the French and finished in 1900, the theater was originally intended to be an opera house. After the partition of Vietnam, the building was transformed into South Vietnam's National Assembly in 1955. Its now been restored as a theater with performances of Vietnamese theater and modern pop acts scheduled regularly.
Along the streets behind the theater you will find several shops selling model sailing ships. They aren't sold at other tourist shops around town. You'll only find them in these few cluttered shops.

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