Ho Chi Minh City Things to Do Tips by TomorrowsAngel

Built by the Cantonese congregation in the early 19th century. Apparently one of the most active in Cholon, it's deidicated to Thien Hau (also known as Tuc Goi La Ba).
It is said that Thien Hau has the ability to travel over oceans on a mat and ride clouds. Thus she is able to save people on the high seas.
The 2 land turtles that live here are said to be the protectors of the pagoda.
There are intricate ceramic friezes above the roof line of the inner courtyard. Two miniature wooden structures in which a small figure of Thien Hau is paraeded on the 23rd day of the 3rd lunar month are located near the large braziers.
On the main dais are 3 figures of Thien Hau, one in front of each other, each flanked by 2 servants or guardians.
To the left of the dias is a bed for Thien Hau, to the right, a scaled down boat and the Goddess Long Mau (Protector of Mothers & Newborns).

Leave a Comment

Address: 710 Nguyen Trai
Directions: open 0600-1730 daily

The History Museum was built in 1929 and called "Musée Blanchard de la Bosse" until 1956.
It has an excellent collection of artefacts illustrating the evolution of Vietnam, from the Bronze-Age Dong Son civilisation (13 BC - 1AD) and the Oc-Eo (Funan) civilisation (1-6 AD), to the Chams, Khmers and Vietnamese. There are valuable relics taken from Cambodia's Angkor Wat.
There is a research library about Indochina.

Leave a Comment

Phone: 8298146
Address: Bao Tang Lich Su
Directions: Admission: 10000d
Open 0800-1100 & 1330-1600

The War Remnants Museum was established in September 1975 in Ho Chi Minh City. It contains countless artifacts, photographs, and pictures documenting war crimes.
Such documents illustrate the killing of civilians, spreading of chemicals, torturing of prisoners, and the effects of the war on the north. Planes, tanks, bombs, and helicopters are also on display.
Outside the museum are some rooms displaying cultural products of Vietnam.
Over the last 20 years, over 6 million visitors entered the museum. Among this number, nearly 1 million were foreign visitors.

Leave a Comment

Phone: 9305587
Address: Bao Tang Chung Tich Chien Tranh
Directions: Admission 10000d
Opening hours: 0730-1145 & 1330-1715

The cathedral was built by the French late in the 19th century. The 40m-high twin towers tipped with iron spires atop the neo-Romanesque cathedral faces a small square which still has a large statue of the Virgin Mary.
Unusually, this cathedral has no stained glass windows: the glass was a casualty of World War II.
A number of foreign tourists worship here, and the priests are allowed to add a short sermon in English or French to their longer presentations in Vietnamese.

Leave a Comment

Address: Han Thuyen, District 1
Directions: City center

Cu Chi was one of the most devastated areas of Vietnamduring the war in the 1960s, and is home to over 200km of underground tunnels.
The tunnels were originally built in the 1940s during the war against the French, but were greatly expanded during the 1960s, to the point of stretching from HCMC all the way to the Cambodian border.
Today you can crawl through some of the hard red clay tunnels connecting rooms like the medical 'clinic', HQ, the commander's bedroom, a kitchen/dining room etc. Tunnels leading to these rooms have been enlarged for tourists. It was amazing how hot it is underground. As the tunnels got smaller and smaller, we were reduced to crawling on hands and knees.

Leave a Comment

Address: Cu Chi
Directions: 30kmnorthwest of Ho Chi Minh City

The beautiful colonial General Post Office facing the cathedral square was completed at about the same time as the cathedral (19th century).
With its huge clock and cavernous interior, the post office has the air of an old-fashioned railway station.
You can buy stationery, stamp collections and foreign coins, some even left over from the former South Vietanm regime.
The post office is one of many places where you'll be mobbed by people, including children, selling postcards and other tourist trinkets.

Leave a Comment

Address: 2 Cong Xa Paris, District 1

On April 30, 1975, Communist tanks smashed through the gates of the Presidential Palace (now renamed as the Reunification Palace), symbol of the South Vietnamese government.
A soldier then ran to the fourth floor to unfurl a VC flag. General Minh, who had only become the head of state of South Vietnam 43 hours earlier, surrendered.
Guides now offer daily tours to visitors.
The Palace is also noted for its striking 1960s architecture, the creation of Paris-trained Vietnamese architect Ngo Viet Thu.
At the Reunification Palace complex you can visit to conference rooms, the Presidential Receiving Room, basement tunnels and war room, telecommunications center and the residential quarters, as well as a back terrace complete with heliport.
Opening Hours: 7.30am-11am; 1pm-4pm daily.

Leave a Comment

Address: 106 Nguyen Du, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City
Directions: Admission: USD4.

Built at the beginning of 1897, under an original architectural design by French architect Ferret Eugene, the Municipal Theatre was restored and renewed to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the foundation of Saigon (1698-1998).
The architectural style and staple material of the Municipal Theatre of the old days are reflected in its stone veranda, a pair of white stone statues of pretty girls at the gate, the colourful granite tiled floors, the chandeliers, the bronze statues in front of the stairs, the audience's hall with its arch engraved with decorative designs and rows of statues on the two sides of the theatre.
When the French invaders withdrew from the South under the Geneva Agreement in 1956, the Ngo Dinh Diem regime turned the Theatre into the headquarters of the lower House, therefore the inside and outside structure of the Theatre was changed considerably.
Regaining the power after the Spring 1975 Great Victory, the City authorities allowed a temporary repair of the Theatre, returning its function to a central theatre. In 1995, a hundred years after the start of the initial building project, a restoration project was approved by the Municipal People's Committee.
Many experienced historians and architects were invited to participate in this project. The theatre was renewed with new materials and equipped with state-of-the-art electric appliances, light and sound systems and fire and safety equipment. With a rotating stage and a 800-seat hall, the Theatre meets the required standards for various artistic forms such as singing, music, dancing and traditional and modern dramas. It is a good place for artistic performances by domestic and foreign art ensembles and well-known artists, who visit Ho Chi Minh City.

Leave a Comment

Address: downtown HCMC